A/N
Happy holidays everyone!
Breakaway
Paying absolutely no attention to the magnificent sunset in front of her, Faith ran lightly down the stone platform to join Mallie and Kay as the Stargate behind her flickered once or twice and shut down. The clearing around them was littered with fallen stones and there was moss growing on the Mushroom Control Thingy. At first glance it looked like another long abandoned planet and Faith's spirits sank.
"Where are we?" she asked the others, hoping they'd know.
"I don't know," Kay answered as Mallie shrugged beside her. "I've never been here before."
"Okay..." Faith glanced around the clearing, shivering as the chill air pressed in on her. "I guess... we should make a camp."
Turning, Faith led the others towards the tree line, still struggling to process the day's events. Last night's nightmare seemed almost as far away as the planet they'd just left. So much had happened so quickly...
Her stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly and Faith was reminded that they'd been about to eat when Cam had done... whatever the hell it was he had done. And how beyond screwed was it that while the Mind-Melder was still affecting her, she couldn't contact Cam no matter how hard she tried? Her stomach rumbled again and Faith wheeled round to face the two slayers following her.
"You guys hungry?"
"Starving!" Mallie moaned, clutching her stomach dramatically.
"Might as well make camp here," Faith said. The light was slowly fading from the sky and Faith figured that one clearing was just as good as another. "What have we got to eat?"
"The pre-packaged meals and chocolate," Mallie told Faith as the brunette woman patted her pockets with a frown.
"Where the fuck is my lighter?" Faith's confused gaze met Kay and Mallie's blank ones and the Tau'ri slayer groaned. "We left it behind, didn't we?"
"Um... yes?" said Kay.
"I can make a fire if you find some dry wood," Mallie offered, putting the cases she carried down.
Shrugging, Faith headed into the wood. At least she still had her cigarettes, even if she couldn't finish the one she'd started earlier until they had a fire going. Losing her lighter had put her in a bad mood and she kicked out at a nearby stone.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, she berated herself as she prowled the forest floor, snatching up hapless pieces of wood with a scowl. Why hadn't she checked her pockets sooner? Her arms full, she turned around, stalking back to the clearing and dumping the wood in front of the waiting Mallie.
"Dry enough?"
Kay watched from a safe distance, busying herself with the various animal hides they had brought with them as Mallie hesitantly agreed, carefully selecting two suitable pieces of wood and settling down to start the difficult process of creating fire while a glowering Faith stood over her, her arms crossed. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to ask Faith about cam. Picking up another hide, she ran her hand carefully over it. No, it was wet. Setting the fur aside to be dried once they had a fire going, Kay picked up another.
The tales Faith told of the Tau'ri homeworld, of Earth, fascinated her. The idea of a world where the majority of the population lived their lives in ignorance of both the Goa'uld and Ori and of the demons that infested their own planet seemed incredible to her. Yet Faith assured her that it was so and every new story that she told only served to further emphasise it.
Spying the tiny tendril of smoke as she folded the last fur, Kay stood, brushing off her long skirt. They would need more wood if they wanted to keep the fire going long enough to actually cook something, even if it was those strange Tau'ri... Kay was loath to call them meals.
Engrossed in the sight of Mallie creating fire by rubbing two sticks together, Faith didn't notice the older woman leave the clearing. Sure, people said that shit was possible, but Faith hadn't really believed it until she saw it. Already Mallie was carefully blowing the small flame into life, feeding it dry leaves and small twigs until she had a small blaze big enough to start laying the larger pieces on.
Suddenly remembering why she was there, Faith dragged her cigarette packet out of her damp pocket. Selecting a burning stick from the fire, she lit the cigarette, puffing the first drag straight back out before she sucked the next into her lungs. Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, she savoured the sensation of the nicotine spreading through her body as she held her breath for as long as possible before letting it out with a sigh.
God, that was good! Opening her eyes as she continued to smoke, Faith realised how dark it had gotten. Even with her enhanced sight, it was difficult to make out anything beyond the tree line.
"Where's Kay?" she asked, noticing that the older woman was missing. Great, that was all she needed... to start losing 'em!
"Here," The woman in question replied, appearing from the dark forest with her arms full of wood. "Is there anything to drink?"
Malina blinked as Faith looked at her. Did they mean her?
"Uh... no," she said slowly, mentally reviewing every single thing she had brought as she fed wood to the fire. "We left the waterbags on the raft."
"Damn," Faith swore absently. "Okay, no chocolate tonight."
"Aw... why?" Malina whined.
"It'll make you thirstier," Faith informed her. "Trust me."
"I couldn't find any bracken," Kay said, spreading several furs out near the fire. "We'll have to sleep on the ground tonight."
Faith scowled as she stubbed out her cigarette. Could this planet get any worse?
l
Jool stretched as she woke. As incredible as it sounded, she actually felt better. Had her slayer immune system finally kicked in and started fighting the plague or was that just wishful thinking? She was sitting up and looking around when the door to her room slid back and Caroline entered, carrying a tray.
"Breakfast for the genius," she announced, holding the tray high before she placed it in Jool's lap.
Staring down at the loaded tray, Jool's mouth watered. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so hungry and she attacked the meal with relish. It was some minutes before she remembered her manners and looked up, swallowing a mouthful of bacon.
"Thank you," she said to Caroline, carving up a sausage. "What happened?"
"Oz woke up last night," Caroline told her and Jool's eyes flew to the monitors showing a very pale and human-looking Oz lying in his bed, his eyes closed. A lump that had nothing to do with the sausage she was eating rose in her throat.
"He was delirious and he passed out shortly after I arrived," Caroline continued. "But once we had him back in bed I ran some tests."
"And...?" Jool prompted, waving her knife in a circular 'carry on' motion when Caroline paused.
"He was generating enough antibodies to create a vaccine," Caroline said with a harried smile and Jool noticed for the first time how tired the other woman looked. "Long story short, we whipped up a batch and injected everyone in the night."
"That's why I don't feel like crap!" Jool realised.
Caroline smiled. "Glad to hear it," she yawned. "I'm off-duty for twenty-four hours so I'll see you tomorrow."
Engrossed in a pancake, Jool just nodded at her as she left. She felt great, she realised, glancing up at the monitors. Better than she had in days. Even the wounds that had been irritating her seemed to have healed.
Oz stirred and Jool dropped her knife and fork, her breakfast forgotten as she leaned forward. Was he waking up again? Oh, why wasn't sound included in the video feed?
l
Oz groaned as he opened his eyes and saw the grey SGC ceiling. So it hadn't been a dream then? He'd known it was too good to be true. He had to warn Willow! Jon's head popped into his field of vision and Oz frowned.
"Hey," Jon said, smiling. "How you feeling?"
"Jon?"
"Yeah?"
"What happened?" Oz asked, struggling into a sitting position.
"You've been sick," Jon told him, stepping back from his bed. "Picked up a bug from those fleas on P-whatever and gave it to half of the base before we realised."
