A Most Successful Treasure Hunt (PG-13)
This is for campylobacter, in the hope it lightens her day a little. Take care, Campy. :)
Pre-series Vala, trying to find enough trinkets to keep going. Includes spoilers for her backstory. 1,730 words. Rated PG-13 for references to certain Goa'uld habits.
A Most Successful Treasure Hunt
Vala ducked under the low overhang of the cave mouth, eyes opening wide to adjust to the sudden dimness. The cave floor was rough and littered with the detritus of some small animal's abandoned lair: twigs, mud, droppings, gnawed and broken bones, tufts of fur. It seemed bizarre to suppose that somewhere inside, she would find a treasure worth seeking. But when she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could feel that niggling, irritating itch that thrummed in her blood and warned her that naquadah was somewhere ahead.
Part of her hated that uncanny knowledge, an unwanted and unseen scar that Qetesh had left behind. Another part -- the ruthlessly pragmatic part, she sometimes thought -- was determined to wrest every last advantage she could out of her ordeal. She'd paid for the ability to sense naquadah with the loss of her self, her soul, her past. She might as well get at least some of what she'd purchased against her will.
And something valuable right now would come in handy, whispered yet another tired and feverish part of her psyche. All her efforts to keep her shoulder wound clean hadn't stopped the onset of infection. If she couldn't find some way to purchase expert treatment, she'd have no choice but to break into the medical stores of the nearest town and hope she could figure out exactly what she needed on her own. She didn't mind a little breaking and entering, especially since the locals were exactly the same type of people who had stoned her and wounded her in the first place. But her own medical knowledge was scanty, and she couldn't be sure of choosing the right supplies. Better to have goods to exchange for professional healing.
Rummaging through the abandoned nest of rotting twigs and straw, she extracted a few pieces of wood that would serve her purpose. From the pouch tied to her waist, she removed a piece of obsidian and a small steel knife that she'd casually filched from a local farmyard. With a guilty yet wistful longing for the steady, undying lights of Qetesh's hatak and palace, Vala quickly raised enough sparks to ignite her makeshift torch. She paused only long enough to close her eyes and reorient herself to the pull of naquadah, then set off along the right-most tunnel.
The uneven floor made walking difficult, and she winced as she jarred her infected shoulder. Maybe coming to this relatively primitive planet had been a mistake; she needed higher tech and more sophisticated methods to get the treatment she needed. Yet she couldn't regret the decision to avoid the more advanced planets for the time being. Even if most advanced planets were currently Goa'uld-free, the natives were usually all too familiar with the Goa'uld and wary of anything and anyone that might be associated with them. All it would take would be one -- just one! -- person to recognize her as the former Qetesh, and she'd be running for her life all over again. She needed time to breathe, to regroup.
And she needed to find some way to get better, quickly. Qetesh had spoiled her in that regard, she thought bitterly. Compared to the stinking snake's effortless facility to keep her body balanced and well, her own capacity to heal was maddeningly slow.
She would've missed her prize if it weren't for her ability to feel the presence of naquadah. As it was, she actually walked past the small heap of stones and dirt before her senses demanded a halt. Dropping to her knees, she jammed the smoky torch into a crack in the wall and began the painstaking task of carefully moving the rocks to discover what lay beneath them.
At first, she was disappointed when she found only a broken staff weapon and a battered box of some metal, surpisingly heavy for its size. The staff weapon's naquadah power source was still intact; that must've been what she sensed. She supposed she could keep the little bulb of naquadah and sell it on a more advanced planet, but it wouldn't get her much. To be frank, she was surprised that she'd sensed such a small amount of naquadah from so far away. It barely seemed worth it.
Snapping the staff weapon open, she tucked the naquadah bulb into her pouch. She almost left the metal box behind, but decided at the last moment that it was worth examining by daylight. With a little sigh of resignation, she retraced her steps towards the open air.
She found her way back to her small campsite and settled, cross legged, in front of the small stack of kindling that she planned to light against the encroaching chill of the evening. Curiously, she turned the box over and over in her hands. In the better light of the bright afternoon, she could now see intricate carvings along the box and a flat, greenish gem set in its cover. A clear seam ran along the box's edge, but it was locked, without any sign of a keyhole. And, she realized with a quickening heart, it was also emitting a definite naquadah signal -- much stronger than the tiny bulb of naquadah she'd secreted away. It was this that she'd sensed. But was it the box itself, or its contents?
