AN: Took a bit longer than I thought it would to write the next bit, but I think I've got things more solidified in my head now. Thank you for all the positive reviews, hope you continue to enjoy.
"I know you," the creature repeated in a whispy voice.
Jack blinked, cocking his head sideways. Its gaze stayed focused on him now, and he wasn't sure what he saw in those orange eyes. His voice was incredulous to mask the surprise. "Um, no you don't. I'm not the best with faces, but I'm pretty sure yours doesn't ring any bells."
The one beneath it shifted restlessly. Jack spared a quick glance to the group behind, they appeared riveted. What the hell was this?
"I know you." A little louder now. What did he hear, frustration?
"Ok, I'll bite. Who am I?"
Finally, it looked down at the ground. Jack fought back the sigh of relief. It shook its head. "It's right there. I can't..."
The bottom alien moved in earnest, starting to shirk the other off of it. Jack held his P90 a little tighter, hearing the others adopt similar stances around him.
"Grahas!" One of the aliens in the back shouted, making Jack look up again. Whatever it said, the other stilled. And snorted heavily.
"Grass?" Jack said.
"Grahas, sir." The top alien responded immediately, correcting him as though by instinct.
"Beg your pardon?" Jack said.
"What?" Daniel spoke at the same time.
"It's his name."
"No," Jack said. "Rewind. Did you just call me sir?"
"Yes." It hesitated.
"Why?" Daniel asked. Jack gave him a side glance, which the other man completely ignored.
"I don't know."
Jack scrubbed one hand over his face. "Ok. If you really do know me, as you say you do, then you know that I'm not a big fan of surprises, puzzles, riddles, existencial quandries, or suspense. So could someone please tell me what the hell is going on here? Anybody?"
It seemed at a loss for words, looking between Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c.
"Her memory is... damaged." An alien in the back spoke. It's words were heavily accented, carefully chosen.
"You do speak English," Daniel said.
"Rutaluen has taught me some of your words."
"Rutaluen is?" Jack prompted.
"Rutaluen is she."
Jack looked back down at the first. "Rutaluen? See, I definitely don't know you."
"That's not my name," she snapped.
"Ok, what is your name?"
"I don't know."
Jack raised a finger. "Ah, ah! That chestnut is starting to get old. Pray tell, what do you know?"
She stood, slowly. Jack backed up a couple steps, cautious if she was making some sort of move. But after rising, now standing a head taller than him, she was still. "I know that I know you. Because I am human. Your face is so familiar. But when I try to think of a name, a memory, it's all smoke."
"That's enough," Jack said quickly, cutting off the reply he saw Daniel about to make. "This isn't funny. You aren't human, not even close. I'm human. Daniel here is human. Teal'c is... mostly human."
"I was." She glared at him. "They found me here, all but dead, and took me to their world. Put me in this body."
"Sam?" Daniel almost whispered. The alien looked at Daniel expectantly.
"No," Jack said.
"O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"No." Jack tried to cut him off. But he continued anyway.
"Major Carter's body was never recovered."
Hot at the idea of such a ruse, Jack gritted his teeth. "Tell me the truth."
"I am telling you the truth."
Rutaluen
Somehow, Rutaluen and the other alien had convinced the rest to surrender their weapons, and be restrained. The one had railed, screaming in their language with ample hisses and snorts. It was only the furious persuasion by the rest that he finally allowed itself to be restrained. It glared at Rutaluen the whole time. They stood by the partially laden FRED.
Daniel, Jack, and Teal'c stood a small distance away, affording them a modicum of privacy. The scientists watched from behind them.
Rutaluen. Sam? Daniel didn't know what to make of it. He stared at her intently, trying to see it. Was there something there? But the reptilian form was too alien, too foreign for him to project her onto it. The only reason he knew her to be female was simply by their word. If her story was true though, gender didn't really matter then, did it?
"It's not her," Jack said. He was adamant.
"You can't just dismiss her outright."
"I believe I just did."
Teal'c spoke. "We do not know of what these aliens are capable. Her claims could indeed be the truth."
"She's dead," Jack said. The weight of the words slammed Daniel like a fist. It was still difficult to say the words, or to hear them.
"We should at least hear her out," Daniel said.
