"I'm going to kill him" Vala announced while wadding through a marshland swamp "P2X893 is a beautiful planet, Vala" she mimicked the words of Cameron "A tropical paradise" the whinny tone kicking in.
"Vala, it's just a rainforest" Carter grinned at her as she shot back a glare
"Yes, a RAIN forest!" she snapped "meaning wet, smelly, hot, sticky, stale, humid and above all else…"
"Would you shut up!" Cameron yelled from a few metres ahead. The five of them had been trudging through the muddy earth for almost an hour now and Vala's whining had been grating on everyone's nerves.
"At least we haven't come across any snakes" Sam smiled and quickened her pace, leaving Vala to stare back at her as the possibilities mounted in her head.
As Sam caught up with Daniel, she caught the tail end of a snicker and shook her head at him.
"You know, you're probably the only person here who's going to be able to calm her" she not so subtly pointed out. But Daniel merely shook his head in reply.
"She'll cut it out soon enough" he told her and Sam nodded
"I hope for her sake, you're right"
It was another 40 minutes before they reached the village SG12 had recommended they check out. The civilisation seemed to be untouched by the Ori but the planets estimated population alone was enough reason for it to be targeted soon.
This particular village though, was said to house a weapon of great power. The village elders had reported that 'A great time ago, there had been a sentient being that had come and defeated the evil rulers with but one simple statue.'
Daniel was beyond excited.
Most of the trail had lightened up since the marshes but heavy downpour had left SG1 dripping as they entered the village. In the dark, the storm provided, there was little they could see as they entered the village, but two SG12 members and a young man met with them quickly and rushed them into a tower of sorts.
Inside, it was warm. There was a fireplace nearby and a small group of villagers surrounded them, pulling off their heavy vests and weapons and wrapping cloth around them. On first glance, the architecture looked like a mix between roman Greek and Indian. Later Daniel would conclude that it was of indo-European origin, but for now, all that they were really interested in was getting dry and with any luck, clean.
They were rushed into separate rooms, men together, and women together. The rooms seemed to be communal shower rooms and looked to occupy many people. Sam quickly assessed that the villagers who had taken them into the shower room were men and had put the breaks on any physical contact very quickly. But the men made no attempt to wash them, and instead left the room without showing their faces, leaving fresh clothes for them to change into.
"That was…strange." Vala commented as she watched them retreat and then start to unbuckle her belt.
"Gender must play a vital role in this village" Sam responded while Vala gave her a vacant look.
"Meaning?" she asked as she untied her laces
"Meaning, you and I might need to be on our toes about what we do and say" Carter warned hoping not to revisit her time with the Mongolian villagers.
"How come?" Vala asked intrigued as Sam began to undress.
"Uh, Daniel would do a better job of explaining it, but most patriarchal societies have very strict laws that oppress women. Things like, women not being allowed to be seen in public or being allowed to speak without being spoken to" Sam explained briefly as she shed her clothing down to her underwear and then stood under a shower to wash off the grime.
"So this is a patriarchal society?" Vala asked from a nearby shower and Sam shook her head.
"I don't know, but It could be, so just keep your head low and try not to speak until we can assess the situation" Sam told her and Vala grudgingly agreed. A few moments later, they were met by a young girl, just after they had been dressed. She was small and looked very frail but she had a very beautiful face.
"My name is Atina" she spoke as she neared them "I have come to welcome you to our village" she smiled warmly as she bowed her head in greeting.
"You have?" Vala eyes grew wide with scepticism
"Yes" she responded simply
"Uh, where's the rest of our team?" Sam asked as she stood a little closer to see her face better in the poor light.
"They are with the ones who call themselves SG12" the girl explained
"Are they being welcomed too?" Vala asked and the girl shook her head and laughed.
"No, they are being dressed in more appropriate clothing so to avoid judgement in the village" she explained but upon sensing the tension, she continued "every villager must dress respectably"
"Can we see them?" Sam asked and the girl nodded, follow me and I will take you to them, but only after you have been dressed in the appropriate attire" she promised while they shot glances between each other as they followed behind her.
A short while later, in the mens quarters, the male members of SG1 were being briefed on the situation by SG12.
"They're a bit touchy about appearances around here but otherwise, they seem friendly and are generally open to the idea of helping fight the Ori." One of the SG12 members explained "the village seems to be primarily run by men, or at least the father of this kid who they all admire… or something to that effect, but women seem to be held in very high regard" he finished
"Which makes sense given how few of them there are around here" another spoke up.
"What are we talking one woman to every two men?" Cameron asked but this only got a chuckle.
"More like one to every 12, Sir" a third member spoke
"They have a relative understanding of the cause though" the final member spoke "they have just started to touch on genetics and know that statistically they are far more likely to have boys because of the female gene weakening" he explained "but the leader here seems to think that this is normal and that it only grows weak because of the absence of their fertility god."
"God or goddess?" Daniel asked from the back of the group
"Actually, goddess" he replied "the statue that they're all talking about is a sculpture of the goddess or 'sentient woman' who saved them from the Goa'uld" he paused to gauge Daniels reaction "I'm thinking Oma…" he offered but Daniel shook his head.
"Oma follows the rules too strictly for that, she breaks the rules by helping people ascend but she couldn't prevent their death" Daniel explained
"Orlin" Cameron offered but it was quickly shot down.
"Perhaps another ascended being is helping these people" Teal'c voiced what they were all thinking.
"Which means that statue might not be the device we're looking for" Cameron sighed
Suddenly there was a horn being blown in the distance and then men dressed in robes, similar to the ones they had all been provided, ran through the room, hastily following the sound.
"What's going on?" Daniel asked but none of SG12 seemed to have any answers, so they followed the men instead.
They soon entered a great hall where people appeared to be gathering near a stage where a tall statue of a woman in revealing warriers clothing and a set of wings that resembled fairy wings, stood. A child stepped on to the Stage and with her was what looked to be a woman with a mask over her face, being restrained by two men with their faces turned away. They held her out before the crowd under the Childs instruction while a grown man stood back beside another woman who was bound to a pole.
Daniel gasped, seeing that the other woman was Vala and could only hope that the woman being held before the crowd was not Sam.
"Behold!" the child yelled "our goddess has returned!" she finished after pulling the mask off of Sam's face. The crowd went silent with the reveal and then after a long moment, broke into a cheer. Daniel turned to the statue, only now seeing the startling resemblance between it and Sam.