On Neruva
Col. Cameron Mitchell's long-awaited punch line was cut short as the five man team stepped through the wormhole onto P3X-399.
Upon arriving, Sam, Cam and Teal'c raised their P-90's slightly, a precautionary action that came with being military. Daniel adjusted his glasses and scanned the room for any kind of artifacts or writing. Vala opened her mouth to question the Colonel's joke but Daniel stopped her mid-thought.
"Wow, I guess the probe wasn't wrong about the lighting on this planet; does anyone have their flashlight handy?"
"Got it." Sam responded, flicking on her light and shining it around the room.
The room they had gated into was large and vacant. It reminded Daniel of the inside of one of the pyramids they had once visited. There were several large pillars, and narrow passageways led every which way.
"It appears the Gua'ould abandoned this planet long ago."
"Yeah, this could take a while." Daniel added as he shone his flashlight on a wall covered in hieroglyphs.
"Right, well in the mean-time the rest of us will go do a little recon," Mitchell said, trying not to sound disappointed that they had found something worthwhile. "I'll go down this corridor, Teal'c you take the one on my right, Sam, you go left, Vala…"
Vala jumped up excitedly and beamed at the mention of her name. "…you stay with Daniel. Everyone, keep in radio contact." Vala pouted and half-stomped her foot in disappointment as the rest of the team took off down their directed paths.
Teal'c walked swiftly down the corridor, keeping an alert eye out for movement but honestly not expecting to find anything. He slowed and stopped unexpectantly as something on the wall caught his eye.
High above, fitted into the sandstone wall was a small metal device. It would have been difficult to spot without Teal'c's sharp eye. He stared at it for several moments, trying to determine its purpose.
As he took an uneasy step forward, the device began blinking red. He stopped and frowned, thumbing his radio.
"Colonel Mitchell, I believe our presence here has been detected."
Suddenly, as if on cue, sounds began erupting from somewhere in the pyramid. The sound was unmistakable. P-90 gunfire.
Teal'c thumbed his radio again, more urgently this time.
"Colonel Mitchell!"
Cam was already sprinting back through his corridor before he responded to his radio. "Yeah, Teal'c, it's not me."
As he neared the end of the corridor, Cam was getting more and more nervous, especially since the gunfire had just ceased.
He stumbled into the stargate room about the same time as Teal'c, and they both immediately took into account that Daniel and Vala were still right where they left them, only now standing up and persperating with anxiety.
Without needing to wait for orders, the rest of SG-1 instinctively followed Cam as he sprinted down Sam's corridor.
"Sam!" He yelled into his radio. When she didn't respond he didn't bother trying again, just sped up his pace and cursed loudly to himself.
The team approached the opening with their P-90's held at the ready. Cam was the first to race through the doorway; however he didn't slow down enough to see the powerful fist emerge from behind a wall before his face collided into it.
Before the other three registered what had happened, they found themselves in a room surrounded by armed Jaffa. Each raised their weapons but it was too late. Their last conscious memory was the familiar blue light of a zat gun.
SG-1 minus Sam woke up, in a small, crowded cell in the middle of a dimly lit room. They were not restrained luckily, but it was still a miserable way to wake up. Cameron Mitchell groaned and rubbed his swollen jaw where the Jaffa had hit him.
"Ow."
"Well, that certainly went well. Now, what's your brilliant plan to get us out of here?" It was obvious to Cam that Vala had regained consciousness before he did and was just waiting for him to wake up so she could rub that one in his face. He glared at her but couldn't come up with a response, so instead he turned to Teal'c and Daniel.
"Have we found Sam yet?"
Daniel looked at his shoes and Teal'c frowned, a look of defeat evident on his face. "We have not."
He groaned again as he stood up. "Not exactly the news I was hoping for, but that could mean anything." He paused and took the time to examine his surroundings for the first time since he had regained consciousness. "Teal'c, I thought you said the Gua'ould abandoned this planet hundreds of years ago."
"At the time, it did appear so. I believe the device I encountered was some form of motion detector that alerted the Gua'ould to our presence here the moment we arrived."
"They got here fast." Daniel observed.
"Indeed."
Before the conversation could get any further, a heavy door slid open on the side wall. Three Jaffa entered the room while the rest of the goons positioned themselves outside the room. The head-honcho glared at the team evilly before sneering his commands.
"You will come with me." Was all he said before the doors of the cell sprung open on either side and the men (and woman) were shoved roughly from behind by a staff weapon. Cam considered an attack, but even if the four of them managed to take out a dozen armed Jaffa, they couldn't leave without Sam, and Cam knew that if she had been separated from the team she was probably being held somewhere with high security. Now wasn't the time.
They were led down a few sets of corridors before they entered the room they had been ambushed in. They didn't have a lot of time to look around then but now that they could clearly see it they realized it was some kind of throne room. Sitting before them on the elaborately decorated throne was a tall, dark-haired man with a beard-goatee combo, dressed in long, fancy robes. The smug expression on his face seemed all too familiar to Cam but he couldn't quite place it.
Once the guards decided the prisoners were close enough for their master to interrogate from a sitting position, they were shoved in the back of the legs and forced to fall forward.
"Kneel before your god."
Cam defiantly lifted his head so he was making eye-contact with the throne-guy. "Well, it's good to know that there are still some ignorant, power-hungry snakeheads in the galaxy to give us a break from fighting the big-boys."
Teal'c and Vala smiled at their leader's reference to the Ori. The throne-guy straightened up in his chair, trying to make himself look as big as possible.
"You are SG-1, the great Tau'ri warriors."
"That's correct…. And you are….?"
"I am your god, Helops."
Cam turned and looked at Teal'c for an explanation while Henok glared at the team, waiting for them to respond. Teal'c spoke in a low voice.
"Helops: brother to Ba'al… he is a minor Gua'ould among the system lords."
"Ever since Ba'al conquered his territories he's been keeping a low profile." Vala added.
"Well that explains why we've never heard of him." Cam said. He looked back up at Helops, contemplating his next move. He considered demanding the return of his friend, but a thought struck him. There was a chance Sam had escaped, and that's why she wasn't in the cell. It was a very slight chance, but it was still a chance, and he wasn't going to compromise his friend's position until he knew for sure.
"Why are you here?"
Before Cam could retort, Daniel decided that question would be directed at him. "We're peaceful explorers; if you've heard of us you'd know that."
Helops glared at him disbelievingly, but his retort was cut short when a female Jaffa, (seemingly a slave) emerged from a room behind Helops' throne and glided over to her master's side to whisper something in his ear. As she back away, an evil grin spread across the Gua'ould's face, and he stood and walked over to the doorway.
As the female slave retreated back into the room, two more walked out, this time escorting another woman, who took Henok's offered arm and walked forward to stand by the throne. She was wearing a sleeveless white gown that reached the floor. Gold bands around her arms, neck and head gave her an Egyptian look. A thin white cloth hung from her tiara-like band and covered her face.
Cam didn't like the feeling he was getting, especially from Helops' evil grin. As he slowly lifted the veil, Helops needlessly introduced the woman:
"Bow before your queen: Dias."
SG-1 stared in shocked awe at their lost comrade. She looked directly at them but there was no recognition on her face, and Cam's heart sank when her eyes glowed.
"Sam?"
Dias/Sam glared at the wide-eyed Daniel but still showed no recognition. Helops continued to grin as he studied their reactions.
"You know the host well." It was a statement, not a question, so no one answered. Helops slumped onto his throne in satisfaction. "Then perhaps, she should continue the interrogations?"
Dias descended down the steps to stand in front of the four kneeling prisoners.
"Why interrogate us? You could just get whatever information you want from reading Sam's mind!" Daniel said defiantly. Cam elbowed him but he continued to glare up at Dias through glossy eyes. Cam followed his gaze and realized that Dias had not responded to the statement, just continued to glare at Daniel.
"Unless… unless you can't access Sam's memories because her mind is too strong for you! She's fighting you and you can't win," Daniel accused proudly. Cam couldn't help but grin when he realized Dias had no other excuse to explain her actions.
"You will tell me everything I want to know human, or you will die."
Cam shivered upon hearing the cold voice come from Sam. Teal'c and Vala continued to stare blankly at the wall, but Daniel didn't break eye-contact.