She examined the green gem more closely. It couldn't be depressed. Perhaps it needed some kind of trigger to open, like those stone-like Goa'uld tablets that needed screen-turners to advance? Or, perhaps...
Holding her breath, Vala palmed the green gem, noting how smoothly it fit into the curve of her hand. It didn't open immediately, but then, Vala's own level of naquadah was currently much less than an actual host's. She waited patiently, allowing it to warm to her hand, almost willing the naquadah traces in her body to migrate to her palm and trigger the --
There was an almost inaudible snick, and the lid lifted.
Vala stared at the strange object nestled inside. She'd never seen anything like it before. A round, dimpled red gem was framed in a curved setting of dull but chiseled gold, sweeping around in elegant curves. She lifted it cautiously out of the box and saw that the gold setting extended beneath the gem as well, curving inwards to form an oval loop. It was the wrong shape to be worn on the wrist, but it might just slip over the fingers to rest on the palm of the hand.
What was it?
Qetesh had never used anything like this. Vala didn't recognize it. And yet, and yet...
Vala closed her fingers over the strange device and let her eyes fall shut, trying to remember.
Qetesh and Bastet, stalking around one another with haughty sneers and hungry eyes. Qetesh inwardly mocking Bastet's penchant for leather and spikes, even as she dropped poisonously sweet compliments of transparent insincerity from Vala's tongue.
They'd been discussing certain favorite pastimes and the inevitable damage done to the slaves involved. Qetesh had never bothered fixing her favorite toys when she broke them; she merely found another human to satisfy her. Bastet preferred keeping her pets so that she needn't be bothered with training new ones.
"But such a bother to heal them, Bastet," Qetesh had purred. "Unless, of course, you're finding it hard to find new playthings."
"Not at all," Bastet had snapped back, her fist tangling a little more tightly in the long, blond hair of the lo'tar kneeling at her side. "Pain and pleasure, Qetesh darling. Hurt them, then heal them. The results are marvelous."
"No human slave will sully my sarcophagus," Qetesh had declared. "Perhaps you're a little less fastidious."
"My sacophagus is mine alone," Bastet had said haughtily. "The k'haz al'sh'fa serves me well enough." The dark eyes glowed with sudden, gleeful maliciousness. "Oh, of course, I'd forgotten. You never learned to use one, did you...?"
Vala opened her eyes and stared down at the thing in her hand. "K'haz al'sh'fa," she said aloud. "A device that heals."
She swallowed hard against her sudden surge of hope. Could she use this device to heal herself?
Qetesh had never mastered it.
The thought of taking Qetesh's bitter legacy -- the ability to manipulate naquadah, even after the snake was gone -- and using it do something that Qetesh couldn't had her lips curving into a delighted, vindictive smile. Without another moment's hesitation, she slipped the device over her fingers and allowed the red gem to lie directly over her palm. Then she concentrated, willing the k'haz al'sh'fa to activate.
At first, nothing happened. Vala tried harder, focusing all her anger and hate at Qetesh's invasion at the device. She'd always managed to activate naquadah-based technology with the focus of her emotions before. After a while, though, she wondered if a device designed to heal might need a different kind of emotional concentration. She shifted instead to her longing desire to stop hurting and tried again.
This time, she felt a warmth pulse through her hand as the red gem suddenly hummed to life. Hastily, she brought her right hand up to focus on her left shoulder, almost sagging with relief as energy poured out of the gem and into her injured tissue, bathing it in a pulsing glow that eradicated infection and left healthy, pink skin behind.
It was only when she lowered the device, satisfied that her shoulder was back to normal, that she realized she was trembling with exhaustion. Of course -- she'd used her own energy to heal herself. Now she was paying the price.
Swaying a little, she lit her small campfire before fumbling into her blankets and curling up next to the comforting warmth of the crackling flames. She remembered just in time to activate the tiny perimeter sensor that she'd brought with her to the planet, setting it directly next to her ear so she could be sure of waking in case of an emergency. Then, with a weary yet triumphant sigh, she closed her eyes.
"Beat you this time, Qetesh," she mumbled aloud.
This had been a most satisfying treasure hunt, she decided as her limbs grew heavier. Now she was well again, and in possession of a healing device that would not only keep her healthy, but might prove very useful in future cons. A good day, she decided happily, and drifted off to sleep.
