Forgive Your Enemies but Never Forget Their Names
Chapter 10
Night had long ago come to the tiny restless city but a pair of solitary blue eyes stared out at the silent city. Samantha Carter dared not sleep this night; her nights were filled with restless dreams and her days with sand and jaffa. She couldn't remember how or why it had come to this, and she couldn't make it go away. The screams from a past that was not her own threatened to tip her over the edge moreover she could not even out run them if she tried they would follow her to the end of the universe and back again. Sam felt rather than heard Kahlan come up behind her.
"What troubles your sleep?"
"Dreams, facts, the truth, all of the above." She folded her hands over her knees and let out a sigh. Blue met brown on the sea of eternity. Sam looked down at a small pendant that was now visible around Kahlan's neck; she assumed that it had been hidden under her cloak during the flight from the city.
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"Do you like it?" Kahlan inquired. "It is a symbol of years long ago past. It was given to me as protection. It is the symbol of the heroine that saved Arrakis years ago by banishing the evil demons from our sands." With Sam's continued silence she decided to tell her story, the story of Arrakis' freedom. "Long ago the banished ones ruled Arrakis with a iron fist. Many were outright killed others merely vanished into the night never to be heard from again. Then she came with hair like the sand and eyes blue as the clear morning skies. A great battle was fought in the skies over Dune and fire rained down on the sands for days on end. Then it stopped suddenly and she left taking the banished ones with her. We were told that she would never again return to our desert planet. Many believe that she is just a myth that it never happened but to this very day people still consider this to be a symbol of protection, her symbol after she saved our planet. Kahlan's voice drifted away and Sam was carried off in a haze of unknown memories.
A Blonde head bowed."I have information."
She looked up directly at the goa'uld "I'm willing to exchange for this information. However you must agree to the terms I lay down. You will leave Arrakis immediately and forever. You will not return to this area of space you will not step one foot on this planet. Arrakis and its people will remain untouched and unharmed."
"This is a high price to pay. I have weapons being developed on the planet surface. What do you have that is of equal value to me?"
"I offer the chemical makeup of the drug known as Spice. We have determined its contents and how it is created this is the information that you will receive if you accept the terms that I have laid down." The goa'uld was still not convinced "If you do not accept these terms the ensuing battle will destroy the planet and all weapons and Spice on it, it will be of no value to anyone."
"This is true. However I must make one alteration to your proposal you must also leave Arrakis. The moment you step foot on the planets surface I shall be allowed to return as well."
"Agreed."
"Very well then your deal is accepted. I shall leave at once."
Sam woke with a start not even realizing that she had fallen asleep. Quade was moving about the small room gathering things that would be needed for the journey to Arrakeen.
"Ah you're awake."
"Where's Colonel O'Neill?"
"He's still asleep in the other room." He gestured to the room that he had put SG-1 up in. " I was just about to wake him." Before he could even move in the direction of the room Sam had gotten up walked the distance and shut the door firmly behind her.
"They sure are funny people Uncle."
"Yes Liet they are, but they are here for a great purpose and I have a feeling that Dune is forever going to be changed by their coming. Now go wake your mother."
"Yes Uncle."
"Colonel!" THUD! Jack fell from his awkward perch on the bed onto the floor.
"Wha? What's going on Carter?" He twisted and turned trying to untangle himself from the sheets. "This had better be good. Like the end of the world good and even then I've saved it enough times to get a freebee and be allowed to sleep in." Finally giving up on the sheets he just hung onto the side of the bed "I was having a good dream too, it was about The Simpsons if you wanted to know." Teal'c raised his eyebrow giving the 'I'm not even going to question or comment' and Sam just gave her usual reply of
"Yes sir."
"Well?"
"Jolinar sir. She cracked the spice compound formula which is quite fascinating in it's self given the unique make and complexity of the whole formula that-"
"Carter! The short version if you don't mind."
"Right well she gave the formula to a Goa'uld in return for the promise that he never returned here and left the planet alone. Now either he is back or he has sent someone in his place that knows about the Spice and Arrakis I'm not sure which it is."
"Thank you." Came the exasperated sigh "Hey T any thoughts?"
"None O'Neill, although Major Cater may be correct in her theories there is not enough evidence to support or contradict the same Goa'ulds presence on the planet."
"It doesn't make any sense though why would a Tok'ra make a deal with a Goa'uld they aren't exactly known for keeping their promises."
"Yeah the snakeheads don't exactly have a good credit rating but why would they be on this desert planet anyway I mean it was a desert waste land then anyway."
"They wanted something on Arrakis, they wanted Arrakis…wait they still want it!" Sam proclaimed as if she had discovered the meaning of life.
"So…what?"
"What better way to retake the planet then by destroying the ruling class in this instance the Atreides family line."
"You believe that a Goa'uld has taken Leto Atreides do you not Major Carter?"
"Exactly."
"So then they have Leto and…we have to get the word out, the little princess is in trouble."
"So what do we do sir?"
"We go out snake hunting and send word back with Quade that's what."