"Yeah," Brigadier General Jack O'Neill said, as he hunched over and took up some snow in his hand. He then quickly made it into a snowball and looked around for a victim. His eyes landed on Carter and a wicked smile came to his face. He threw it at her only to have her duck at the last moment and the snowball found its mark on the back of Dr. Daniel Jackson. Daniel didn't react to the snowball hitting him, and that caused Jack to be concerned. "Daniel?" His eyes sought out Carter and he watched the small smile that had been on her face fade away. His eyes followed her gaze and he let out a soft curse. "What the hell?"
There in front of Daniel was a large wooden post, and at the bottom, there was a young woman chained to it. "Do you think she is okay?" Daniel asked Sam, as he took a step towards her only to have her try to move away from him. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Daniel. I'm here to help you."
Jack came up to stand next to Sam as Teal'c began to look around the area. "Carter," Jack said in a low tone, and she turned to look at him, turning her back to Daniel and the woman. "Something's not right here."
"I know, Sir," Carter said, as she tightened her grip on her gun. "I get a weird feeling about this place."
"Same here." Jack shot a glance over at her shoulder to were Daniel stood trying to talk to the girl. "Carter, go help Daniel out. See if she's okay and if she knows what's going on. Teal'c and I will secure the area."
"Yes, Sir." Sam then moved over to Daniel's side. "So Daniel, what do we know about her?"
"Not much, Sam," Daniel started, as he began to pull off his pack. "She's human and cold."
"That I figured, Daniel." Carter then hunched down in front of the woman. "It looks like she's been here all night." Carter then began to check out the woman for injuries, and found none. The woman appeared to be in her mid to late twenties, and wore a torn, dirty tan T-shirt, and fatigue pants, and had no shoes on. The woman jerked away from Sam's touch, but her action gave Sam a chance to see the SGC badge on her shoulder. Sam quickly got to her feet and went to Jack's side. "Sir, we need to talk."
"Okay, Carter. What's up?" His eyes went back to the woman. "How is she?"
"She seems fine, Sir, but I noticed something different about her."
"Like what, Carter?" Daniel got to his feet and joined them, as well as Teal'c. "Care to explain."
"Different other than the fact that she's chained to a post in the snow?" Daniel asked, as he fidgeted with his glasses.
"What about her, Carter?" Jack asked her, as he came closer to her side so that he could see the woman better and still hear Sam. "Spill it."
"She's wearing what are the remains of an SGC uniform, Sir."
"What?!" Both Jack and Daniel asked in a high pitched tone.
"Are you sure, Sam?" Daniel asked, moving so his back was to the woman.
"Yes, Daniel, I'm sure. I can tell these things."
"Right. How did she get here? How come she's not been reported missing?
"My only question is why is she chained to the post in front of the gate," Jack stated, as Daniel turned to look at the woman again. "There has to be a good reason for that."
"I don't know, Jack," Daniel answered him before he turned around to face him. "Why don't you go ask her?"
"I have a better idea. Daniel, you and Teal'c go talk to that nice looking group of people that is heading our way." They looked up to see a group of ten, heavily armed men coming towards them. "They seem like nice folks."
"On the contrary, O'Neill, they look rather upset," Teal'c pointed out, as he moved away from the group.
"Good Observation, Teal'c." Jack moved to stand closer to Teal'c and Daniel. "Carter, you and I are going to have a nice chat with our friend here."
"Yes, Sir," Carter said, as she turned towards the woman.
"Get away from her," the leader said to them, as the men aimed their weapons at Carter and Jack. "She's a sacrifice to our God, Craven. If he does not receive his sacrifice, he'll destroy our village."
"Craven is not a god," the woman yelled at the man, causing Sam and Jack to look down at her. "He's a Goa'uld. He is no god."
"You die, girl," the man yelled, as he threw his knife in her direction, only to have Teal'c block it. "Why are you saving her, Jaffa? She isn't worth it. She's been a plague to my people since she and the other arrived through the great circle."
"That gives you no right to hurt her," Daniel said, as he stood in front of them, and they turned their attention upon him and Teal'c. "This is not the way to solve this problem."
"She is the only one left to be sacrificed out of the outsiders."
"What?" the woman cried out, as she fought to free herself from the chains. "There were hundreds of outsiders. How can I be the last?"
"Well you and your companion were the last ones."
"Mark and I were the last outsiders?"
"Yes, my child, and that means you were choose to be given as a sacrifice for our village. Craven will enjoy your company."
"I don't think so," Jack said, as he motioned to Carter and she began to pick the lock above the woman's head. "No one should be given up as a sacrifice to anyone."
"It's the law of Craven."
"I don't care."
"You should."
"Why?"
"Because we have the power to place all of you as sacrifices to Craven."
"Thomas, you have no right," the woman said, as she slowly got to her feet with Sam's help. "You maybe the leader of your village but you don't understand the Goa'uld at all. They are not gods. They are parasites who have enslaved a host's body for more than a thousand years. They are not gods, they are monsters."
"You lie," Thomas yelled at the woman as he fired the Zat that was in his hand. The woman went down in a heap and before Jack knew what was happening, Sam pushed him out of the way as Thomas Zated her. "Craven is our God. You are stupid to say that he is othing."
"You don't see what he has done," the woman said, as she fought to get back to her feet. "He's destroyed most of the villages on this world. What makes you think that once he has me for a slave, he won't destroy your world?"
"He wouldn't dare. We are the ones who train his slaves. We make them forget where they come from."
"Like you did me?"
"Yes, but you were stronger than most of the slaves that Craven sent to us. You and the other didn't break like the others. It took us longer, but we did finally break you."
"No, you didn't."
"What?"
"I remember everything of my life before I came here. I grew up on a planet far from here and I betrayed that planet." That got a shocked and confused look from O'Neill. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I have to report that I'm a rogue NID agent. My companion and I were stranded here after a fight we had with the commander. My name is Lt. Jesse Marshall."
"Okay, how does that explain what's going on here?" Jack asked her, as he took a step towards her.
"It doesn't, sir."
"That's helpful."
"I'm sorry, sir." TBC