Work Text:
"Unscheduled off world activation."
The alarm blared through the base. Ava had been busy watching Beatrice work on some important and complicated equation or another, but now Beatrice got up after exchanging a tense look with Ava and rushed towards the control room. Feeling adrenaline rise in herself as always when an alarm like that happened, Ava followed her. In a way, it was still exciting and new to get used to life on the base and alarms like that. But she was a member of SG-1 now and with that, she had to get used to reacting when an alarm like that went off. Of course, she was also curious about whoever was attempting to get through the gate.
The fact that the humans from Earth had managed to install a defense system that effectively kept unwanted visitors out was very impressive to Ava. She had never seen something like the iris. It was logical, of course, to install a shield in front of the gate so that nobody other than those that identified themselves as friends could cross, but it was still ingenious in Ava's eyes. Getting her own code and device to send it through an open gate had been one of the most emotional moments for her since being here in the SGC.
Because them trusting her with their codes meant she was truly a member of the SGC, a member of SG-1. Something that she was still very proud of. After Halo betrayed her, she had felt unmoored, aimless. She knew she couldn't stay with the Tok'ra, but had no idea where she could go. That was when Beatrice had offered her to come with them to Earth. And seeing as Beatrice had been the one person who had seen Halo for what she was, who had realized that Ava had been trapped in her own body by a traitor, Ava had jumped at the chance.
And she had not regretted it even once in the last few months she had spent on Earth. It was a fascinating planet full of fascinating people. Of course, she was here first and foremost to help them, sort of like an exchange program, with Anne having joined with Selmak and resuming her duties in the Tok'ra leadership and Ava here, on Earth, as a member of SG-1. While some things were very different here, others were also similar and she was grateful for the chance to learn.
Walking into the control room, she could see that Shannon and Mary were already there, as was General Superion. Ava stayed in the back of the room while Beatrice went to the computer and sat down, thanking the gate technician who gladly made room for her.
"No IDC, ma'am," Beatrice said, towards General Superion, who nodded grimly. Ava frowned, looking at the gate, or rather, the heavy metal iris blocking it. She tried to not imagine in too much detail how it would feel like to come through the gate and be stopped by that, being disintegrated into atoms on impact. It did not sound like an experience she would ever want to have. But it didn't seem like whoever was coming through would have it, as the iris opened now, much to the confusion of everyone in the gate room.
"Captain?" General Superion asked towards Beatrice, who shrugged, frantically typing on the keyboard.
"I don't know, general. It is as if the iris was controlled from inside the base. I cannot engage it again. I have no idea what is happening," Beatrice said, sounding very unsure and annoyed. The general nodded towards Shannon and Mary, who immediately went towards the gate room. Ava waited for a moment, wanting to see what Beatrice would do. A few seconds later, someone came through the gate.
"That's a kid," Ava couldn't stop herself from saying. It was indeed. From what she could tell, a boy, but it was hard to say, as the kid didn't have any hair and looked small and malnourished, wearing simple beige clothes that seemed far too big for him. Or her. Ava frowned to herself. Beatrice shook her head and then got up, also hurrying down to the gate room, Ava and General Superion following her.
The soldiers in the gate room were all aiming their weapons at the kid, even when they seemed hesitant. But from what Ava heard about Michael and from what she knew about the Goa'uld, that child could well be a harbinger of destruction, so the precaution was wise. In any case, neither Mary nor Shannon were aiming their weapons, even when their hands were hovering over their guns. They had approached the ramp, but were still waiting in front of it when Ava and Beatrice entered the room.
The child hadn't moved, still standing in front of the gate. From this close, Ava decided that it was probably indeed a boy. Shannon smiled at him.
"Hi. Who are you? Why are you here?" she asked, her voice stern but not unfriendly. The boy just looked at all of them with wide open eyes but didn't say anything. Shannon frowned, turning to the general. "I have no idea what this is, but we need to be careful. We should search him." General Superion nodded and Shannon turned to Ava. "Ava? I know I can detect a Goa'uld too, but I think you would be better suited for this. You know best what kind of weapons the Goa'uld could be hiding in a child."