"What are the coordinates to your Earth's stargate?" No one responded.
"What is the code used to deactivate the iris that protects your stargate?" still no one responded.
"My lord, Helops, will be welcomed back to the rank of system lord, with open arms, when he presents the others with your heads. We will still have satisfaction if you refuse to cooperate."
"And if we do cooperate?"
"Then we may be persuaded to let you go." Dias promised with a sweet, but wicked, smile.
"And Sam?"
The smile faded, and she scowled at Cam. "Nothing of the host survives."
"Now we know that's not true."
"Your friend tried to resist me upon implantation and she suffered greatly," she sneered, making her eyes glow again threateningly.
Daniel was growing impatient now. "Look, we've been fighting you guys long enough to know that something of the host survives. Don't try to lie to us."
Dias moved closer to Daniel. "It is clear you have decided to be uncooperative. Due to your incompetence your friend will suffer a fate worse than death: she will watch all of you die, by her own hand." She turned back to Cam. "Should we start with you?"
Cam readied himself as Dias moved closer. When she was standing directly in front of him she raised her hand so she revealed her golden ribbon device. It wasn't until the gold stream of light seared into Cam's forehead that the team realized she wasn't bluffing, and began to struggle against their restraints.
"Sam, stop! Don't let her do this!" Daniel yelled, but his screams were ineffective. Helops' cackling could be heard in the background.
For the first time since he saw them glow, Cam was looking directly into her eyes. His face was contorted in pain but something in his eyes was pleading. At first he didn't notice but tears were beginning to well in her eyes and were now streaming heavily down her cheeks. Daniel was still screaming, but the noise seemed to fade into the background and all Cam could hear was the hum of the ribbon device and Sam's sobs. Sam's- he reminded himself- not Dias'.
As if by miracle, Dias opened her mouth to speak but it was Sam's voice that came out. It was merely a whisper and distorted by her sobs but he could just make it out.
"I'm so sorry Cam… I can't let her kill you."
Sam squinted her eyes shut and looked away momentarily, as though she were in pain. When her eyes opened again, they were glowing blue-white light, rather then gold. Dias' open hand began to close, very forcibly but eventually the stream from the ribbon device shut off and Cam collapsed on the floor. Her hand formed a tight fist, which she swiveled around to face Helops.
Before he realized what was happening, her hand sprung open again and an energy blast hit him at full force, knocking him against the wall behind him and killing him instantly. The Jaffa restraining Teal'c, Daniel, and Vala, raised their staffs cautiously in response, but they too were cut short as the ribbon device sent them flying into the back wall, where they lost consciousness. Too shocked to do anything, the remainder of SG-1 simply watched as Sam took out the rest of the guards. When there were no more in sight, she weakly dropped her hand to her side and turned to face her team, before collapsing, sprawled out, onto the floor.
Cam, who had now regained consciousness, rushed to her side, with the others closely in tow. He checked her pulse. It was weak, but her eyes were open and focusing on him.
"Sam?" she continued to gaze up at him with concern in her eyes.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"That's good." She said, although not sounding entirely relieved.
"What happened?"
"It's gone."
Daniel took this opportunity to step in. "The Gua'ould? How is that possible?"
"I fought it. I wouldn't let it control me, Daniel."
Daniel turned to Teal'c for a more thorough explanation. It was possible this wasn't really Sam. Not likely, since she had just killed her god and all her Jaffa, but they had seen the Gua'ould go to some pretty crazy extremes in the past in order to get information.
"There is a constant battle taking place in the mind, between the Gua'ould symbiote and its host. The symbiote wins control in the end because it can directly attach itself to the brain, and cause its host much pain in the case that they would resist the blending. Never before have I seen the host control the Gua'ould… it would take a considerable amount of strength."
Cam and Daniel turned back to face Sam. There were tears in her eyes.
"I couldn't kill you…"
"You're going to be okay Sam." Cam tried to reassure her, but he honestly didn't know what he was dealing with. "We'll get you back to the SGC and…" Sam shook her head.
"It's too late for that. We're both too weak. She realized when I regained control that I wasn't going to let her take a new host. When she dies she's taking me with her."
"Not if we can help it." Daniel said, but she was shaking her head again.
"By the time you make it back to the SGC I'll already be dead."
"What about a sarcophagus?"
"They don't have one… and even if they did, that'd bring her back too. If I can't come back as myself I don't want to come back at all."
"The Tok'ra…"
"Daniel, there's no time. I still have access to her memories. More Jaffa are on the way, it won't be long before they get here… you have to go!"
Cam stepped in before Daniel could respond. "We're not leaving you Sam."
Sam gazed at him through her tears, and managed a small smile of sympathy. "Cam… I'm dying. Let me give the orders for once… please?"
Cam couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his own cheeks as he considered his options. Suddenly, Sam got an unfocused look in her eyes as though she were deep in thought.
"She knows something… the location of a Gua'ould home world… she's trying to keep it from me…"
"Colonel Mitchell… any further attempts to overpower the Gua'ould would most likely result in death."
Cam turned back to Sam, who was grimacing in pain and intense concentration.
"Sam don't. Let it go, we can still help you."
Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she gasped. "Neruva!" she said. "Their base is on Neruva…" The last part came out a mere whisper, and her team watched helplessly as her eyes shut and her whole body went limp. Cam frantically checked for a pulse, and was horrified when he didn't find one. He held his hand over her mouth but there was no breath.
Behind him, Teal'c stared blankly at a wall with a look of shocked devastation. Vala cried onto Daniel's shoulder, while Daniel removed his glasses, and wore an expression similar to Teal'c's. Cam lifted Sam's limp figure into his lap and cried into her hair, gently rocking her back and forth.
Sam awoke with a start, and sat up. She was lying on a white bed in a white room. Or at least, she thought it was a room… there were no walls, and the only color for as far as she could see was white. In face, even her clothes were now white…. However they weren't her BDUs or the gown she had been wearing; just casual capris and a tank top, both white. The bed was the only piece of furniture she could see.
She stood up and looked around some more.
"Hello!?!" there was no response at first.
"Hi Sam."
Sam whirled around with a start. The bed she had been lying on was no longer there, but instead, a man, dressed similar to herself, was standing a few feet away. It was her father.
"Dad?" she looked around once more to indicate her confusion. "Is this heaven?"
"No, sorry kiddo."
"It's not the other place is it?"
"Let's just say, it's something similar to Limbo."
"You mean, this is where they decide where I go?"
"Well, not so much where you go as… what you decide to do from here."
"Sorry, I'm not following you."
"You have to make a choice… whether to continue the path to enlightenment or start over."
Sam furrowed her brows in confusion. "Are you saying I ascended?"
"No."
"Then how am I…"
"You're here, Sam, because the others decided to give you the choice. They think you can still make a difference and I happen to agree with them."
"The others? But the Ancients are hands-off. They don't believe in interfering with our affairs."
"Well, let's just say a lot has changed since you last spoke with us. The Alterans feel responsible for allowing the Ori to take this as far as they have, but they're still standing by their rules. Oma Desala and a couple of the others have organized a resistance. They've been hiding out and doing what they can to help people in their fight against the Ori. They've been very careful, that's the only reason they haven't been discovered yet."
"But helping a human ascend… isn't that against one of their most important rules?"
"Not exactly their biggest rule. That's more of I guideline… otherwise Oma would have been stopped when she helped Daniel ascend."
"Ok… so, why are you telling me this?"
"Like I said, the others think you can still make a difference; whether you decide to join the resistance, or go back. I'm just here to give you the choice Sam."
"Are you saying I can go back? 'Descend' like Daniel did?"
"If that's what you choose to do, it's possible. But of course there would be that catch of having to erase your memory and dump you on some planet at random."
Sam turned away from him and paced a couple steps while she considered her options.
"But if I choose to ascend, and can somehow bend the rules like you said… I could give Earth a huge advantage over the Ori." She smiled and chuckled humorlessly at the thought. "I could defeat the Ori single-handedly."
"There is that possibility… but Sam you have to consider the alternative."
