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Playing Ba'al

Chapter 7

Casey waltzed into the room, gave the current lo’taur a glance – noting that the woman bore a passing resemblance to her, although her eyes were a lighter green – then flopped onto the loveseat against the wall.

"I believe you wanted a bath," Ba’al said, his voice husky with desire. Whether she wanted him to do so or not, he had every intention of joining her; he would not merely watch her this time.

"Maybe in a little bit," she replied airily. A bath with Daniel when they returned home was a wonderful idea, she thought. Just the thing to work the kinks and stress out of my muscles. She unconsciously flexed one shoulder…she could feel the tension in her back.

He glanced at the lo’taur. "Find the green gown. I want my Beloved dressed appropriately for the ceremony."

The lo’taur nodded obediently. She stepped forward, and held her hand out to Casey. Who blatantly ignored the slave.

"Ah…so you will continue to fight me," Ba’al said, almost giddily. While he wanted the beautiful seer’s love, he also wanted the fire…the passion…that filled her. A fact he had learned during his time with her clone.

"It’s not that I’m fighting you, Balls, I’m just ignoring you. And anyone you’re giving orders to," Casey said breezily. She cocked her head sideways. Daniel and the rest of the team were on their way…she could sense their movement. Time…she had to give the team time to get to her. She also needed to keep the damned Goa’uld from leaving the room. Or keep him from dragging her somewhere else. That would certainly put a kink in their plans!

Turning to the Jaffa beside him, Ba’al tried to ignore the nonchalant way Casey pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. "Tell the High Priest to start arrangements for the Binding Ceremony. My Beloved and I will be there in within the hour."

"Yes, My Lord." The Jaffa saluted, then hurried from the room.

Ba’al frowned.

"Oh…yeah. That wasn’t you." Casey tapped her lip with her fingertip. "I’m betting you were still in that room with the weird tube thingy. Maybe those scientists were still downloading what Ba’al wanted you to know into that cloned brain of yours. We hit your ship with the intention of getting-" She broke off. No way in hell did she want Ba’al to know about the Ancient weapon. But needling him with the idea that the Tau’ri could ‘recharge’ a ZPM…and he couldn’t, was too much fun to pass up. "Daniel and I had noticed the ZPMs-"

"Those Ancient power things. We’d noticed them when we were stuck on your ship…er…Ba’al’s ship, when you…er…he…was trying to take over Earth. The First World." Casey smiled. Took a moment to decide just exactly what she was going to tell this soon-to-be-dead clone. She did need to be careful, just in case the real snake would decide to have a little tête-à-tête with his clone before destroying him. "We have a way to charge those things, and even though the ones in your…er…his…lab were dead, the ZPMs will come in handy for us. Especially if Sam can build a small, portable generator to take with us when we actually dial the Stargate…er…Chappa’ai…using eight chevrons. Anyway, we were just going to do a quick in-and-out…but we managed to run into a few of your…his…Jaffa. Ba’al…the real Ba’al," she added, noting with absolute glee that the frown on his face deepened, "stuck a snake into Daniel. Well, Daniel is a very strong man. And apparently Rihat was a very weak symbiote. Rihat was dead a couple of hours later. Ba’al had ordered the clone he’d made of me killed. Rat bastard," she hissed.

Ba’al crossed his arms over his chest. He had no memory of any of the events she was describing. Other than leaving a ship that was being destroyed…by enemy Goa’uld and Tau’ri who were taking advantage of the situation...according to the report from his Jaffa when he made it to the planet on which he’d been building his new capitol. He was convinced that Casey was merely weaving a tale in order to make him believe that her insistence that he was a clone was truth. It was an attempt to try to confuse him…she was hoping he would make a misstep. No, he didn’t believe what she was saying. Particularly the part about Jackson being able to defeat a Goa’uld symbiote. Impossible! he thought arrogantly. Kill the clone he had created…whom he had loved? He did admit to himself that had he known that Casey was still alive, he would have been searching for her. And when he once again had her in his custody…well, the clone would have served its purpose. But knowing that in Casey’s eyes, ordering the death of the clone would have been unforgivable, he would never have allowed her to know about that order…he never would have allowed her to know about the clone! "I would not have done that," he insisted.