Ava was a little taken aback by that, but nodded, straightening up when Beatrice gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back and then walked towards the ramp, slowly, her smile not fading, hoping she would come across as non-threatening. The child didn't seem to be fazed by her coming closer, just keeping the same serious expression on his face and not moving. When she was already very close, Ava crouched down, pointing at herself.
"Hi. I'm Ava. What's your name?" she asked, but just got a blank stare back. She didn't let it deter her, not even knowing whether the kid could understand her. Gesturing towards him, she continued, "I'm gonna have to look for some… things, okay?" Again, she got no reaction, so she carefully and gently touched him, searching for weapons, but not finding any. Smiling even more gently, she put her hand on his head and closed her eyes for a second, trying to feel for Naquada, but couldn't detect any. She let go and smiled one more time, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He still did not react, even when Ava got back up and turned around, walking back to the others. She shook her head. "He's not a Goa'uld and I can't detect anything that would be an obvious weapon. Of course, I can't check for everything, but yeah, doesn't seem to be anything."
General Superion nodded and turned towards the boy, gesturing.
"Why are you here? Do you understand me?" the general asked. Finally, the boy showed a reaction. He nodded.
"I have come to warn you. You are all in grave danger."
After that cryptic warning, the boy kept silent again, being brought to the infirmary to be checked more carefully. Ava stayed by his side throughout the examination, as he seemed to be fond of her, even when it was hard to say. But he held her hand pretty tightly and didn't want to let go, so she assumed it was best to stay. Of course, she had to go to the debriefing, but she promised him she would come back soon.
Jillian did not have good news for them. There wasn't anything detectably dangerous about the boy, but the MRI showed that his brain seemed to be weird in that some parts were different than they should be in normal humans and all his major organs were failing. As Jillian put it, it seemed like someone had cobbled him together from just rudimentary knowledge of humans, without much care that everything would actually function. Ava felt horrible when the doctor announced that the boy would most likely die of multiple organ failure very soon.
Going back to the infirmary with a heavy heart, Ava still plastered a smile on her face when the boy sat up in his bed when he saw her, smiling infinitesimally. Shannon, Beatrice and Mary had followed her, together with Jillian, who was busying herself in a corner of the infirmary. Ava sat on a chair next to the boy's bed.
"Hi. Remember me? I'm Ava. Feel like telling me your name?" Ava started. She knew Shannon and the others were eager to know why the boy was here and what he meant with the warning, but she didn't think leading with that was a good idea. He nodded, looking towards an empty corner of the room for some reason.
"I remember. But I don't have a name. Mother calls me son," he said. Ava frowned.
"Mother?"
"Yes," he answered, pointing towards that place he had looked towards earlier. "Mother. She sent me here to warn you. She wanted to wait until I was older, but I was too weak, so it needed to be now. There is a threat coming." Shannon frowned and was about to say something but in that moment, Yasmine and Lilith entered the room. The boy's eyes widened and he looked scared, grasping Ava's hand. "Jaffa!" he said, in a small voice. Ava shook her head squeezing his hand comfortingly.
"It's alright. I know Lilith can look scary, but she's nice. She's not a Jaffa anymore, don't worry," Ava said, as soothingly as she could. The boy looked again towards that empty corner and nodded, though he still seemed scared. Lilith walked towards the bed and smiled a little, as always gentle with children, which was something Ava had observed but same as anybody else hadn't dared bringing attention to. But then Liilith's features scrunched up in pain and she hunched over.
"I need to leave. I am sorry," Lilith pressed out, clearly in pain, immediately leaving the room. Ava frowned, but didn't say anything. At a nod from Shannon, Mary followed Lilith out, but Ava, Shannon and Yasmine stayed, Shannon now looking at the boy.
"If it's the Goa'uld you're here to warn us about, we already know of their threat. We are fighting against them," Shannon stated, Ava and Beatrice nodding. But the boy shook his head.
