"Chevron 7 – Locked." Walter announced, leaning back in his chair as General Hammond spoke into the microphone.
"Be careful out there, SG1. And remember – this is a reconnaissance mission. Talk to the villagers, establish their situation, and then get out of there. Stay on their good side; we could use all the allies we can get."
"Sure thing, sir." Colonel O'Neill replied, giving a mock salute to his CO. Major Samantha Carter, his 2IC glanced at him sceptically, amazed as ever at his flippant attitude – and his ability to get away with it. She'd grown used to it, of course, but she still marvelled at his ability to be so simple and yet so complex. Or perhaps that was just her. After seven years, she still had no idea were she stood with him. There was no denying she had feelings for him, not that she'd ever admit it. She wasn't quite sure why, because she knew that at least Daniel and Teal'c, the other members of SG1 knew there was something more between them, More even than the brotherly relationship she had with them, yet still neither made their move, or acknowledged their feelings for each other. They each followed regulations that governed their lives, in and out of work. Work, after all, had become their lives.
Jack set the pace, walking briskly through the forest, taking no time to examine the ruins scattered throughout the trees. Sam too walked fast, though a little slower than normal, taking the time to get a brief glimpse at the crumbling structures to store away for later. Daniel Jackson was furthest behind, hardly walking at all. Teal'c decided to hang back with Dr Jackson – the archaeologist wasn't known to be the luckiest of people. As Jack and Sam walked ahead, Colonel O'Neill noticed for the first time that Daniel and Teal'c weren't with them.
"Carter, weren't Daniel and Teal'c here a second ago?" He asked.
"Yes, sir. They're just behind us." Sam replied, pausing to look over her shoulder. 'Just' behind us turned out to be a slight exaggeration – Teal'c and Daniel couldn't have been closer than a couple of hundred metres. O'Neill stopped as well, turning to shout across to Daniel, who was completely immersed in his binoculars. Teal'c stood, impassive as usual, but looking slightly bored, next to him.
"Oi, Danny, Whatcha looking at!" O'Neill called, smiling at the archaeologist.
"I believe Dr Jackson is studying some of the ancient ruins." Teal'c cut in.
"Well, yes, Teal'c, but these ruins show distinctive marks of-" Daniel started, before Jack interrupted him.
"Save it for later, Danny. This is reconnaissance only. Get to know the locals, don't get our asses into any trouble, get out, got it? We can look at some piles of old stone later." Although Daniel had grown used to Jack's teasing, even grown to like it a little, it still infuriated him when he was made to pass up a chance to look at remains like these. Catching up to Jack and Sam, Teal'c and Daniel started to walk faster as the ruins disappeared into the background. Soon they were surrounded by nothing but dense forest. They walked in a companionable silence, waiting to reach the villagers the malp detected. They had spotted some signs of high-level technology, which had prompted SG1's visit.
As Sam went on and on about some technobabble, Teal'c found himself wondering about the lack of residents of the community that was growing ever closer. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, and as Sam eventually grew quiet, he knew that she felt it as well. O'Neill too was obviously tense, and it seemed to be only Daniel who was unaware of the fifth presence, as he took over from Sam, this time rambling on about the ruins he'd seen earlier. This was incredibly irritating for Sam, who was trying to source the cause of her discomfort. She would have wondered if she did this to others, but she trusted her instincts and knew she wouldn't talk over anything important. Daniel on the other hand – well.
"Shut up, Daniel." Jack cut across the archaeologist's stream of words. In the few seconds where he was unable to speak, his ego wounded, he picked up on what the other three were listening for. Teal'c stiffened, and slowly turned towards Sam. She too, was tense, looking at a space in the foliage directly in front of her, and Jack was glaring at the tree as if it were the sole cause of their agitation. All three raised their weapons, and Daniel followed suit.
"It's ok." He called out. "You can come out. We're explorers. We don't want to hurt you." Whoever was there wasn't stupid. They could see the raised weapons of all four members, and took their time in scrambling down the tree, and only emerged from the bushes after further coaxing from Daniel. The team was mildly surprised to what they might have thought was a woman, if it wasn't for her slight lack of definition in her body structure. She was clearly not a child though, and Sam placed her at fourteen or fifteen. She was shorter than Sam, but not by much, and it would be a safe bet to place her at 5'4 or 5'5. She was scarily thin, and had a scar that ran down the left hand side of her face, along her cheekbone. There were signs of bruising, but nothing was recent. Her clothes were torn, the ragged trousers she was wearing already too small, the shirt barely covering her body. It looked as though it had once been white, but it was now brown with grime and mud. When she moved, it caused the fabric to shift, revealing more scars and bruises, again faded. Despite this, the obviously malnourished girl still stood proud, stance showing she was not afraid of a fight. It was obvious that though there was little strength in the body, there was enough in the mind that controlled it to give it enough strength to continue. The team estimated that she'd been living out in the forest for around a month, if not more.
"Adrae." She introduced herself, dipping her head to them. Daniel stepped forward, ready to make the greetings, but O'Neill beat him to it.
"I'm Colonel O'Neill. Call me Jack." He started, nodding at Carter to speak.
"Major Samantha Carter. Sam."
"Teal'c"
"I'm Daniel Jackson. We are peaceful explorers from earth." He finished, replicating the head-dipping gesture she had shown them. She paused for a moment, surveying them.
"You came through the ring?" She asked eventually.
"Yes." Daniel replied.
"You are from another world?"
"Yes."
"Why do we speak the same language? How do you get the ring to transport you?" She asked, a look of curiosity crossing her face that reminded Jack of Sam when she found a particularly complicated piece of alien technology.
"Well," Sam began "When you input the correct sequence of commands into the gate system, it produces a wormhole to-"
"Carter." Jack cut her off. "You can explain later. For now," He said, turning to Adrae "Are you from the village?"
She paused before answering.
"I was. Before I ran away. Then I was outlawed. Are you headed there?" At the words 'ran away' she could sense four pairs of eyes looking at the scars across her body. She glared at them, telling them to stop.
"Yes." Jack admitted. He was getting angry at the villagers before he met them.
"In that case, let me welcome you to Ebana. It'll likely be the only welcome you'll get."
"Well, we'd best be pressing on." Jack muttered.
"Indeed. It was a pleasure to meet you, Adrae." Teal'c added, turning to the rest of SG1.
"Should we not be taking heed of Colonel O'Neill's suggestion?" Teal'c stated quietly. Sam and Daniel nodded, and the group started walking.
"I swear if I find the bastard that did that to her…" Jack muttered under his breath. From somewhere behind them, Adrae called out;
"Be careful! The villagers do not know of the ring, and will not be kind in getting information from you." When Daniel glanced around, she was nowhere to be seen. Swallowing back her warning, the team continued.