"Maybe you wouldn’t have. But the real Ba’al did. There were a dozen Jaffa totally loyal to her. Anyway, with their help, we were all off that ship in probably three…maybe four hours. Blew the hell out of it. The real Ba’al managed to escape. Didn’t know about you until a few days ago," Casey continued, as if he hadn’t spoken.

"So of course you immediately sought me out so that you could inform me that I’m a clone." His tone of voice left no doubt that he didn’t believe a word she was saying.

Casey nodded. "Yep. Another team is looking for the ‘real’ Ba’al. They’ll let him know you’re out here screwing up his devious plans."

He barely stopped himself from calling her an accomplished liar. "You are a skillful story teller," he said, hoping he sounded amused. Trying to ignore the incessant poking in the back of his mind.

She studied the Goa’uld who stood watching her. Dared to reach out…just enough to get a sense of his emotions. She could feel his unease…he didn’t want to believe her. But the apprehension about what she was telling him was there, and growing stronger. She just needed to keep pushing. What she needed was something that he would remember…She almost giggled out loud when she realized that the clone had obviously escaped the ship just before it was destroyed. "Yes, I am," she replied jauntily. "But what I’m telling you now is the truth. You have no memory of the events I just told you about. But I’m betting you do remember that ship blowing to hell."

Yes, Ba’al thought, he did remember. He had been in on of his research rooms…he’d never quite figured out exactly why he’d been there…couldn’t remember the reason he had gone there. He pushed away the memory of the confusion he’d felt standing there…alone. The scientists who should have been there…weren’t. Nor was the equipment that should have been there. In that moment he realized that he wasn’t sure exactly what was missing from the room…only that something was.

He could clearly remember when the wall had been destroyed…a support pillar from the corridor had fallen on it…through it. He remembered running toward his quarters, determined to find Casey…the clone of Casey. Then to discover, just as the research room had been, his quarters were empty. She should have been there…but she wasn’t. Why wasn’t she there? Where had she gone? Ba’al asked himself…again. More explosions had sent him racing toward the pel’tak…he’d barely made it to his private escape pod before the ship exploded. Where had his personal guard been? They should have been waiting in the corridor near the research lab. For that matter…he hadn’t seen any Jaffa as he ran through his ship. The gaps in his memory…the reason he’d been in that very private laboratory when obviously he’d been under attack…the reason for the missing Jaffa…the reason Casey wasn’t in his quarters, waiting for him…he could find no answers that would explain those gaps. Ba’al did his best to keep his face from revealing his sudden disquiet. "I will return in a few minutes. What I must do won’t take long."

"And what’s that?" No matter how much he tried to deny it, Casey knew she’d put enough doubt in the clone’s mind to make him act with predictable arrogance. He would kill Daniel, and take her by force as his Consort. So far, so good, she thought. Crossing her fingers mentally that she hadn’t just jinxed the entire mission.

For one second, Casey’s heart stopped beating…the words, though expected…were still unnerving. Then she smiled. "Right. Don’t be surprised if he’s not where you had the Jaffa put him."

Ba’al studied the slender blonde. She was far too calm. Too convinced that she and her husband would be free. Within an hour, she’d said. He frowned. Something was wrong. Always before she was defiant. Stubborn. Determined to fight against him, no matter what he asked or demanded of her. Where were was the anger she always threw at him? The denial of his control over her…insisting that her husband and teammates would free her. In a flash, it came to him. Casey and Jackson hadn’t arrived alone. The rest of SG-1 is somewhere on my ship! Three long steps had him beside the loveseat. He grabbed her arm, and yanked her to her feet. "Whatever your plans were, you will not succeed!" he hissed.

Dragging her toward the door, he glanced at the lo’taur. "Go, do as I told you! Get everything prepared! Casey will be ready for your attention as soon as we return."

"Don’t bother," Casey hurled over her shoulder at the lo’taur. Ba’al pulled her closer as she continued to fight him.

Struggling, worried that that famous SG-1 bad luck was about to kick in, Casey tried to wrench her arm free. Ba’al tightened his grasp. The two struggled back and forth across the room, knocking over a chair and upending a table. She stumbled against another chair, taking him to the floor with her. Although she continued to fight, he regained his feet, pulling her to hers. She managed to hit him, her fist connecting with his jaw with enough force to make him lose his grip on her, and fall against the wall, pulling down one of the silk coverings. She dove toward the bed, determined to find the knife she knew he had hidden there…

With a growl, Ba’al lunged at the seer, grabbing her around the waist. She flipped to her back so quickly he lost his grip on her…he was reaching for her again when her leg came up and her boot landed in the middle of his chest. He fell sideways on the bed, gasping for breath. Her hands were moving toward the pillows, where he kept one of his knives…he rose up on his knees and fell on top of her, wrapping his hands around her slender wrists. She struggled against him, pulling one hand free. Before she could hit him a second time, he slapped her, letting her fall back against the mattress.