"No, not the Goa'uld. The Reetu. Not the Reetu high council, the Reetu rebels. They want to kill humans by," he looked again towards that corner and Ava suddenly had a vague idea what that could mean, together with Lilith's reaction. Her blood ran cold. "Attrition. They want to kill all the hosts, so that the Goa'uld cannot take any anymore."
Yasmine scoffed incredulously, in a way Ava had rarely seen her.
"What? That makes no sense. There are billions of humans out there. And not all Goa'uld hosts are humans anyways. This is ridiculous," Yasmine said. Ava nearly laughed at how offended she seemed, but suppressed it. The boy nodded.
"The Reetu high council agrees. But the rebels don't care. They are going to attack human worlds. This one is on their list. That's why mother made me, so that I could talk to you."
"She made you?" Yasmine asked, looking completely taken aback. Ava was distracted by what she now knew was most likely in the corner, already itching to warn Shannon, to inform the Tok'ra. If there was indeed a Reetu here, they would have to act, and fast. But the boy squeezed her hand harder now and she looked at him again.
"She did. She wanted someone who would be able to talk to you. To warn you. The Reetu rebels are growing stronger. You need to stop them. Mother has followed you for a while now, she trusts you.." He looked at Ava. "Especially you. You were a Tok'ra, but you're not anymore. Mother thinks you won't be like them and immediately shoot any Reetu you see. That you will listen. And," he hesitated, looking at that corner again. Then he looked at Ava with sad eyes and continued, "look after me when she leaves. That's why she let me through the gate even when I'm not as old as she would have liked yet."
Ava wasn't sure what to think about that, but her heart went out to the boy and she nodded, even when Shannon was looking at her intensely, with a clear warning.
"I will." Ava looked over to where she assumed the Reetu was standing. "Thank you for your trust. We will do everything we can to stop the rebels and we'll take good care of…" she trailed off, scrunching her nose. "You need a name. You can pick one you like."
The boy looked confused and shook his head.
"I don't know any names. Can you choose one?" he asked, looking so lost and sad that Ava felt her heart break. She nodded, immediately thinking of one name, not sure whether it would be appropriate but still taking the leap and saying it.
"Diego," Ava said. The boy's eyes lit up immediately, strengthening her resolve. She squeezed his hand again. "He was my best friend in the orphanage I grew up in. You remind me of him. I liked him a lot. So, if you'd like the name, you can have it."
He nodded eagerly.
"Diego. Yes, I like it. I am Diego. Thank you." He smiled fondly but then scrunched up his brows. "What is an orphanage?"
Ava inhaled sharply, trying to think of how to explain that.
"It's a place where children go when they don't have parents. They are called orphans. My mother died when I was little, so I was an orphan. Diego, my friend back then, he was too."
"Oh," the newly named Diego said. He looked towards that corner again for a moment, then his face lit up. "Mother said, when she leaves, I will be an orphan too. Then I can be your friend, yes?"
Ava couldn't breathe for a moment, tears pooling in her eyes. The naivety and innocence Diego displayed was tugging at her heart and she was glad that Jillian stepped up behind her, putting a comforting hand on Ava's shoulder and smiling. Ava shot her a thankful look and nodded towards Diego.
"Of course," Ava said, trying to keep her voice steady, which was hard since the treacherous tears still wanted to overflow. "I would love for you to be my friend."
Diego beamed and Jillian smiled softly at him.
"My son, Michael, he was an orphan too. I adopted him," Jillian said and when Diego gave her a blank look, she continued, "it means I took him in. I am his mother now. I'm sure you'll find someone to take you in too, to be your parents."
Again, Diego's face lit up and that and he squeezed Ava's hand harder.
"I would love that. You'll still be there, right? I can visit you?"
"Of course," Ava was quick to reassure him, nodding emphatically. He smiled brightly at her.
For a moment, they just looked at each other, but then Shannon cleared her throat and turning to her, Ava realized that Mary had stepped back into the room and talked quietly with her, causing Shannon to get up. Right, they still needed to talk about this. Ava didn't know if Lilith knew about the Reetu, and since Ava didn't have her symbiote anymore she couldn't be sure whether it was even the presence of a Reetu Lilith had felt but with Diego's insistence that his 'mother' was here and Lilith's reaction, it did seem likely.