"Huh," Oz said in a neutral tone.
Jon glanced at the door, "I should probably go fetch one of the doctors to come stick you with needles."
Oz gazed steadily at him, his face a stoic mask. Jon's eyes narrowed. Did he actually want to get stuck with needles? C'mon, he was practically handing him the perfect out! The silence lengthened.
"Okay then..." Jon said finally, clapping his hands together. "I'm gonna go... and do that. You stay here and... don't do anything I wouldn't."
l
Jool watched as Oz nodded in reply to whatever it was Jon had said and Jon walked off camera. Oz continued to stare after him. Jool's attention was just returning to her breakfast when Oz exploded in action, tearing the wires attached to him off and standing. He swayed for a moment before pulling himself together and striding purposefully out of the camera's view.
Suddenly Jool realised that her mouth was hanging open and she was holding a forkful of forgotten food in mid-air.
l
"Going somewhere?"
The words hung in the air as Oz stepped out of the room they had been holding him in and he stopped. He'd known it was too easy when the door hadn't been locked, he thought bitterly.
"You can't stop me," he said, turning to face Jon.
"Wasn't gonna," Jon said, straightening from his slouched position against the wall. "But I'm thinking maybe I should. You look like crap."
It was true. The florescent lights only served to further enhance Oz's pallor and he was swaying where he stood. That didn't mean he was going to back down. As he turned to go, further down the corridor a door slid open and Jool rushed out, wearing a hospital gown identical to his.
"Oz!" she cried, noticing him. Her bare feet slapped against the concrete floor as she ran towards them. "What are you doing?"
"We've got to get out of here!" Oz said, grabbing her arm as she skidded to a halt. "They've been experimenting on us..."
"What?" Jool exclaimed, looking at Jon. He shrugged and she turned her attention back to Oz. "They, we, haven't! You've been sick." Grabbing Oz's hand as it fell from her arm, she continued, "That Prior on Terluna, he infected the dogs with a plague. They passed it to you through the fleas and then your fleas infected everyone they bit."
"Hence the gown," Oz realised slowly.
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jon exclaimed, stepping forward as Oz sagged and the Doc reached out to support him. "Look, you've got issues with the military, I get that. But I swear to you that these guys are not like that," he looked Oz directly in the eye, his gaze sincere. "They're on the level."
Leaning against the Doc, Oz looked searchingly back at Jon. Slowly, he nodded. "Cool," he said. "So... bed?"
"Bed!" Jool remembered. Picking Oz up, she carried him back into his room.
"Thought you were sick," Jon said, trailing after them.
"I got better."
"I see that."
l
Lying wrapped in furs by the fire's edge, Faith frowned in her sleep, rolling over so that her sheathed dagger was no longer jabbing into her. Smiling now, she snuggled deeper into the furs, not yet ready to get up and face the world.
Unfortunately the world had other plans, starting with the party of men on horseback picking their way into the clearing. Spying the bundle of furs and Faith's raven hair spilling across them, the man on the lead horse held his hand up sharply in a silent signal to his men to stop. They did, controlling their spirited mounts with ease despite the fact that they rode bareback.
Dismounting, the leader approached Faith with the rolling gait of one who had spent most of his life on a horse. Staring down at the sleeping woman, he felt something stir within his breast. Ruthlessly he suppressed it. Ignoring her striking features and creamy skin, he nudged her with his foot.
"Where is your man?" he asked harshly as her warm brown eyes opened.
She frowned up at him, the sleep clearing from her eyes, "What man?"
By law if she had no man to protect her then she belonged to whoever claimed her but he knew it would not be that simple. His chieftain had only to look upon her to want her for himself. She was a rare prize.... but let it never be said that Turak did not know what he owed to his chieftain. He bent and picked her up, furs and all.
"What the fuck? Put me down!" she protested.
Ignoring her, Turak carried her across the clearing, towards his horse. Her struggles were hampered by the furs she was wrapped in and he easily threw her up onto his horse before he mounted himself. Reaching around the woman, he gathered up the reins.
"Faith!"
Wheeling his horse around to face the direction of the cry, Turak watched Urgan and Bolg dismount to meet the women rushing towards them, their hair and faces uncovered. Turak frowned at their immodesty even while he marvelled at the sight of hair more golden than corn as his men approached the women with leering grins.
The oldest of the women, her hair shorter than a man's, lashed out as soon as his men were close enough, striking Urgan on the nose with her fist. As he fell to the ground, blood pouring from his face, Bolg leapt back, drawing his sword and holding his ground. Horses shifted as men reached for their weapons, advancing on the women.
"Stop!" the raven-haired beauty in front of him shouted.
The one with the golden hair halted her advance on Bolg, exchanging glances with her companion. Their hesitation lasted long enough for his other men to reach them and pull them on to their horses.
Turak eyed his captive speculatively as he collected Bolg and Urgan's horses and joined his men. His chances of successfully claiming her for his own had just risen substantially but underneath his elation, he felt uneasy. Her companions had acted more like seasoned warriors than women and yet they had obeyed her as he would his chieftain. They behaved more like women of legend than those of his tribe. What people were they of? Why were they here?
He had a feeling that to question them here would be a mistake. His men would not hesitate to report it to their chieftain and now that Bolg and Urgan, his nose still streaming blood, had mounted their horses the woman in his arms was growing tenser by the second. They had them, that was enough. Turning his horse towards home, he gathered the woman close to him. Her scent, fresh, salty and earthy all at the same time, reached him and he spurred his horse forward. This was madness!
l
The view from the balcony of the mess was generally agreed to be spectacular. Of course, most of the views in Atlantis were spectacular but the one from the mess was generally thought to be one of the best and seats on the balcony were always in demand.
They were at a premium now but it had nothing to do with the brilliant sunshine or the turquoise colour of the ocean the city floated on. Nor was it the excellent breakfast the harried kitchen staff were serving that packed the balcony and window seats. It had something more to do with the whine of engines that filled the air, causing conversations to lull and heads to turn.
Beyond the soaring towers, on the outskirts of the city, the Odyssey gently lifted from the East pier, seeming to hover there for a moment. The pitch of its engines sharpened as the ship rose into the air and faded from earshot as it accelerated away, quickly disappearing into the sky. The silence it left behind hung for a moment and then was broken by the clatter of a cup meeting its saucer.
Conversations sprang to life again as the residents of Atlantis resumed everyday life. Not all of the occupants of the balcony were members of the Atlantis expedition however. On one of the tables nearest the edge, a prized location, four residents of Earth were turning their attention back to their breakfasts.
One of them in particular was especially glad to see the back of the Odyssey. Having had the best night's sleep he had had since they left Earth, Cam was inclined to place the blame for his recent insomnia on the close confines and boredom he had endured during their trip. Not that he had suffered from the problem during his tour of duty as one of the Odyssey's F-302 pilots, but Cam was astute enough to realise that since his crash in Antarctica and his subsequent rehabilitation he didn't cope well with forced inactivity.
