Disclaimer: Highlander: the Series belongs to Gauamont, Panzer/Davis Productions and its respective producers and creators. Stargate SG-1 as well as the characters belong to Geko, Renaissance Pictures and do not belong to me.
Highlander: the Series belongs to Gauamont, Panzer/Davis Productions and its respective producers and creators. Stargate SG-1 as well as the characters belong to Geko, Renaissance Pictures and do not belong to me.


"Birds of a Feather" by Karen


The Mile High City is aptly named, Amanda thinks gazing out of the window of the DC-1o as it hovered in a holding pattern above the airport waiting its turn to land at the busy terminal. From her vantage point Amanda can see the lights of sky scrappers, traffic on the highways, and the residences all coated with a thin blanket of new fallen snow. Nice, but she had more pressing concerns on her mind, like not being late for her appointment.

Amanda tore her gaze away from the landscape to glance down at the gleaming readout of her digital wrist watch, steadily tapping a lacquered and manicured fingernail on the surface of the watch; pointedly ignoring the annoyed glare of the businessman in the seat beside her. If this waiting kept up for much longer and the plane did not land soon she would be late for her appointment.

Speaking of which, she thought, in a back corner of her mind, the man who had contacted her while she'd been enjoying a vacation in Eastern Europe, had been very insistent on promptness. In fact, he had been all but twitchy about it. The details had been sketchy from what he'd said, and the fact he'd gone to all that trouble to track her down and gush about her skills as a thief had intrigued her enough to book the flight and make the journey back to the United States.

She figured she would get more information once she they met face to face. She tried to put a face to the name on the letter and documents she had read. All she had to gone on was the name he had provided: Colonel Maybourne, Air Force, and a career military officer.

The exact nature of his department again sketchy, demanding, and a little on the paranoid side if he needed help from a thief. Of course Amanda had never thought of herself as ordinary cut purse, run of the mill thief; she was a professional and the kind that enjoyed a good adventure not without a certain amount of risk involved.
The final mental picture she came up with for the man was a swallow pinched face, older man, with a slightly receding hairline and blue eyes. It would be interesting to see if her mental picture matched that of the man once they finally met face to face.


She was relieved at finally being on the ground and away from the airport with minutes to spare before she was due to make her appointment. The frustration came officials at the customs security desk asking irritating questions about several items in her checked luggage; namely the ones with pointy ends, like her swords and her lockpicks: "I do hope this entire trip wasn't a goose chase."

Amanda wheeled her luggage onto the street curb the heels of her designer leather boots leaving small snail-shaped tracks in the snow; the air crisp, clean and not cold enough to make her shiver through the insulated lining of her duster coat after experiencing the chill of Moscow.

She crossed the street at the change in the traffic light along with other pedestrians and bicycle riders, trying to recall the details of the directions to the small café she'd been directed to head towards upon her arrival in Denver.


"Whistle Stop Café, that was it." Amanda muttered aloud.

Several wrong turns later and a six blocks to the east she found the café and realized she still had time to spare. Settling into one of the outdoor patio tables Amanda ordered a black coffee and was perusing the café's menu when the man who'd gone to all that effort of tracking her down and making contact finally decided to show up.

The flesh and blood individual almost but not quite matched up with the mental picture that she had formed of him on the plane. For one thing he wore civilian garb, pleated twill slacks, a dress shirt, and a silk tie. For Amanda's expensive standards, it was okay, either he didn't know any better or couldn't afford on a military man's salary.

"Amanda?"

"Colonel Maybourne, I presume?"

He nodded and sat down in the seat facing her, elbows resting on the table's surface. "What did you order?"

"Black coffee," Amanda shrugged, "I've flown several thousand miles on let's face it, very sketchy but intriguing information, and I'm not in the mood to pussy foot around."

"Did anyone ever tell you, you can be very demanding?"

"Yeah, but it gets results."

"I will grant you that." Maybourne glanced at the café and the people walking by and driving along the streets that paralleled the café's location, seemingly ill at ease and not certain how he wanted to conduct the meeting now that were actually face to face. A nervous twinge in the muscles of his left cheekbone stirred, while Amanda waited for him to say something more.

The momentary awkwardness passed when the waiter came over with her coffee.

She grasped the handle of the cup and took a few sips.

"Let's get right to the point, you've got a job for me."

"Yes, but the question is, if you're the right person for it."

"The circumstances are delicate, and highly classified, and I'm not entirely certain anyone could pull off what I have in mind." Maybourne tilted his head to one side, thinking matters through. "After all, I do have certain procedures to observe."

"Don't tell me, your CIA, and if you tell me, then you will have to kill me." Amanda sighed.

"Don't joke about things like that. You never know who might be listening."

"If that's what got your knickers in a knot, hon." Amanda winked, "You might have chosen somewhere more private."

"It's come my attention that parties within or working in the Air Force have acquired an item of shall we say uncertain origin." Maybourne replied ingnoring her verbal sallies.

"Is it valuable?" Is it bigger than a breadbox?"

