The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (Part II)
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (Part II)
by Valaika
TITLE: The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (Part II)
AUTHOR: Valaika
EMAIL: valaika@thevortex.com
CATEGORY: Series, Angst
SPOILERS: small victories - but it's hardly a spoiler
SEASON / SEQUEL: 4; part two of a series
RATING: G
CONTENT WARNINGS: none, itz really really sad....
SUMMARY: valeska faces a crisis - and you need to read part I to know who valeska is...and goes to the SGC for help
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: here's the much awaited sequel to The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship (Part I), well, i know that at least one person waited for it.....
The wormhole whooshed open. Out popped SG-1. General Hammond came to meet them, "Good to see you back, debriefing in 2 hours."
"Yes, sir," replied Jack with a short salute.
The water like substance dissipated behind them. As soon as it did, the inner ring began moving. An alarm sounded, and a voice conveyed over the speaker, "Off world activation.
"Close the Iris," said The General as he and the rest of the SGC members moved away from the ring and readied their weapons.
The Stargate whooshed once more behind the iris, "Receiving signal from Terra." "Open the iris," replied Hammond.
A young dark-haired woman dressed in a beautiful and tattered gown walked through, "close the ring," she called to whoever was listening.
Hammond made a motion and the technician did so, "Stand down."
The members of SG-1 walked up to her, "So, what brings you to our neck of the galaxy?" asked Jack.
"Cronus has found us," she said coldly.
They were shocked and instantly worried, "How did this happen?" Daniel asked.
She looked at the floor, and then back up at him with determination, "I don't know. We were celebrating at the palace - outside of the Star Ring Facility. We were attacked. Instantly, we were surrounded by Jaffa, and they killed Upton. They took father. Kearney, Laveda and Mather took great risks to send me here. When I got to the SRF, I found out that SR-7 had not returned from their previous mission, I believe they encountered Cronus and are presumably dead," she walked forward but stumbled, drawing attention to a large bloody gash in her thigh.
"Okay, calm down," said the General steeping forward, "first we need to get you to the infirmary."
"NO!" she alarmed them with the sudden outburst, "there is no time; I must contact my father."
"But you don't even know where he his," said Sam.
"I need to find him, outside."
"Isn't he too far away?" asked Jack confusedly.
She shot him an angry but desperate look, "They have taken over my planet and the Star Ring is what they are after. The location is hidden. Cronus will try to obtain information from my father. I do not know how long he will be able to keep it from him. I must try."
Valeska was taken to the top of Cheyenne Mountain, Teal'c and Daniel supporting her as she hobbled. It was night, the sky was clear and millions of stars were visible. She asked Teal'c and Daniel to stand away; she looked up, not knowing what to do. Concentration, that's all she needed to do, concentrate. She struggled to find him somewhere. She searched the sky, hoping that he might be trying to contact her. Teal'c and Daniel watched her, unable to help.
There - her gaze froze on a star. She felt something, someone in pain. She concentrated with all her might. He was trying to shut her out. He was too far away. Valeska needed him to cooperate. It's not too dangerous! We need you! She kept repeating it over and over again as he kept pushing her away. He wanted to be rescued, but not by her. Valeska began to force information from him, is the Star Gate guarded? - no. She caught a glimpse of something - a palace. She had seen that palace before. Cronus sat on a large throne; her father was in the dungeon. Her father made one last attempt to push her away, and he succeeded. She lost her grasp on him but as he pushed her away, her first voyage through the gate flashed by - she'd been in that dungeon before.
She fainted, exhausted from the struggle to maintain contact with her father. Teal'c and Daniel hurried to her side, and carried her back to the infirmary. She woke up with Dr. Frasier looming over her. "How do you feel?"
"Good," she said, not quite awake. Suddenly, she sat up and got out of bed.
Daniel was there.
The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder, "You need to rest for a bit."
"There is no time!" she was frustrated.
Daniel moved forward, "You're injured."
"I can walk," she demonstrated her ability, "and there is no time, we need to get to him as soon as possible."
"You don't need to go."
"You won't be able to find him without me!" She grabbed a notepad and pen from the table at her bedside and drew frantically. The princess then thrust the page in Daniel's face, "This is where he is."
He looked at the pad confusedly. She had drawn glyphs - it was an address. "How do you know?"
"I recognized the place, I saw Cronus's palace, and I've been there. We must leave immediately."
Dr. Frasier argued with Valeska - but to no avail. She held to her decision. SG-1 left as soon as possible. Sam stayed behind. She was going to attempt to contact the Asgard. After all, they did owe her.
Valeska, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c arrived in a desert. Well, it seemed a desert at first. But at a closer look, it was glass - or maybe marble, all around them the surface was shinning and reflecting the sky, which was a spectacular sight within itself. A large red moon rose above the horizon underneath a smaller white moon. Stars twinkled like jewels on a velvety blanket of blue. She didn't stop to notice.
Valeska began walking towards a forest that was just visible on the horizon. "It is about half-an-hours walk from here," she said simply as she walked. The team followed her.
"How do you know?" asked Jack.
"I've been here before."
"It doesn't make sense, why wasn't the Stargate guarded?"
"Don't worry, there's no one hiding in the bushes. It's his pure arrogance. He doesn't believe we'd be able to find him. The palace, however, will be heavily guarded. Last time we were there, Kearney and I found tunnels leading out of it, hopefully, Cronus has not discovered the tunnels himself."
"And if he has?"
"Then we'll find another way in."
Halfway to the forest, she stopped. Her eyes widened and she fell to her knees. The three men surrounded her. Jack grabbed her shoulders and tried to shake her out of it. She kept on staring into space.