That was why he was so pleased that they weren't returning with the Odyssey for the three week trek back to Earth. Instead, armed with the addresses Jackson had been given by Morgan le Fay and with the blessing of Elizabeth Weir, they would be travelling back to Earth with Atlantis' scheduled update tomorrow.
It would be good to get back home... and even better to find out what progress SG-13 had made on their search for Faith. Had they found her yet? Was she back on Earth? Anticipation began to fizz through his veins like champagne at the thought.
"Cam?" Sam's voice cut across his imaginings and Cam turned his gaze to her, realising that she'd just asked him a question.
"Yeah?"
"Great," Jackson said, grinning, and Cam wondered just what he'd agreed to. "I'll see you guys at lunch." Pushing back his chair and picking up his empty tray, he stood, walking away.
"I'd better get going too," Sam said, glancing at her watch.
"So..." said Vala, licking her spoon and setting her empty yoghurt pot to one side as Sam left. "What are we doing?"
So that was what he had accidentally agreed to. Well, one of them had to keep an eye on the former thief. Jackson and Sam were going to be spending the day in geek-heaven and probably wouldn't notice if a bomb went off next to them. It was probably best if she spent the day with him. After all he didn't have any definite plans other than...
"Going to the infirmary," he told her.
"Are you sick?" Vala asked him, looking concerned.
"Nope," Cam said. He had a very good reason for wanting to go to the infirmary. Leaning forward, he began to tell Vala about the Ancient gene therapy that was only available in the Pegasus galaxy.
l
Sat sideways over the horse's shoulders as they hurtled through the forest, it was an effort for Faith to remain in her seat. Not just difficult, because it was definitely that, but also so tempting to just allow their rapid pace and the difficulties of the terrain to tip her from the horse's back. One glance at her captor's implacable face however, was all it took to convince her that it would be a bad idea.
Yeah, she could rely on Mallie and Kay to catch on quick but they would still be separated and this guy, he looked like the type who'd come back. The horses burst out from the forest onto a rolling plain and Faith's eyes narrowed at the sight of tents in the distance. Was that where they were going? Seeing as how they were directly in front of them, she was gonna go with yes.
"You live there?" Faith asked her captor.
He ignored her and she turned her attention back to the camp. The itchy feeling she had had ever since they had arrived through the 'Gate was getting stronger as they approached the huddled tents. Whatever it was that was causing it, it was in that camp and it was oppressively familiar. Suddenly Faith had a very bad feeling.
Horribly jolted, Kay sagged in relief when her captor slowed his horse at the edge of the camp. Her stomach cramped painfully as the group picked their way through the tents but that didn't stop her from taking in every detail. Every detail except one... Where were all the women?
"Have you no shame?" her captor growled. "Cover your head," he added when she looked at him blankly.
With what? Her skirt? Kay snorted with hastily suppressed laughter at the thought of his reaction. A light blow landed on the side of her head and she turned her head to glare at the man behind her.
Reining in his horse, Turak drew the animal to a halt outside the women's camp. Dismounting as his men halted around him, he pulled the woman from his horse and into his arms. Savouring the feeling of her body against his in what could well be the last moments he had with her, Turak pressed her closer, carrying her to the hangings of the women's camp despite the stares of his men.
Gently setting her on her feet he stared into her puzzled brown eyes, committing her loveliness to memory. Slowly he nodded, turning her to face the hangings as Klar and Tekkel approached with the other women.
"Fare well," he told her softly so his men would not hear, urging her through the hangings and into the women's camp.
It was almost a relief to step through the rough blankets and away from the glares from the men in the camp. Normally Faith revelled in the stares of men, deliberately dressing to attract them. It made her feel powerful and secure in a way that she hadn't as a child. She knew that she was strong enough to put down any guy who got the wrong idea and now she had the control to make sure he didn't stay down for good.
But the stares from the men they had encountered during the ride through the camp had been filled with disgust, bringing back all of her old insecurities. She had felt herself getting smaller and smaller, hunching in on herself and had been unable to stop.
This enclosure couldn't be more different than the rest of the camp. It was filled with bustling women in dark robes who stopped what they were doing to turn curious faces in her direction as Kay and Mallie were thrust through the blankets to join her. Exclaiming loudly, the women advanced on them.
Instinctively, the slayers drew closer together, falling into defensive stances. Unable to hear any one woman over them all, Faith studied their faces, open and curious as they surrounded them, gesturing wildly as they each chattered to anyone who would listen.
Reaching the conclusion that the women meant them no harm, Faith relaxed her guard. One of the women closest to her stretched out a hesitant hand and stroked her arm and Faith looked down, realising for the first time that she was still wrapped in the furs she had slept in. Shrugging them off, she offered the fur the woman was admiring to her.
The woman paled, disappearing back into the crowd as a deathly hush fell over it. Those closest to Faith moved away, twitching their robes further from her. Faith frowned, suddenly feeling like a leper.
"What?" she demanded harshly, still holding the fur out.
The crowd rippled and shifted as a young woman pushed her way to the front. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the three slayers and then she darted forward to take Faith by the hand.
"Come with me," she said urgently.
Unnerved by the silent staring women, Faith let her lead her through the camp and into an adjoining tent with only a backwards glance to check that Mallie and Kay were following.
"What the hell was that?" Faith demanded to know, taking in the interior of the tent with a glance and turning to the strange woman.
"Forgive them," The woman said, rummaging through a chest. "You must understand... it is death for a woman to wear a man's clothes." Finding what she sought, she stood, returning to Faith to hold a robe similar to her own up against her, judging the fit by eye. Satisfied, she nodded, offering the robe to her.
"Death?" Mallie questioned, horrified, as Faith hesitated.
"By fire," the woman confirmed, pressing the robes into Faith's hand. "You must change before Chakka summons you."
"Who are you?" Faith asked, struggling to understand why the woman looked so familiar.
"Why are you helping us?" Kay added suspiciously.
"I am Nya," she introduced herself with a small smile. "You are of Sam's tribe are you not?"
"Sam? Sam Carter?" asked Faith, shocked as Nya nodded. "How the fuck do you know Sam?"
"Many years ago she travelled to these lands," Nya said, unsettled by the dark-haired woman's intensity. "She saved my life. I would return the favour. You must change!"
With jerky movements, the woman began to undo the fastenings of her shirt. Nya's eyes widened when she stripped it off to briefly reveal a wide scar on her stomach before she dropped the robe over her head and it fell down to cover her.
"Might I know your names?" she asked them.
"I'm Faith," the dark-haired woman said, standing on one leg as she tugged her leg-garb off over her boots.
"Kay."
"Malina."
Nya nodded, committing their names to memory before a slight sound by the entrance of the tent drew her attention. "Who's there?" she called.