"Valuable enough to the right interested parties. Getting in, locating it, and getting out again is the hard part. That's why I scoured people with shall we say, talents."


"And certain loose moral fiber?"

"You're a thief and I want you steal something very valuable for me."

"I am a very professional thief and you still haven't told me what you want me to go after," Amanda demanded.

"A pair of bracelets."

"Jewelry?"

"Yes, but not ordinary jewelry rather it is a piece of very intriguing and valuable technology designed to look like jewelry."

"You got my attention. Go on."

"It's housed in an Air Force base approximately 30 minutes drive from where we're sitting and security is about as tight as it is humanly possible to make it.

"Not up to the challenge?" Maybourne asked.

"Not the problem I having with this task you want me to take on," Amanda replied.

"Then what’s the problem?"

"My payment."

"Money?

"Yes, what else is there, money and the challenge. " Amanda smiled.

"You got a taker, just be sure that I get my half of the fee, plus expenses. Half now, and have when the job's complete. Or no deal."

"You drive a hard bargain." Maybourne sighed, "but very well, you have a deal and the contract. I'll provide the necessary paperwork and supplemental information enclosed in an envelope. We'll get you to the facility, but from there you are on your own."

"Agreed." Amanda held out her and Maybourne after a moment of hesitation shook it to seal the deal.

Meanwhile at the Chyenne Mountain Daniel Jackson and the newest if reluctant addition to the SG-1 team are cooling their heels in the infirmary ward while the new CMO ran yet another innumerable blood test on their reactions to the Ancients bracelets.



Daniel kept insisting that the purpose of the device was to serve as some kind of communication tool. In the back corner of his mind Daniel did not want to admit that as annoying, bossy, and demanding as Vala was, and the fact the she seemed to drag a great deal of trouble around with her, whether of her own making or borrowed other's trouble. He was beginning to like, heaven forbid; actually enjoy her visits, and sometimes her intelligence and barbed wit. How much of that affection was returned on her part was difficult to say because she seemed to flirt and have equal fondness for another new addition to the team Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell as well, admittedly they had known each other longer, even prior to his assignment to the SG Command, Daniel gave himself a mental jumpstart, 'Face it, man, either it’s the green eyed monster of jealousy rearing its ugly head, or the connection caused by the bracelet's effect is beginning to have more of an effect on you than you're willing to admit.'

Vala hooked up to the doctor's machine dressed in a gray nondescript jumpsuit, glanced over at her fellow patient. She spared a glance down at the metal band encircling her wrist and that of Doctor Jackson and via the link she felt a backlash of his thoughts, and inwardly realized that persistence really did pay off sometimes.

She thought about everything they had been through because of a random mischance, that no one had been aware prior to placing them on their wrists, that at the moment that metal met flesh, that if two people wore them at the same time, a mental and possibly permanent link would be established.

To Vala's way of thinking that's a nice sentiment, in theory. However, in practice it's a bit wearisome not to mention a hindrance in conducting business and commerce, and for someone who’s business requires a certain amount of flexibility and mobilization, not to mention a nice, fast ship with a faster than light drive. So being tied down like this is very irritating. She wonders how he puts up with the fuss, and the hovering of the Tauri's medical professionals.

Meanwhile

Amanda's reaction to seeing just how tight security was around the mountain complex she'd been told to try and break into was shock quickly turning to anger. The word daunting came to mind, and imposing, but never the word impossible. With quite a bit of strenuous effort and the grappling hooks and harness she had been provided, one could feasibly climb to the summit and gain access to the entryway, then enter the security password, sneak pass the guards and get inside. All of course, assuming the information was accurate. That was an awful lot of if in that equation, Amanda muttered to himself, Still you knew the risks going and the were at least marginally acceptable. Look at the bright side, if you pull this off it will be the heist of the century; too bad it's classified. Boy, do I hate that word.

Amanda got out of the rental car, stuffed the road map into the glove compartment, and turned off the ignition before she opened the door and got out, taking a backpack of supplies and swinging around her shoulders.

She walked around for a bit trying to find an easier means by which to get inside the complex, trying to recall by memory if anything in the documents had included a ground level entrance, when it hit her. Right around the edge where the mountain's feet meet flush with the hard packed ground there was a paved track. One wouldn't know it was there unless you knew what to look for. Amanda whistled. "I guess the old boy was on the level after all. Go figure.

She sprinted forward, irritably brushing aside the clinging branches of trees and bushes that she feel by touch and smell in the falling darkness of early twilight in the mountains. Getting closer she realized that the entrance was also heavily guarded and lit by strobe lights; armed guards in military uniform paced up and down the length of the entrance.

Amanda cursed and ducked behind a thick tree trunk. Gauging her moment to emerge from concealment and dart inside the entrance. When the moment came she was almost a fraction of a second too late, and the metal implements in the backpack rattled just loud to almost give away her presence.

Amanda glanced around, taking the measure of the place, except for a few exceptions here and there, the place appeared uniformly spartan, the same metal walls, floors, and tunnels running in north to south directions. A few electronic panels set flush into the wall, along the overhead lighting to provide a little illumination. Good thing I have a map. I wonder what the hell I've gotten myself into this time."