She turned back and looked at him as though he had just grown a second head. "What, you dump me on some planet with no memory of my life whatsoever…"
Jacob cut her off. "Earth does have technology that can restore one's memories"
"Yeah but still… any planet at random? What are the chances I would even be found?"
"Well… I suppose we can be a little flexible… say you give us a name?"
Sam looked away again, then returned his gaze. "Still… you have to look at the bigger picture here."
"Sam, you were making a difference in your life, and you still can."
"Not as big."
"Earth still needs you."
"Isn't it a little biased that you're trying to sway my decision?"
"Alright, I guess I'm being a little selfish. I just want to see my daughter live a successful life before she moves on."
"And saving the world, what… 27 times isn't considered a successful life?"
"I never got to see my grandkids, my daughter's wedding, any of that."
"What makes you think if I go back it's going to change that?"
Jacob frowned. "It isn't your time yet. Your friends still need you. If you won't think about Earth than at least think about them."
Sam sighed and looked away for the last time. "Let me see them."
There was a bright flash of light and Sam found herself back in the SGC briefing room. She blinked furiously to adjust to the changing light before she once again assessed her situation. General Landry was sitting in his office, speaking into the infamous red phone. He looked older and wearier than she remembered. Seeing as he hadn't noticed her arrival, she figured she was probably invisible to him. To test her theory, she walked over to one of the doors, and reached out for the handle. Just as she predicted, her hand went right through the door, so she walked through it.
As she walked down the SGC corridors, without any particular idea where she was headed, she spotted the familiar black pigtails of her teammate maneuvering her way through the halls.
"Vala…" she said, more to herself then to her friend since she hadn't yet forgotten her currentlf then to her friend since she hadn'ded, she spotted the familiar black pigtails of her teammated throu situation. Witihout giving it a second thought, she jogged tohout giving it a second thought, she jogged to meet with Vala's quick pace, avoiding a few airmen in the process. It was clear the other woman had reached her destination when she came to a stop to lean in the doorway to Sam's lab.
Sam glanced over Vala's shoulder to find Daniel already making camp at her workbench, studying something through her microscope. His face was expressionless and unfocused, making it clear he was not planning on making any sort of scientific breakthrough by staring at some dead tissue samples. Vala sighed loudly to indicate her presence. When Daniel didn't look up, she walked into the room and sat down opposite him.
"Daniel what are you doing in here?" Daniel still didn't look up.
"I'm just thinking."
"About Sam?" Daniel finally looked up but avoided making eye-contact.
"Yeah." just thinking."n' doing in here?" and sat down opposite him.
taring at some dead tissue samples.
"You can't change what happened. There was nothing anyone could have done." Vala was obviously avoiding eye-contact as well, studying her hands instead of him. Tears were silently rolling down her face and she hoped Daniel wouldn't draw attention to them. Daniel lost interest in the microscope and was now fiddling with another of Sam's old doohinkies. When he started to talk Vala managed to look up at him.
"You know after I died… when I came back… Sam came to talk to me." Vala's face softened in sympathy. She knew how hard this was for him, but she didn't interrupt. "She was angry… thought her dad could've saved me and she wanted to know why I chose to ascend instead… said I never really took the time to explain that to her, I just… left." He paused again as he anxiously switched from one device to another, thoughtfully turning each in his hand to be inspected. Then he dropped everything where it was as though suffering withdrawal and brought his fist to his forehead. "God… she was so hurt and I was too ignorant to understand how she felt." He removed his fist and stared at it in revulsion before continuing in a monotone. "Now I do."
Vala frowned at him in disbelief. "Daniel…" she said almost accursedly. The accusation had the desired effect and he finally looked up at her. "She didn't do this to hurt you… how could you think that?"
From her corner of the room Sam silently thanked Vala for reading her mind, and waited for Daniel to respond.
Daniel smiled sadly and looked at his hands. "No… Sam would never do anything to hurt anyone. I just wish…"
Seeing as Daniel was having trouble continuing, Vala stood up and walked around the table to sit next to Daniel, where she pulled him into a hug to stroke his hair. "I know… me too."
Unable to take any more of this, Sam left the lab and continued down the halls. She found herself at the door of Teal'c's quarters. She hesitated for a moment, and then walked through the door.
Teal'c was sitting on the floor by his bed, in a deep state of Kel-nor-reem. She moved to sit by him and was surprised when there was a knock on the door behind her.
"Enter."
Sam was even more surprised when a hesitant Daniel slipped through the door. She figured he had probably gotten uncomfortable letting Vala hold him like that and excused himself to come check on Teal'c. She smiled to herself as she imagined Daniel's discomfort.
"Daniel Jackson." Teal'c inquired without moving from his position.
"Hey Teal'c. How are you holding up?" It amazed Sam that Daniel was able to be so calm and supportive for his friend when he had been a sobbing mess himself just five minutes earlier.
"I am fine," Teal'c assured him, but there was venom in his voice and it was clear to Daniel he was not fine. The archeologist sighed and took a seat beside Teal'c, luckily choosing the opposite side as Sam and not sitting on her.
"Really, cause you don't sound fine." Teal'c seemed to lose some concentration and his face contorted in anger but he still didn't move or open his eyes.
"I have failed in my responsibilities to protect my fellow teammate."
"There was nothing you could have done."
"Daniel Jackson, was it not possible that we may have prevented the implantation from occurring in the first place?"
Daniel took a moment to think about it. "Well, yeah… I guess, but…"
"Then I have failed."
There was a long pause as Daniel studied the Jaffa in disbelief. "Teal'c…"
"Leave me."
Daniel frowned but knew there was no avoiding Teal'c's stubbornness, so he obliged. As the door shut behind him, Sam took a few more moments to study her friend before she followed his lead and silently left.
Once in the hallway she contemplated which direction to take next. Then she remembered why she was here, and that there was still another person she had to visit. Guessing where she might find the man, she moved off towards the men's locker rooms.
Just as she had predicted, Cam was sitting alone in the empty locker room. His back was facing her and he was staring blankly at a row of lockers. She moved slowly to sit next to him, nervous even though she knew he couldn't see her.
Just as she was about to start talking to him to break the silence, she heard the door open behind her. 'Déjà vu' she thought, remembering how her moment with Teal'c had been cut short.
Standing in the doorway was Hank Landry. Even though he outranked Mitchell it appeared he was waiting for an invitation before walking in. When Cam didn't make any move to invite him, the General decided to make his presence known.
"Thought I'd find you here Colonel." Cam didn't respond. Landry sighed and moved out of the shadows of the doorway to stand behind Cam.
"The memorial service has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon… I thought it might be appropriate for you to say a few words."
Cam spoke but didn't look up. His tone was solemn and it sounded like he was choking back tears. "I've discussed it with the rest of the team, sir. We're all going to say something."
"Good." The General's tone was soft and Sam couldn't remember him ever sounding like that. Cam sensed he was still standing behind him.
"Is there something else sir?"
"I know how hard it is to lose a member of your team."
"With all due respect, sir, I don't think you understand how close we were as a team. It's not going to be as easy for us to get over it as you're used to."
"I know that Colonel. It's been a big loss for all of us."
Cam's eyes glistened with unshed tears and he focused on a spot higher on the wall. "Yes sir."
Landry nodded, satisfied, and left the room. Sam lingered a moment longer and watched Cam. He choked back the tears and pulled something out of his pocket. Sam couldn't see it at first, but he stood up and opened his locker, returning it to its place supported by a magnet. Then he stared at it for a moment longer, giving Sam a chance to glance at it over his shoulder. She recognized it immediately; a torn photo, the size of an index card, of a younger Cameron and herself. They were standing in front of the academy they had attended, and Cam was standing behind her with his arms draped over her shoulders in a hug. Cam's vacant expression brought her back to reality, and she reached out to touch his shoulder. Tears welled in her eyes when her touch had no effect, and he closed his locker and strode off, leaving her to her thoughts.
Spending the night in a place where she was virtually out of phase proved to be a very interesting experience. Sam woke with a question that had been bugging her for some time: 'why didn't she fall through the floor?'
The memory of why she was there once again hit her like a sledgehammer and she decided it was a question that would have to be answered at another time.
Outside, the halls were unnaturally empty. She headed to the gateroom to find some answers. On her way there she remembered the memorial service, and determined that's where they must all be.