"Halma," the reply came. "Chakka has summoned them. I am to escort them to his presence."
"Go," Nya advised them. "Remember to keep your eyes on the ground and not to speak unless you are spoken to and all will be well."
"Who is this Chakka guy anyway?" Faith asked her.
"He is the chieftain of this tribe and holds your lives in his hand," Nya told them. "Do not anger him by keeping him waiting."
Exchanging dubious looks between themselves, they left and Nya was left alone in the store-tent. Sitting down on one of the trunks , she pressed a hand to her chest as she took a moment to sort through her turbulent emotions.
So much had happened to her since Sam had saved her life and yet she had never forgotten the female chieftain. Her actions so many years ago had given Nya the happiest time of her life. Bittersweet memories rose and she ruthlessly suppressed them.
That time had passed. It was now she had to think about. Women from Sam's tribe would never submit to a man's rule. They would escape and, perhaps, she could too.
Picking up Faith's strange clothing, she wondered where she could hide... Blood?
l
Shepherded into a luxurious tent along with the others, Malina was unable to keep her eyes on the ground as Nya had advised. Sneaking a peek up at the hatchet-faced man sitting on the only chair in sight, Malina felt revulsion take a firm grip on her empty stomach. Nya had forgotten to mention that Chakka was both ugly and old. He looked at her and Malina dropped her gaze to the carpeted ground.
"So..." he said, rising. "These are the women my men have found for me."
Malina could hear the smile on his face and her flesh crawled as he came closer, stopping inches away from her. There was a slight flaw in the weave of the carpet and she focussed on that as he stared at her.
"Look at me," he ordered and she did. He nodded, looking satisfied and something in his cold eyes made her shiver as he turned his attention to Kay, "Such spirit!"
Kay was staring straight at him! Horrified, Malina couldn't help but watch as the older woman sneered at the man. Chakka wasn't fazed in the slightest, chuckling slightly. "I look forward to breaking it," he told Kay and her glare hardened.
Damn, if looks could kill then this creep would be dust right about now, Faith thought, admiring Kay's guts for taking a stand against him. She looked like she wanted to claw his eyes out, her hands cramped into talons. She looked like she was about to lose control, Faith realised.
"Hey!" Faith said as Nya entered the tent behind Chakka. "What about me?"
As she'd intended, she got his attention. Outraged by her insolence, Chakka pulled his fist back to hit her. Nya dashed between them and Faith prepared herself to catch the slight woman as Chakka's fist descended.
Instead of crumpling under the blow, Nya merely staggered and immediately prostrated threw herself at Chakka's feet. The punch should have knocked her to the ground. Faith's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she watched Nya beg for Chakka's forgiveness.
"If you value your soul, do not touch these women," she was saying now. "They are unclean!"
And Faith was back to feeling like a leper.
Snarling, Chakka savagely kicked out at the grovelling Nya and stalked from the tent. Probably gone to torture a puppy, Faith thought, turning to the woman Kay was helping to stand.
"Unclean?"
"I saw the blood on your garments," Nya explained. "You are undergoing the woman's curse. According to the beliefs of my people, a man who comes into contact with a woman at this time may lose his soul to her."
"But how did you know that Kay and I are experiencing our moontime as well?" asked Mallie.
Nya blinked, "You are?"
Faith felt a flicker of surprise at the news but the situation wasn't unheard of. PMT week was fast gaining a rep in the demon communities back on Earth. She was more concerned with the voices she could hear approaching the tent. One of them sounded disturbingly familiar...
"We cannot stay here," Nya said urgently, beckoning them towards the entrance to the women's camp.
With a glance at the other exit, Faith followed her out of the tent, Mallie and Kay close beside her. The women on the other side eyed them warily and kept their distance as Nya led them to yet another tent. Faith felt a sudden longing for grey walls.
"This is the area set aside for those suffering their curse," Nya told them.
"Cosy," said Faith, barely glancing around the deserted room. "What happened two years ago?"
"What?" asked Nya.
"Two years ago you heard a voice, asking if you wanted to be strong," Faith told her. "You answered yes and got stronger, faster, better. So I'm wondering what happened to you two years ago to make you say yes."
"How can you know that?" Nya whispered, shaken.
"It happened to us too!" Mallie said excitedly. "Not Faith, she was already a slayer, but Kay and I became slayers the same way."
"Slayers?" Nya looked horrified.
Faith sighed. Time for the speech. Where was Giles when you needed him?
l
"What?" Cam asked, wondering if he had heard right.
"You already have the Ancient gene," Dr Carson repeated patiently. "I canna give you the treatment."
"But I'm still okay to have it, right?" Vala checked.
"Yes, lass," Carson smiled gently at her.
"No, no, no!" Cam said, jumping off the hospital bed. "You've made a mistake. I don't have the gene."
"I've checked the results twice," Carson told him. "I assure you Colonel, you do have the Ancient gene. It's weak though and there are some strange anomalies there that could explain why it hasn't been detected sooner." Carson sighed, "I could check again," he offered. "But there's really no point."
"I don't know why you're complaining," Vala said to Cam. "I've got to have another needle stuck in me and it might not even work."
"What kind of anomalies?" Cam asked, ignoring her.
"Well, everybody's gene varies slightly but you see these markers here, here and here?" Carson said, pointing to three flagged areas on his screen. Cam nodded, not sure what he was looking at but going along with it.
"I've never seen them before," said Carson. "Also, everything indicates that it should be a strong gene but it's barely registering and half of the technology I'm using to detect it is Ancient."
"Huh," Cam said, not knowing what else to say.
"What does it mean?" asked Vala, interested despite herself.
"I'm not sure," Carson admitted. "You're leaving tomorrow morning, aye?"
"Yeah," Cam confirmed.
Carson nodded, reaching for a hypodermic needle, "Stop by before you go and I'll give you a copy of my notes to give to Doctor Lam," he said and turned to Vala with a genial smile. "Now, if you'll just hop up onto the bed, we'll see what we can do about activating your Ancient gene."
l
Dressed in a protective hazmat suit, General Landry descended the staircase from the briefing room to the control room halfway between level twenty-seven and twenty-eight, on one of his routine tours through the sensitive areas of his command despite the poisonous fumes drifting through half of the base. After several days of the fumigation process he was becoming used to the claustrophobic hazmat suit and prided himself on being able to able to recognise the distorted voices of those under his command. Speaking of which...
"Captain O'Neil," Hank frowned at the two people clustered around Walter and his station, "Mr Wells."
"Sir," O'Neil greeted, turning to face him.
"G-General."
It hadn't escaped Hank's notice that after weeks under his command, Andrew Wells was still scared of him. He carefully smoothed the frown from his brow as he looked at them, "What are you still doing here?"
"Uh..." Wells said, looking up at O'Neil for guidance.