Ava nodded towards Shannon when she gave her a poignant look. Then Shannon turned to Diego, smiling softly.
"Diego, would you mind if I talk to Ava for a moment outside? She'll be right back, I promise," Shannon said and Ava was glad that she seemed to be mindful of Diego's feelings, using the name as if it hadn't just been given to him two minutes ago. He nodded, though he did seem a little concerned, hanging on to Ava for a second when she gently let go of his hand, smiling at him apologetically.
"Okay," Diego said in a small voice.
"I'll be right back, I promise," Ava said, needing to do something to reassure him. She was surprised how much she already felt for the boy, but then again, giving him the name of her childhood best friend probably didn't help with getting attached. Which from what Jillian had said most likely was not the best idea, since she hadn't been optimistic about Diego's chances of survival.
But Ava didn't want to think about that, so she just gave Diego a last comforting smile and followed Shannon, Mary and Yasmine outside into the corridor, where Lilith was waiting already, still looking uncomfortable but not in pain anymore. Shannon immediately turned to Ava, frowning.
"What does all of this mean? Who is 'mother'?" Shannon turned to Lilith. "And what happened to you in there? Mary said your symbiote became uneasy? What does that mean?" Shannon asked, confusion in her voice. Lilith still looked confused.
"Yes. My symbiote became agitated the second I stepped into that room. It made me nauseous and unbalanced. I had to leave the room," Lilith said, evenly but still with concern in her voice. Shannon shook her head and looked at Ava, who nodded, briefly looking at Beatrice, who was now coming towards them with a tablet in hand, joining their group but not saying anything.
"Reetu. That's what Diego said. I know of them, though I've never met one," Ava said, looking at Lilith for recognition but not getting any, so assuming she didn't know, which was not surprising, as Jaffa usually weren't told these things. "They are invisible without special instruments, existing in another dimension. Goa'uld symbiotes are sensitive to them, getting very agitated when they're in the vicinity. I do not have my symbiote anymore, otherwise I would know, but I think it is a good bet that Diego's 'mother' is a Reetu and made him to communicate with us."
"You're saying some invisible alien has been on the base for however long, following us around?" Shannon asked. "And then what, opened the iris for the kid to come through when the time was right?"
Beatrice stepped forward even more and nodded, pointing at a tablet in her hands, looking at Ava and Shannon.
"That is how the iris behaved, yes. We have tracked the deactivation to a secondary access point on the other side of the base. Camera footage shows that the computer was accessed but nobody is visible in the room. Which means Ava is right, there most likely is an invisible alien here."
Everyone tensed at that, looking around them suspiciously. Mary shook her head.
"I'm guessing if she followed us for weeks, mommy dearest isn't out to get us. But is there a way for us to see her somehow? Cause I really don't like the idea of some invisible aliens having free reign of the base," Mary said, her tone irritated. Ava nodded.
"Yes. As far as I know, the Tok'ra have developed a way to make Reetu visible, which is a weapon against them at the same time. We should contact them, tell them what's going on here," Ava said, looking at Mary specifically, seeing that contacting the Tok'ra first and foremost meant contacting her mother and with it, Selmak, Anne's symbiote, one of the Tok'ra leaders. Mary nodded, turning to Shannon, who also nodded.
"Yes, that sounds like a good plan. Ava, can you stay with Diego? If he is a danger, we will find out soon enough and if he's just a pawn in this game, I wouldn't want him to be alone and he seems to have bonded with you."
Ava nodded again, smiling.
"Yes, of course. I'll make sure he's alright and I'm sure Jillian will too."
Shannon acknowledged her and with that, she, Lilith, Mary and Beatrice left while Yasmine went back inside with Ava, which she was grateful for, as she felt like she needed all the support she could get to deal with this situation. Even with Diego not being a threat, the fact that he would not survive long weighed heavily on Ava's heart. But there was nothing she could do about it, other than making him as comfortable as possible for whatever time he had remaining.
Ava only hoped she was up for that task.