While she'd been wool gathering a military security detail passed by. They were escorting a woman wearing a full-length gray jumpsuit with long dark hair with a distinctive white streak running through the middle tied up in a bun. The severe style suited her narrow features.
While she'd been wool gathering a military security detail passed by. They were escorting a woman wearing a full-length gray jumpsuit with long dark hair with a distinctive white streak running through the middle tied up in a bun. The severe style suited her narrow features.

A chance glimpse and a turn of her head, Amanda felt a jolt of recognition pass through her nerve endings. It wasn't the same sensation she experienced upon encountering another of her kind, Immortals, but it more visceral than that.

"Who the hell is this woman?" Amanda muttered under her breath.

Vala stopped walking, tugging on Daniel Jacskon's arm when she felt that passing jolt of sudden recognition pass by and through her. "I think we have a visitor," Lt. Colonel Mitchell, " she said, pointing directly at the nook in which Amanda crouched.

"Come on out here and identify yourself," the younger man addressed as Mitchell demanded.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Daniel asked.


"Direct, to the point. I guess I like that." Amanda replied, coming out to where she could be clearly seen. "I'm a hiker and I got lost."

"Not going to fly, lady," Mitchell said. "You're obviously an intruder. So we'll give you two choices, come quietly or we do this the hard way."

"Nice, we you stop to think about. I think I'll choice door number one."

"Vala, do you know this woman?" Daniel asked, noticing the measuring look in the other woman's eyes.

"No. But I have heard of her before." Her name is Amanda Devariux and she's trouble."

"Well there's an endorsement in itself," Daniel remarked.

"What are you babbling about?"

"You didn't know?"

"You got something to say to me, sister, then spit it out."

"Immortals," don't recognize a good deal even when it's shoved in their smug little faces. I know what you are, what your kind is."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just here to complete a contract, nothing more."

"That line might have fooled the others, "but let's just say I get out a bit more, and while I've been hanging out in the back corners of the galaxy I've picked up a few things."

"Like what?" Like the fact that you've been around for the last 5,000 years, give or take a decade, that you've got a long life-line, and you carry a very big sword around."

"All right," Amanda muttered. "For the sake of argument, we'll pretend you're not insane lunatic, and you know what you're talking about. How the hell do you even that much about Immortals?" It's not like its common knowledge."

"It's my business to know things nobody else does. Otherwise, I wouldn't stay in circulation as long as I have."

"Great, just damn great." So, you gonna rat me out and turn me over to the military boys?"

"Not so much."

"You're from outer space, give me a break!"

"I am, your progenitors, for lack of a better word as also from outer space?"

"No offense, but I think you're insane."

"Well, none taken," Vala replied, "But I won't be the one to make that final determination."

"Besides, I was feeling a bit of that envy of eternal existence, and something amusing was about to happen." She shrugged and added, "So I dropped by."

"Good of you to make the effort," Vala muttered. "It's not everyday one of the Ancients side experiments deigns to pay us a visit."

"I've got a proposition for you," Vala said. "You could stay and work with the SG-1 or you could come with on my next cargo run."

"Let me get this straight," Amanda gritted her teeth, "You'll only let me go free if I agree to play nice and work with you guys?"

"I like her," Mitchell said.

"You would," Daniel replied, shaking his head, it didn't take a genius to figure that Vala was trouble, and this just confirms that idea."

"So do I," Vala said, yanking on the tight bands that held her bun in place. "She reminds me of someone I am quite fond of," she shrugged. "Me."

"Great, that's all we need, two of you," Mitchell muttered.

"We'll have to clear this with the General. In the meantime we can't have her running around the base unsupervised.

"What am I, ten years old?" Amanda griped. "And I don't know the first thing about being in the military."

"More like 2,000, but who's counting? After all, it's a woman prerogative to lie about her age," Vala said.

"Don't rub it in, or I might not consider sticking around this nutty club," Amanda winked and rubbed her hands together. "So where do I start?"

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 is the property of Gekko Film Corporation, Glasner/Wright Productions, MGM studios, and its respective creators.

Highlander: the Series belongs to Panzer/Davis Productions as do the characters mentioned or who appear here; they are not mine. The story references events from season 7 onwards for SG-1 and picks up shortly after where the previous story "Birds of a Feather" left off.

Written for crossovers100 prompt #08 weeks


"Birds of Prey" by Karen


Just because Vala had vouched for the woman, Cameron Mitchell was not at all certain
that he would accept that at face value. After all, Vala herself had had to do a lot of work
and pay her dues before they would even consider taking her on as a member of the SG-1.

A point in her favor, the woman was trouble, or else she certainly had an unique knack for getting into trouble, and by extension, the others on the team by association.

Vala knew a lot more about the ancients and the outer fringes of the known galaxy than they did, and that was after almost six years of traveling from one of thousands of far-flung worlds and encountering hundreds of alien worlds; some hostile some not.