The young Captain was working out well, despite his youth and mysterious background. He led his civilian team with confidence and a subtle authority that they responded well to. As proven by the security footage of Osbourne's attempt to leave the infirmary that he'd watched not more than an hour ago.
"I'm ordering the pair of you off-base for the next twenty-four hours," Hank said before Captain O'Neil could answer his previous question. "Go home. Relax."
"But sir," O'Neil objected.
"You haven't left the base since you brought Osbourne in. Go," Hank advised. "Before I make it forty-eight hours."
Grudgingly they left the control room. Hank watched them go, making a mental note to check that they'd left with the checkpoint guards when he got back to his office. He wouldn't put it past O'Neil to visit his team-members in the infirmary before he left.
"Unauthorised off-world activation!" Walter called out as the Stargate began to spin. "Receiving IDC," he added when the computer terminal in front of him flashed a message at him. "It's Teal'c."
"Open a channel," Hank ordered.
Already typing the command, Walter nodded to the General as soon as it was done.
"Teal'c, this is General Landry," Landry said.
"General," Teal'c' voice echoed through the control room. "Is there a problem?"
"You could say that," Landry told him wryly. "The 'Gateroom is currently undergoing fumigation. I'm afraid that it won't be safe for you to return for another six hours."
"Fumigation?"
Inside his hazmat suit, Landry smiled, "Indeed."
The offended silence echoed across millions of light years as Walter gaped up at General Landry. Had he just mocked Teal'c?
"Very well," Teal'c rumbled eventually. "I shall return in six hours."
"How did the mission go?" Landry asked.
With a crackle of displaced energy, the Stargate shut down. General Landry looked incredulously at Walter.
"Did he just hang up on me?"
l
"And all this happened at the Sea of Ogda?" Nya asked, her eyes wide as Faith finished the story of the battle against The First and the activation of all of the potential slayers.
Faith hesitated, grimacing. "Not exactly," she admitted, leaning forward as Nya frowned. "You ever hear about a large stone ring standing upright stuck in here?"
"It's known as a Chapp'ai," Kay added helpfully as Nya slowly shook her head.
The confusion cleared from Nya's face and she nodded enthusiastically. "The demon circle," she said, leaning forward to be better heard of the rising babble of sound from outside. "I have heard stories of it. The men avoid it. Legend says the demons brought us into being from it long ago, at the dawn of time and that one day they will return through it. It is the Hellmouth?"
"No," Faith said baldly. "Hellmouths are only on Earth," she sighed, rubbing her aching forehead. "I think.
"See, on my planet we call the... Chapp'ai," said Faith, glancing at Kay to make sure she was saying it right. Kay nodded and Faith continued, "A Stargate. There's one on Mallie's planet, and Kay's and on a shit-load more. They were made a long, long time ago... in a galaxy far, far away," she added with a smirk, little knowing how correct the Star Wars reference was. "And if you know how to use 'em right, they take you to a different planet like that!" she snapped her fingers. "We buried the one on my planet thousands of years ago after... What the hell is going on out there?" she broke off to ask, glancing at the entrance to the women's camp as the noise from outside increased further.
Nya followed her gaze, "I will find out," she promised, slipping through the hangings before any of them had a chance to object, overwhelmed by dizzying thoughts of slayers, planets and the Chapp'ai.
Looking around the women's camp, she frowned. Instead of the usual industrious scene, the women of the camp stood excitedly chattering to each other, their various occupations abandoned. What had happened?
l
Neither Sam nor Jackson showed for lunch. Restless and irritated beyond belief by Vala's never-ending chatter, Cam tracked Jackson down in the holo-room loudly arguing with McKay. Standing in the doorway, listening to the two insult each other's ancestry, he decided that he really didn't want to know what it was about.
"Hey!" he said loudly. They stopped arguing and turned to look, identical expressions of surprise on their faces. Cam tilted his head towards Vala, "Tag, you're it."
He didn't stick around to watch their reactions, striding off down the hallway towards the stairs to the puddlejumper bay.
He'd wanted to fly one of the Ancient ships ever since he had first heard of them and now... he had both the opportunity and the Ancient gene necessary to do so. Thinking about the Ancient gene only agitated him further and he practically ran up the stairs and into the deserted jumper bay.
There were several of the tubular ships resting around the room and he took a moment to appreciate the Ancient design. Sleek and sturdy, the machines had survived the millennia well. The metal of the jumper closest to him felt cold and slightly rough under his fingertips as he ran his hand over its side, walking around it. The hatch was open and he walked inside, barely sparing a glance for the well-stocked cargo nets and smooth benches as he headed straight for the controls. Slipping into one of the chairs, he hesitated rather than reach directly for the controls, still not fully convinced that it would work.
Was it really possible that he had the Ancient gene? The gene-testing procedure back on Earth was exhaustive; the higher-ups were always looking to recruit carriers into either the Stargate program or the Atlantis mission. Neither the initial test he had had back when he had been accepted into the F-302 program nor the routine genetic profiling he had undergone since his transfer to the SGC had detected it. Everything in him screamed that it wasn't possible. Not without the gene therapy.
Suddenly impatient with his own hesitancy, Cam firmly grasped the controls of the puddlejumper. With an electronic chirrup, the ancient machine sprang to life, some sort of Ancient read-out lighting up on the window.
Carson had said he was using Ancient technology, he reminded himself, a slight, uneasy smile twisting his lips. Now... how was he supposed to fly the jumper without knowing Ancient?
The ship responded to his thought, machinery behind him whirring as the hatch slid slowly up and, less slowly, the jumper rose into the air. Eager to take the puddlejumper through its paces, Cam accelerated through the hangar exit and up into the blue sky.
l
Standing at the entrance to the tent, Nya hesitated, bracing herself for the next set of revelations. She had been away from Faith and the others for much longer than she had anticipated and she hoped that the cooking pot she carried would make up for it.
The sound of flesh striking flesh came from within the tent and Nya anxiously hurried inside in time to see Kay block Malina's punch and jab her in the stomach. Setting the pot down as Malina retaliated by unleashing a flurry of blows that Kay mostly managed to block, Nya dashed forward to stop them.
"Stop!" Faith ordered and all three obeyed.
As though nothing unusual had occurred, the dark-haired woman rose sinuously from a couch and walked towards them, "Good," she said. "Mallie, you're still dropping that shoulder and neither a you are kickin' anywhere near enough but you're getting better." Turning to Nya, she smiled. "Good reflexes."
Nya shut her mouth. Then, opened it again, "You...they... were practising?" She needed to sit down.
"Sparring," Faith corrected as Nya sat.
Catching Mallie's eye, Faith nodded at the cooking pot. Catching on, she retrieved it from the floor as Faith moved closer to Nya, looking down at her.
"You ever hit anyone?" Faith asked casually.
Nya nodded. "Once," she whispered.
"Two years ago," Faith stated. Nya nodded again, staring at her hands. "Tell me," Faith invited.