"To what end? She doesn't remember anything. How are we supposed to verify? DNA? Something tells me that's not going to help."
Daniel sighed. "She remembers us."
"That's not remembering. That's a stab in the dark."
"Apology!" They all looked at the other alien addressing them. "Darkness approaches. Uzna'a will soon hunt. We must leave the planet."
"Uzna'a? Those mangy dog-things?" Warren said, finally piping up.
It stared blankly. Rutaluen spoke. "Yes."
"We should take them back to Earth," Daniel said.
"I am in agreement with Daniel Jackson."
Jack looked over to Warren for support, but he only shrugged. Jack sighed. "Yeah... Ok, pack it up people." He stared at the aliens. "Nothing funny, got it?"
Rutaluen
Sam Carter. Major. She played it around in her head. It sounded right. Familiar. Comfortable. But there was still an unsettling disconnect. She whispered their names to herself, also. A spark of recognition, little more. Everything was just out of her reach, and she wanted to scream. Perhaps she was just chasing smoke after all. Maybe nothing of substance existed beyond her vague notions.
They didn't believe her. She supposed that she couldn't honestly expect them to. After all, what had she really given them? It still hurt her in the most unsettling of ways. Like a deep betrayal. Jack didn't believe her at all. Daniel and Teal'c seemed more hesitant with their reluctance. The others' opinion she found she wasn't overly concerned about.
These three meant something.
"Whatever befalls us is on your head," Grahas said.
She closed her eyes wearily. "They won't hurt us."
"Us." He spat.
"You don't help the situation," Vanara said.
"We are restrained, as foolish as that decision was. Forgive me if I am not instilled with trust for their intentions."
Mauk's tail twitched nervously. "Perhaps Grahas was correct..."
Rutaluen shook her head, a meaningless gesture to the Talare. "It's just a precaution. They don't know if they can trust us, either."
Grahas snarled again at the use of the word "us."
She was having her own misgivings, but it wouldn't do to let on to them. She did know that they wouldn't be hurt, she just wasn't sure about anything else. If she couldn't convince anyone of her identity, then what would happen? She found an overwhelming urge to bite her lip. And a physical impossibility to do so.
Twilight descended, shadows melted into the vegitation. They weren't more than an hour from the stargate. Already she swore she could see vague rustling in the distance. Hints of movement. She looked around the others, they saw it to. She found it increasingly difficult to breath.
"It's them, isn't it?" Rutaluen said.
Vanara was looking at something to the right. She required no elaboration. "It is."
She knew the humans saw it. Watched Teal'c's gaze track one such tremble. Similar tremors rippled through her own body. She felt shaky. Her mouth grew uncomfortably dry. Rapid, shallow breaths were all she could seem to manage. Rutaluen might have willed herself to calm down, but she found herself incapable of conscious thought.
"Are you unwell?" Teal'c said, barely breaking through her fog.
She shook her head in an effort to collect her thoughts. "I don't want to be here."
"You're not the only one," Jack said. His wry tone was lost on her, but Daniel glared.
The yip was suprisingly high pitched for such a large animal. They all stopped moving immediately. There was an answering call near the first. Rapidly it fell to snarls and grunts. While she couldn't see either creature, she distinctly heard the heavy crash as they collided, fighting over their prey.
A furious pounding behind caught her attention. She turned to see the shock of mane barrelling through the grass. It was heading straight through the middle of the group, but she was frozen stiff. Paralyzed by memory. Rutaluen was unaware what was happening around her. Didn't feel as Vanara crashed into her, tackling her to the ground. The gunfire that started after everyone had dived to safety could just as easily have been the shots she heard in her own head.
The animalistic howl of pain made her close her eyes tightly.
Rutaluen
Daniel watched the beast collapse with one final shuddering breath. Teal'c approached cautiously, making sure that it really was dead. With an affirmative nod, he looked back to the direction where the others were fighting, still howling at each other. He could hear the carnage.
"What happens when they stop fighting?" Daniel said.
"One, if not both, will be dead. It will likely be too damaged to attack," the other alien to speak English said. "But others will come."
"We should make haste to the stargate," Teal'c said.
Daniel saw the aliens standing awkwardly, peering out into the darkness. But only four of them. The other one kneeled back down.
