"Samantha?"
Carter blinked at the mention of her name. "Sorry?"
"My name is Rel," said a pleasant face woman with auburn hair, "I have met Jack before, but not you. I trust you are settling in here?"
Sam tried not to blush in guilt. "Um," she said, trying to think of a way to change the subject, "Col- I mean Jack mentioned leisure activities...?"
"Ah, yes. He mentioned that you would enjoy a race on a Fel'Tak... If you would follow me?"
"A what?" Carter asked as they started to walk away from the camp-fire, still glowing with the embers of last nights gathering, which Sam had not attended, as it was so early in the morning.
"A Fel'Tak," repeated Rel, smiling slightly.
Carter managed to curb her natural curiosity and picked her way through the trees, following Rel.
Carter gasped as the nature of a Fel'Tak was revealed; essentially flying motorbikes. They reminded Carter of the jet-bikes from Star Wars. There was a sort of track running through the trees, where the tall trunks had either been cut or had fallen to the forest floor. She hurried after Rel to get padded up; although a fall could not kill in the forest it could still hurt, and as Rel said it was better safe than sorry.
The technicalities of driving the Fel'Tak were very similar to her motorbike locked in storage back on Earth, she was soon zooming along the alleys of trees, racing the inhabitants of Eden. She had to admit, it was better than working on her laptop.
*
Colonel O'Neill had woken late in the day after spending most of the previous night sitting moodily at the campfire, stony faced. He slouched out of the dome-house, down the steps and towards the sports fields, feeling like venting his rage by pounding the hell out of a ball. However, the purr of the Fel'Tak engines drew him instead to the race track, he was never quite sure why.
He recognised the blonde head of one racer as she slowed down to complete her race, removing her helmet in response to a cheer from the onlookers. Carter had apparently won a race, to general applause from the Eden-ites. Despite his annoyance with the Major he couldn't help but feel his spirits lift slightly as she zipped past him, to start again against another contender. He joined the crowds on the ground.
Carter found the sensation of Fel'Tak racing amazing, all her worries and the angst of her non-relationship with the Colonel were left on the ground as the wind whipped across her face. She revved the (apparently non-polluting) engine as the ground crew-man counted her and her opponent down. He was a young, dark haired man from what she could see of him, his eyes dancing with a wicked fire.
"Three! Two! One! GO!!"
They were off, speeding through the trees, dodging left, right, up, down, accelerating all the time.
On the ground Colonel O'Neill's mouth dropped open, as Carter was little more than a green blur in all her padding, she was inching ahead of the young male racer. He started to cheer himself.
Carter knew she had run, she put on an extra spurt to reach the finish line, crossing it to tumultuous applause, was slowing down for her lap of honour, when there was a terrible cracking noise and a high branch plummeted from a nearby tree. Carter tried to dodge out of the way. Instead of striking her it hit the back of her Fel'Tak, flipping it into the air, and throwing Carter off. She hit the ground with a hideous thump, echoed by the groan of about thirty throats.
And the pounding of O'Neill's feet on the leaf litter as he ran towards Sam, heart hammering in his throat.
She was lying completely still, blood oozing from various cuts, crumpled at the foot of a large tree. After checking her pulse he picked her up in one fluid movement, carrying her back towards the startled onlookers. Her opponent landed at his side, ashen faced.
"She will heal, O'Neill. Take her to a place where she can lie still."
O'Neill nodded mutely, and carried her onwards home, her blood staining his shirt.
*
Carter woke up with a groan, remembering her fall even though she could not feel any pain from it. As her vision resolved itself she saw the rather red face of Colonel O'Neill. He rubbed his face again and gave her a small smile. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Look, Carter. I'm sorry about yesterday. Can we call a truce?"
Carter felt for a brief second that she ought to disagree, but she liked being on speaking terms with the Colonel far too much to argue, and nodded instead. "Yeah."
"Fancy coming down to the campfire?" he offered, "I think there's a lot of people wanting to make sure you're okay."
"Alright," she replied, giving him one of her rare smiles, and making his heart jump.
He held out his hand to help her off her bed, fingers entwining for just a second too long. To his immense surprise but also gratification she took his proffered arm to lean on, and let him lead her on down to the campfire.