"You must promise first!" Nya said, looking up at her.
"Promise what?" Faith asked, wary of making promises that she couldn't keep.
"Promise that when you leave here you will take us with you," Nya said fiercely.
Was that all? "Already gonna," Faith told her. "Wait... us?"
Nya darted from the tent and Faith swore. Did Nya expect her to take all the women trapped here with them? She found herself patting the robe she wore in search of her cigarettes and swore again, resorting to pacing instead.
Only to come to a screeching halt when Nya came back... holding the hand of a young dark-haired girl. Mallie missed the bowl in front of her, ladling soup over the carpet instead. The kid took one look at them and popped its thumb into its mouth.
"Chaia, I want you to meet some friends of mine," Nya said to the kid. "This is Faith, Kay and Malina. They know Sam." Nya straightened, placing both hands on the kid's shoulders as she looked Faith in the eye. "Chaia is my daughter."
Shit! This was going to complicate things.
l
"Incoming wormhole!" Walter announced, his hand hovering over the iris controls despite the fact that it was a scheduled connection.
It felt good to be out of the hazmat suits and back to normal. Well, as normal as life got under NORAD. Apparently, Bill Lee had already managed to electrocute himself twice since returning to work. The previously empty corridors of the SGC were once more full of bustling personnel and the stranded SG teams were due to return from the Alpha site in another hour.
"Receiving Teal'c' IDC," Walter confirmed as General Landry swept down the stairs out of the room.
Moments later, the General strode into the 'Gateroom below just as Teal'c stepped through the event horizon, the two of them meeting at the bottom of the ramp.
"Teal'c," General Landry greeted him as Teal'c respectfully inclined his head.
"General Landry."
"I'm sorry we weren't able to let you through earlier," Landry apologised.
"It is good that you were not," Teal'c told him as the two men left the 'Gateroom, side by side. "During the additional hours I spent on Duran I heard rumours of three human women of unparalleled strength who fought in the battle for Gavas."
General Landry stopped walking, "Faith?"
"Her description was most accurate."
"Three women?" Landry said, walking forward towards the elevators once again.
"Indeed."
Pressing the button to call the elevator, Hank mused on the news. It seemed Faith was collecting slayers just as prophesised. He wasn't clear on whether that was a good thing or not. He really needed to schedule a debrief with Andrew Wells when Doctor Jackson returned. Speaking of which...
"How was the mission?" Hank asked as the elevator arrived.
"I am pleased to be able to report that it was an unqualified success," Teal'c told him.
"Colonel Carter managed to make the jump?" Hank asked, smiling at the good news.
"Destroying both a Wraith ship and an Ori battleship in the process," said Teal'c. One corner of his firm mouth twitched slightly as General Landry stared at him open-jawed.
l
She wasn't good with kids. She knew it, B knew it, hell everyone knew it! It was why she didn't have any contact with the newbies, working as a solo agent for the new Council instead. Apparently the Powers were the only ones who hadn't got the message.
Rounding up all the slayers scattered across space was one thing... even if Faith still didn't understand how she was supposed to do it. But doing it with a kid in tow was something else. So far they'd been in two battles, held captive twice and had spent weeks stranded on an uninhabited planet. How could she expose a kid to that kind of life? It would make her shitty childhood look like a walk in the park. During the day.
"Faith?"
Blinking, Faith turned to Mallie, "What?"
"More stew?"
Looking down, Faith realised that she had scraped the bowl clean. When had that happened?
"Yeah," she said and Mallie ladled another serving into her bowl.
"What about you, Chaia?" Mallie asked.
The kid shook her head. For some reason she had chosen to sit between Faith and her mother. Probably because they were the only two dressed in robes, Faith thought.
Fuck! A kid?
She really needed a cigarette.
"What was all the commotion about?" Kay asked Nya. "Earlier," she added when the dejected woman merely looked blank.
"Oh!" Nya perked up, looking excited. "We have been given permission to attend prostration with the men."
Deep in thought, Faith was barely paying attention to the conversation. Consequently Nya's announcement took several moments to seep into her consciousness.
"What is prostration?" Malina asked curiously.
"I am not sure," Nya admitted.
"What?" Faith demanded, suddenly catching up.
"I-I know that the men pray to the Gods there," said Nya. "But this is the first time we will be allowed to join them. The Prior convinced Chakka to allow it."
"Prior!" Mallie yelped, rearing back.
Faith closed her eyes, her worst fears confirmed. At least it explained the nagging itch that had been bugging her ever since they had arrived.
"What is it?" asked Nya, alarmed.
A fucking nightmare, that's what it was. Was there anything else The Motherfucking Powers wanted to throw at them while they were slinging shit around? A hand clamped over her mouth and Faith suddenly realised she had been speaking out loud. Horrified, she glanced at the kid and then away quickly.
"Chaia, have you finished?" Nya said. The kid nodded, her brown eyes wide, and Nya smiled at her, "Then you may go."
Silently, the kid got up and left the tent, followed by four pairs of supernaturally enhanced eyes. As soon as she was gone, Kay removed her hand from Faith's mouth.
"Sorry," the older slayer apologised.
"Nah, we're good." Faith told her. "I gotta learn to watch my mouth round her."
"Then you will take us with you?" asked Nya, her face aglow with hope.
"Can't leave her here," Faith said. "Not if there's a Prior sniffing around."
"What are they?" Nya asked.
Sighing, Faith leant forward and began to explain.
l
In the Ancient puddlejumper orbiting above the blue planet of Lantia, Cam sat staring out of the window, although he barely saw the half-illumined world in front of him, fixated instead on the one person who was rapidly becoming an obsession with him. Faith.
What was it about her that made her different from every other woman he had known? It wasn't just the after-effects of the Mind-Melder affecting him; one of the memories he tried hardest to keep from her when they were joined by the device was of the first time he'd met her. Now, alone and in a different galaxy, in a ship which he shouldn't be able to fly, Cam let himself remember.
He had walked into the conference room behind Jackson and Sam and hadn't seen her sitting there until they had moved out of the way. She'd been grinning at them, her face bright and alive as she slipped a knife out of sight.
"Hey guys," she'd said, resting one hand on the crate he hadn't even noticed until that point. "Brought ya a present."
He'd stared at her, unable to do anything else, as his team had greeted her with familiarity. He'd already known that she was something special and then she'd lifted the Mind-Melder out of its box. He'd forced himself to concentrate on something other than her and the "present" she'd brought had ended up linking their minds.
He hadn't been able to ignore her then, and he had badly wanted to. She got under his skin, irritated him in a thousand different ways each day and still he wanted her. Aware that she could see his thoughts, he hadn't dared let himself think about her, denying the intensity of his attraction to her, even to himself. Until he couldn't any more.
Then they'd destroyed the Mind-Melder and she'd left. Without a backwards glance and he'd felt like she'd taken a part of him with her. But somehow she'd come back, just in time to save him and defeat the Black Knight.
