Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction using the character from Stargate: Atlantis which I do not own.

Pairing: Jennifer Keller x OC (Jak)
Timeline: Season 4

A hooded figure dressed all in black moved swiftly through the dense foliage of the forest. Mist hung in the air and caused everything to take on a musky smell and become damp. Each step he took was carefully planned and he made not a sound as he moved forward. A snap of a twig broke the silence and he crouched down taking cover in a large crop of leaves. He peered through them and found his target. There were two mumbling at each other. While his hearing was superior even he was too far away to make out the word.

He grinned, he had finally found his prey. He swore that they would not escape him once more. He was just about to make his move to slaughter the two barbarians he had found and movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

Two more of their tribe had joined. While he would have no problem dispatching of four it would take more planning than just running forward and attacking. He slowly climbed up the tree to get himself a better view point. He heard the faint rustling of leaves and jerked his head towards the south. He sighed in relief when it was just his companion jumping from branch to branch on his way back to him.

"What have I told you about noise?" he rumbled once his companion reached his. The small creature just titled his head and shrugged. He just shook his head and looked back towards the barbarian. He saw that something had caught the eye of one of the new arrivals and turned to see what else was lurking in the forest.

He was surprised to see two figures stumbling through the woods away from the Barbarians. He furrowed his brow and tried to see who they were but they were quickly out of the range of his sight. He watched as the Barbarians lumbered through the forest like the lurkers that were so prevalent on his home world.

He took off after them travelling by jumping from tree branch to tree branch. He easily caught up with the barbarians and followed them back to their camp. He could see that there were easily huts for fifteen however he knew that a standard raiding party consisted of thirty or more. He watched as they started banging on a nearby drum and the sound echoed through the entire forest he was sure. He saw his chance and moved to take care of the four that were alone in the camp awaiting the return of the rest.

He jumped to the tree that allowed him to perch over them and silently dropped down. He quickly slit the throat of the closest barbarian before thrusting forward and stabbing the second straight through the eye killing him instantly. The other two put up a fight but with a few jabs he was able to free his gun from his holster and with two well-placed shots the final two dropped to the ground.

He barely broke a sweat but stood in silence for a moment. He even held his breath as he listened closely to the noises around him. He could hear heavy footsteps coming towards him but was unable to tell how many were on their way. He decided that it wasn't in his best interest to wait and climbed back up to the trees and made his way out of the camp and in the direction he had seen the two strangers escape.

"Dax come" he hissed when he saw his companion wasn't following and was instead sitting on a branch munching on some leaves. He paused a moment until he heard the soft sounds of his friend following before he set off once more.

In the distance he could swear he heard a shrill scream and bolted for where he thought it came from. As he flew through the trees he could hear the rushing water of a nearby river he wondered if one of the strangers had fallen into the rapids and were washed down the waterfall that was close by.

He made it to the river ahead of the barbarians who also had heard the scream and saw two women on the bridge. There was a fair skinned red head who was dangling from a rope bridge. He was about to jump down to offer aid but he saw that the olive skinned woman seemed to have a firm grip on the situation and figured his own presence would only hinder the rescue. He didn't move until both women were safe on the other side and thought about what he should do.

He could hear the barbarians were running towards the river and make a snap decision. He dropped form the trees and pulled his sword from its sheath and hacked at the ropes and watched as it dropped down and he cut off the only quick way over the river. He knew he just cut off his own means to cross as well but he figured if he could save the woman and give them a few minutes extra to escape his conscience was clear. He jumped back up into the tree and saw seven barbarians converge on his location.

He grinned widely as they screamed in anger when they saw that the bridge was destroyed. He could tell they were unsure of how to proceed but it seemed that they only paused for a mere moment before they all began the perilous journey across the river by climbing down the cliffs.

He took this chance and when the final two were beginning their descent he notched and arrow in his bow and let it fly. He swiftly reached back and pulled a second arrow and let that one fly in quick succession. He watched as both arrows hit their target with deadly precision. The two dead barbarians fell further down and were washed away by the river. He disappeared down the river still jumping through the trees and found his own way to cross.