Pre-series Vala, trying to find enough trinkets to keep going. Includes spoilers for her backstory. 1,730 words. Rated PG-13 for references to certain Goa'uld habits.
A Most Successful Treasure Hunt
Vala ducked under the low overhang of the cave mouth, eyes opening wide to adjust to the sudden dimness. The cave floor was rough and littered with the detritus of some small animal's abandoned lair: twigs, mud, droppings, gnawed and broken bones, tufts of fur. It seemed bizarre to suppose that somewhere inside, she would find a treasure worth seeking. But when she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could feel that niggling, irritating itch that thrummed in her blood and warned her that naquadah was somewhere ahead.
Part of her hated that uncanny knowledge, an unwanted and unseen scar that Qetesh had left behind. Another part -- the ruthlessly pragmatic part, she sometimes thought -- was determined to wrest every last advantage she could out of her ordeal. She'd paid for the ability to sense naquadah with the loss of her self, her soul, her past. She might as well get at least some of what she'd purchased against her will.
And something valuable right now would come in handy, whispered yet another tired and feverish part of her psyche. All her efforts to keep her shoulder wound clean hadn't stopped the onset of infection. If she couldn't find some way to purchase expert treatment, she'd have no choice but to break into the medical stores of the nearest town and hope she could figure out exactly what she needed on her own. She didn't mind a little breaking and entering, especially since the locals were exactly the same type of people who had stoned her and wounded her in the first place. But her own medical knowledge was scanty, and she couldn't be sure of choosing the right supplies. Better to have goods to exchange for professional healing.
Rummaging through the abandoned nest of rotting twigs and straw, she extracted a few pieces of wood that would serve her purpose. From the pouch tied to her waist, she removed a piece of obsidian and a small steel knife that she'd casually filched from a local farmyard. With a guilty yet wistful longing for the steady, undying lights of Qetesh's hatak and palace, Vala quickly raised enough sparks to ignite her makeshift torch. She paused only long enough to close her eyes and reorient herself to the pull of naquadah, then set off along the right-most tunnel.
The uneven floor made walking difficult, and she winced as she jarred her infected shoulder. Maybe coming to this relatively primitive planet had been a mistake; she needed higher tech and more sophisticated methods to get the treatment she needed. Yet she couldn't regret the decision to avoid the more advanced planets for the time being. Even if most advanced planets were currently Goa'uld-free, the natives were usually all too familiar with the Goa'uld and wary of anything and anyone that might be associated with them. All it would take would be one -- just one! -- person to recognize her as the former Qetesh, and she'd be running for her life all over again. She needed time to breathe, to regroup.
And she needed to find some way to get better, quickly. Qetesh had spoiled her in that regard, she thought bitterly. Compared to the stinking snake's effortless facility to keep her body balanced and well, her own capacity to heal was maddeningly slow.
She would've missed her prize if it weren't for her ability to feel the presence of naquadah. As it was, she actually walked past the small heap of stones and dirt before her senses demanded a halt. Dropping to her knees, she jammed the smoky torch into a crack in the wall and began the painstaking task of carefully moving the rocks to discover what lay beneath them.
At first, she was disappointed when she found only a broken staff weapon and a battered box of some metal, surpisingly heavy for its size. The staff weapon's naquadah power source was still intact; that must've been what she sensed. She supposed she could keep the little bulb of naquadah and sell it on a more advanced planet, but it wouldn't get her much. To be frank, she was surprised that she'd sensed such a small amount of naquadah from so far away. It barely seemed worth it.
Snapping the staff weapon open, she tucked the naquadah bulb into her pouch. She almost left the metal box behind, but decided at the last moment that it was worth examining by daylight. With a little sigh of resignation, she retraced her steps towards the open air.
She found her way back to her small campsite and settled, cross legged, in front of the small stack of kindling that she planned to light against the encroaching chill of the evening. Curiously, she turned the box over and over in her hands. In the better light of the bright afternoon, she could now see intricate carvings along the box and a flat, greenish gem set in its cover. A clear seam ran along the box's edge, but it was locked, without any sign of a keyhole. And, she realized with a quickening heart, it was also emitting a definite naquadah signal -- much stronger than the tiny bulb of naquadah she'd secreted away. It was this that she'd sensed. But was it the box itself, or its contents?