In the observation/Tech room she had a clear view of the entire gate room. Nearly everyone at the SGC must have been crammed in there, she figured, plus a few scientists from Area 51. A tear-streaked Cassie stood in the front row next to an elderly General Hammond, with her head held high, trying to keep a brave face even though she had lost a mother for the third time in her young life.
SG-1 along with Generals Landry and O'Neill stood at attention along the sides of the ramp. Sam figured she must have arrived just in time because the trumpet guy was just finishing his solo from behind the podium. As he returned to his post with the rest of the expressionless marines, there was a long pause. Sam wanted to break the silence but she was saved when General O'Neill grunted and walked slowly up to stand behind the podium.
Another pause as the General arranged and rearranged the small mike, mentally rehearsing what he was going to say. Sam inhaled deeply, and then it began.
General O'Neill's speech was moving and meaningful to everyone in the room. He spoke of how Sam was a fighter in every aspect of life, whether it meant doing battle with an alien army, keeping herself alive at impossible odds, or standing up for her principles with infinite stubbornness. He didn't need to give examples, for the audience was formulating them in their minds and nodding their consent as his speech came to a close.
Daniel was next to speak, and when he positioned himself behind the podium it didn't take nearly as long to prepare himself. He presented a thoughtful speech about Sam's brilliance and selflessness on the eave of disaster. The scientists and technicians were especially moved by what he had to say.
Teal'c and Vala's speeches were not as long as Daniel's but they were equally meaningful. Teal'c spoke proudly of her skill as a warrior. Vala provided an emotional speech about how Sam was a kind and accepting leader and role model. Some of the cadets made connections with their time under her tutelage.
Cam spoke of how Sam was a friend. The deepness of his words surprised Sam; the deepness of all of their words in fact, and by the time they were performing the ritual 'send the flag through the gate' thing, Sam found herself struggling not to cry. She had no idea she had had such an effect on people. She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly jumped when she felt an icy hand on her shoulder. She swiveled 90˚ around in her chair to look into the face of her father.
"Its time to go."
After the memorial service, Cam had locked himself in his quarters. He couldn't help but feel kind of bitchy, since several people had tried to stop him on his way to compliment his lovely speech, but he wasn't in the mood to talk.
He stayed there until he was allowed to leave the base, at which point he drove straight home. The next day, General Landry called him to ask that he help clear out Sam's house. He did so reluctantly, returning to his house to sulk as soon as he could.
Luckily, General Landry had taken his hint and granted the team some leave before they returned to active duty. On his first day back, however, he unfortunately didn't feel much better. They were in the middle of a briefing when the sirens began to blare, signaling an incoming wormhole.
SG-1 jumped up in unison and hurried down to the gate room, glad to have a distraction. Daniel had spent his time off base going through his books, and trying to find some pertinent information about a planet called 'Neruva'. As he was explaining before being interrupted, he had found the name in the ancient database, and had come up with a pretty liable gate address. The team wasn't all too happy about going, but they knew Sam had died for this cause, and if anything, they at least owed her this.
They all stood silently as Walter confirmed there was no IDC code. Just as they began to lose interest, a smug-looking Ba'al hologram appeared on the gate ramp. The SF's in the gateroom tensed, and tightened the holds on their weapons.
"Ba'al." Landry established.
"Weren't expecting me I suppose." Ba'al inquired, using the distasteful voice of the Gua'ould.
"What do you want?" Daniel demanded, trying to mask his shock.
"Actually, I came to provide information that may be of interest to you."
"Sorry, not interested." Cam said.
"It concerns your friend."
Everyone in the room stiffened. When no one responded, he knew he had hit a soft spot and continued with satisfaction.
"Your dear Colonel Carter," he explained. While each person tried to hold back all the nasty things they wanted to say to the man, Daniel dipped his head in anguish at being reminded of his friend.
"She's dead." He said, menacingly.
"On the contrary, Dr. Jackson. No matter what your intelligence has told you, Colonel Carter is very much alive." Heads shot up hopefully at this information. "And I can take you to her."
"I've heard enough. Shut it off." Mitchell said before anyone had the chance to respond. Daniel gaped at him and trailed him back into the briefing room as Landry sighed and gave the order.
"Mitchell!" Daniel called after him. He slowed but didn't turn around. It appeared he had forgotten the briefing and was headed for his quarters again.
"I don't want to hear it Jackson."
"How can you just walk away from this? I mean, we were just told that Sam's still alive…"
"And you believe that?" Cam cut him off, turning to face him with a disbelieving scowl. "It's Ba'al Daniel; he's playing at our greatest weakness… he is using Sam's death as an opportunity to get information out of us." He said coldly. Vala, who had appeared behind Daniel, winced at his words.
"Look I don't care!" Daniel said with an exasperated laugh. "If there is any chance…"
"There isn't!" Cam interrupted him. "Look, I watched her die, we all did! And don't think you're the only one who's noticed she'd gone. She was…" he paused his tirade as he found himself, once again, struggling not to cry. "She was my best friend." The room grew silent and no one dared make a retort. "If there was any way to…" he paused again. "She's not coming back. Just accept that." With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving his team and commanding officer with a mixture of dumbfounded and astonished expressions.
Daniel was still gaping when the General placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Dr. Jackson. That's my final word."
Landry brushed past him and into his office. Teal'c also stormed off down the corridor. Daniel looked to Vala for a last hope of support. With her best attempt at a smile, she was also on her way. It appeared the briefing was being rescheduled.
Two days after the scrubbed briefing, SG-1 stood on the ramp, preparing to embark onto Neruva. The MALP had shown an Arctic planet, with no signs of civilization; a seemingly safe world. But Daniel still had his doubts about whether it was the correct planet or not. Why would a Gua'ould claim an ice planet? What did it have to offer?
Still lacking confidence, the four-man team, (dressed in slightly heavier fatigues, gloves, and snow boots) stepped through the open wormhole without looking back.
Emerging on the other side, the team was slightly disoriented to have stepped into an ankle deep layer of snow. At least there was minimal wind current and it wasn't snowing for the moment.
"Alright, let's move out." Cam ordered as he began to trek towards the woods that lay ahead.
"Wait, do we even know what we're looking for?"
"Something the Gua'ould would be interested in." Cam answered, but didn't acknowledge him enough to stop walking or even turn around, and his tone implied that much. Things had been tense between the two men ever since their argument back in the briefing room. It was obvious they were having a difference in opinion, and Daniel still wasn't ready to give up on Sam entirely.
No one said a word for about 4 and a half miles of forest. Not even Vala piped up to try and lighten the mood, although she had been rather quiet ever since the incident. Eventually, the woods began to lose density, and the team found themselves on a high cliffside, looking down on a valley.
Cam sighed and scanned the barren landscape. "Jackson, there is nothing here. Let's just…"
"Wait! Look, down there…" he said, pointing to an area in the valley.
Cam rummaged for his binoculars and held them to his eyes. Through the enlarged area of vision, he could see some movement, and he focused on it.
A woman, dressed in a thick shawl, leggings, and moccasins was trudging through the snow, carrying a long wooden staff. Cam zoomed in some, and nearly fell over at the sight. He focused in and out to clarify his assumptions, but still couldn't believe it. "It's Sam," he said, pulling the binoculars away from his eyes.
The others gaped at him. "What?" Daniel asked, snatching the offered binoculars and focusing on the correct spot. But it only corroborated Cam's claim. It was, in fact, Sam; looking somewhat different as far as attire, mind you, but there was no mistaking that face.
Her hair was different too. It quite resembled a lion's mane, Daniel thought. It was thick and waist-length, with some small braids tied in here and there, and a small section tied back neatly at the back of her head, reminding Daniel of some kind of Eskimo warrior, (except for the blond factor). There were also some beads and feathers tied into the ponytail, reminding him of Native Americans. Her moccasins carried similar accessories.
Daniel followed her with the binoculars until she slowed, and he moved the scope to show what she was looking at. A wolf, (or whatever would most closely resemble a wolf on this planet) was sprawled out in the snow. Its lower leg was bloodied and it had something clamped down on its ankle. It looked similar to the traps once used by hunters on Earth, with its sharp, silver teeth digging into the victim's leg, and a short chain nailing it to the spot.