He looked up at the sun and scowled. It had taken him much longer than anticipated to cross the river and make his way back up stream. The sun was now setting and night was quickly descending upon the forest. He quickly pulled down his goggles and flicked a switch for night and infrared vision. He peered around and saw a small group of three barbarians only ten meters away from him. He smirk and quickly slaughter the animals like they deserved.

Before he called it a night he was able to take out an additional seven barbarians. He then climbed a tall tree and flicked off his googles and pushed them back up on top of his head. He leant back against the tree he was in and patted his leg. Soon Daxter was curled up in his lap and he broke up some jerky he had in his pack for him and his companion.

While he refused to sleep while there was an unknown number of enemies around he did close his eyes and just relaxed to the sound of the river flowing beside him.

He was on the move before the sun had even fully risen in the sky. He wanted to see if the strangers had made it through the night. He hoped so, nobody deserved what the barbarians would do to them. After a couple hours of searching he had only been able to kill two more barbarians by stabbing them in the back and he found himself up on a ridge looking down into a very small clearing. He saw the two women standing side by side with makeshift weapons. He noticed that while the olive-skinned woman looked very confident holding her knife and branch the other a beautiful fair skinned red-head who looked skittish and nervous as her gaze swept from side to side. She may look nervous, but she also looked like a princess and he dreaded what would happen to these women if he didn't intervene

He looked around and noticed that the women were surrounded by barbarians. By his count there were twelve descending on them and he hoped that this was the last of them. He had already killed fourteen barbarians and he hoped that the strangers had at least killed a couple because based on his calculations that would be the entire hunting party.

He stood back as he watched the barbarians close in on the two women. He vaguely registered and man crawling from the clearing but deemed him a non-threat and kept his eyes on the women. The dark haired women held her own and he was thoroughly impressed by her skills and she was able to mortally wound two barbarians before they managed to get hits in and took her down with no mercy in their movements. He winced as they picked her up and with dismay he noticed that the other six had taken the red head. He wished that the women hadn't been split up since it would make it hard to rescue them but he shrugged and made a plan.

"Dax… Follow the four with the dark-skinned woman and I'll find you…keep out of sight" he said as he double checked the camera that was attached to his little friends harness and then watched as he disappeared up the trees.

He nodded and turned back towards the fair skinned woman. It was obvious while she was struggling that she didn't know how to fight and would be of little help in the rescue attempt. He climbed the tree and followed the group silently. It seemed that they were leading them in the same direction as the others but wanted to keep the women separate.

He reached into his pocket and winced as he realized he only had one stun bomb left on him. He made a mental note to make some more when he got back to camp. He moved closer and tossed the bomb so it landed almost directly in the middle of the group. Within a second a small bang sounded and a pulse wave shot out from the bomb and all seven people dropped to the ground.

He winced as he saw the woman drop awkwardly to the ground but he figured she would forgive him since he was saving her from a horrible fate. He knew that the stun would only last about twenty minutes so he quickly dropped to the ground and swiftly slit the throats of the unconscious barbarians. After they were dead he picked up their bodies and moved them off to the side, he assumed the beautiful red head would not want to wake up to the sight of death all around her.

He searched them quickly and took only a couple of their weapons. He only wanted the daggers that he could throw. He had enough swords and everything else he had no use for axes and they were heavy and cumbersome, he much preferred sleek light-weight weapons.

He ripped off part of one of the barbarians shirts and started to clean off his knife. It was another ten minutes before the silence was broken by a groan. He looked over from where he was sitting to see the red head stirring from where he placed her up against a nearby tree.

"Wha…" she groaned and brought her hand up to her head.

He stood up and slowly made his way over to her. He made sure to make noise so that she knew he was there. He didn't want to scare the woman more than she already was. He stood back a couple feet and watched as she stumbled to her feet and looked at him. He noted absently that even though she was tired, dirty and injured she was the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Jak" he answered and waved slightly. He was always a little awkward around new people and it didn't help that this was not a great first contact situation.

"Jennifer" she answered absently before she started her panicked questioning once more, "What happened? Where are the Bola Kai? Wait…" she stopped and jerked out in a circle, "Teyla!" she yelled out, "Where is Teyla?"