If only he'd left her in Camelot. Or stayed with her aboard the Korolev. Maybe then she'd still be safe on Earth. Or maybe not...
He remembered the prophecy Jackson had spent days translating onboard the Odyssey and felt hollow. The idea of being an unwitting pawn in a war being waged on another plane of existence repelled him and he felt a sudden sympathy with the Ancients' policy of non-involvement. It was the same reason they were fighting the Ori. That, and fact that it was only a matter of time before they tried to convert Earth.
How did Faith cope when every day was a battle for her life on their behalf? She embraced the violence of being the slayer, but at what price? He had seen how difficult it was for her to connect with people. She put a good show on, but she never let down her guard, never let anyone in. Except, perhaps... towards the end... him.
A particularly strong hunger pang finally succeeded in breaking through his preoccupation and Cam straightened, gasping the controls and setting the puddlejumper on a course back to Atlantis, scoffing at the morbidity of his thoughts. He was thinking of Faith like she was dead. The end! That there was quitter talk.
l
"I miss chocolate," Mallie sighed, a bored expression on her face as she lay sprawled over one of the couches.
"We'll swing by and pick up our stuff before we leave," Faith promised, idly pacing.
Exchanging glances, the three slayers scattered around the tent sat up and paid attention. It was the first time she had mentioned even the possibility of escape. Just the thought that she viewed it as a certainty gave them fresh hope.
"You have a plan?"
"Kinda," Faith said. Frustratingly, she completed a few more laps before elaborating, "Prostration starts at sunset, right?"
l
Standing next to Walter in the control room, General Landry watched as SG-8 disappeared through the open Stargate in the room below. He hated sending teams in blind, but it was a necessary evil on planets controlled by the Ori. Sending a MALP through first would only alert the enemy that an SG-team was on the way.
He had wrestled for hours with problem of what to do with the information Teal'c had discovered. With SG-13 and many of his other teams unfit for duty, thanks to the latest Prior plague, he had finally decided to send SG-8. They were the best covert reconnaissance team he had, with a surprisingly low fatality rate when compared with the rest of the SG-teams. If anyone could discover if Faith was still on Davas, it would be them.
l
The sun was setting in the sky, brilliant red streaks of clouds stretching across the purple sky, as Faith fixed the veil over her face like Nya had shown her and left the tent, joining the group of women excitedly chattering by one of the cloth walls of the women's camp. They barely spared a glance for her, their thoughts more focussed on their imminent trek through the camp beyond their walls.
That was good. Hopefully, it would mean they were less likely to be missed, Faith thought to herself as one of the veiled women closest to the hangings held them aside and a sudden hush fell over the crowd. Hesitantly, the first woman stepped foot outside of their enclave, followed by another, and then another.
Slipping through the crowd, past a heavily veiled woman and child that she thought might be Nya and the kid, Faith joined the procession before three more women were through. Her first glimpse of the world outside made her smile behind the veil.
Like she'd thought, the clearing outside the women's camp was too small to hold both the men and women of the camp. Apparently the Prior had figured that out too. Apart from the two men escorting them through the camp, the area was deserted. Prostration would have to be held outside the camp.
There were a couple of times during the walk through the empty camp when she could have slipped away and avoided the ceremony altogether but she couldn't be certain that she wouldn't be missed. Leaving now would only risk the others.
As the winding string of women reached the edges of the camp, Faith glanced back over her shoulder to see if she could spot the others, relieved when she couldn't. The plan depended on them blending into the crowd. She just hoped Mallie was keeping those blue eyes of hers fixed on the ground.
It was obvious now where they were going, as the man at the front of the column of women led them towards the milling crowd of men. As they approached, the men quieted their rowdy behaviour, clearly ill at ease with the women's inclusion in the ceremony. Grudgingly, and with many unfriendly looks, the men arranged themselves into rough lines, leaving the women to fall in behind them. Gradually the crowd settled, the solemn attitude of the men infecting the women.
In the first row of women, Faith was subject to the full force of the collective cold shoulder. Unlike the women around her, she didn't let it bother her, simultaneously concentrating on memorising her immediate surroundings and on the nebulous otherworldly sense she called slaydar. The Prior was close. Very close.
As if in response to some unseen signal, the men in front of her dropped to their knees, leaving their women exposed to the assessing gaze of the Prior who faced them. At first Faith only saw the grey skin and scars. Recognition of the features beneath took a few seconds to kick in.
She'd never thought she'd be grateful for a veil, she thought absently as the part of her which was concerned solely with survival registered the fact that women were dropping like flies and dragged her to the ground before she caught his attention, adrenaline pounding through her veins. Shit! Motherfucker! Damn, hell, crap, bollocks and every other swear word she could possibly think of. And a few she made up on the spot.
Four on one, they could probably take him but at what cost? He wouldn't go down without a fight, the men wouldn't take kindly to them attacking him and there were kids here. Where the fuck was Mallie? She couldn't look, couldn't move, couldn't do anything that might make him notice her and endanger the lives of innocent people.
The last sliver of sun disappeared below the horizon at the exact moment that he smiled at his congregation and Faith snarled silently at him, knowing that he couldn't see her expression. His face serene, he raised his hands to the sky and the staff he carried shone a bright blue. Around her, women gasped.
"Hallowed are the Ori," Praemas intoned.
l
Several hours later, Faith was definitely ready to kill someone, her control teetering on a knife-edge as all of her senses screamed at her that something was very wrong with the world right now. The only part of Praemas' sermon that penetrated the haze of her mental and physical battle to remain inconspicuous was a tale of the Orici and her all-female guard, the Oriclave. The story of women empowered by the Ori with great strength and speed sounded scarily familiar. The idea of being destined to serve as a personal bodyguard to a devil-spawned bitch bent on the subjugation of the galaxy was new though.
It sucked too. She got free health care and dental with the Council. And a generous clothing allowance that she mostly spent on her bike. What was Adria offering in comparison? Not much from the sound of it.
That was another thing. Praemas hadn't said a word about Adria's wicked fast growth spurt once she was born or mentioned the fact that she had a name. By contrast, her miraculous conception and Ori heritage appeared to be common knowledge.
Distantly she was aware that she was focussing on trivialities in an attempt to keep herself from slaying Praemas when he stood. It seemed to be working though. She was fucked if she knew how the other slayers hidden amongst the worshipping crowd were keeping themselves under control.
At least Praemas seemed to be wrapping things up here, the 'hallowed are the Ori's' coming thick and fast now. Finally, he allowed his congregation to stand. Faith sighed in relief as the unseen something she had been engrossed in fighting off flickered and died. Weirdly, her ears popped.
Almost immediately, the women began to disperse, heading back to the comfort of their time however, they travelled in small groups of two and three instead of single file. It was even easier than it would have been earlier for Faith to slip away and this time she did, ducking between two tents as soon as she was sure that no-one was looking her way.