One thing that troubled Cameron more than anything else about Amanda Devarieux was the fact that Vala had implied, okay, let's be honest with ourselves, Cam, Vala had outright
declared that Amanda was not everything that she claimed to be.'

"I mean, the idea of people living forever, carrying around swords and chopping each other's heads off, just to obtain some elusive prize at the end of it all. I mean, damn it, that's just too bone-headed crazy to be believed."

"A point in her favor, she did say that Maybourne coerced her into breaking and entering into the base in order to steal something."

"Great, now we've got to former, somewhat reformed thieves on our side." Cameron Mitchell shook his head and continued to pace the length and breadth of his quarters.

"I mean, I for one, am all for adding more females to the team, but do they have to be so darn obnoxious most of the time." He cocked his head to one side, pausing his pacing momentarily as he thought over that last idea. "I can see them now, sitting together, laughing, doing that girl-talk thing that I always found so annoying back in college, and
probably plotting the next big heist."

Cameron suddenly realized in the midst of his pacing and griping that most of his
present disgruntlment with the situation actually stemmed more from jealousy that this
newcomer had taken more of Vala's off-duty hours than he was comfortable with.
"Is this jealousy, or this love, I really have had a hard time telling the two apart of late."


Interlude, General Landry and Dr. Carolyn Lam

"Is there anything you can do to be certain that we're dealing with a honest-to goodness Immortal here?" Landry asked with a weary sigh.

"Not until I have the opportunity to run a few more tests," replied Dr. Lam. "I've gone through the initial physicals on her, before we could clear her for even minimal freedom of movement thought the base instead of just confining her to quarters."

"I understand the difficulty that you must be going through Doctor, but I need to know exactly what we're dealing with here,” he replied.

"She is, to put it mildly, a difficult patient, and not exactly forthcoming with any information,” she remarked.

"We need to get that information, whether Amanda is willing or no," Landry added. "Try asking Dr. Jackson to talk to her, and given Vala's knowledge of our new addition, ask if she'd be willing to give it a try."

"I doubt that will be a problem," Dr. Lam sighed. "Although, Vala is not what I would call a reliable source of information."

"I know, I know," Landry muttered under his breath. "However, in the past few months her ratio of hyperbole to truth has dramatically increased, and that alone makes her a valuable ally."

"If you say so, Sir," Dr. Lam replied. "I still say Vala is a loose cannon."

"I know, but on the one hand, we need her and she needs us."

"If Amanda works out the way that you hope she will, are you going to use that same
argument if it should come to it?"

"I think so," he replied.


"Understood, Sir." Dr. Lam said as she stood up from the chair in front of his desk and took her leave.

Elsewhere

“Why the hell did you let slip all that gossip about the existence of Immortals, you really could got me into a hell of amount of trouble,” Amanda said as she sat in the room that she had bee assigned. It wasn’t much, and to a woman of Amanda’s refined taste it barely qualified as room, only in the sense that it had four walls, a roof, and a door.

In the back of her mind, Amanda, thought, “All things considered, it could have been worse, at least this one has light, and it’s not a cell, or whatever the equivalent term is in Air Force military-speak.’

“Look on the bright side, given my reputation around here, if you’re lucky, they’ve probably already forgotten I mentioned anything about it.” Vala shrugged and the movement caused the cord that she had used to bind up her black hair into a braid to unravel and come loose, spilling waves of it down her back.

“And if not?” Amanda pressed reaching over for the glass of water resting on her end table, taking a sip from it. She had been nervous coming into this confrontation, wondering if Vala’s knowledge of Immortals was more than that it what it had seemed on the surface, someone who thought they knew more, but in reality was just dabbling.

Upon their initial meeting, Amanda had not felt the buzz that all Immortals sensed with another was nearby, nor had she had felt any hostility in the other woman’s attitude or bearing; it was more like a playful nonchalance, devil-may care attitude.

She was not an Immortal, so for the moment, her head was safe, nor was she a Watcher, so what was her game and what would it mean if she stayed on at the Cheyenne mountain as Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell had hinted at?”


“Then they’ll just press and press, out of curiosity, until the get a straight answer out of one us, and Amanda, for the record, I just want to say, I’m glad it was you of all people. Who broke into this place. “ Vala smiled, and nodded.

“Why?” Amanda demanded.

“Oh, because, it’s nice to have another woman to talk to, especially one who has seen as much of the wider world as you have,” Vala replied.

“How come you know so much about Immortals?” Amanda asked, despite her own irritation and own need to keep up her guard.



Vala shrugged. “Let’s say, I made a study of Immortals something of a hobby of mine.”

“You’re not even from Earth, “ Amanda said and paused to take a sip from her water glass. “You’ll pardon my disbelief, but that’s just too much of a coincidence.”

“I realized that, and that’s why I think your pretty little head is safe for the time being.”

“Let’s recap, I get tricked to break into this place, knowing next to nothing about what goes on here, and oddly enough, I’m okay with that,” Amanda sighed and reached up to brush away a strand of black hair out of her eyes. “However, I don’t understand why you should care which of the hundreds, possibly thousands of Immortals roaming around Earth, that you’d prefer me over those others.”