Daniel moved back to Sam, who was now hesitantly kneeling by the animal. She laid a hand on its side, and it flinched slightly but didn't move otherwise. She removed her hand, and used both to pry the metal teeth away from the animal's leg. It lifted its head slightly, but allowed her to finish. Sam reached into her layered tunic and pulled out some kind of device. It looked familiar, but from this distance, Daniel couldn't place it. She positioned it over the wolf-creature's injured leg with both hands and a dull, yellow light appeared, illuminating the white landscape.
Daniel took the binoculars away from his face finally and allowed an anxious Vala to snatch them greedily. "A Gua'ould healing device." He said, trying not to take his enthusiasm away from the fact that they had just found their dead friend.
They all watched from a distance as she finished healing and the light faded away. As she tucked it away, something spooked the wolf and it scampered away on its newly healed leg, into some underbrush. The team looked to the far side of the valley for the source of the animal's fear.
A group of people riding horse-buffalo things, were riding towards Sam, weapons raised. They all had black hair and were wearing thick, wooly clothing. If Daniel had to guess, they most closely resembled Alaskan Eskimos.
They looked back at Sam, who had also noticed the people, and was retreating back the way she came, and disappeared into the woods.
Cam gripped his P-90 and began backing away from the cliff. "We got trouble," he said, and ran back into the woods. The rest of the team followed closely.
Naomi was sprinting through the densest area of the forest with the skill of Tarzan, trying to lose her mounted pursuers. She could see them through the trees on every side of her, and she figured they could see her too.
Just as she cleared a fallen tree and skidded into a clearing, she found herself face-to-face with one of the wooly animals, and backed away with her staff held in front of her in an imposing manner. The rider, however, wasn't buying it. He was glaring at her unmercifully, with his bow lowered to her level, pointed directly at her heart. Two more riders appeared behind her, cutting off all possible escape routes. She figured the rest had been instructed to position themselves at the edge of the woods, in the case that she made it out.
"You stole our catch." The leader said with a slight accent. She held her position defiantly. "For this, you will die, Jaffa." The others drew back their bows at his command, and Naomi readied herself to duck.
Just then, a series of loud sounds exploded in the silent forest, and the leader fell lifelessly to the ground. The horses bucked and galloped off. She had fallen over trying to avoid one of the large animals.
As the galloping sounds faded into the distance, Naomi rolled over from her prone position, and lowered her arms that were intended to protect her head. Raising herself into a sitting position, she caught the first glimpse of her saviors.
Two men, a woman, and a Jaffa, all dressed similarly and carrying a collection of weapons she had never seen before. They were breathing heavily, as if they had just ran a long distance. The one who appeared to be the leader walked forward a few steps.
Feeling as though her space was being violated, Naomi stood hesitantly, keeping a tight grip of her staff. She scanned for an escape route out of the corners of her eyes while keeping them pinned on the man in front of her. The man had a proud smile on his face and she couldn't figure out why.
"Hey, Sam." He said, raising his big weapon a few inches in mock salute.
Naomi misinterpreted this as a threatening gesture. Before the strangers had a chance to cut off her exit, she scurried to her right, and began sprinting down the slope of the forest. She could hear them tearing through the brush behind her and she cursed inwardly. She was not having a good day.
As the ground began to level out, Naomi knew she was almost home free. 'Just around that bend…' she reassured herself, before her path was intercepted by the large Jaffa. She skidded to a halt and considered her options as the voices behind her grew closer. She studied the muscles of his outspread arms, trying to determine whether or not she could take him.
Before she could come to a conclusion, the other three strangers skidded to a halt behind her, breathless once again. She looked back and forth between the Jaffa and the three humans, trying to decide which option would be her best bet. All four had weapons, but if she caught them by surprise, she may just have a chance.
The man behind her, his smile dissipating slightly, was once again, the fist to speak. "Sam, what's wrong? It's us…"
Naomi cut him off when she spun around and hit him hard across the face with her staff, and he went down with a groan of pain. Just as she had hoped, they were all caught off guard and she took advantage of this. The Jaffa was the only one to raise his weapon, so she spun around and thrust the wooden rod at his head. He stopped it with a firm hand before it made contact. Luckily, Naomi had expected this, and with all her strength, took both ends of the staff and turned it so it was perpendicular to the Jaffa's abdomen. He responded by letting go of his weapon and grasping the other end of the staff with his free hand. Now that both hands were occupied, she drove a powerful strike between her opponent's spread legs with her foot, and the moment he let go of the staff and hunched over in pain, she spun her staff forcefully so it made contact with the side of his head, and he went down hard.
Daniel and Vala were still unprepared when she turned back to them. She had taken out Cam and Teal'c so quickly and unexpectantly they hadn't had time to react.
Naomi only paused for a breath before she rushed at the other two. She knew the leader and Jaffa wouldn't stay down for long.
She swung her staff in an arc that was ducked by the woman, while the man rolled out of the way just in time. While the man hesitated, the woman bolt back up and drew a weapon Naomi recognized as a zatnicitel. Naomi knocked it out of her hand by batting her free arm at it, just as it was fired and a blue light shot from it, enveloping a large rock. Her unarmed attacker instinctually threw a punch in the direction of her face, and she dropped her staff to block it with her hand.
With her other arm still in close proximity to her target, she reached up and grabbed one of the long locks of hair the hung about the woman's shoulders. She pulled down with as much force as she could muster, causing the confused human to lean forward with a cry of pain, and into Naomi's awaiting knee. She then tugged back on the hair, sending her dazed opponent sprawling onto her back with a bloody nose.
The shocked man, in the mean time, had pulled out his zat and was aiming it at her. Naomi had just enough time to roll away before he fired, and a similar blue light enveloped a tree. Fortunately, she had managed to grab her staff as she rolled, and knocked away the man's weapon as he re-aimed.
The man began to back away with raised arms, but it was clear his intentions were hostile and Naomi came at him with her staff. Just as she was about to swing it at his head, she sensed movement behind her and spun around, but not in time to dodge the man lunging towards her.
He landed on top of her, with the staff grasped tightly between them. The man was breathing hard and a bruise was forming on his forehead. The others stood behind them, watching the struggle. The Jaffa stood defiantly but his posture was somewhat hunched, and blood was trickling from a wound near his left ear. The woman was wiping blood from her nose and glaring at her. At least Naomi had the comfort of knowing she hadn't gone down without a fight.
"Let me go." She demanded.
"Not until you listen to me."
His demands was cut short when a staff weapon blast shot through the trees behind them and hit him in the side. He went down and Naomi rolled his body away with her staff. The other three strangers spun around raising their weapons. They found themselves surrounded by Jaffa, all armed. Figuring they were outnumbered they slowly lowered their weapons and allowed themselves to be disarmed and bound. Meanwhile, one of the Jaffa strode over and offered Naomi a hand, which she gratefully accepted and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
"Are you alright?" He asked as the captives were dragged away, the man with the glass eyes calling out to her as he went.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Grogan."
Nightfall found SG-1 alone, cold, and tied to posts. Mitchell was still unconscious and his hands were bound to a pole above his head, allowing his body to slump into what would have been a very uncomfortable position had he been awake. The three conscious members were quietly discussing recent events.
"Ok, if this is Sam's undercover escape plan, it could really use some work." Vala complained as she struggled with her restraints.
"I don't think this is an escape plan."
"Yeah, didn't think so. But that leaves another unanswered question: why can't she remember us?"
"Well, either she really doesn't remember or she isn't really Sam."
"I believe the warrior we did battle with was indeed Colonel Carter."
"Yeah I agree, it looked just like her. I mean, the hair was a little different but it was defiantly her," Vala agreed.
Daniel took a moment to consider this. "Well… we know after I came back the first time, I didn't remember anything."
"Are you suggesting Colonel Carter has ascended, Daniel Jackson?"
"Well it makes sense doesn't it? She dies, ascends, and gets dumped on some planet with no memory of who she is; it's the most reasonable explanation."
Before the conversation could continue further, some movement in the darkness caught their eye. Sam was walking down the hill in their direction, carrying a small, woven basket.