"Rutaluen dana. Calmous." He thought he heard worry in its tone.
Daniel rushed over. "Is she hurt?"
Rutaluen was curled up as tightly as she could manage with her arms restrained. The other alien kneeled over her, unable to do anything else. He didn't see any obvious sign of injury, but she seemed to be barely breathing. Hyperventilating it appeared. If she were human, he would have immediately assumed a panic attack. Were they similar enough to draw such parallels?
"Hey, can you hear me?" When he got no response he reached down, touched her shoulder.
"No!" She screamed the word. Jerked heavily away from the contact. When their eyes met, he couldn't speak.
It was an expression he had been unable to get out of his dreams. The sheer horror in Sam's eyes as she made her all-too-quick trip to the edge. Daniel had dove for her, but was nowhere near close enough to reach her. If he had, he realized soon after, he would have just ended up over the side with her. The realization would have done nothing to stop him from doing it again.
There was a similar recognition of the moment in her eyes.
"Daniel?" Jack said. They both broke out of the moment.
She quickly looked away. "I'm ok. I'm ok."
He watched her try to stand. Her legs fumbled beneath her and she was soon back on her knees. The shaking in her limbs was unmistakeable.
"Allow me to assist her," the other alien said, shrugging at its bonds. He reached out for the zip tie.
"Daniel," Jack repeated, this time in warning.
Daniel didn't even look at Jack, and reached for Sam. It had to be Sam. "Then I'll help her."
"We need everyone ready in case more of those things come," Jack countered.
"It's one or the other."
Jack shook his head. "I hope you know what you're doing."
As Daniel cut the plastic with his knife, one of the other aliens spoke. Even though he didn't understand a word of it, the tone of protest was clear.
"Hey!" Jack snapped curtly, pointing at the offender. "Zip it."
His tone appeared to translate equally well, and it was silent again. He would have freed Sam's hands too, if he thought he could get away with it. The alien shook her freed hands briefly, then pulled Sam up until they both were standing. Then it looked over at Jack, cocking its head slightly. Daniel thought he saw a challenge. Jack shook his head and they continued to the gate.
Motion quickly resumed in the fringes, but this group of animals was more wary. They remained at a distance. When they got to the stargate, and activated the wormhole, Daniel heard the uzna'a scatter.
"SG-1 to SGC," Jack said into his radio as they all stood around anxiously. Daniel could tell the aliens were confused why they hadn't yet gone through. There was a few moments of silence.
"We read you, Colonel. You're not scheduled to return for another twelve hours." General Hammond's voice broke the stillness.
"Yes, sir. We have," Jack paused, turning back to look at the aliens, "a little situation."
"What sort of situation?" Daniel frowned at Hammond's questioning tone.
"A rather complex situation. Best discussed on base. There's just one thing. We're going to be bringing back some company."
"Colonel?"
"It's a long story."
There was a silence. "Very well, you're cleared to return. I hope you know what you're doing, Colonel."
"Yes, sir," Jack said, continuing quietly after disengaging his radio. "Me, too."
Rutaluen
Jack supposed the company that Hammond envisioned was entirely different than what passed through the stargate. Wide eyes locked on the aliens. Even the SFs inside the gate room were slackjawed as they had their guns trained. Jack saw the surprise on the General's face. Which quickly turned into a scowl.
"General, I respectfully suggest that our friends be taken to holding room three."
Hammond gave a small nod. "Briefing room. Now."
They were all barely through the door before Hammond spoke again. "Now you had better have a damn good reason why I just allowed six unknown aliens entrance to this base."
For perhaps the first time in his career, Jack tried to think of a tactful response. "Well, sir..."
"One of them is Sam," Daniel said.
"Claims to be," Jack amended. "One of them claims to be Carter."
"Jack..."
"Enough," Hammond said sharply. Jack winced at the stare they both received. He watched the General's brow furrow heavily. "Just what exactly are you trying to say?"
There was no short answer. So they explained the whole encounter. The attack. The adamant declaration by the one that she was human. Was Sam. And her own admission of having virtually no memory.
Hammond was silent for the entire report, processing. "You believe these aliens?"
"Yes," Daniel said instantly.
Teal'c cocked his head slightly. "Their story is plausible."