The camp was still deserted, the men choosing to stay on the outskirts, clustered around the Prior, and the women travelling back to their enclosure. There were no fires and night had long since fallen, the moon the barest sliver in the sky. Despite this, Faith had no trouble navigating the camp. A shadow detached itself from a nearby tent and she froze as it split into three.
"Faith?" Mallie's whisper carried on the still night air and sounded dangerously loud.
"Shh!" Faith cautioned, recognising Mallie, Nya and the kid. "Where's Kay?"
"Here," a hoarse whisper floated out of the darkness a moment before Kay crept into sight.
"Lets go," Faith said, leading the way.
l
After answering as many of the men's questions as possible, Praemas accepted Chakka's invitation to dine with him. Walking back to the Chieftain's tent with him, Praemas subtly worked the topic of conversation around to the Orici's guard.
"...Reminded me of the legends of the Asenai," Chakka was saying now, holding back the flap of his tent so that Praemas could enter first. "Warrior women!" he shuddered. "It is against nature."
"I would not let the Orici hear you say that," Praemas warned. "She is very protective of the Oriclave."
Chakka snorted, "Better for her if it were the other way round."
"True," Praemas acknowledged. "But she is still seeking them out."
"They are not with her?"
"Not as yet," Praemas said. "But she has pledged to richly reward their home planets when she finds them."
Chakka stroked his beard, a sly light in his beady eyes. "Great speed and strength..." he mused. "I suppose it must be a recent change?"
"Not at all," Praemas told him. "The Oriclave were empowered when the Orici came of age," he lied smoothly. "Two years ago."
"Fetch Nya," Chakka ordered, barely looking at the veiled women waiting to serve them. Obediently, one of the women silently rose and left the tent and Chakka turned back to Praemas.
"Tell me more of this reward," Chakka said, his dark eyes bright with avarice.
It really was too easy, Praemas gloated to himself as he set about describing such riches as the barbarian in front of him could understand. Just as he thought that he might have to start repeating himself, the woman slipped back into the tent and hesitantly prostrated herself in front of her Chieftain. It was one of the few customs on this backward planet that Praemas approved of.
"Where is Nya?" Chakka demanded.
"Please... I could not find her," The woman whispered. "She and the newcomers have not been seen since Prostration."
With a snarl, Chakka kicked her, rising to his feet.
"Newcomers?" Praemas asked.
"Three women my men captured this morning," Chakka told him, leaving the tent.
Shouting loudly, he quickly marshalled his men around him. Busy explaining what had happened and organising the hunt for the missing women, he didn't notice when Praemas slipped away from the crowd.
l
Deep in thought, Turak groomed his horse with absent motions. Chakka still hadn't ruled on the fate on the women he had found earlier. This in itself was unusual and raised his hopes. Perhaps Chakka would look favourably on his claim to the young dark-haired one. His heart beat faster in his breast at the thought. A twig snapped behind him and he turned to see the Prior standing behind him.
"Prior," he greeted the holy man respectfully, bowing his head slightly.
"Turak," the Prior returned the greeting. His gaze moved past Turak to his horse, "You can ride that beast?"
"Yes," Turak said, glancing back at his horse. "You wish to go somewhere?"
Suddenly, the Prior's staff began to glow, casting the scene in an eerie blue light. Slowly, the Prior smiled.
"Yes."
Turak shivered.
l
It was hard for them to maintain a fast pace through the forest and Faith found herself travelling next to Nya. The other slayer was carrying her child in her arms and Faith glanced at the sleeping kid curiously.
"She okay?" Faith asked.
Nya nodded, "Thank you for allowing her to join us."
Uncomfortable with the gratitude in Nya's voice, Faith shrugged, "No big."
"No," Nya said intensely, struggling to find the right words. "It is big. You asked me what happened two years ago... Chaia did."
"She's two?" Faith yelped, horrified. She'd have pegged the kid for at least five.
"No," Nya frowned. "Chaia is six years old.
"Two years ago, she wandered out of the women's camp without her veil." Nya told Faith. "When Chakka found her, he dragged her back to the women's camp by her hair... I could hear her screams... "
Remembering, she clutched Chaia closer to her, "He hit her. So many times. He kept screaming that it was for her own good and then she stopped moving and he kept hitting... there was so much blood." Nya glanced up at Faith, "I think I would have sold my soul to stop him."
"That's why you said yes," Faith realised. "It was for her, wasn't it?"
"Always," Nya whispered, kissing the top of Chaia's sleeping head.
"I hope you kicked his ass," Faith told her fiercely.
"Uh..." Nya said, confused. "No. But I did hit him until he stopped moving."
"Good for you," Kay's whispered approval drifted back to them.
Ahead, the forest lightened slightly and Faith realised that they were close to the clearing where they'd been captured earlier. Behind them, an eerie howling sounded in the distance and beside Faith, Nya stiffened in response.
"What is it?" asked Faith, concerned.
"Dogs," Nya gasped.
Dogs? Not good. Under normal circumstances, they should be able to easily outrun any pursuit the primitive camp could send after them, but this wasn't a normal pursuit. Nya was carrying the kid and Kay and Mallie were already in the clearing, picking up their belongings.
"Guys, we gotta jet!" Faith called across the clearing to the others. "Grab what you can and leave the rest."
Hopefully they were far enough ahead to make it to the Stargate. Recapture wasn't an option.
l
The baying of the dogs drew closer as they ran through the forest until Faith spent more time looking over her shoulder than at where she was running, expecting to see the animals appearing out of the darkness at any moment. Consequently, she didn't see the edge of the forest until she had broken though it, sliding down the slick slope of the Stargate clearing. Beside her, Nya stumbled and fell, dropping the kid. Ahead, Kay had reached the Stargate Mushroom and was hitting buttons.
The Stargate activated with a plume of energy and Nya stared open-mouthed at the sight as Mallie and Kay raced towards it.
"C'mon!" Faith shouted, dragging Nya to her feet.
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Reining in his horse at the edge of the clearing, Turak stared at the awesome sight in front of him. A bright pool of water filled the Demon Circle, casting an eerie flickering light over the clearing as two of the runaway women ran into it and disappeared. Watching the two remaining women run towards it, one of them dragging a small girl child by the hand, Turak barely noticed the Prior slip down from their exhausted mount as the women reached the steps up to the circle. It wasn't until the Prior's staff suddenly lit up that he even remembered the holy man.
As one of the women reached the Demon Circle, the other woman and the child right behind her, the Prior swept his staff out before him in a sweeping gesture. Even as the woman in front disappeared into the rippling water, the last woman and the child both stumbled, the woman letting go of the child's hand as she fell, twisting her body in an effort to stop her forward momentum.
She tumbled into the pool of water as the child fell to the ground in front of the Demon Circle. Abruptly, the pool of water vanished, leaving the clearing as black as the night sky. Close by, dogs howled.