Without conscious thought, Casey rolled to the floor, crawled toward the door to the bathroom. Screamed with frustration when his hands wrapped around her ankles. She kicked at him, but wasn’t able to break free. Whether he believed she was subdued or he was just stupid, she wasn’t sure, but the moment he let go of one leg to reach for her arm, she brought that foot up and kicked him in the side of the head.

A roar of rage filled the air. She’d managed to get to her feet, and Ba’al jumped to his. Again he slapped her, this time with more force, the impact dropping her to the floor. She wiped a hand across her mouth, thankful that there was no blood. If Daniel saw blood on her, there would be no way to stop him from killing Ba’al. She kicked Ba’al in the shin. Her steel-toed, military issue boots made him howl with pain. He dropped to the floor, one hand rubbing his leg. She was attempting to crawl away from him when his hand closed around her arm like a vise. When she attempted to kick him again, he let her go and moved away. She sat on her knees, panting slightly. He rolled to his side, breathing heavily as well. He tried to rise, she kicked his feet out from under him…then managed to maneuver out of his reach.

Ba’al managed to stand up; he reached down and grabbed her arm again, jerking her to her feet. "Enough!" he bellowed.

Casey glared at him, attempting to free herself from his grasp. "Enough? I’m just getting started!"

He shook her roughly. "I am your god!" he roared. "You will obey me!"

Startled…and just a bit worried…Casey stared at the Goa’uld for a moment, noting the glow of anger in his eyes. She increased her efforts, trying to put enough space between them to use the mastaba that Teal’c had taught her. She was starting to tire, her breathing becoming labored. Ba’al was certainly proving to be stronger than she! She re-doubled her attempt to break free of his grasp…planted her boots in the carpet that covered the floor…which forced him to stop when her body came to an abrupt halt.

He yanked her arm, nearly pulling her off her feet. He reached out with his other hand and grabbed the front of her shirt. Another jerk, and she was standing beside him. He wrapped on arm roughly…and tightly…around her shoulders. Dragging her along, Ba’al made his way to the door. As soon as he was close enough, he slammed his fist against the control. The door slid open. He gasped when he was greeted with the sight of Daniel Jackson and the shol’va standing there. Before he could move, or make a sound, a fist impacted on his face, driving him backwards. Pain exploded in his head, and he cried out.

"Hey, Gorgeous," Daniel said, reaching for Ba’al’s collar.

"Hey, Handsome," Casey replied, her relief to see him shining in her green eyes.

Snatching the Goa’uld upright, Daniel hit Ba’al again. He was about to hit him a third time. Stopped only because Jack’s hand wrapped around his arm.

"We need him to go out there and stir the hornet’s nest," Jack said calmly. "Don’t have time for him to be tossed into the sarcophagus."

With a nod of understanding, Daniel let go. Watched with indifference as the Goa’uld slumped to the floor, blood pouring from what was most probably a broken nose.

The lo’taur, who had witnessed the entire event and had been shocked into silence, suddenly gave a cry of alarm, then began to wail.

"Keep quiet," Casey snapped. "We don’t have time for hysterics."

Trained to obey without hesitation or question, the woman immediately went silent.

"I’d break you out of here, if I could," Casey continued wistfully. She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and shook her head dolefully. "Right now that just isn’t an option."

The lo’taur stared at the woman. As soon as she’d seen the blonde, she’d realized Ba’al had chosen her because her light hair and green eyes, not because he desired her. A substitute…she had been nothing more than a feeble substitute for this woman. Taking a breath, she saw the sorrow that was visible on the woman’s face. She sensed the sadness in the woman’s voice. That the woman would even offer to free her was a surprise…and changed in that moment the way that she viewed these strangers, these ‘enemies’ of her ‘god’. "You must hide now, if you are to remain free," the lo’taur whispered.

Casey gave a wan smile, nodded her head.