“Oh, I don’t know, call it a whim.” Vala shrugged and scooted the tray of stacked blueberry pancakes with a healthy dollop of whipped cream on top closer to where she sat at the foot of the bed. “You should eat some of yours, it’s delicious, and that’s saying something for the food in this place.”

“I’ll eat some, as soon as we’ve cleared a few more matters up.”

“It might take a while, and warmed up pancakes do not taste as good as they do when they’re piping hot.”

“Fine,” Amanda replied and set down her water glass to bring her own tray of pancakes closer. When she had done so she picked up a fork and stabbed one with it, lifting it to her mouth and took a bite. It really was good, and she allowed a small smile to twitch the corners of her mouth. “Okay, I was hungry, but getting back to matters at hand. Where were we?”

“The part were you give up trying to wring a straight answer out of me. Vala winked. “Come on, Amanda, you’re what, over two thousand years old, one would think that after all that time, you’d recognized a con when she’s trying out-con you.”

“All right, all right, you got me there.” Amanda muttered under her breath. “She’s good, not as good as some I’ve seen, or myself, but damn good enough.”

“You want to know a little known fact” Vala whispered after an extended period of silence wherein neither woman had said anything.

“Truth or lies, your choice,” Amanda replied with a brittle smile.

“I don’t know, it’s just a well-founded rumor I came across once in my travels through the galaxy.”

“Oh, do tell,” Amanda coaxed.

“I heard a rumor once, that the Ancients, you know, the ones who built the stargate and sundry technology, that shortly before they vanished, they scattered your race all over the place, and left them to fend for themselves.”

Amanda choked and then laughed, causing water that she had just swallowed to come spewing out of her mouth. “Oh, come on, you had me going there, but really, immortals, on other planets, you have gotta be kidding me!”

“Believe it or not,” Vala shrugged. “As I said, it’s just a rumor. Maybe there’s little to no substance to it. Vala turned and faced the door and then turned back to Amanda. “One more thing before I go to yet another mission briefing, I want to be certain that there’s no hard feelings between us, oh, and finish eating your breakfast.”

“That’s two things, and I guess, I mean, we’re cool, then, right?”

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Amanda replied. “You sound like my old mentor, Rebecca.”

“I don’t know her, but I think I’m flattered to be in such company.”

“Get out of here, you big softie,” Amanda replied shooing Vala out with the fork she had that she held in her hand. “I’ll eat, get me posted on stuff that goes on around here. It might things go a bit smoother in the long run.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. See you later, then.”

Aftermath/Conclusion

Cameron Mitchell came into the mess hall to find Amanda ensconced at one of the tables nearest the wall, with her head bent over a thick stack of books. Her short, shoulder length black hair stirring a bit from the movement of the overhead ceiling fans.

He wondered how long she had been there, and what she and Vala had found so fascinating to talk about earlier. He had wanted to confront either or both woman about it, but had decided that it would be the better course to put it off.

After all, obviously the two woman had a history together, how elese would Vala have known so much about her? It was only fair that he give them a chance to catch up on old times.

“Do you have a minute?” he asked.



Amanda looked up, with a smile. “Oh, it’s you. Of course, Liuetenant, please have a seat.”

“It’s Cameron, you don’t have to call me sir, at least not yet, and not here.”

“Cameron, then.” Amanda shoved aside some of the volumes on the table in front of her and reached up to smooth back her hair.

“I meant to talk to you earlier, about the decision of allowing you stay here.”

“I was wondering how long it would be before they got around to that. I’m not a prisoner here, and you’ve been hospitable in your own fashion….” she trailed off.

“I never even thought to ask you if this is what you wanted. I mean, I know we caught you trying to break into this place, but,…. And we have to take that breach of security very seriously,….”

“I know, but, it’s dfferent somehow, not just because of Vala and what she told you about me, is it?”

“No, not entirely,” he replied.

“Look, I’m not very good at these things, so I’m just going to come out and say it.”

“It’s cute.”

“Stop doing that,” he griped.

“Stop doing what?” she echoed.

“Stop playing with me.” Cameron Mitchell heaved a sigh and sat down in one of the chairs at her table. “I want you stay. I don’t have a logical, rational reason for the way I feel, and I don’t even care if you are what, hundreds of years older than me, but I want you to stay.”

“That’s sweet and oddly warped in its own way, but I must say, that I’m flattered. I don’t often get offers like that from men.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Cameron shrugged and smiled. “You’re good.”

“Okay, I admit, that I do, but after a few centuries, the game, not the Game, if you know what I mean, but the other one, between men and women, gets to become a habit that’s hard to break.”

“Figures,” Cameron muttered.

“Oh, it could be worse,” Amanda replied.

“Don’t say things like that, honey, “ Cameron smiled again. “You’ll end up jinxing things, and right now, we can’t afford any more trouble than we’ve already got on our plates.”