She examined the green gem more closely. It couldn't be depressed. Perhaps it needed some kind of trigger to open, like those stone-like Goa'uld tablets that needed screen-turners to advance? Or, perhaps...
Holding her breath, Vala palmed the green gem, noting how smoothly it fit into the curve of her hand. It didn't open immediately, but then, Vala's own level of naquadah was currently much less than an actual host's. She waited patiently, allowing it to warm to her hand, almost willing the naquadah traces in her body to migrate to her palm and trigger the --
There was an almost inaudible snick, and the lid lifted.
Vala stared at the strange object nestled inside. She'd never seen anything like it before. A round, dimpled red gem was framed in a curved setting of dull but chiseled gold, sweeping around in elegant curves. She lifted it cautiously out of the box and saw that the gold setting extended beneath the gem as well, curving inwards to form an oval loop. It was the wrong shape to be worn on the wrist, but it might just slip over the fingers to rest on the palm of the hand.
What was it?
Qetesh had never used anything like this. Vala didn't recognize it. And yet, and yet...
Vala closed her fingers over the strange device and let her eyes fall shut, trying to remember.
Qetesh and Bastet, stalking around one another with haughty sneers and hungry eyes. Qetesh inwardly mocking Bastet's penchant for leather and spikes, even as she dropped poisonously sweet compliments of transparent insincerity from Vala's tongue.
They'd been discussing certain favorite pastimes and the inevitable damage done to the slaves involved. Qetesh had never bothered fixing her favorite toys when she broke them; she merely found another human to satisfy her. Bastet preferred keeping her pets so that she needn't be bothered with training new ones.
"But such a bother to heal them, Bastet," Qetesh had purred. "Unless, of course, you're finding it hard to find new playthings."
"Not at all," Bastet had snapped back, her fist tangling a little more tightly in the long, blond hair of the lo'tar kneeling at her side. "Pain and pleasure, Qetesh darling. Hurt them, then heal them. The results are marvelous."
"No human slave will sully my sarcophagus," Qetesh had declared. "Perhaps you're a little less fastidious."
"My sacophagus is mine alone," Bastet had said haughtily. "The k'haz al'sh'fa serves me well enough." The dark eyes glowed with sudden, gleeful maliciousness. "Oh, of course, I'd forgotten. You never learned to use one, did you...?"
Vala opened her eyes and stared down at the thing in her hand. "K'haz al'sh'fa," she said aloud. "A device that heals."
She swallowed hard against her sudden surge of hope. Could she use this device to heal herself?
Qetesh had never mastered it.
The thought of taking Qetesh's bitter legacy -- the ability to manipulate naquadah, even after the snake was gone -- and using it do something that Qetesh couldn't had her lips curving into a delighted, vindictive smile. Without another moment's hesitation, she slipped the device over her fingers and allowed the red gem to lie directly over her palm. Then she concentrated, willing the k'haz al'sh'fa to activate.
At first, nothing happened. Vala tried harder, focusing all her anger and hate at Qetesh's invasion at the device. She'd always managed to activate naquadah-based technology with the focus of her emotions before. After a while, though, she wondered if a device designed to heal might need a different kind of emotional concentration. She shifted instead to her longing desire to stop hurting and tried again.
This time, she felt a warmth pulse through her hand as the red gem suddenly hummed to life. Hastily, she brought her right hand up to focus on her left shoulder, almost sagging with relief as energy poured out of the gem and into her injured tissue, bathing it in a pulsing glow that eradicated infection and left healthy, pink skin behind.
It was only when she lowered the device, satisfied that her shoulder was back to normal, that she realized she was trembling with exhaustion. Of course -- she'd used her own energy to heal herself. Now she was paying the price.
Swaying a little, she lit her small campfire before fumbling into her blankets and curling up next to the comforting warmth of the crackling flames. She remembered just in time to activate the tiny perimeter sensor that she'd brought with her to the planet, setting it directly next to her ear so she could be sure of waking in case of an emergency. Then, with a weary yet triumphant sigh, she closed her eyes.
"Beat you this time, Qetesh," she mumbled aloud.
This had been a most satisfying treasure hunt, she decided as her limbs grew heavier. Now she was well again, and in possession of a healing device that would not only keep her healthy, but might prove very useful in future cons. A good day, she decided happily, and drifted off to sleep.