"Taken" he answered assuming that Teyla was the woman that was with her previously. He wanted to wait until she calmed down a little before trying to mount a rescue for her friend. It would be much easier if he didn't have to worry about her getting captured or hurt while he was freeing the other woman.

"By the Bola Kai? Where are the ones that took me?" The woman asked.

He wasn't sure who the Bola Kai were but assumed they were the barbarians so Jak just pointed off to the side where the dead bodies were piled. He watched as she took in the pile and he was worried when her face paled dramatically and she looked like she was about to be sick. He moved forward and held out his canteen. He hoped water would help.

"Thanks" she muttered and grabbed hold of the bottle. He noticed that she sniffed the contents first and nodded in appreciation of her wariness. She was right not to trust him but he hoped that he could instill enough trust in him that she would let him help her save her friend.

"So…What happened?" the red head finally asked.

"You were separated. Followed you. Stunned the barbarians. Killed them. Saved you"

"Well that was succinct"

He grinned a little at the sarcasm that left the woman's mouth. He liked that even though she was scared and nervous that she seemed to keep her humour. He had been told, many times, that he was too quiet and when he spoke he was too blunt. He usually just shrugged it off but figured he should make the effort and try to put the woman at ease.

"I've been hunting these barbarians over two worlds. I saw them attack you and tried to help. Most are dead now I think. We just have to rescue your friend and I will help you get to the portal"

He saw her sigh in relief and grinned. He turned around and started off in the direction that he believed the others went. When he didn't hear noise behind him he turned around and motioned for the woman to follow. He then turned back and kept walking. He could tell by her steps that she was still hesitant to trust him but at least she was working with him.

The unusual duo kept up the quiet walk for ten minutes before they came up on the campsite. They both split up to search the huts and surrounding area for Teyla.

"Here" he said with a grunt and handed her a small hunting knife. He didn't want her going off unprotected while there were still others out there.

"Thanks" she muttered. He could tell that she was shocked that he trusted her with a weapon but he figured that he wasn't holding her hostage. He just prayed to the Precursors that he wouldn't regret his decision to trust the woman with a knife.

"It looks like she already escaped" The woman pointed out. He looked towards where she was standing and saw a cage that was wide open.

"They are already hunting for her again" Jak said and they moved out of the forest, "Do you know where she would go?"

"She'd probably be looking for me…but maybe the gate since she could call for backup"

"Alright" Jak said then turned and moved in the direction of the gate.

As the duo walked through the wooded area Jak kept shooting glances at the woman that walked beside him. It was clear that she was out of her depths and that her ankle was hurting but she kept up her determined stride and never said a word to him about it, it impressed him. They each took turns speaking vaguely of their home but neither gave any indication of where their homes were located and that seemed fine with both of them but Jak had the urge to see her again after they parted way, so he was quick to write his 'gate address on a small piece of parchment and slickly slipped it into one of her bag pockets.

As they approached the gate they picked up the sounds of gun-fire. Jak paused and looked around for cover but Jennifer excitedly grabbed his arm and smiled, "That's got to be back up, come on" Jennifer said and moved forward towards the stargate. Jak paused and decided to travel along the branches, just in case Jennifer was wrong and he needed to surprise the new enemy.

He travelled at the same speed as Jennifer, he hopped from branch to branch and paused at the edge of the forest to looked down on the field that lay before the ring. He saw that a group of seven men, all wearing the same uniform as Jennifer, were talking with the other woman he saw previously, Teyla, and that all the barbarians were dead. Jak watched as Jennifer was reunited with her comrades and he watched with a wistful smile and prayed that Jennifer wanted to see him once more and used the address he snuck into her pack.

Jak watched as Jennifer look around and point towards the forest and he frowned when a large, dreadlocked man look angrily out into the forest and he decided that it would be a good idea to move on to safety and wait for them to leave.

That night Jak fell asleep and dreamt of a future where he woke up in the arms of the beautiful blonde he had only known for a short time.

Challenge: Every Kind of Pairing Competition – Other Fandom

Word Count: 2990