“Lovely, just what have I signed myself up for?”

“The best job in the world, or maybe just about any other world,” Cameron grinned and this time the corresponding grin matched Amanda’s own unique version.

Title: Multiple Birds with One Stone
Author: karrenia
Fandoms: Stargate SG-1/Highlander
Characters: Amanda, Vala Mal Doran, ensemble cast of SG-1
Rating: General Audiences
Notes: Follows up where the previous story :Birds of Prey" left off.
Prompt: #48 diamond

25/100



"Multiple Birds with One Stone" by Karen

Accepting Vala Mal Doran onto the team was one thing," Liutenant Cameron Mitchell thought and most of that had been done out of both necessity for Dr. Jackson's sake and out of the value of the information and resources that she possessed and offered in trade at the time.


Granted she was trouble, but at the same time also seemed to possess an almost uncanny ability to get out the various scraps and still come out smelling like roses.

In the back of his mind, Cameron really had to wonder how she managed to do that for his uniform no matter how many times he washed, rinsed, and scrubbed, still retained the indelible aroma of dust from the last planet the team had visited, while Vala smelt of whatever shampoo that she showered with.

Eventually he decided it really might be a woman thing which begged the question, one which General Landry and the others seemed inordinately unwilling to press any farther than they already had, what to do with Vala newest gal pal, Amanda Devarieux.

While she had admitted to having been approached by the former NID agent Colonel Maybourne to infiltrate and steal government property out of the Chyenne Moutain base Amanda had also admitted to turning the offer down as well as not taking the money to complete the job.

This alone gave her some positive points in his book; yet she had still broken into the top-secret facility, and she knew Vala. Hell, they took to each other, seconds after the intiial confrontation, like two bees in a honeycomb. That worried him, more than it probably should, and now they were at this very moment, in Vala's quarters, with their heads together, laughing, giggling and catching up on old times as if there was no question of Amanda's ulterior motives.

***
Mitchell paused in front of the door to Vala's quarters with his fist poised in midair hesitating in the last few seconds before he sighed and knocked.

The door chime pinged and Vala laughed and asked him to come in.

Amanda looked up from where she sat straddle-legged in the chair in front of the
terminal of Vala's base computer a smile curving the lips of her mouth. To Mitchell's way of thinking he could have sworn that it was the kind of smile that would not have been out of place on the proverbial cat that ate the canary. It was as if she could read his min; and knew each and every thought that had been going through his mind only moments before; the worst part of it was, she didn't seem to mind.

"Ladies," Cameron Mitchell began, "I came to tell you, General Landry wants everyone to report to the ward room in ten minutes, that includes Amanda."

"We'll be there." Vala nodded and reached up to smooth back her plait of long hair.

"I still don't understand one thing," Mitchell began before trailing off and reaching up to rub at his scalp as if it itched. He wore his hair short and cut military-style since that way it fit better underneath a flight helmet, but the thought still would not go away. "if you really are Immortal, and I'm still not certain I believe that one. Then how the hell did you two meet?"

"I've been to Earth before, Mr. Mitchell," Vala replied, "I"m certain you remember the circumstances of our previous meeting."

"Yeah, but that still doesn't answer my question."

"You two have met before," Amanda added with one arched dark eyebrow. "Interesting, very interesting."

"Not now, Amanda," Vala added.

Mitchell sighed and squared his shoulders. "You know what, it just gives me a headache and suddenly I don't want to know. I'll see you two at the briefing." With that he turned on his heels and went out the way he had come in. Sometimes not knowing was the better part of valor, and whoever had come up with that old saying that ignorance was bliss was a very wise man indeed.

**
Once everyone had gathered in the ward room, including Dr. Carloyn Lamb and the rest of the SG-1 team General Landry launched into his briefing.

"As as I'm certain you are all aware," Landry began, "Circumstances have introduced a random element into our team structure," he continued as he managed to avoid making eye contact with Amanda who returned the favor. "And while it still remains unclear exactly what her purpose is, we will continue to allow her to remain 'a guest' pending any further subversive actions."

"Let's clarify that right now," Amanda said. "I'm not a terrorist and I'm not your enemy, and I've admitted to being a thief; a very, very good thief. Otherwise we wouldn't be here right now so you can all stop worrying." She sniffed, and to think you're hanging out with these clods, Vala."

Vala exchanged significant glance with Doctor Daniel Jackson and then turned back to face her.

"I didn't have much of a choice, besides it did give me an excellent opportunity to travel the galaxy, meet new and interesting people, all on someone else's dime."

"Well, I don't know about anyone else," Amanda chimed in, "But I'm convinced."

"I'm not," replied General Landry this time making a point of holding onto her level gaze with one of his own.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 belongs to MGM Productions, Geeko Film Corp as do all of the characters who appear here or are mentioned. Highlander belongs to Panzer/Davis Productions; they are not mine and are only ‘borrowed’ for the purposes of the story.
Note: the story picks up shortly after where “Multiple Birds” left off with a little bit of interval taken into consideration.

