Part 13
Disclaimers can be found in Part 0
***
By the time that the Lacotia in the cavern had come to and led by Carter and Daniel back to the village, Jack and Teal'c had checked all of the Jaffa. There wasn't a one left alive. Jack and Teal'c had gone into the trees and found the Lacotia warrior Jack had heard scream. He was still alive, but severely injured. They had brought him back to be tended by his fellow warriors until Carter and Daniel showed up. Then Carter had taken over his care.
The men from the village gathered up all the dead Jaffa and carried them about a hundred yards away from the village, where they stacked them. Jack had only been able to watch for a short time as each body was then dismembered and thrown into a huge pyre that had been built. The dead Lacotia had been taken to a tipi where their bodies were being prepared for a warrior's funeral.
As Jack entered the remains of the village, Carter joined him.
"Sir, the injured warrior is going to be all right," she said.
"Good, glad to hear that."
Carter looked around her. "Where's Teal'c and Daniel?" she asked.
"Ah Daniel is with the Chief and his daughter. They're in their tipi. Teal'c is still walking the perimeter of the village to make sure that we didn't miss anyone," answered Jack.
"Do you think they're safe?"
"The Lacotia?" he asked sitting down at the central campfire that had been lit. "Yeah, I think so. For now anyway. If there were more Goa'uld they've either escaped back through the Gate or they would have attacked by now."
Carter sat down next to Jack. "Daniel is going to want to stay here and study those murals some more, you know."
"Oh yeah. That I know. He's already mentioned it, in fact."
"What did you tell him?"
"That we were going to go back to the SGC first and report and if Hammond approves, he can bring back as many people as he needs to finish deciphering that stuff."
Carter gazed into the flames of the fire, watching them dance. "Sir, I've been thinking," she began.
Jack smiled. "This is a revelation?"
She smiled back at him seeming to accept the sarcasm for what it was. "About why you, Daniel, and Teal'c had those dreams."
"And?"
"Well, Sir," said Carter leaning back while holding onto one knee with both hands to keep her balance, "I think it has to do with being open to it and because we're so linked to the Stargate."
"Linked? What do you mean?"
"Well not physically linked, but mentally linked. We go through the Stargate and we're basically pulled apart and put back together again on the other end. If you think about it, it's a pretty scary thought."
"That's why I try not to think about it," said Jack. "I'd probably lose my mind if I did."
"I think all of us would. I think it would be natural for us to suffer some sort of mental breakdown on going through the Gate and knowing that your physical body was being broken down into it's base molecules in order to traverse the worm hole. That's why I think that subconsciously the Gate is influencing our minds a bit or maybe just anesthetizing us - just so that our minds survive the shock of Gate travel. And somewhere along the way, I think we've all become, for lack of a better word, linked with the Gate."
Jack looked over at Carter and met her eyes, "You do realize what you're saying and what would happen if MacKenzie ever found out about your little theory, don't you?"
"Yes, Sir," answered Carter nodding. "It's why I'm not going to tell him."
Jack looked to the fire. "Probably a good idea."
"Yes, Sir. Anyway," continued Carter, "I think that because of that and because of what happened before, you know that thing with the entity that invaded the SGC, I think you, Teal'c, and Daniel were primed to what was happening here with the dreams and all. You were, more or less, open to it."
"Carter I hope you don't mean that we've just become trouble magnets."
"No, Sir. I just think that because the device here was sending out warnings in the way of dreams to the Lacotia, that you were able to pick up on them."
"Because they were dreams?"
"Yes, Sir. Look I know this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but we have run into stuff that doesn't make a whole lot of sense according to our models of what the universe should be and how it should act."
"Okay Carter," said Jack standing up. "I don't know how you're going to explain all this in our debrief and right now, I'm not sure I want to know. I do know this, though."
"What's that, Sir?" asked Carter standing also.
"I'm going to go ask Daniel to make me some of those Dream Catcher things. One for every wall in my house and one to hang around my neck," answered Jack.