"C’mon, Angel, we gotta go." Daniel held his hand out. Gripped her fingers tightly when Casey wrapped her hand around his.

"Let’s go kids," Jack said. "Teal’c can you lock this door from the outside?"

"It can be done, but with his hand device, and the attached armband, Ba’al can simply call his Jaffa," Teal’c replied.

"Well, that’s easy enough to fix," Jack grinned. He reached down and roughly pulled the device from Ba’al’s hand, leaving a scratch on the Goa’uld’s arm when he worked the wide, gold band free. He noted that the Goa’uld was apparently in too much pain to struggle against him. He handed the devices to his gizmo expert. "The lab rats would have fun with these, don’tcha think?"

Sam grinned. "I’m sure they would." She stuffed the devices into her thigh pockets.

The sound of Jaffa running toward the room had five hearts pounding with fear. "Let’s go!" Jack barked the order, pushing Sam and Casey into the corridor. He and Daniel were immediately behind the two blondes.

Teal’c barely took enough time to activate the lock, his long legs helping him close the distance between himself and his teammates. They were barely within the safety of the shaft when a squad of Jaffa stopped outside the chamber of their god. Teal’c peeked through the grate, smiled grimly as the Jaffa worked frantically to unlock the door. He slid backward, his foot coming into contact with Daniel’s…the archaeologist had dove into the shaft directly behind his wife. As always, at the first cross shaft, he’d be able to turn around.

Sliding into an adjacent ventilation shaft, the five took a few moments to catch their breath. Jack put Casey in the lead, she knew her way around the ship. He tapped her foot, then pointed forward.

With a nod, the seer took a moment to visualize her position. They needed a computer console, one connected to the main controls of the ship. She knew where to find them, but wasn’t completely certain they would find a room that was empty. Of course, with all the alarms going off, there was the chance that any Goa’uld who had been working in any of the labs were wandering the corridors trying to find out what was happening. Which was, she thought with a silent giggle, another ‘Goa’uld ship constant’ they were counting on. Those Goa’uld would hear the stories told by the Jaffa who had been on the pel’tak when she and Daniel had so casually strolled in, and told Ba’al he was a clone. It didn’t matter if those Goa’uld believed Ba’al was clone or not…the chance that he could be would send them scurrying to other Goa’uld who paid handsomely to hear such rumors.

Moving slowly – the alarms that had begun blaring as soon as the Jaffa had located their wounded ‘god’ echoing loudly in the confines of the shaft – the team made their way toward their goal. Inch by inch, minute by minute…never doubting for a second that they would once again pull off a miracle. Fifteen minutes later, Casey peered through a vent into a dark room. No one in sight…that was good. She carefully dropped to the floor. Jack followed, then Sam, then Daniel, and finally Teal’c.

"Okay," Jack whispered. "Where are we?" 

"One of the labs," Casey whispered in reply pointing at the far wall.

"Computer consoles," Daniel mused. He smiled when his Wife grinned triumphantly at him.

The plan had been to use the Asgard information to disrupt the shields to beam to the ship, and after delivering their message to Ba’al, find a computer console. Sam would contact the Odyssey, the transporter tech would activate the program, and they’d beam back to their own ship. Sure would be nice if those beaming things had the same communication abilities that the Asgard’s little gizmos have. Jack heaved a silent sigh. The plan had sounded good, there in the briefing room.. Let’s see if reality will match. He turned to Sam. "Ready to get that message sent?"

Before she could respond to the question, she and her teammates were hurled to the floor.

"Hyperdrive," Teal’c hissed, pulling himself to his feet. He hadn’t felt the change in the ship that always preceded the ship moving into hyperdrive. No doubt the fact that they had been crawling through the ventilation shaft prevented him from sensing the minute change in the momentum of the ship.

"Peachy," Jack muttered, pushing himself to his feet.

"Now what?" Sam asked worriedly as she stood up. "It won’t do any good to send a message now. Especially since we have no way of knowing what our destination is."

"We find another way off this thing," Jack said.

"If there’s a Stargate in the hold, we can use it," Daniel pointed out. On his feet, he pulled his Wife – who was also standing once again – into his arms.

Sam nodded. "Is this the ship you were on when Ba’al tried to take over Earth?"

Casey shook her head. "It’s almost identical, but the pel’tak was different. Ba’al’s throne was farther back in this pel’tak."