All three of them looked at Jack. He suppressed the urge to swallow.
"I don't not believe it," he said slowly. Daniel's eyes narrowed. Jack broke. "Oh, come on, it is a bit far fetched, don't ya think?"
"She called you sir," Daniel said.
Jack's chest tightened, making him angry. While the voice had given him pause, the tone had been eerie. But he couldn't let go of months of mourning, not without some real proof. Even then, the implications didn't sit well with him. This was not the sort of reunion he would have hoped for.
A healthy skepticism seemed to be his best defense.
Rutaluen
Their restraints were removed one by one. The door shut. Not a cell, she knew, but more an interrogation room. No windows for the guards to look in from. There was no real need, it wasn't as if they could get into any mischief in that small room.
Except that Grahas took the opportunity to slam her against the wall before she could react. He held her shoulders painfully tight, fully flared and extremely angry. "I am done with this."
"Let her go!" Vanara reached for him, but Grahas batted her hands aside and resumed his death grip. She watched Vanara glare at the back of his head, but she remained still. None of the others made a move to help.
But Rutaluen had had more than enough of his temper. "You're the one who decided to charge into that field."
He slammed her against the wall again with a heavy grunt. When her brain stopped rattling, she continued. "I was trying to save your life."
"Only that we may be killed here, instead."
"No," she argued.
"I am done listening to you," he said.
"Really? When have you ever?"
She knew it was a mistake even as she said it. Grahas roared, squaring a shoulder before pistoning forward with all of his weight. She tried to dodge, but there was nowhere for her to go. The lewd snapping of ribs echoed sharply. Air shot out of her lungs with a short squeak. The room spiraled into dizzying color. She staggered briefly before collapsing, the door opening with a crash and the room disolving into chaos.
Rutaluen tried to speak, but couldn't so much as breathe.
By the time it ended, she could make out words again. Teal'c's heavy tone pierced through her fog. "Inform this one that if it continues to resist, I will be forced to cause it bodily harm."
She could tell that Teal'c wouldn't have minded the excuse. Grahas snarled.
"Acquiesce," Vanara said sharply, her voice hard. "As much as I'd like to see this one break you in two."
Grahas snorted heavily several times, but she didn't hear more fighting.
"Are you ok?" She heard Daniel's voice beside her. The colors had started to settle back into shapes. Her reply was lost in a shuddering wheeze.
"Get them out of here. Double the guard, and do not let them out of your sight." Barely contained outrage threaded through the southern drawl.
"Please," Vanara said, "allow me to remain."
"Colonel?"
"That one's been cooperative. So far."
After a few moments, Vanara rolled her onto her back.
"Is she ok?" Daniel asked.
Rutaluen managed a breathless reply. "Just need a minute."
Vanara touched Rutaluen's chest, receiving a sharp gasp. "I do not believe the damage is threatening."
"Should've let you shoot the bastard," Rutaluen said. Whether he simply didn't understand what she had done, or didn't care, she couldn't tell. And somehow doubted the distinction would matter much to Grahas, either.
"What the hell was that?" Jack said.
Vanara spoke, leaving one hand resting on Rutaluen's shoulder. "Grahas is dissatisfied with the..." Vanara paused as she tried to think of a suitable word. Gave up. "Situation. He believes the blame for this rests with Rutaluen."
Her breathing had returned to something almost normal. With a sharp flare to punctuate each movement. Vanara helped her to sit up.
Jack stepped forward. "Ok, if you are Carter, and all this stuff happened like you're saying it did, there's something that doesn't jive for me. SG teams have been back and forth on that world for a long time now. So why the hell have we seen nothing of you guys until now?"
"We only come to that world when we require more mata'le," Vanara said. Vanara's head twisted, puzzled. "Why do you take so much of it?"
Daniel frowned. "You mean that plant? It takes a large quantity to refine into anything meaningful. But we've replanted, they'll come back."
Vanara snorted contemptuously, speaking in Talare. "Rutaluen, are your people really this foolish?"
"Hey," she replied, earning a small laugh from the woman. When she noticed the stares, she cleared her throat awkwardly. And shrugged.
"You just happened to be in the right place at the right time?" Hammond said. At Vanara's slightly confused stare, he continued. "Why don't you tell us what happened?"