~~~~ Sam ~~~~
I sleep with my clothes on. When I wake up, I clean what I can with the ass wipes that I always pack. I change my underwear, put on a new t-shirt, and put on more deodorant. I wish there were working showers here.
I beat Daniel out this time. I have coffee and breakfast with the Colonel and Teal'c before Daniel makes his way out. I go to the FRED to get a backpack. I fill the backpack with four containers of water, protein and granola bars, a portable power supply, and my laptop. With the power cord this time. I won't make that mistake again.
I pack a second backpack with a small, portable lean-to kit, more water, emergency blankets, walkie-talkies, and two pairs of gloves. I'll make the Colonel carry the heavier of the two.
I leave the backpacks on the FRED and go back to the guys around the fire. Daniel is putting the fire out. Teal'c stands ready and waiting with his staff weapon. The Colonel is stacking our cups and putting garbage in a bag. Then we gather for our mission briefing.
"Alright, campers. Daniel, T, go off to do your stuff with the rocks and things. Carter and I will go down into the valley to check for any mines or people. Radio contact every two hours. If you have an emergency, call immediately. If you need to overnight in your area, radio and let me know. Bring your supplies. Anything for me?" he asks us.
We all shake our heads.
"OK, phasers on stun, good luck, Kirk out," he says, eliciting laughs from Daniel and me.
"O'Neill, we do not have phasers. I do have in my possession my staff weapon and a zat'nik'tel," Teal'c says very assuredly.
I smile at Teal'c and laugh. Daniel explains it is a line from the Star Trek movie that had the whales in it. Teal'c nods at Daniel as he raises his eyebrow. That is his sign of understanding.
"Alright, let's move out," the Colonel says with a little laugh.
We leave in opposite directions. It takes the Colonel and me about two hours to get down to the open part of the valley. Looking back up the hill, we can barely make out the top of the palace. I can instantly tell there was naquadah here somewhere. I get a sensation in my skin, of which I'm certain is from my blood vibrating somehow, when the naquadah is near.
I turn and do a full circle looking at the trees, plants, inclines, and dips in this valley.
"Sir, there is naquadah here. Somewhere. I can't quite tell where. There may be a mine somewhere."
"OK. Where should we go?" he asks me.
I let my eyes move again, scanning and trying to feel if the sensation got more intense based on the direction of my eyes. No such luck. I do notice a dip in the ground over by some trees. It didn't look natural. It looks more out of place.
"How about that over there? Looks like something may have been there at one point, or perhaps something large was dragged. Maybe an opening to a mine shaft?"
"Sounds good. Let's go."
We walk over towards the dip. It takes another 20 minutes to get there. There is definitely naquadah here.
"Sir, come look at this. This whole patch has nothing growing on it, yet the area around it is full of life. There is no radiation or biohazards emanating according to this."
I hold out the sensor in my hand to let him see. He looks at the sensor, then back to the barren ground. He looks at me with a puzzled look on his face. He is clueless too.
"Keep looking around. I'm going to walk the tree line to see if there's anything that could help."
I turn to walk back towards the barren spot, and after a few steps, I walk into something. Something very hard and very invisible.
"Sir! I think I found something!" I yell.
He comes back and watches me as I put my hands on something solid, but transparent.
"What do you think this is?" he asks.
"Not entirely sure, but if I had to guess, this is a cloaked ship."
"Goa'uld?" he asks.
"I'm sure of it. I can sense the naquadah."
"OK, let's find the door," he days.
I put my backpack down, but keep my P-90 attached. I let my hands caress the outline of whatever this was. If this is a ship, we should be able to trigger the door to open. I continue to let my hands feel the outline of the shape. I move towards the tree line, and I end up in the bushes. I can feel the nose of whatever this was in the trees and bushes. Then I figure it out.
"Sir, I think this is a Tel'tak," I yell from in the bushes and trees.
"OK, so then the door should be over here," he says, moving to where he remembers the door to be.
I crawl out from the bushes and trees and wipe myself off. I walk around to the other side of the ship where the Colonel is standing.
"Carter, do you know how to open this thing?"
I smile at him. I let my hands run along the edges of what I am almost certain is a Tel'tak. Then I feel the familiar notch, and I feel my skin tingle. This has to be it. I press gently.
The door moves out and opens for me. I laugh and smile as I watch this doorway form before my eyes. I turn to look at the Colonel.
"Wow," I say, laughing, "I remember how to open it." I am super excited about this discovery.
"Nice job, Carter!" he says excitedly.
