He Said, She Said

There she was. The one woman in all the galaxy he considered his equal (his mother didn't count), and she was here. After years of searching, he was finally in the same room as her – and not about to be executed.

“Since when do you work with the tau'ri?” he asked, leaning against the wall next to the door. He knew better than to get close enough to her when they were working for different ends.

“Since when do you work for the Seven?” she asked back, sending a pointed glance in Vin's direction.

“I continue to be baffled by how your mind works, Vala,” he commented, keeping his gaze locked on her. “What makes you believe I work for the Seven?”

“Well, if you're not working for them, then-”

Ezra watched the surprise flash across her face, her mouth forming a small 'o' as she looked quickly between Vin and himself.

“You didn't!” she said accusingly, and Ezra just smiled widely, teeth bared.

“Welcome to my world, Vala,” he said, enjoying the moment.

“What the hell is going on!” demanded one of Vala's team.

“Colonel Mitchell, is it?” he asked, transferring his attention to the other occupants of the room. He noted the surprise on the other man's face, and had to smile mockingly at the arrogance of the tau'ri. “Oh, yes. We know precisely who you are, Colonel. SG-1 are quite well known throughout the galaxy.”

That didn't seem to sit to well with the other members of the team, some of them sending accusing looks Vala's direction.

Interesting, Ezra thought. They trusted her on their team, but still didn't trust her intentions or that she wouldn't sell them out at the first hint of money. They didn't understand this woman they travelled with.

Ezra knew full well that despite her past and what she may say, once Vala gave you her loyalty, it stuck.

“I'm sorry, but who are these 'Seven'?” asked the one Ezra identified as Daniel Jackson.

“A group of mercenaries hunted by the Goa'uld, who came together and formed a type of resistance,” explained Vala.

“Seven of us, to be exact,” Ezra explained, though that was all he was willing to give them. He refused to explain how they all met in one of Ba'al's prison camps, trusting each other just enough to escape to a safe planet that had no Stargate, therefore no Goa'uld presence.

He kept to himself that those six men had become closer than family, and he found he couldn't leave them behind to run and hide for the rest of his life. Vala had abandoned him before Chris Larabee had gained his trust and loyalty, the only man ever able to convince Ezra to stay and fight the fake gods, rather than save his own skin.

“Like the Lucian Alliance?” asked the other female, a Colonel Carter. She was more curious and intrigued than her counterpart, calm and careful where Mitchell was brash and open.

The few guards in the room with them bristled at the comparison. They were from one of the worlds they had attacked in the early days, swearing their lives to those who had liberated them from slavery. The Solarans were a warrior race who considered it an honour and a life debt to serve and protect the Seven and those they themselves protected.

“We are nothing like them. Petty thieves and thugs,” Ezra spat.

“Ezra,” called out Vala in a voice he hadn't heard in years. Apparently, it still had some effect on him, forcing him to hide the way it made his insides shudder in delight. “Are you sure we can't come to some arrangement?” she asked sweetly, her body shifting in minute but obvious ways, offering the one thing she was confident he would actually take.

“If only it were that simple, my dear,” he told her, looking at her curiously. For her to go to these extremes to protect these people, she must truly love them.

“We're ready, Ez,” said a voice, causing him to turn to Vin who had remained silent the entire time.

“Excellent. We should leave immediately.”

“You're letting us go?” asked Mitchell in surprise, though the look on the Jaffa's face said he was not so easily convinced.

“No,” said Ezra as the guards moved to gather up the five prisoners. “By coming here you have potentially exposed us to any number of enemies, the Ori among them.”

“You'll be our guests until it is deemed safe to allow you to return.”

“Ezra, is this really necessary?” asked Vala as they were moved down the hall to the transport rings. “Can't we make some sort of compromise?”

“We won't say a word about you or where you can be found,” added Carter.

“Unfortunately, the Tau'ri are not among those we trust. Especially those travelling with my darling wife,” said Ezra.

“Ezra, really, I think if you just listen and think abo-”

“Any leverage you had disappeared when you abandoned me to be captured by Ba'al's guards,” said Ezra, feeling his insides growing cold with remembered betrayal. He hadn't thought her capable of it, not until he'd turned around on that Goa'uld mothership to find her gone, the alarms blaring and later, a deathglider missing.

“Take them to the ship and stay with them until we're ready to transport down again,” said Ezra, motioning with his head for SG-1 to be transported in the rings first.

Once they were gone, he turned to Vin, sharing a knowing look for a moment. Vin was one of the few who understood exactly how difficult the encounter had been for him.

“Shall we depart?” he asked with fake enthusiasm, stepping into the rings.

Activating the rings, Ezra prepared himself for a long journey in the company of the last person he ever wanted to see again.

END

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