They waited patiently for her to state her business but she didn't. She simply walked over to kneel by Mitchell, and drew a healing device out of the basket.
The team watched in disbelief as she healed his injuries and his eyes flickered open. As she returned the contents of the basket, he jerked awake and straightened against his pole. "Sam?" he asked suspiciously. She looked at him, and the lack of recognition in her eyes reminded him of Dias, and he felt like his heart had been torn out all over again.
"Why do you call me that?"
Daniel took this opportunity to cut in, (again) cutting off three separate responses. "Look, this may seem hard to believe but it's your name."
"Naomi is the only name I know," Sam said, depressingly. Daniel sighed.
"Naomi, who were those people who attacked you?"
"You mean you?" She asked, accursedly. "I would like to know that as well."
"We never attacked you!" Vala said, before Daniel got the chance to respond. "We were trying to talk to you before you started waving that stick of yours around. And I now see why Sam kept her hair short," she mumbled the last part.
Sam looked away, ashamed of herself. "Forgive me. It is rare we get friendly visitors. I assumed you were Gua'ould."
"We are not. We are of the Tau'ri: human, like you." Teal'c explained proudly. Sam regarded him with a confused expression.
"But you are Jaffa. I can tell by the marking on your forehead you were once first prime to Apophis, but I sense no symbiote within you."
"You are correct." Teal'c smiled. "I am using a drug called tritonin. It allows me to survive without a symbiote."
"Such a drug is impossible." Sam said. Teal'c opened his mouth to respond but Daniel beat him to it again.
"Look, Sa… Naomi… as much as I'd like to sit here and discuss the past ten years with you, there's actually something else we have to talk about."
Sam smiled at his sarcasm, something that seemed familiar to her even though she had never heard it before. "The men who attacked me are called the miners." She said, in answer to his previous question. "The Jaffa have managed to live peacefully among them for a long while, but as of late… well, there has been tension between us."
"The miners…" Cam cut in. "Why do you call them that?"
"They were once called Neruvians. When Helops came here many generations ago, they gave in easily to his demands. He forced them to mine for him, for a kind of hard material that was used to build ships."
"Naquadah." Cam provided. Sam looked at him questioningly but the team ignored her.
"That's why the Gua'ould laid claim to this planet." Daniel explained.
"Yes." Sam said, deciding to continue with her story. "The Jaffa were brought here to oversee the mining operations. Helops would come every few rotations to collect the deposits. But after he left the last time, the Jaffa ordered the miners to stop mining, and sent them away to live in the mountains." Daniel peered at her quizzically while she paused. "They were planning a rebellion. They planned to strike the next time Helops came to collect deposits."
"Helops is dead." Teal'c said.
"That must be why the other man came." Sam figured, talking more to herself then her audience.
"Other man?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. Nearly 5 moons ago, another Gua'ould came to the planet. He said he was claiming this world and that we could choose either to serve him or be killed."
"Ba'al." Cam provided again.
"That is what he called himself. He left after that; said he would return after 7 suns for our answer."
The captives exchanged glances. "Guess he recognized Sam and decided to scurry over to Earth to try and negotiate for her safe return before he blew this place up." Cam said.
"The Jaffa will not heed the demands of another false god. They plan to proceed with the rebellion." Sam said proudly. Daniel ducked his head and sighed.
"You can't win," he grumbled. "Ba'al is too powerful."
Sam looked at the ground. "There was a prophecy…" she began, gaining the attention of her audience once again. "…that a human woman, with the power of the gods, would appear on Neruva and save them from the Gua'ould threat." She paused, fumbling awkwardly with a twig. "I was the answer to their prayers." She said, looking up at them with watery eyes. "They fight because they believe they can be saved."
"One person can't take out a Gua'ould and his army." Daniel said admittedly.
"I know. I can't save them but I can't convince them otherwise." She said sadly. There was a pause as SG-1 considered a response to that.
"Ok, its time for the truth." Daniel finally said.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you remember from before you came to Neruva?"
Sam thought about it. "There was nothing. I was sent here to help the rebel Jaffa. I did not have a life before that."
"Yes, you did. You came from Earth. You helped open the stargate program, and you've spent the last ten years of your life traveling to other planets as a member of SG-1." There was a stunned silence on the receiving end and Daniel continued.
"Now, the reason you're here is because you died. And, I'm guessing, you ascended, and somehow ended up here when you came back."
"I died?" Sam asked disbelievingly.
"Yes, because you were implanted with a Gua'ould symbiote. That's why you can use Gua'ould tech." Daniel said, breathless, before he found a knife held dangerously close to his throat. The team tensed and Daniel glared at Sam pleadingly.
"I am not a Gua'ould." She growled.
"No, you're not. Not anymore." Daniel let out a silent sigh of relief as she slowly lowered the knife.
"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, worriedly.
"Because we want to take you back with us."
"Why should I trust you?"
"We're not Gua'ould. You already confirmed you can't sense anything in any of us." Cam explained.
"My people believe you are spies."
"That's not true and they aren't your people. Come back with us and I'll show you."
"I can't." She said regretfully, as she began to back into the shadows.
"Then could you at least untie us?" Vala called after her.
"I'm sorry."
eht flash of light and Sam found herself
Morning appeared on the horizon and SG-1 found themselves being untied and shoved roughly up the hill towards the village. It was small and bleak, and the houses were tipi-like structures made from some kind of animal hide.
They were brought onto a large circular platform, and forced to kneel with their hands bound behind their backs. The village inhabitants stood silently around the platform watching them. Daniel was the first to spot Sam among the crowd and nodded in her direction. She was looking at the ground, a solemn expression on her face.
An important looking man with long robes and white hair strode up to them. "You, strangers, have been charged with trespassing and assault." He addressed them. "The punishment for these crimes is death."
"Excuse me?" Vala coughed.
"Look, you've made a mistake. We're just peaceful explorers… we didn't assault anyone!" Daniel said desperately as the old Jaffa walked towards the edge of the platform.
"Then pray that your god will save you," he said, coldly.
As he descended the small flight of steps to join the crowd, a larger Jaffa brushed past him, carrying a staff weapon. If they had to guess they'd suppose he were the executioner. He walked towards them menacingly and pointed his staff at Mitchell. Cam glared at him, as if daring him to fire.
As the end of the staff opened and electricity charged through the weapon, a shout rand out from the crowd. "Wait!"
SG-1 stared incredulously as Sam jogged to stand on the steps of the platform and faced the huge man. The Jaffa smirked evilly before snapping the weapon closed and turning to face her.
"You challenge the execution?"
"I do." She responded.
"Naomi!" A scolding voice sounded from the crowd and the old Jaffa man scurried up to place a hand on her shoulder.
"They are not Gua'ould, Seamus. I will not allow you to kill innocent people."
"These strangers have poisoned your mind. I told you not to speak with them!" the old man growled in a paternal manner.
"Seamus!" The large Jaffa shouted. "Do you not see she is working with them? She is a Gua'ould herself! Is it not a coincidence that the arrival of these strangers occurred only shortly after her own?"
"Silence, Volak. If she was working with them why would they attack her?"
"If they attacked her why is she defending them?"
Seamus turned to the subject of question with a quizzical look. She continued to glare at Volak. "They did not attack me," she said matter-of-factly.
"She makes her allegiances clear." Volak sneered. "If she wishes to challenge the execution of these strangers then she must challenge me." He stood to his full height in an intimidating manner and gripped his staff. Before Seamus could protest, Sam walked the short distance to a weapons hut and retrieved her wooden staff from where it leaned on the side wall, and positioned it in a warrior's stance.
Meanwhile, the kneeling team was shocked at this exchange, and were quietly whispering to each other.
"Is she insane?!? Doesn't she realize that guy is like, three times her size?" Vala complained. When the others ignored her she continued trying to explain the insanity of the situation. "Wouldn't it have been easier if she had just untied us?"
Volak was advancing on Sam's position and she moved forward to meet him, despite Seamus' attempts to stop her. The burly Jaffa made the first move, swinging his weapon violently only to make contact with his opponent's staff. He swung multiple times and she blocked each one, but the team could tell she was having some difficulty holding him back.