The Colonel radios Daniel and Teal'c to tell them that we found a Tel'tak. He tells them I am going to try to get it up and running. If we have daylight left, he'll let me take it for a test flight. When he is through talking, he turns back to face me.
"Shall we?" he asked, motioning his hand for me to go into the ship first. I smile big time. I can't wait to see if this baby can fly.
"We shall," I say, with a little bounce to my step. I raise my P-90 and turn the light on and go inside.
It is a standard Tel'tak. I make my way carefully to the flight deck. It appears to be abandoned like the rest of the planet.
"Sir. Why would the Goa'uld leave a ship behind?"
"Not sure. Maybe it doesn't work? Maybe they simply forgot? It was cloaked. Maybe it's been hidden here for a reason? I'll go clear the other compartments. Try to see if you can get this thing working."
"Yes, sir," I say with a huge smile.
I can't help smiling. This is my domain. Figuring things out and making them work.
I sit down in the pilot seat. I place both hands on the red control ball. Lights on the console immediately light up. The Heads Up Display (HUD) kicks on and tells me the status of the ship's systems.
I don't know a lot of Goa'uld, but I know enough to realize that there seems to be nothing wrong with this ship, other than the door being opened.
"Sir, I'm going to try something," I yell hoping he can hear me.
I hear something fall in the back, and I hear a wonderfully created expletive resound in the ship. I laugh and wait for him to come to the bridge.
I see him rubbing his upper arm as he comes to sit in the seat next to me. I glance over and smile at him and he knows I heard him. He rolls his eyes at me.
"I'll be fine. Just a flesh wound. What do you have in mind?" he asks. I smile at yet another movie reference. He's full of them today.
"Well, sir, I'd like to shut the door first. Then we need to check the control crystals. But then I have an idea!" I say very excitedly, and with a huge Cheshire Cat smile on my face.
"Oh geeze. I know that look. Just tell me. Should I be afraid?"
We both laugh.
"No need to be afraid. But, if I can get this bird in the air, what do you say we go check out that moon that looks like it has life?"
I look at him like a little kid in a candy store. He sees my smile, and I see the moment when I knew I had him. He'd let me go. I wonder if he'd come with me?
"Alright. Let's get the ship checked out first. Let's see if you can fly us around the valley, then high altitude. Check for leaks and stuff. Then we can go to the moon."
"We? As in you want to come with me?" I ask a little bashful, not sure why.
"Carter, do you honestly think I'd let you fly around here alone? Of course I'm coming. Now c'mon, let's check the crystals out."
He raises his arm up and out to the side motioning me to go to the back. I close the door to the ship, then move past him to go to the rear of the ship. He gives me a tap on my ass when I walk past him to go to the control crystals. I turn and give him a smile that probably is a bit seductive. I like his touches, but we both need to be careful at work. Even out here.
I check out the control crystals. He is pretending to fiddle around with panels and symbols on the walls of the ship, but I know something is going on inside his mind. The next thing I know, he is right up against my back.
His hands hold my hips, and he drops his lips to my neck. He wraps his arms around me from behind, and raises his hands up and into the shoulder opening in my tac vest. He has a grip on me, and my body responds immediately.
"Sir, I'm working," I say softly.
"So am I," he rumbles into my neck.
I try to step away, and his hands get caught inside the vest. He lets me go and turns me to face him.
"Sir. Jack. We are going to need some boundaries. As much as I'd like this, we are at work. And I think we have a lot more to talk about," I say, and I hear him grunt. I watch him rearrange himself. I guess I can be a tease. Good.
"Um, ya, Carter, sure. But, that goes for you as well," he says, slinking back up to my body and pressing himself into me, and me into the wall behind me.
"Me, sir?' I purr on purpose.
"That, right there," he says, pressing his body so tight against me I can feel his bulge. Oh god, not now.
"The way you speak, the things you say, as you can see, they turn me on. So if you don't want me doing this at work," he stops talking and I feel a hand on my ass, and his lips back on mine.
He looks at me with dark, mischievous eyes.
"Then no seductive language at work either," he says, holding my eyes and holding my ass.
I am breathless. I am turned on and I want him now. Any way I can get him. But I am the one who stated this. I have a lot more to process, too. But my god he tastes so good.
"Gah. Alright. I did start this," I say. "OK. No touching during working hours. No lewd comments with the intent to arouse."
I see him laugh at me when I say that. I look at him questioningly.
"Carter, everything you do and say arouses me."
"Oh come on. Does not," I say.
"Does too."
"Does not."
