The Arena-2
Samantha Carter moaned and ran her hand along her throat, amazed that she was still alive and able to breathe normally once more. She turned onto her stomach and made it to her knees before searching the area. She spotted a familiar figure lying close to the portal and tried to remember what had happened.
"Daniel…Daniel," Carter repeated, her voice hoarse as if she'd been chewing on crushed glass. She crawled to his side and checked his pulse, relieved to find a strong and steady beat beneath her fingertips. "Daniel…."
"Sam…could you stop shouting?" Jackson said and opened his eyes, groaning when the bright sunlight stabbed at his skull. "Where are Teal'c and Mitchell?"
"I don't know," Carter told him, hands on her knees while she studied their surroundings. The trees loomed high above them, but the shadows hadn't changed much. "I don't think we were out long…"
"How can you be sure?" Jackson asked, managing to get to his feet and move to the gate.
"The sun is in the same position as when we came through," Carter answered and joined her team mate. "We need to find out where the Viridians have taken Teal'c and Cameron."
"Something tells me they're not indigenous to this planet," Jackson told her and began dialing the gate.
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Chandra, a tall well muscled female with silver, blond hair that hung down to her knees, wore the distinctive markings of a chieftain amongst her people. The battle scars were prominent on exposed skin and proved she'd fought to keep her rightful place. They were a race of females, strong of mind and body, and could hold their own with any of the males who had mistakenly looked upon them as weak. The males, born to slavery, bowed to their superior strength and at one time had given their lives in The Arena. Unfortunately something had changed in Chandra's people and males were no longer born, making it necessary to look elsewhere for breeding stock.
Chandra knew they could easily steal males from the other tribes on the planet, but through the years it became necessary to call a truce. The tribal leaders had vowed never to steal from their distant relatives and hence The Arena had been commissioned. It was during the fights, bloodied battles fought between virile males from other races, that they derived their breeding stock. Sometimes only one male proved worthy of mating with the fertile females, but if several survived then the tribes would be blessed with one each. Unfortunately there seemed to be fewer males and they'd had to widen their parameters and use the gates to travel between worlds. The problem was that opened their existence up to discovery and that was something the Tribal leaders, including herself, did not want.
Chandra thought of the experiments taking place deep within the main building of her compound and knew it would be looked upon with distaste. They'd been trying for years to bring back the male embryos, to fertilize them and place them inside an incubator, but so far there'd been only marginal success. The ones that survived the transfer, died not long after and never reached full term. They tribal leaders were the only ones who knew of the experiments, and most were still hopeful they would succeed. As time went by, Chandra began to realize that they were destined to fail, because there were no longer any pure Viridian males to choose from.
Chandra stood tall and proud as she watched the warriors stride purposefully toward the compound. Rianna was young and vibrant and lucky enough to be fertile, but she often overstepped her bounds and caused friction amongst the other female warriors. She saw the proud bearing of her own bloodline and she hoped some day Rianna would stand as leader of her people. Chandra watched her daughter, and smiled inwardly at how easily she took control. There were several warriors behind her, but what caught her attention was the two captives being carried between them.
The first was easily recognizable as Jaffa, but the second one was different, virile and pleasing to look upon, but smaller than the males they usually captured. She stepped down from the tower and made her way toward the steel gate that kept the vicious creatures that roamed the deep woods and hills out. It was also meant as a deterrent should any of the other tribes decide they didn't want to play by the rules anymore.
"Rianna, why have you brought them?"
"You know as well as I do that the games are in need of new blood Chandra. The excitement has been lacking and with so few travelers coming through the portal…I deemed it necessary to choose from the four."
"Why these two?"
"Look at the big one. He is Jaffa, but he no longer has a symbiote. I am willing to bet my next mating that he will be very combative in The Arena," Rianna explained.
"What about this one? What race is he?" Chandra asked. Both males were bound hand and foot and suspended between two strong poles, carried by four of her warriors.
"I didn't have time to ask. There were two others, but I did not think they were suited for our games…"
"Why do you insist on calling them games, Rianna? You know it's necessary to our survival."
"Yes, Chandra, I know, but sometimes it's easier to deal with if I look upon them as games. After all there is always at least one victor." Rianna walked between the two males and lifted their heads, smiling when the smaller male moaned softly. "I am tired of being on the losing end and am certain one or both of these captives will stand tall and make us proud."
"I hope you are right, Rianna, but they will need to be trained before they enter The Arena. They will need to be examined by Nadeena before you can assign them to a trainer."
"I am a qualified trainer and wish to train them myself," Rianna said as they walked toward the main building.
"Are you sure you can be impartial and tough at the same time?"
"I am not the same kid I was two cycles ago, Chandra, don't make the mistake of thinking I am," Rianna warned.
"Do not think that as my daughter you are above reproach. I will not allow you to speak to me in that tone again, Rianna," Chandra said coldly.