"Shit," Daniel swore. "Then there’s not going to be a Stargate on this ship."

"We have to do something, staying here is not an option," Jack pointed out.

"There should be at least one tel’tak onboard," Teal’c informed the group. "If we can get to the hanger bay, we can yet escape. If there are is not a tel’tak, we will take gliders."

Jack nodded. "Good idea. Sam and I can pilot a glider, as long as we don’t have to do a lot of fancy flying. Daniel and Casey will ride second seat with us. You can take one of those fast gliders…we’ll depend on you to keep our butts covered."

Teal’c nodded his agreement.

Turning his attention to Casey, Jack put his hand on the seer’s shoulder. "Can you get us there through the shafts?"

She pulled her lip between her teeth. "I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I can get us to the storage bays. The slave quarters are below that level; I don’t know that level, or the hanger level below it."

"Get us as far as you can, and we’ll figure out how to get all the way," Jack told her.

With a nod, Casey hurried back to the shaft. The vent was almost five feet off the floor. Daniel lifted her up, then helped Jack reach the vent. He climbed in, with Teal’c’s help.

Teal’c made certain Sam was safely in the vent. Replacing the vent itself wasn’t going to be an option. The Jaffa glanced around the room. It was difficult to see…the only light in the room came from the computer console…and only half a dozen symbols were lit. He grinned when he saw a ladder and a toolbox. He carefully moved the ladder, putting it just beside the vent. He put the toolbox in the vent itself. It meant having to climb over it as he used the ladder to reach the vent, but it would make any Jaffa checking the room ignore the fact that the vent cover had been removed. They would assume that a ha’he had been working there.

Downward they climbed, knowing that their only escape would be through a Stargate or with a scout ship. All of them were pushing down the fear that this mission could suddenly go fubar in a very bad, very permanent way.

On the Odyssey, Lieutenant Colonel Rebecca Simpson watched in horror as the Goa’uld ship that had been hanging in space just in front of her cloaked ship suddenly began to move, and then jumped to hyperspace. "Can we follow them?" she asked, damning her voice for shaking so.

"We can try," young Lieutenant David Grogan replied. He was already trying to establish a pattern in the residual ‘exhaust’ the pyramid ship had left.

"Let the SGC know that the Goa’uld ship has just fled the vicinity, with SG-1 on board," Meyers ordered.

"Yes, ma’am," the communications tech replied. "SGC, this is Odyssey." The young woman glanced over her shoulder. "Two minutes until response."

The commander nodded. "What about that ship? Can we follow it?"

"I have a possible heading," Grogan announced.

"Let’s go!" Meyers demanded.

"Setting course now," Grogan replied.

"Course set," the young helmsman reported.

"I want hyperdrive ten minutes ago," Meyers said.

"Hyperdrive ready in ten seconds," Grogan replied. "Nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… hyperdrive engaged.

The view out the windows at the front of the bridge changed from inky black to ribbons of blue, red, and yellow.

"SGC acknowledges," the communications tech announced.

"Give them the rundown. Tell them we’re in pursuit," Meyers said.

With a nod, the communications tech began the message. "SGC, be advised that enemy ship has jumped to hyperdrive. SG-1 still on board. Odyssey is in pursuit."

Standing behind Walter in the SGC control room, General Hammond ran a hand over his face. The message from the Odyssey seemed to echo in the room. "Tell them to keep us advised," the general said.

"Yes, sir." Walter entered the code that would send a message directly to the spaceship that was thousands of light-years away from home. ‘Odyssey, message received. Keep SGC advised."

"How long until we get their reply?" Hammond asked.

"Well, sir, if they’re in pursuit, they’ve probably entered hyperdrive as well. It could be anywhere from three minutes to thirty minutes, depending on how far away from us they are now," Walter replied.

With a weary nod, Hammond put a hand on the Staff Sergeant’s shoulder. "Let me know when you hear anything."

"Yes, sir." Walter watched as the general climbed the stairs that lead to the conference room, and the OIC’s office just beyond. As usual, SG-1 had gotten themselves into trouble. The bespectacled man couldn’t help but frown. He wondered just how the team would get out of this mess. There was never a doubt that they would do so. SG-1 had a reputation. No matter what happened to them, SG-1 always returned. Sometimes a bit worse for the wear, but all home safe and sound. The wait until they were home, however, was always difficult…for everyone in the mountain.

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