"Does too. Trust me. But," he says, holding a finger up in the air, "for the sake of the job, I will keep my hands off of you until we are away from the base. When we are off-world, nothing during working hours. I can't promise never to try when we are in for the night," he said with a wicked grin, "but you are right. We shouldn't be doing things during work. I'm sorry."
I smile at him and turn back to the racks of crystals.
"No need to apologize. I want it as much as you do."
"'You want little ole me?" he asks with his smile.
I laugh and roll my eyes at him. "Alright. Crystals should all be good. Wanna go for a ride?" I ask him.
He spins on his heels and races me to the flight deck. I sit in the seat with the controls and touch the ball with both hands. The ship responds to me. I pull back on the controls and feel the ship move. My eyes go wide. I've only piloted one of these in hyperspace.
"Sir, look!" I say in quiet amazement as the HUD shows we are hovering off the ground.
He looks at the HUD, then looks at me.
"Excellent," he says in his renowned Mr. Burns voice. "Let's see what she's got," he says and nods to me. Another Star Trek quote. I like it.
I move the controls and see we are going higher. I turn the ship away from the treeline, and move the controls towards the front. We went back into the trees.
"Oooppss. OK, I got it. I got it. Here we go," I pull back towards me, and we take off, forward and up. I gently pull back on the controls to give us some more altitude. That part of the control is correct. OK, noted. I can do this, I keep telling myself.
He watches me fly the ship and it is a great comfort to have him here with me. When we bring the ship back to the palace, I'll have to have Teal'c show me how to do it all. What a huge benefit this ship will be to Earth!
"OK, sir. Where to?"
"How about we drop in on Daniel and T? Maybe give them a lift?" he says with a grin.
"Anything for you, sir."
"Carter…" he says with a little warning.
"What?" I say, innocently. He didn't buy it. We both share a laugh as I make my way to Daniel and Teal'c's location. We are both having a very good time together.
I find a clearing about a tenth of a kilometer away from where they are. They both look up when they see the ship coming into view. I set the ship down, and the Colonel and I take the very short walk to Daniel and Teal'c.
"Nice!" Daniel exclaims. "Can we have a lift back to the palace?" Daniel asks with a smile.
"Of course. How are you guys coming along here?" I ask.
"Well, it's Ancient. And Goa'uld. The symbol here indicates Ra, but others have a different symbol. The writing indicates the symbol may be Ba'al, rider of clouds, lord of heaven and earth, etcetera. Maybe Ba'al found this place after Ra was done with it. When we return to the palace, I'd like one more day to look around and see if any of this matches."
We all look toward the Colonel.
"We are still here tomorrow. Is that enough time?" the Colonel asks Daniel.
"I think so. As long as we don't have to walk back today, I can work here until sundown."
We all look at Daniel. He has a good point.
"Sir, I have another idea," I say, glancing between Teal'c and the Colonel.
During the time Daniel says he'll need to finish up here, I ask Teal'c to teach me more about flying the Tel'tak. Teal'c and the Colonel agree. Teal'c boards the ship with me, and we take off into the atmosphere testing the integrity of the ship. He teaches me how to fly better and smoother, how to maneuver, and how to cloak and uncloak. He even teaches me more Goa'uld so I can understand the HUD and controls better.
Teal'c has more ideas for flying lessons, but they might have to wait until we get back to Earth. It's getting late for Daniel and he's losing natural light.
We park the ship back near where Daniel and the Colonel are. We all help get their gear on board. Teal'c lets me fly back to the palace for the night. I am so excited. I'm sure I have a smile on my face all night long.
I park the ship out front, and turn the cloak on. You never know.
I take the first watch tonight because I am still amped up from today's discoveries and lessons. The guys each go inside to sleep or relax. A few hours later Teal'c relieves me. I hand him his coffee and go straight to my room and collapse. My dreams are consumed of getting to fly the ship home to Earth. What an amazing day I had today.
NOTES
I have been writing this story since November 2020. This story originally was going to have Ra and Hathor involved in the background story for the planet and the moon. But when Cliff Simon died, I wanted to find a way to honor his memory. I'm not an artist. I don't know how to mix audio or video. But I guess I do know how to write.
At the time this was written, we could never have anticipated Cliff's death. I also could never have anticipated the timing and connections that have occurred with my changing this from Hathor to Ba'al. You will see in the pages that I have created why that is so important, and why this is the best tribute I could find in my heart to honor the man who portrayed Ba'al.
Cliff Simon Factoid - Cliff served two years in the South African Air Force. After his tour was over, he taught windsurfing and waterskiing at a South African hotel.