“Going and Returning” by Karen

Amanda had been through many strange experiences in her lifetime but she had never seen anything quite like the swirling vortex of the wormhole, however she did not have leisure to study or even stand around mesmerized by the sight.

Vala and her the SG-1 team hustled her up the ramp and then through it with the sound of other voices calling out instructions.

When she stumbled and almost fell flat on her face Daniel Jackson was there to reach out a hand to steady her until she regained her balance. If he held on just a bit longer than was absolutely necessary well, she did not really mind. In the back of her mind she thought, 'even going to another planet, there are still gentlemen.'

That was her last conscious thought before her mind was preoccupied by other sensations; and just when she believed that her mind and body could simply not take it any more, simply had decided to shut down underneath the sheer tide of overwhelming and
contradictory sensations; she emerged on the other side of the gate.

Vala came over and offered her a hand up, "Don't worry, this happens to all first-timers through the Gate, or so I was reassured my first time, too. It will soon pass."

Amanda accepted the hand up and staggered to her feet. "It gets better?"

"Yeah, but if it's any comfort, I would suspect someone with your, ah, shall we say, constitution either might recover sooner, or feel it ten times worse. It's a toss-up, really."

"Very funny," Amanda replied her composure and confidence coming back now that she was certain that was not going to experience deja vu with her last meal.

"You okay," asked Daniel as he stepped over to where the two women stood.

"We're fine, Daniel," replied Vala.

Amanda regarded the pair with cool appraisal, and shrugged, whatever was going on between the two of them, or something that had occurred in the recent past, was none of her business, although she did have to admit to being intensely curious. She knew that her
presence on this mission, and the sheer fact that they hadn't tried to remove her from the base wask almost entirely due to Vala and Dr. Jackson's intervention on her behalf.

Too many secrets, too many lives at risk, not to mention her own, too risk her blabbing everything she knew about their project.

Of course there would always be the question of exactly who they were afraid she would tell about the Star Gate project.

Her first reaction when she was duly informed of the existence of life on other planets and that the Air Force, or at least this particular branch knew about it, had been to laugh in their faces. And when that did not fly, outright skeptism. It did not help that Vala had then taken it upon herself to inform them of the existence of Immortals.

“Now there's the rub," Amanda muttered under her breath. "It's like she gets a quick out of playing one man up on these military types. I can appreciate that even though she did it
at my expense. It does make me wonder why she bothered, and what I'm supposed to do about it, if anything."

Meanwhile Teal'C and Lieutenant Cameron Mitchell had fanned out around the immediate area hefting their weapons over their shoulders and were apparently checking for any possible danger, and finding none to judge by the set of their shoulders and their posture relaxed into a studied calm. "Anything? .

Mitchell shrugged and replied: "Nothing we can tell, from here. We'll need to move further into the surrounding countryside."

“According to pre-mission intel the distress signal came from these coordinates, but it's at least several hundred klicks from the position of the gate on this side," Vala added.

"Then we've got a lot of walking to do," Mitchell replied and set out. "Let's go."

Waiting for Daniel and Teal'c to gain some distance from the DHD embarkation site Amanda and Vala exchanged a significant glance and a silent raised eyebrow at the foibles of the men in their life Amanda and Vala, seeming to say without words 'can't life without them, can't life with them either.', before hurrying to catch up with the quickly diminishing upright forms moving across the grassy landscape that dipped up and down in successive waves much like the folds of a crumpled green blanket.


Scene2 Encounter

It was difficult really to not fall into a kind of waking dream, allowing her feet to take one step after another while he mind drifted. Vala, knew even before she had encountered Daniel Jackson through the medium of the Ancient mind-transfer device, that her own standing with the SG-1 team would always be on a slippery slope.

As much as she liked Daniel she was not anxious to invest too much in another relationship and risk further loss. The way her life had been going of late she really could not afford to indulge in that sort of thinking.

As they walked and that particular thought crossed her mind Vala allowed a small smile to slip out and she sidled closer to the very attractive, smart, man. He might have accused her of sending out mixed signals, but Vala really wasn’t playing any kind of keep your distance, come hither game; it was just way too much to act as if she was; it was all a matter of pushing the envelope without falling over the edge.

For his part Daniel’s reaction by both body language and the expression on his face was everything that she had been hoping for, so she stopped after a while and dropped back into her former place in the straggled line.

The light was fading fast and the sun that had beaten down on their heads through out the long walk through the seemingly uninhabited downs withdrew its warmth and light as it slipped below the tree line along the western horizon. A campsite had been chosen and
Teal’C had been elected to stand the first watch, while the rest of the team made a fire and huddled down to sleep.

Cameron, before he lay down took a good look around at their surroundings, unremitting green meadows, trees stretching out for as far as he could see in any given direction and no signs of habitation; and shook his head ruefully, wondering if maybe just maybe the intelligence data gathered from the reconnaissance robot sent through the gate prior to their departure for this world had been faulty. And if that were the case, then they might be advised to head back to the gate at first light tomorrow morning.

