Avea approached the opening to the cave, dressed in her light brown cloak again today. The sun was just beginning to turn the sky pink and orange. She cautiously approached, not wanting to startle her human friends, but also not wanting to wake the ones she was sure were asleep. She proceeded to the opening, then stopped.
"Good morning." She spoke softly, seeing that Teal'c and Sam seemed to be asleep. Teal'c opened his eyes and she smiled at him. He nodded back.
"Daniel is with the colonel?" she whispered.
"He is."
She set down the rather large basket she was carrying and walked into the back room.
"Good morning Daniel."
He looked up, startled. "Good morning. Welcome back."
She briskly walked over to Jack to check on his condition. "Has there been any change?"
"No. He hasn't so much as snored."
"Then he is resting well." She briefly touched the areas surrounding each of Jack's wounds, then touched his head to check for a fever. "He is doing well -no sign of any problems." She stopped and looked up at Daniel. "I brought breakfast for all of you. Come and eat."
Daniel rose from the ground. They both came back into the other room to find that Sam was also waking up.
"Good morning, Major. How did you sleep?"
"Like a rock. What smells so good?"
"I saw what you were eating last night. Those bars looked terrible, so I brought you all some real food. Please, help yourselves."
Teal'c reached into the basket Avea had set down earlier. "Have you eaten yet?" he asked as he rummaged around in the basket.
"No, I thought I would wait and join you."
He pulled out several steaming items, passing them out as he did so. No one but Avea knew what they were yet because they were wrapped in large leaves. As Sam and Daniel curiously unwrapped what they'd been handed, she explained that they each contained a sort of fish stir fry, prepared her favorite way (though she didn't refer to it as stir fry). Teal'c continued to dig and extracted some obscure fruits and a large ceramic pitcher containing some kind of drink.
"These fruits are from the kaliwa vine. They have just come into season, and the tea is from pilai leaves."
By this time, Teal'c had also found some cups and flatware (which, amusingly to Sam, bore a strong resemblance to the "spork" of Earth). Avea poured the tea, which though it wasn't exactly cold, was not hot either. Daniel was the first to try the tea, and he made a funny face as he swallowed it. "I realize you might find it somewhat bitter, but it is good for you, and eventually you learn to like it."
"Kind of like coffee, except that coffee isn't actually good for you."
Sam laughed a little at Daniel's analysis of his favorite drink, and Avea pulled out some honey and handed it to him. He thanked her, then passed it around. They were all just now trying the stir fry.
"Mmmm. This is really good! What did you say was in it?"
"Various fruits and vegetables, along with some boiled fish. On its own, it's actually rather bland, but there are some wonderful spices I've found in these woods, and some of the greens are more for flavor than actual nutritional value."
They all ate in silence for a few moments, then Daniel broke the silence.
"So, how long have you actually been here on this particular planet?"
"A little more than five years."
"You probably know the people fairly well then."
"I interact with them as little as possible. They need me but do not trust me, and I tolerate their fear of me in exchange for the right to live here."
Sam picked up on the questions. "Can you tell us how advanced they are?"
"They are significantly more advanced than many groups I have met, but from what I know of Earth, you are still very far ahead of them." Avea quickly shut her mouth. I hope I didn't just say too much.
"How do you know about Earth?"
"Through my travels, I have become friends with some of the same people you have." She tried to remain as vague as possible.
"Who?"
"Why do you need to know?" Avea tried hard to cover her slip-up.
SG:1 looked at each other.
"If you want to come back with us, we need to know that you're not hiding anything that could be dangerous to Earth," Sam said pointedly.
Avea knew she was beaten. What harm will it do? They know the same people.
"I spent a couple of years with the Nox before coming here."
Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel all looked somewhat surprised by this revelation.
"The Nox?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. They were one of the last groups I spent time with before this planet."
"And they told you about us?" Sam prompted.
"Some, yes. I know that you are still very young, but I also know that you have advanced to the point that you do not necessarily fear the unfamiliar simply because it is unfamiliar. That is why I approached you."
"How long were you with them?"
"A little less than a year. They taught me many things. They adopted me almost as one of their own."
"Then why did you leave?" Sam asked.
"I become restless easily."
"Did you not say you have been on this planet for five years?" Teal'c pointed out.
"I have. I felt needed here, and that is why I've stayed. I have some privacy and I can do some good while I learn."
"That explains why you've been here so long, but not why you left the Nox," Sam pointed out. "There must be more to it than restlessness," she pried.
Avea was quiet for a moment while she chose her response carefully. "The Nox mean well," she finally answered. All three members of SG:1 straightened a little bit at her negative tone, and she explained. "The non-violence that they believe in so strongly blinds them to reality. There is wisdom in peace, certainly, but they are so advanced that they cannot comprehend the suffering that still exists in the rest of the universe."