The End
Disclaimers can be found in Part 0
***
By the time that the Lacotia in the cavern had come to and led by Carter and Daniel back to the village, Jack and Teal'c had checked all of the Jaffa. There wasn't a one left alive. Jack and Teal'c had gone into the trees and found the Lacotia warrior Jack had heard scream. He was still alive, but severely injured. They had brought him back to be tended by his fellow warriors until Carter and Daniel showed up. Then Carter had taken over his care.
The men from the village gathered up all the dead Jaffa and carried them about a hundred yards away from the village, where they stacked them. Jack had only been able to watch for a short time as each body was then dismembered and thrown into a huge pyre that had been built. The dead Lacotia had been taken to a tipi where their bodies were being prepared for a warrior's funeral.
As Jack entered the remains of the village, Carter joined him.
"Sir, the injured warrior is going to be all right," she said.
"Good, glad to hear that."
Carter looked around her. "Where's Teal'c and Daniel?" she asked.
"Ah Daniel is with the Chief and his daughter. They're in their tipi. Teal'c is still walking the perimeter of the village to make sure that we didn't miss anyone," answered Jack.
"Do you think they're safe?"
"The Lacotia?" he asked sitting down at the central campfire that had been lit. "Yeah, I think so. For now anyway. If there were more Goa'uld they've either escaped back through the Gate or they would have attacked by now."
Carter sat down next to Jack. "Daniel is going to want to stay here and study those murals some more, you know."
"Oh yeah. That I know. He's already mentioned it, in fact."
"What did you tell him?"
"That we were going to go back to the SGC first and report and if Hammond approves, he can bring back as many people as he needs to finish deciphering that stuff."
Carter gazed into the flames of the fire, watching them dance. "Sir, I've been thinking," she began.
Jack smiled. "This is a revelation?"
She smiled back at him seeming to accept the sarcasm for what it was. "About why you, Daniel, and Teal'c had those dreams."
"And?"
"Well, Sir," said Carter leaning back while holding onto one knee with both hands to keep her balance, "I think it has to do with being open to it and because we're so linked to the Stargate."
"Linked? What do you mean?"
"Well not physically linked, but mentally linked. We go through the Stargate and we're basically pulled apart and put back together again on the other end. If you think about it, it's a pretty scary thought."
"That's why I try not to think about it," said Jack. "I'd probably lose my mind if I did."
"I think all of us would. I think it would be natural for us to suffer some sort of mental breakdown on going through the Gate and knowing that your physical body was being broken down into it's base molecules in order to traverse the worm hole. That's why I think that subconsciously the Gate is influencing our minds a bit or maybe just anesthetizing us - just so that our minds survive the shock of Gate travel. And somewhere along the way, I think we've all become, for lack of a better word, linked with the Gate."
Jack looked over at Carter and met her eyes, "You do realize what you're saying and what would happen if MacKenzie ever found out about your little theory, don't you?"
"Yes, Sir," answered Carter nodding. "It's why I'm not going to tell him."
Jack looked to the fire. "Probably a good idea."
"Yes, Sir. Anyway," continued Carter, "I think that because of that and because of what happened before, you know that thing with the entity that invaded the SGC, I think you, Teal'c, and Daniel were primed to what was happening here with the dreams and all. You were, more or less, open to it."
"Carter I hope you don't mean that we've just become trouble magnets."
"No, Sir. I just think that because the device here was sending out warnings in the way of dreams to the Lacotia, that you were able to pick up on them."
"Because they were dreams?"
"Yes, Sir. Look I know this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but we have run into stuff that doesn't make a whole lot of sense according to our models of what the universe should be and how it should act."
"Okay Carter," said Jack standing up. "I don't know how you're going to explain all this in our debrief and right now, I'm not sure I want to know. I do know this, though."
"What's that, Sir?" asked Carter standing also.
"I'm going to go ask Daniel to make me some of those Dream Catcher things. One for every wall in my house and one to hang around my neck," answered Jack.
The End