Disclaimer: Stargate and all it's components don't belong to me. If you recongnize stuff in this, it belongs to the Stargate people, if you don't, it's mine. Read and Review. :-D (I promise I'll actually finish this one)

Angels and Demons Among Us -- by A. H. Smith

In a dark, musty room, a young woman lay on a cot, staring at the thatched roof overhang barely visible through the window across from her. The door to the room closes, blocking out a crack of lamplight as a burly man exits the room, a muffled grunt sounding in the hall as he moves further and further away.

Closing her eyes, the woman retreated into the solace of her thoughts, blocking out all sounds around her. Only the sound of her own heartbeat continued to be present in her mind. Stray thoughts poking through to her consciousness were the only things left to remind her she was alive her in this despairing place.

...It doesn't hurt so much now... If I just stay still, the pain goes away... He seemed displeased, perhaps he will not return...

But he did. As did his companions, the four men who had brought her here in the first place. By morning, when the last man had left the room, she had made her decision. In the few minutes before sunrise, as the men undoubtedly lay sleeping in the main room of the house, she gathered her clothing around her and snuck out the window, fleeing into the woods behind the cabin, never once looking back. Wide-eyed, she ran and ran. She no longer felt any pain, even as she ran through low shrubs and across rocks. Even as her muscles became fatigued and cramped, she ran on, feeling nothing. She ran until she reached a clearing, the place where she had fist arrived, gazing with unshed tears of relief at the massive stone circle at its center. The structure looked as if it had simply been dropped into the clearing in front of her, so random and out of place amidst the desolate countryside. Blocking the now risen sun from her eyes, she gazed upon the clearing in trepidation as the entire stone suddenly began to spin and glow, a loud rumbling sounding with the motion. Quickly the stepped out of the clearing and hid behind the tree line as the ground began to tremble, her heart beating in time to the sensation.

They're coming, her subconscious told her. Hide.

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"MALP reports indicate a planet viable for sustaining human life, sir, no visible signs of hostile threat." Sergeant Siler spoke from his position at the monitors in the SGC control room.

"Very well," General Hammond leaned across the man's shoulder to grasp the microphone on the console before them, pausing momentarily to take in the cryptic coordinates neatly arranged on the screen that pinpointed the Stargate address tentatively called, PJX-725. "SG-1, you have a GO," he intoned, all military professionalism. And come back in one piece, he thought to himself as he watched his crowning team disappear across the event horizon. As unmilitary as the sentiment was, the General had a slight soft spot for his oft trouble stricken team, and no CO ever wanted to lose a good man, or woman in the case of Samantha Carter.

The General wished he could pin his unease on any particular member of the group, but the truth of the matter was, ALL of SG-1 had a penchant for less than standard interactions both on and off-world; albeit more markedly with the latter.

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Stepping out from the gate, Daniel Jackson brought up the rear of SG-1 alongside Major Samantha Carter. The planet around them was a sunny 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit without a cloud in the sky. A clearing surrounded the gate in a nearly exact radius of 15 yards from the point from where he stood just over the event horizon. At the edge of the clearing, the landscape turned abruptly to a mix of tall, dense forest and brush.

Daniel couldn't see any signs of civilization surrounding the gate, there wasn't even a path coming from the clearing or into the woods. All he could hear was the rustle of some animal life and calls of birds in the treetops far above. "Great," he thought to himself as a sneeze built up from deep within him. "Just what I needed, a planet full of trees." Only momentarily discouraged, he and Sam fanned out to the left, heading towards the tree line as the gathered as much data about the planet as the could with their array of instruments. With a little work, it would prove to be a viable option for the ever-growing list of possible locations for the beta-site. Momentarily engrossed in his observations, Daniel didn't notice the addition to their group until she spoke, drawing his eyes up from his notes and causing his stomach to sink rapidly as he took her in.

Before them stood a young woman, maybe four or five years younger than himself he reasoned, based on what little he could see of her smooth features. Her clothing was literally tied along her body, although he could see it had once been intact, but had been torn away at some point. Dirt and blood marred the visible skin of her arms, legs and face. He eyes were half-wild behind rapidly darkening bruises along her face. Her breathing came quickly and hitched often, leading him to guess she had been running until shortly before their arrival. Sensing the fear that seemed to radiate in waves from her as he slowly moved closer to Carter, and her by default, he raised his palms casually. "It's ok, we're not going to hurt you," he began as he moved past Carter to a point nearer to her. Her gaze seemed to bore right through him for the bare instant when she took him in before turning her attention to Carter, shakily reaching out her hand to grasp the officer's forearm with surprising strength.

"You must leave," she said desperately, "Leave now, or they will hurt you too!"

"Why would your people hurt us?" Samantha queried, puzzled and concerned at the same time.

Shaking her head, the woman seemed to draw up every ounce of strength in her as she spoke again, "YOU," she emphasized the word by looking intently at Sam as she repeated her message, "not them," her gaze shifted to encompass Teal'C, O'Neill and Daniel as the second half of SG-1 moved behind Daniel several yards back.

"What's going on her Major?" Jack asked as they approached.

"She says we should go back through the Stargate NOW, for our... MY safety, sir."


Glancing at the Major and the good Doctor, unease briefly crossed Jack's featured as he took in the figure before them fully, Moving his gaze to lock eyes with the woman as she spoke again, this time addressing him.

"They are not my people," she said vehemently. "I was brought here against my will." Her gaze bored right through Jack as she spoke the words. He had a pretty good idea, based on her appearance, what had happened after that. It made him ill. He steadied himself mentally, now was not the time.

"Please..." the woman spoke again, her voice a pleading whisper, "Help me." She locked eyes with Daniel as her strength finally failed her body and she crumpled into his lightening fast reach to support her.

Narrowly managing to avoid her head hitting the ground, Daniel scooped the limp figure up into his arms, cringing momentarily as his hands touched fresh blood along her exposed legs. He didn't want to think about where it had come from at the moment. Mentally he cried out, as he took in more fully the multitude of marks visible from just her run through the forest and the array of growing bruises across her face, arms and legs. He raised his gaze to make eye contact with Jack, who judging by the expression on his face had been making a similar observation.

Jack swallowed, assessing and making on of the decisions that being in command often mandated. Ashen faced, the woman in Daniel's arms appeared to have been holding on simply through sheer will power to get his team off the planet. Jack's stomach rolled at her condition, he hadn't seen a woman that badly mistreated in a long time.

"Teal'C," he turned his head slightly towards the Jaffa as he spoke, "dial home, we'll be right behind you."

Approaching the now stable event horizon that would lead the team plus one back home to Earth, Jack ordered Carter through first to alert the medics what to be ready for and to brief General Hammond about the additional member of their party. He watched Daniel and the mystery woman shimmer through next and brought up the rear with Teal'C, backs to the gate and weapons at the ready in preparation for any appearance by the hostile natives (or so he assumed) the woman had warned them of; but there were none. SG-1's return trip through the Stargate was as uneventful as their arrival had been only seven minutes earlier.