:

The sun of a new day had not yet risen above the tree line when Mitchell chose to strike camp. “W covered a lot of ground and we still have not found the source of the distress signal.”

“What are you thinking,” asked Daniel.


Amanda had picked up her sleeping roll and was shaking it out when she chanced to look up and across the meadows to the tree line along the horizon. At first it she dismissed what she saw as just another sunrise, albeit a very chromatic and spectacular sunrise on an alien planet; while she her mind was still attempting to wrap her head around that fact; she realized that the dark smudge marring the gradually lightening sky was actually.

“Smoke,” Daniel Jackson said so softly but startling her as came up to stand beside her that she dropped her sleeping roll to the soft spongy ground.

”Something’s burning over to the north-east,” Amanda replied a few moments later having once more regained her composure.

“I see it, too,” Daniel said. “We’d better tell Mitchell.”

“What’s going on?” Mitchell said coming over to where the two stood.

“See for yourself,” Daniel replied.

“It could be the smoke from a village,” Vala muttered. “I don’t see why everyone is making such a fuss over it.”

“Smoke from a chimney or bonfire is ragged. Smoke from a burning goes straight up.”

“I should think it was the other way around,” Vala said.

“I guess there’s only one way to find out,’ Amanda sighed. “Yay, more walking.” “Why couldn’t we have brought a horse, or something.”

“Too low-tech, they higher-ups would never have authorized it.”

“Funny,” Amanda replied, for the first time realizing that maybe this gig was not going to be either as dull or as bad as she had feared from the moment that Vala had literally roped her into coming along. She laughed and gave Daniel Jackson a comradely smack on his left shoulder, “You’d think if they were going off-world and making first contact with another civilization, they would try to as much as possible to blend in.”

Daniel could not help himself. He was still uncertain how he felt about Vala both personally and professionally as part of the SG-1 team, and now even without the knowledge of Amanda’s ‘longevity, he still was equally or even more uncertain about her, but he realized with a shock that he liked her. There was something warm and lively and spontaneous about her, that was not threatening or off-putting at all. As all this went through his head Daniel smiled and replied. “You’ve been reading too many sci-fi pulp novels.”

“Cute, very cute,’ Amanda replied, determined not to let him have the last word.

“Come on,” Mitchell said. “Let’s go.”

Scene 5: Aftermath
The acrid smell of burning wood, metal, and other less pleasant things grow stronger the closer they came to the source. Mitchell had been correct in his surmise that it was a village, or more accurately what was left of it. Amanda could not repress a shudder, both at the fate of these unknown people, but also at the sudden surge of a memory, a memory of a similar scene several centuries removed when she too had been accused of witchcraft and the entire town that she had once called home burnt to the ground in retaliation for a crime she had never even committed, nor would she have ever have dreamed of committing.

In the back of her mind she forced down the memories, the flashbacks that were insisting on making their way to the forefront of her mind and turned to face Cameron Mitchell. “This was no accident. These people were forced out of here.”

“I would tend to agreed with you. Fan out; look for survivors or even the source of the distress signal. Teal’c,. you’re with me. Vala go with Amanda and Daniel report back in a hour or so. But, remember…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Vala waved a hand in Mitchell’s general direction. “Be careful. We know. Let’s go.”

“This is the first sign of habitation that we’ve come across, and its been utterly destroyed,” Mitchell replied.

“Perhaps they were under attack and the villagers abounded it,” Teal’C remarked.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Mitchell replied. “Until we know for certain I don’t want to take any chances.”

**

Choosing to take the left while Mitchell and Teal’c went right, Vala strode down the narrow streets of the village coming within a few moments to the village square flanked on either side by the burnt out shells of what once had been a bar, and some kind of administrative center. In the center stood the ashy and cold remains of a bonfire and a chopping block, the pitted metal handle of an axe the only sign that people had once lived here.

Daniel bent down and picked up an object from the ground, turning it over and over in his hands as he examined it from all angles. “I was afraid of this.”

“What is it?” Amanda asked her curiosity about what happened overcoming her better protective instincts. The burning was at least a day or too old, and whoever or whatever had been responsible for it would likely not have lingered long to admire their handiwork; still against reason and logic, Amanda could not help feeling ‘watched’, could not help feeling that they were overlooking a vital but important element.

“You don’t think…”Vala trailed off.

“What are you two muttering about,” Amanda demanded at last, her patience wearing thin.
“Radio Cam, we need to get out of here.”

“What about looking for survivors,.” Amanda asked more out a sense of frustration than out of duty.

“I think I know who, or rather what did this,” Daniel muttered. “And if I’m correct in my surmise, then there won’t be any survivors.”

“The Ori?” Vala muttered. “Damn them!”

“What the heck are the Or?” Amanda insisted.

“Right now, they’re our biggest threat not to mention the galaxy’s biggest threat. We’ve gotta getta outta here,” Daniel answered and then dropped the object he had been holding and began to half walk and half run back in the direction they had come from tossing over his shoulder. “Vala, contact Cam, and then we need to get back to Stargate Command.”