Stargate Defense - season one

Chapter Three

Van looked up as Mal, Lee, and Vala stepped up beside the case that held the ZPM. "Uh, why are you guys here? And why is Vala with you?"

"Well?" Lee asked Vala.

Vala walked around the case studying it. "The glass is thick. A great deal of force will be required." She bent and peered closely at the glass. "The entire thing is alarmed."

Van rose from where he'd been sitting on the floor writing in his notebook. "You are not stealing this!"

"Shush, Van!" Lee waved a hand at him.

"I will not shush! That ZPM belongs in this museum, you can't just take it! It's a holy relic!"

"Yes, to them it is, to us it's a power source we desperately need!" she hissed.

"I don't care! Why can't you let me do this my way?"

Glass shattered and he turned a horrified look on Vala as she stepped back and replaced the metal item she'd picked up from another display back in its place. "Now would be a good time Captain," Vala told Lee.

"Me, why me?"

"I promised General Carter I'd never lay a finger on anything without permission. Do you want me to break that promise?"

"Fine." Lee opened the backpack she carried, pulled out the dead ZPM and handed it to Mal. She snatched the one from the case and shoved it into the bag while Mal placed the dead one on the pedestal. "Perfect!"

No sooner had they placed it in the spot where the original ZPM had sat than people flooded into the space.

"What happened?" the museum director asked.

"Not sure, we were admiring the relic and the glass shattered. It was the strangest thing!" Lee told them in a voice she hoped conveyed confusion.

"This has never happened before. I don't understand!" The man moved closer to inspect the shattered glass. "Very odd."

"It is. Would you like us to stay and help you clean this up?"

He waved several men forward and they carefully removed the relic. "Take it and lock it safely away until we can repair this." He turned a smile on Lee. "Thank you, we'll get it all straightened out. Is everyone all right?"

"Oh yes, thank goodness. Is the relic okay?" Vala asked cheerfully.

"It appears unharmed. Thank the Teachers for that!"

"Yes, indeed. Perhaps I'm simply bad luck. My friends brought me here to see the lovely thing and the glass exploded on us." Vala laughed lightly.

The museum director chuckled. "I doubt that such a pretty lady could ever be bad luck!"

"Why thank you, sir!"

Mal sighed. "We've come back to not only show Vala the relic, but to retrieve Dr. Walsh, I'm afraid we have another mission to attend to. We would love to return to continue our study of your lovely culture."

"Of course, you are friends and always welcome here."

Mal bowed to the director. "Thank you."

The director grinned and took Mal's hand. "Thank you all for remaining when the glass shattered to protect the relic.

"Any time," Lee told the man.

"All right, let's move out." Mal ushered a stuttering Van toward the door.

"You can't do this!" Van hissed. "It's wrong!"

"Van, they'll never know the difference. That ZPM looks the same as the one we took. They aren't using it to power anything, it just sits there behind the glass. As far as they're concerned they still have their precious relic. No harm done."