"Chandra, we both know I will take my rightful place very soon…you cannot serve as tribal leader for longer than twenty cycles and that time is almost over. It would do you well to stay on my good side."
"I don't think so, Rianna, after all I brought you into this world and it is within my rights to take you out."
"You would challenge me in The Arena?"
"Of course, but that will not take place until after the chosen males have done battle. Think about it long and hard before you invoke the challenge, Rianna, for I will not ease up on you just because you are my daughter."
"I would not expect any less, Chandra," Rianna vowed once they reached the doors. "Bring them inside while Chandra and I speak with Dr. Nadeena."
Chandra knew there would be no point in questioning her daughter's orders and moved ahead, knocking softly on a closed door. A soft voice bade them enter and she pushed it open. She stepped into the well lit office and made her way toward the desk situated in front of a large window that looked out over the main compound.
"Chandra…Rianna, I take it this is more than a social call?"
"Rianna has brought two new subjects, Nadeena," Chandra explained.
"Really, and just what race are we looking at this time?" Nadeena asked in disgust.
"One is Jaffa…freed of his symbiote. The other is an unknown race, but he appears to be of our own ancestry," Rianna explained.
"And you are making judgment calls like that because you've suddenly earned a degree in the sciences?" Nadeena asked sarcastically, but didn't give her a chance to answer. "Where are they?"
"They are in the outer chamber," Chandra answered and moved aside for the taller female to pass her. Nadeena was a formidable woman and towered over many of the tribe, but Chandra had never backed down from her. They'd done their own imitation of staking a claim and had long ago come to terms with their differences. They'd formed a truce that had often kept them both from an agonizing defeat at the hands of other warriors.
Nadeena moved to the Jaffa and quickly assessed what she saw before pointing to the room she used for examining the captive males. Next she moved to the unidentified male, who may have been smaller than the Jaffa, but from her experience she could tell he prided himself on his outward appearance. His body was well proportioned and his face was rather pleasing to look upon. She turned to the two warriors and motioned for the male to be placed in the same room as the other.
"What do you think, Nadeena, does Rianna know her males?" Chandra asked.
"I won't be able to answer that until I have completed my examination, but from what I know of the jaffa he is a proud warrior and should do well in The Arena."
"What of the other?" Rianna asked. The smaller male intrigued her and she watched as the others carried him into the room Nadeena had motioned toward. There was something about his coloring that set off the heat in her body and she wanted nothing more than to carry him off to her bed.
"From all outward appearances he looks like he could be as compatible as the Jaffa, but we shall have to wait until I've completed DNA testing," Nadeena told her. "I will have some answers for you by tomorrow, but the DNA study will take several days to complete. Do they have names?"
"The Jaffa is called Teal'c…the other one is Colonel Cameron Mitchell."
"Military?" Nadeena supplied. "Perhaps he may survive longer than the first battle. I will be in touch as soon as I have some answers."
"Thank you, Nadeena," Chandra said and waited for Rianna to follow her out. She'd seen the way her daughter had looked at the smaller male and wondered why she was so drawn to someone so obviously beneath her. "Rianna, it is best not to get attached to the trainees."
"I'm not stupid, Chandra, I know what they must overcome before they are deemed worthy to mate with us," Rianna snapped and hurried away before her mother had a chance to say anything else.
Chandra watched until she disappeared inside The Arena and knew Rianna would be staking out an area in the cages, a place where she could keep her captives during the training, and later during the actual fights. Many male specimens had died during training and even more succumbed to injuries received in the battles that ensued, but there were those who survived and she hoped Rianna had finally found one who could take on all comers and live to tell about it.
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Nadeena looked at both specimens and was glad there were standing orders to keep them restrained. The warriors were gone now, but she knew her colleagues would be there soon to help with the physical examination, which at times could be intrusive. From her experience the Jaffa would take everything in stride, but this new creature, although physically strong, could very well find what she did unbearable.
Moving past the Jaffa's bed, Nadeena stood beside the second one and reached out to touch his hair. It was soft, like the silken strands taken from the 'water shams' at the base of the falls. The creatures were indigenous to the area and the strands were harvested at the beginning of The Arena fights and woven into a cloak for the victor. They could be died, or left in their natural state…a mixture of vibrant reds, shimmering golds, and luminescent oranges.
Nadeena moved her hands down his body slowly envisioning what she would find beneath the clothing and pleasantly surprised to find he was well muscled. Could this creature truly be compatible and if so, did he have a chance against the bigger, stronger male specimens he'd have to face. She looked toward the Jaffa and wondered why such an obvious warrior had 'chained' himself to this one.
"Are you his protector, Jaffa?"
"Doctor, we were told there were newcomers and you would need our help."
"Yes, Sienna, you and Lania draw blood and work them both up for toxins. I want to know everything there is to know about our trainees," Nadeena explained and reached for the scissors on the table beside Mitchell's bed. She slowly began to cut away his clothing, smiling inwardly as bit by bit Colonel Cameron Mitchell was revealed to her.
TBC