Chapter 1
The sun is shining and a light, warm breeze is makes it a very comfortable day. The place is buzzing with sound of laughing and running children and everybody seems to be enjoying themselves. That being said, all but one. A blond woman lounges on a small bench against an old farmhouse in the burning sun. She looks relaxed and calm, but if you would take the time to look closer you can see her eyes nervously flitting from child, to adult, to animal and back to the child.
"Do something new and exciting they say. Start a new hobby they say. Enjoy the fresh air for once they say. Why the hell am I here?" she mutters to herself.
"Samantha Carter? Hi I'm Jack." A tall, dark haired, strong looking man is walking across the courtyard towards the bench.
"Great and on top of all this, I'm going to make a total fool of myself in front of a really good looking man", Samantha hisses underneath her breath, before getting a grip on herself and muster a dazzling smile on her face. "That's me!"
The two of them walk around the buildings surrounding the courtyard and into the pastures that lay behind.
Please let it be small. Please let be small. Please let be small.
In the middle of these lush green fields are two small and three large sandy riding rings filled with children and adults trotting and galloping in circles on all different sizes of horses. The ring on the far right side is empty except for a middle sized brown horse who is patiently waiting for his rider. The animal lifts his head and looks at Samantha and the instructor as they enter the ring. His ears are bent forwards as he curiously steps towards Samantha.
"Don't worry, he won't bite", Jack says smiling. "Beaver here is one of our older horses and perfectly fit for new riders.'
"You have a horse named Beaver?" The woman grins while the horse pushes his nose against her hand impatiently. Without any further thought Samantha raises her hand and pets the snorting nose of Beaver.
"Are you ready to climb onboard?"
She manages to put her foot in the stirrup and with a little bit of help Samantha pulls herself up onto the horse's back and into the saddle. Jack adjusts the stirrups and shows her how to hold the reigns and steps backwards with a lunge line in his hand. "Don't worry, Beaver can only go in circles. I will control his speed and you only need to hold on for dear life and stay in the saddle."
"Ah, that's nice for poor my back and thighs" With a sight of relieve Samantha lowers herself into her tub full of warm water. She has to admit, riding that horse was a lot more fun that she would ever have dared to hope. Relaxing yet thrilling at the same time. It reminded her of all those missions off world where the balance between action and recreation was just perfect. All those past years were always about captain, major and colonel Sam Carter saving the day with clever inventions or smart solutions. But today was about Samantha Cater being alone and free in a long time. The horse didn't judge her on her looks or smart wits. Not on her knowledge of alien technology or the universe. And definitely not on her military rank or her connections. Who would have thought that an impulsive idea coming from Jack O'neill was such a success. With another deep breath she releases all tension that have built up in her muscles and she lets herself submerge in the water. All is quiet and peaceful. She hasn't felt this much in touch with her inner self in decades.
"Prrrr prrrr"
"Prrrr prrrr"
Even submerged underneath the water the real world is still pulling at Colonel Samantha Carter.
"Prrrr prrrr"
"Prrrr prrrr"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Samantha runs, wrapped in a few towels, through the living room in a hurry to get her phone before it stops ringing. Just before she picks up the phone her eyes flash over the screen and she sees that she already has missed three calls in the past five minutes.
"Colonel Carter"
"Hi Sam, how are you? Taking your time on your day off? Good for you!"
"Hello to you too general O'Neill. Wasn't it you who suggested that I'd take a day off?"
"Yes of course! I just didn't thought that you would actually do it. Damn, now I owe Daniel and Teal'c pizza and beers."
"You guys made a bet whether or not I would be able to take a day off of work and enjoy life?" Samantha asks full disbelieve. "Of course I can take a day off! It's not like I'm a workaholic!"
"Well… then you made a real effort all those past years in convincing us otherwise colonel. Because we were starting to believe that you had become allergic to Earth's atmosphere and you were doomed to an eternal life within Cheyenne Mountain."
"Why are you calling general?"
"We have been summoned to base by general Landry. We are all here already, but you are still gloriously missing."
"Well maybe a certain general should not have suggested a day off. Give me 15 minutes and I'll be there."
"Colonel Carter, good of you to join us. My apologies that I had to pull you from your time off, but you being here was one of their demands" general Landry says the moment Samantha walks into the briefing room.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be here any sooner general"
"Are you walking a bit stiff and funny?" Daniel asks his friend when she finally reaches her chair.
"No I'm not."
"It just looks like… doesn't she likes…?" Daniel looks across the table at Jack for some support who is eager to give it to him.
"Yes, I already thought I saw a slight hiccup in her step. She pulls a bit with her left leg."
"Yes, yes I noticed the same thing! Did you do any sports today? Did you do something where you could pull an actual muscle?"
Five pair of curious eyes are looking directly at Samantha so she decides the best course of defense is offence.
"Yes, I did pull a muscle and yes I did practice a sport today. It's relaxing and satisfactory to be active and outdoors. And since when do the two of you agree on anything?!" She slams, full of passionate fire, her hand onto the table. "And to tell you something really extraordinary… I'm going to it again in the near future!"
"If everybody just wants to calm down again we can start this meeting and I can tell you all why you are here" General Landry slides a few folders across the table.
"With Atlantis floating around the San Francisco Bay we have been having direct access to the database of the Ancients and all their mapping technology. But the most interesting thing about this technology is that apparently worlds have been scanned and cataloged while Atlantis was on its way here to the Milky Way. Worlds that don't have Stargates, worlds that nobody knew were there because of large voids between solar systems and worlds that have newly formed."
"So I take it, general, that something worthwhile has popped up among these new planets?" Jack asks with a bored look on his face. Had they been summoned for this? He was hoping for something wicked space gun, but this is just plain boring.
"Yes, general. Something interesting has been found. It appears that on one of these worlds traces of technology have been detected of a race known to as the Tollans."