Valeska had contacted her father, and he kept pushing her away. Cronus was interrogating him. The Emperor had become good at hiding his secrets, but Cronus was good at finding them. He was close. Valeska asked her father to keep him at bay for a little while longer. She was coming. He couldn't. He couldn't hide the location of the Star Ring much longer and he couldn't let his daughter put herself in danger. He said good-bye. He gently reached out for Valeska's mind and an image of his loving smile flashed through her mind.
Suddenly she burst into tears, "he's gone."
"What happened?" Jack was worried.
She looked at him, with so much desperation and anger that Jack felt uncomfortable, "He killed himself," she screamed. She began to shake violently and the tears began to flow freely. She fell into Jack's arms and he tried to calm her. She stopped shaking but would not stop crying. Suddenly she felt a rush of sympathy and comfort. Valeska pulled away from him, with confusion registering on her face, then she fainted again.
Once again, Valeska found herself in the infirmary. This time Daniel was the first person she saw. He was sitting at her bedside, staring at her with worry. "I feel fine," she reassured him and sat up. She started speaking calmly, "We were celebrating. It was a grand event. Our bond had been proven. Kearney and I could share thoughts as my father could with his wife. In my family, one can't get married until the bond is established," she explained not willing to make eye contact.
Daniel listened sympathetically. "Everyone dear to us was there. It was wonderful, there was going to be a feast and then we would set a wedding date. But before all that, there were festivities and dancing. I was in his arms when they came. It was all so dream-like. I still can't remember how they came or where they came from. They killed Upton and immediately took my father," her voice broke. "I tried to go after him, but Kearney held me back. We managed to escape with Laveda and Mather. We went back to the SRF. I came here because I didn't know where else to go. I came here to find my father. We had no hope. He was our only hope."
She looked at him and then down at her hands as she began fiddling with the sheet. She tried to stop the tears, but couldn't. Her hair shielded her face from Daniel's sight. She cried silently and he didn't know she did so until he saw a tear fall on her hands. She made an effort to wipe it away.
He grabbed her hand and held it comfortingly. She faced him and he was troubled to see her face red and marked with pain. Daniel offered her a tissue. She took it and began to wipe away her tears but she could not stop crying. "I don't know what to do," she looked at him helplessly. Sam walked in. Valeska looked at Sam with renewed hope. Her world still stood a chance. "Did you contact your allies?" She asked hopefully.
"Yes, we did," Sam was unable to look at her directly. She pulled Daniel to the side to speak with him. Valeska's mind filled with doubt, but she kept the hope within her alive. They came back; both had worried looks on their faces.
"What's wrong?"
Daniel sat beside her again and laid a hand on her shoulder. Valeska prepared herself for the worst. Sam began, "We contacted the Asgard. They agreed to help us."
Valeska's eyes shined with hope once again, but she kept her guard up, knowing that there was more.
"They were too late."
Daniel squeezed her shoulder, and she felt a pang of sorrow, "What does that mean."
"Cronus destroyed Terra before the Asgard could get there." Sam looked down; she didn't like having to give her the message.
"We have to go back, there may be survivors!"
"Valeska, Terra's uninhabitable, there is no chance of surviving."
The blood drained from her face, and her hands went cold. Valeska's face was expressionless. She turned away from them, "Leave," she commanded.
"Valeska, I - "
"GO!" her voice wavered, as she was about to break into tears. She refused to look at them. They did as she asked.
Valeska refused to see anyone. She had been given quarters in the SGC and she hadn't come out in a couple of days, everyone was worried about her. Daniel kept bringing her food. She accepted it, mumbling thanks and then she'd shut the world out. SG-1 sat in the debriefing room with General Hammond and Dr. Frasier.
"Do you know how she's holding up?"
"She's fine physically," replied Dr. Frasier with a frustrated sigh, "But she refuses to talk to anyone or go anywhere."
"She's lost everything dear to her, her friend's, her family,"
"Her fianc," added Daniel.
They looked at him surprised, "Um, they attacked during her engagement to Kearney, that's why she was in a formal gown when she came."
"It's severe psychological trauma. She confused and worried about her future."
"Well, then, we've got to give her one - like we did for Cassie."
"It won't be that easy, she's a full grown adult and as a child Cassie was more able to adapt to her new surroundings."
"Sir," Jack addressed General Hammond, "I'd like to make her a part of the team, as soon as she gets better." The general looked at him, "No, I mean it, she could be a valuable member of the team, she's already been through the Stargate quite a few times, and she's a princess! Perfect for diplomatic and first contact missions."
"That's all fine and well, Colonel, but first she has to get better and I don't see that happening."
"I'd like to talk to her," Daniel volunteered, "in the morning."
Daniel was sleeping, or at least, he was trying to sleep. It was hard, something was wrong and he couldn't shake the feeling. He couldn't forget about her. He couldn't ignore what had happened long enough to fall asleep. There was a knock on his door. He stumbled in the dark and switched on the lamp beside his bed and made his way to the door.
It was Valeska, her hair was dripping, and she was dressed in her tattered gown. Water fell around her face so that he couldn't if she was crying or if it was moisture from her hair. Then she spoke, and from the sound, he could tell that she was indeed crying, "I'm..." she looked down, "I felt so bad, I took a shower, and I couldn't sleep, I don't know what to do, I......I," she looked up at him, unable to speak she whispered, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's okay," he drew her close and she began to weep on his shoulder.
In the morning, everything seemed better. She was a part of something now. She felt welcomed and useful. She had friends. They could never replace her old friends; nothing could ever replace the bond between herself and her father or the newly formed, unexplored bond between herself and Kearney. But it was a start.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Valaika
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