"You oppose the Nox, then?"
"We did not part on hostile terms, if that's what you mean. I simply could not stay with them in their self-contained safety sphere, knowing first-hand the suffering that exists at the hands of the Goa'uld and doing nothing to stop it."
There was a momentary silence as no one quite knew what to say next, so the only sound was chewing.
Finally Avea broke the awkardness. "I need to check on Colonel O'Neill, if you'll excuse me. He should be waking up soon." With that, she rose, set down what she had been holding, and went into the other room.
When she got there, Jack still seemed to be asleep, so Avea didn't wake him. Instead, she removed the bandage on his leg and redressed it with some kind of cream and a new bandage. When that was done, she walked around to his other side and removed the bandage from over his chest wound. Picking up the healing device from where she had left it the night before, she resumed where Sam had left off earlier.
After a few minutes, Jack groaned and rubbed his left hand over his face.
"Good morning, Colonel." The device in Avea's hand stopped glowing as she greeted him with a smile.
"Wha…" Realization dawned on Jack as he remembered the previous day's events. "Oh, you," he muttered. "Hi."
"Are you hungry?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"Major, would you please bring the colonel some breakfast?" She spoke into the other room, then turned her attention back to Jack.
"The sun has only just risen. How do you feel?"
"Like I've been hit by a bus. A small bus, maybe. I've been hit with bigger buses."
Sam walked in with a wrap and a cup of honeyed tea just in time to hear his description, and it made her laugh.
"Morning, Carter."
"Good morning, sir. Avea brought us breakfast. I highly recommend the fish and veggies."
He struggled to sit up. Sam set down what she carried on the shelf that was still protruding from the side of the table in order to help him, and Avea replaced the bandage so that he could eat in peace.
"Health nut. Say, is there any way I could get down?"
Sam and Jack both looked at Avea.
"I'm not sure that's wise, Colonel."
"Aww, come on! Have a little heart! I don't like it up here." He gave Sam his best puppy dog eyes.
Avea relented with a sympathetic smile. "If you want down that badly, I guess it won't hurt anything for you to sit on the floor and lean back." She touched the table to indicate that she meant for him to use its side as a backrest.
Jack's face lit up like a little kid's, and Sam suppressed a grin at his exaggeration. She went to his left when Avea went to his right..
"Colonel, be careful and don't put any weight at all on your left leg," Avea reminded him as he edged off the table. Sam and Avea caught him before he fell (he didn't realize just how weak yesterday's events had left him), and together they lowered him to the floor. He sat with his injured leg straight out and the other bent. "Comfortable?" He shrugged and nodded, and Sam handed him breakfast. He sniffed it, and then dug in hungrily.
"So how am I doing?" Jack asked between bites.
"I'm glad to see you have a good appetite. You should be good as new in a few days."
"A few days. Really."
"Your injuries would normally take weeks to heal on their own, but since I'll be here to help, it won't take nearly as long."
"Hear that Carter? We've found our own personal good luck charm. And she's not too bad in the kitchen! How 'bout that?"
"Yes sir," was all Sam could say. She was used to Jack's flippant attitude, but she still wasn't quite sure how to respond sometimes.
"What's in this stir fry anyway?"
Avea furrowed her brow, not quite sure what 'stir fry' was, but assumed he meant the fish. "Greens and spices."
"Hmm. It's actually good. Remind me to talk to General Hammond about including 'spices' with ration packs."
Sam smiled, glad to see her CO back in good spirits. "Actually, sir, Avea may get to talk to him herself. Our 'good luck charm' wants to come with us."
Jack paused and, for the first time, sized up their new friend. He started at the floor, quickly taking in her seemingly tiny frame under the cloak. For someone so small, she sure was strong. I bet she packs one hell of a punch. His eyes then explored her delicate-looking face, purple skin, long hair, and finally her pointed ears.
This made Avea slightly uncomfortable. At least I was discreet about it when I looked him over.
Jack finally shifted his gaze to Sam with an expression that clearly said "What do you think?" In response, Sam nodded discreetly, telling him that she saw no reason not to take her home with them. Sam trusts her. That's good enough.
"Welcome home, Spock-ette."
Avea looked to Sam for an interpretation, and Sam smiled affirmatively at her.
"Speaking of home, sir, do you remember what happened after you were shot?"
"I remember some rather severe pain. Pounding head, screaming in my chest, lots of blood, that kind of thing."
"Sir, the Stargate was bombed. We're stranded here."
"Carter, I thought the Stargates were too tough for a bomb to take out."
"I don't know if the gate was actually destroyed or not, but either way it was at least buried, and there's no way to tell how long it could take to dig it out, assuming it is still in one piece." She paused to let it sink in. "And it was a really big bomb," she added, shrugging apologetically.
Jack leaned his head back against the table's side. "So we're stranded here."