Going on the offense, she parried his next attack in a downwards sweep, and brought up the other end of her weapon forcefully in an attempt to make contact with his head. Unfortunately, he blocked it with his muscular forearm, and she found herself in a very awkward position. With her staff temporarily immobilized, Volak swept the lower end of his staff around in an arc which caught behind her legs, and she fell over backwards.
Taken by surprise and slightly disoriented, she didn't have time to react before she found the activated end of a staff weapon nearly touching her nose. Seamus shouted at him but to no prevail. She rolled away just before it fired, and she swore she lost a bit of her hair it was so close.
There was a sharp intake of breath by the audience, and the guards shuffled their feet, unsure of what to do. Cam tried to lunge forward but was held back by the guards. "Is he allowed to do that?" Vala asked, concerned.
"He is not." Teal'c supplied simply.
Sam, now on her side, kicked out and thrust her heel into his abdomen before Volak had a chance to re-aim his weapon. He staggered backwards a few steps and she jumped up and took hold of his weapon. When he tightened his grip, she drove her knee into his stomach and he doubled over.
The moment the staff was freed from his grasp she pulled it away and tossed it out of reach, waiting for him to regain his composure. The moment he was able to look at her, he was charging at her, and she moved out of the way with little effort, allowing him to run into her elevated knee again. This time, his breath caught in his throat and she elbowed him hard in his hunched back so he toppled over onto his chest with a pained scream.
Almost immediately, Seamus and a few larger Jaffa scrambled up the steps to the platform and Volak was hauled to his feet by the burly body guards. He tried to pull away but his defeated strength was no match for the two young soldiers, and he was whirled around roughly to face Seamus.
"Not only have you been defeated, Volak, but you cheated and have brought shame down upon yourself." He spat on the ground by the Jaffa's feet to indicate his disapproval. "Take him away."
As Volak was dragged away from the platform, Sam glared after him, and turned towards the restrained prisoners as though nothing had happened.
"Let them go," she ordered, calmly. The Jaffa guards hesitated slightly, but did as they were told. SG-1 flexed their muscles now that the grip on them had slackened. Sam rounded the team and cut their binds, one by one.
Once they were all free and rubbing at their sore wrists, she pocketed her knife. "You are free to go."
That was all she said before she stalked off, leaving the team completely dumbfounded as the townspeople slowly disappeared into their separate dwellings. There was a short silence before they all exchanged hopeful glances.
"Shall we draw straws?" Vala suggested.
"No, I'll go." Daniel volunteered.
Watching him walk off, Vala turned to look at Cam while Teal'c strode off to explore the village. He was staring off in the direction Sam and Daniel had disappeared in and he sighed sadly. Vala allowed a sly smile to spread across her face.
"You like her," she accused. Cam seemed to snap out of his dreamy state almost instantaneously and looked at Vala, oblivious to her suspicions.
"What, who?" He asked.
"Sam." Vala announced proudly as she watched Cam's reaction. "I can tell."
"Vala…" Cam scolded as he unnecessarily scratched the back of his head and refused to make eye contact. He was disappointed when she didn't cut him off and found himself desperately searching for a proper comeback. "…No I don't." He finished lamely.
"Yes you do."
"You know what…" Cam turned and pointed his finger at her accursedly the moment she finished her sentence. "…I think you're just trying to embarrass me here, so this conversation is over." He turned away again and stuffed his hands in his pockets while Vala made a lame attempt to look hurt.
"I'm not trying to embarrass you." She said, innocently.
"Well then drop it."
"I don't see why this is such a problem; I mean, you two go well together."
"It is a problem Vala, now drop it," he ordered coldly.
"Why is it a problem?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"I might if you would just explain it to me."
Cam sighed with impatience. "There is something called military regulations," he explained in a tone that implied she should know that.
"Military what?"
Cam rubbed at his temples, obviously preferring not to go into further detail. "Regulations." He finished. "It means that two people in the direct chain of command of each other, or in our case, part of the same unit, are not allowed to have interpersonal relationships."
"Come again?"
"We can't be together!"
"Oh." Vala was offended by Cam's tone, but got over it quickly. "You sound disappointed," she pointed out.
"I'm not. Annoyed, maybe, but not for the reasons of this discussion."
"Look, Cameron, you don't have to be all 'macho military' around me; I won't tell anyone anything… and even if I did you know they wouldn't believe me," she confessed.
Cam glanced at her, as though scanning her for signs of dishonesty, and his expression softened. He sighed again, but this time it was not out of impatience. "Sam's my best friend," he admitted. "We're close, but not in the way you think."
Vala smiled in a mixture of understanding and triumph that Cam was finally opening up to her. "You underestimate my knowledge of people," she accused jokingly, sitting down on a nearby bench and motioning for him to join her. "Don't think I haven't figured out that you two have history."
Cameron sat down on the offered seat, somewhat uncomfortable sharing his personal life with an ex-thief as though she were a specialized therapist. He knew he would never be able to shake her now that she had gotten this far with him, but he didn't know where to begin or what to say without her getting the wrong idea.
"Alright, I guess I may have underestimated you a little… but you don't know half as much as you think you do," he began. She straightened in devious anticipation. "My father worked for her father. We saw each other a couple times at company picnics and stuff, but we really became close friends when we attended the academy together. After graduating from the academy, we both served in the gulf war. That brought us closer, but we were still just friends. She was like one of the guys back then." He paused, allowing Vala to ask questions like she normally did, but she didn't interrupt.
"It wasn't until, after the Jonas thing, that we became more then that."
Vala looked puzzled, but not surprised as he would have expected from anyone else. "Jonas?" she asked.
"Jonas was her fiancé. She met him during the war. He was a charming guy, of course, but he got a little out of hand. He was intolerant of everything she did, he was incredibly possessive… not to mention paranoid. He thought she was cheating on him with me, since we were so close at the time. He was really starting to scare everyone, and when she finally broke it off with him…" he paused, searching for the right words. "Well, let's just say, he was determined to make her regret it."
Vala gasped at the implication. "That's horrible!"
"Yeah. Sam didn't want anyone to know about it, she didn't want to appear weak, but… the bruises were kind of difficult to keep secret. When I saw her like that, well, I was extremely pissed if you catch my drift. I made Jonas pay for it through his nose. After that I never saw him again."
"So, how did things develop between you?" Vala asked, trying to mask her curiosity.
"Well, after the whole Jonas thing, I spent a lot of time with her. I knew she must have been traumatized even though she didn't show a remote trace of it. I guess she came to appreciate the company, because she didn't kick me out. I guess that's how things began to develop."
"So what happened?" Vala asked, in the tone of a young child awaiting the end of her bedtime story.
"Well, we were together for about a year and a half… then she joined the Stargate program, and things began to change. One day she just came to me and said we couldn't see each other anymore." Vala gasped at the unexpected, (and quite far from happy ending-ish) turn of events. "She said that she didn't want the relationship to come between us, that we were too good of friends. She also said that she had been looking into the list of recruits, and I had a good chance of making it into the program one day. She didn't want to ruin it," he ended, sadly.
"Didn't you fight for her?" Vala asked, exasperated.
"Of course, but in the end, I knew she was right. After all, we returned to being good friends after that, and agreed no one had to ever find out about our past relationships."
"So that's it?" she asked, clearly disappointed with the end to her fairy tale.
"That's it." Cameron said, plainly, and strode off to find Teal'c.
Daniel found Sam in what seemed to be the most unlikely place for the astrophysicist he once knew. She was some distance away from the huts and crowds of busy people, peacefully tending to some of the horse-buffalo creatures from earlier.
Daniel cleared his throat to signify his arrival, and she spun around, looking uncharacteristingly surprised to see him. He ducked his head and took a couple steps forward, as usual, not waiting for an invitation.
"Why did you save us?" he asked, looking up.
Sam continued to comb through the animal's hair. "Because I trust you. I can't explain why, I just do," she explained, never looking away from her work.
"I can." Daniel said, forcing her to look at him. "You can't remember but we're your friends."
"So you've told me," Sam said, sarcastically.
"Come back with us and I'll show you. We have technology that can help you remember…"
"What if I don't want to remember?" Sam asked, cutting him off. "I mean, I can't remember anything from my life before, but, what I do remember, random flashes of things… they terrify me."
Daniel looked at her glistening eyes and could see the terror she spoke of. He wanted to go to her and hug her, but from what he'd seen of amnesia Sam so far, that could result in injury.
"I know it must scare you, but that's because you don't understand it… and until you do, the flashes will keep scaring you."
She eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you care so much?" she wanted to know.
"Because you're my friend, and I know from experience you would be doing the same thing for me if you were in my situation."
She looked away. "No. I wouldn't," she said. "She would."
Daniel looked puzzled. "What are you talking about Sam…?"
"Look, I'm not her!" she screamed, looking at him through tear filled eyes that had just begun to release streams of water. "Maybe I was at one time, but I'm not anymore! This is who I am now! I'm sorry if it wasn't exactly what you were looking for."
She turned away from him again, concentrating all her efforts on getting the knots out of the animal's mane, and not letting Daniel see how upset she really was. Daniel gaped at her. He had obviously not expected her to break like that, and he had no idea how to respond. She sighed, feeling the eyes of a persistent man bearing into the back of her head, and decided to cut him some slack.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to yell at you; I know you just miss your friend, but I can't abandon my people. Seamus risked everything taking a chance on me, and if anything, I owe him to at least try."
"You can't defeat Ba'al's armies with one person!" Daniel persisted.
"I know. But it is all we have," she said calmly.
Daniel sighed. If Sam had kept anything it was her stubbornness, something Daniel was never able to defeat. "Ok, how about this…?" Daniel began in the tone of a salesman trying to make the customer an appealing deal. She eyes him suspiciously. "…You come back with us, we help you get your memories back, and then, if you still want to come back, we'll let you go."
"Darnel…"
"Daniel," Daniel corrected.
"You know that sounds incredibly suspicious," she said, jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.
"You said you trusted us."
She thought it over for a moment. "If I go, you'll let me come back?" she asked, trying to clarify.
"If you still want to."
A pacing Cam and Vala looked up in attention as Daniel strode into the village. Teal'c approached from behind them expectantly. While their fourth member had been negotiating, General Landry had gated in, wanting to know why they were overdue. Fortunately, they were still armed with their radios, (apparently the Jaffa were very out of the loop, because they didn't think it necessary to confiscate them) and were able to inform him of their situation. Daniel stopped a few paces in front of them and clasped his hands together.
"Well…?" Vala asked impatiently.
"She's agreed to come back with us."
Cam and Vala exhaled in relief and smiled broadly. Even Teal'c grinned.
"That is indeed good news, Daniel Jackson."
"Yeah, under one condition," Daniel began, hating to be the party-pooper. "After we help her memories return, we have to let her come back."
"What?" Cam and Vala asked in chorus.
"Once Colonel Carter's memories have returned will she not have changed her mind?"
"Yeah, that's what I'm hoping." Daniel said, before Sam emerged from one of the huts, carrying her staff and a small bag.
The team looked at her carefully. They were weary of her now that she had both beaten them up and saved their lives. She was keeping them on their toes.
"Ah… I see you're ready to go!" Vala said brightly, but somewhat uneasily.
Sam smiled at the team's discomfort, and was about to respond when a familiar voice called after her.
"Naomi!" she swiveled around to find the old man hurrying towards her. "Naomi, you mustn't do this!" he said, trying to catch his breath.
"I have made my decision."
"You choose to abandon your people! You have freed these strangers; you have spared their lives, now they must go! They have done enough damage," he glared at SG-1 as he growled the last part.
"They have done no damage. They were wrongfully accused," she growled in response.
"Don't you see, child? They have been sent to take you from us because you are our savior!" he explained. "You cannot trust them, no matter what they have told you. Their allegiances are with Ba'al."
"Then why would you spare them?"
"Because that is our law. You defeated the executioner, so their fate is up to you."
"If you truly believe that I was sent here to help you then you will trust my judgment, Seamus."
"How can I when your judgment is clouded by evil?"
Sam frowned more deeply with impatience. She didn't understand why this elderly Jaffa had to treat her like a child. "I will not abandon you," she said, daring him to argue. "I know you believe in the prophecy, but I am not as confident as you. I am but one person; you cannot truly believe…"
"I do," he interrupted. "Otherwise you would not be here."
Sam sighed in surrender. "I will come back," she repeated. "Just let me do this. These strangers have powerful weapons; I may yet find an alternative means to fight the Gua'ould." Seamus shook his head disbelievingly, but appeared to be considering it. "Trust me."
The Jaffa studied at her, and for some time there was silence, before he finally reached out and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Very well," he said.
She smiled and returned the gesture by patting his arm. SG-1, who had been following the conversation in awkward silence, looked up uncomfortably when she turned to them.
"I am ready," she confirmed, smiling towards Vala, who beamed at the recognition. They began their trek in the direction of the gate, only stopping so Sam could glance back once more at the village, and the people now congregated outside it watching her leave.
The long walk was quiet, aside from the occasional verbal joust between Daniel and Vala, which Sam seemed to find amusing. She couldn't quite place it but all the little habits she was beginning to discover about her 'former friends' seemed familiar somehow.
Reaching the gate, finally, Daniel moved ahead to dial the address. There was the familiar kawoosh of the wormhole and the team routinely walked through.
Sam's first impression of the stranger's home world was 'gray'. And then there was the annoying blaring indicating an incoming wormhole. The whole place seemed so alien and unnatural; she was beginning to doubt that she was really remembering anything.
A short, somewhat round man swept into the gateroom and stood before the five people as they descended the steel ramp. He looked quite overjoyed for a man, who, for some reason, she was apprehensive of.
"Colonel Carter!" he greeted. Daniel elbowed her lightly when she didn't respond, and she supposed he must have meant her. "It's good to see you again," he said, brightly.
She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Colonel?" she asked.
"Sorry, I forgot you didn't have your memory," he said.
"It's your rank," Daniel explained. When she still looked puzzled, he sighed and closed his eyes. "I'll explain later."
"In the mean time, why don't we get on with the procedure," the General suggested, and held out an arm indicating which way she should go. Cam smiled and led the way for her, so she followed, nervously.
After a strange investigation of her health she didn't quite understand, she found herself dressed in, what the strangers called a hospital gown. Some extremely complicated-looking equipment was wheeled in, and a short balding man approached her bedside.
"Hi, Sam. I'm Dr. Lee," he introduced himself. She blinked, but otherwise didn't respond. He frowned. "Guess this isn't ringing any bells either…?" he asked, sounding rather disappointed. The team from the planet had gathered around her bedside, and was grinning at the exchange.
"Ah, well," he said, turning to the equipment. He held up some wire-like things and displayed them so she could see. "I'm going to attach these to your head, and then when I turn on this device, your downloaded memories will be played in your mind."
She raised an eyebrow at his less-than reassuring explanation.
"This won't return your memory completely but it should help a lot," Cam interpreted. "After that, memories should start coming back on their own."
She nodded, and allowed the Dr. to attach the wires to her head, as explained. "You ready?" he asked. She inhaled deeply, and gave another nod. He flipped the switch and then there was darkness.
She couldn't place the feeling. It was weird and intense, but she wouldn't exactly describe it as pain. It was like electrical currents were being shot through her brain in waves. Short flashes of things, her childhood, days at the academy, SG-1, kept appearing in every corner of her mind. They went so fast, she was surprised she was able to interpret them.
The team watched in helpless shock as the electrical currents visibly shot through the wires, and their friend had small spasms. She had a pained expression on her face that was almost unreadable.
Finally, the currents slowed, and flickered away. Dr. Lee didn't hesitate to disconnect the wires and the nurse standing by rushed over to check her vitals. Slowly, the patients watery eyes fluttered open and she scanned the room weakly, breathing hard.
Cam hurried over to sit on the side of her bed. She sat herself up hesitantly, and he supported her back. "Cam?" she asked, as if to reassure herself this was all real.
"Yeah, it's me," he said, with a nervous grin. She smiled back, despite the tears running down her face, and buried her face in his shoulder. This time, he didn't hesitate to hug her back.
Sam looked around the room again, at the smiling faces of her friends, and she smiled back, because she knew she was finally home, and going to be ok.