What You Are – Chapter 4
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Daniel looked up from the wound he was cleaning on one of the Kerans' foreheads.
"Teal'c, have you found Jack and Sam yet?"
"Indeed not, Daniel Jackson. It would appear they have been captured."
Daniel groaned in frustration. Where did they even begin? The Telars had finally left, but only after causing a lot of injuries and capturing a dozen people, Jack and Sam included.
"We need to organize. Keep everyone levelheaded. Let's get everyone together. Then we can figure out what we need to do. We need to think of a way to get them back."
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Sam's eyes slowly blinked open. Her head was pounding. Carefully, she sat up.
"Well, Sleeping Beauty, it's about time."
"Sir?"
They were sitting together in a tent. Sam looked around to see ten Kerans with them.
"It would seem we've been captured," Jack offered grimly.
"So it would."
"Oh, don't worry. Danny and Teal'c will have us out in no time. We'll just have to be patient. There are guards all around the tent, so we won't be going anywhere fast on our own. Food's not bad though," he motioned to the bowl of mush in his hand.
Sam's gaze took in the area. The Kerans were spread out. None of them looked seriously injured. She felt a pang as she noticed the boy she'd tried to save earlier among the group. Tried being the operative word.
Suddenly, one of the Telars entered the tent. Pointing to a woman, he motioned for two others to take her.
"You. Come with me."
"Hey!" Jack stood up. "You want to take someone, you're going to take me."
But one of the guards stood in front of him with a stick, preventing him from moving.
Sam again regained consciousness. It was now dark, but the moon was bright. She sat up carefully this time, holding her hurt wrist close. Taking deep breaths, she was relieved to find that most of the dizziness and sickness from before had gone. Still she berated herself.
"I can't believe I did that. I should have been more careful. I should have just eaten the stupid MRE. Amy only had a couple berries. That must be why they didn't bother her." Sam groaned. Amy.
There she was. Thank goodness. Sam was about to resort to tying a rope to her. Tearing a strip of material from her jacket, she eased it around the swollen area.
"Amy?" she walked up to her. Nausea returned as she jostled her wrist.
"Amy? We need to keep moving. Come on."
Amy stood and fell into step.
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"Okay, a lot of your possessions were damaged, but our food supply is still good. We all need to stick close together. I don't want anyone wandering off by themselves. Twelve people have been taken. We're going to work out a way to get them back and..."
"Daniel Jackson, five Telars are approaching."
Daniel turned from the gathered Kerans to see four men walking towards them. Teal'c charged his staff weapon but froze. They had a hostage. One of the Keran women. One of the men stepped forward, the woman clutched closely to him, a knife in his hand.
"Move and she dies! We have twelve of your people. We will release them when you have left our land. If you try to attack, they will be the first ones killed."
"Can we talk?" Daniel took a careful step forward. "We can meet and discuss..."
"You have until sundown to make your decision."
With that they left as quickly as they'd appeared.
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Jack took the bowl of food and handed it over to Sam. She didn't look interested.
"No thanks, sir."
"Come on. You have to eat something. That's an order."
"Yes sir."
Grudgingly she took the offered food and put some in her mouth. It tasted like oatmeal. No sugar. Just oatmeal. Some of the Kerans were dozing off. Others just sat talking quietly.
Suddenly, a struggle was heard outside the tent, as the woman was shoved back inside.
They rushed over to her.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"I am well," she assured them. "They took me to our people and told them that if they didn't leave by sundown or if they tried to attack, we would be killed. They said we would be released after we got off their land."
"Do you think they'll do that, sir?" Sam asked her CO.
"I don't know. It's possible, but you never really know what to expect with people like this. If Danny and Teal'c don't believe them, then they will try something else. We'll just have to be ready for whatever happens."
"Yes sir."
They moved softly through the night. Trying to make as little sound as possible and trying to remain out of sight. The bright moon was both a blessing and a curse. They had some visibility, but they could also be easily spotted if someone was nearby. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath. Sam looked at the sky, trying to determine their whereabouts.
"Well, I know we're going in the right direction. I just can't tell you how long it will take," she said to her friend.
Standing up once more, they continued their movement eastward.
But after forty-five minutes, a scream and hard thud froze Sam.
Right beside her was Amy, fallen on the ground, her ankle twisted at an odd angle.
Kneeling beside her friend, she felt the ankle. It was broken. She would have to try to set it. She also felt the accompanying knee and heard a hiss of pain. Could the situation get anymore complicated?
"I'm sorry, Amy," she began in frustration. "It looks like you twisted your knee too. We need to splint it."
Before she started, she gave Amy the only morphine they had. Then she picked out sticks that would do the trick. Taking some of the rope from her pack, she splinted Amy's leg. By the time she was done, sweat was rolling down her face. Her body shook with pain. How she had splinted a person's leg properly with a broken wrist, she didn't know. Exhausted, she sank to the ground. They had to stop for now.
Darkness had fallen. The tent was quiet as people started going to sleep.
"Hey, Carter? I'm really sorry something like this had to happen, well, now."
"It's okay, sir. I'm sure Daniel and Teal'c will have us out ofhere soon."
"Can I ask you a question?"
She nodded.
"After all of that, how come you stayed in the Air Force? Most people would have left."
"I suppose it's because we had all been so excited about it. Mike and Amy and me. We stuck together from the very beginning. I guess because it meant so much to them, I couldn't just leave. Had to carry on for them in a way. Keep a part of them with me. At first, I suppose I stayed out of guilt, but then I realized I really did still love the Air Force. So I stayed."
"I'm glad."
"Hey guys, wait up!"
Sam and Amy turned to see Mike running to catch up with them a huge grin on his face.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Amy asked.
"Haven't you heard yet? We got it! We got a mission. Flying surveillance over Iraq."
The night before they were to leave, they gathered together for their traditional pizza and diet coke. They mostly just talked and laughed, letting the hours pass. Finally, Amy stood up.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow. If I sleep in one more time, Howells is going to have me peeling potatoes for a month, whether I'm on an airplane or not."
Sam giggled then swigged down the rest of her coke and stood up.
"I think I'll head out too."
"Hey guys, hold on for a second."
Mike carefully took a small bundle of cloth from his pocket. Looking slightly embarrassed, he removed the cloth to reveal three matching leather bracelets.
"I, uh, noticed some of the other teams doing this so I thought..." he shrugged.
They were silent as they each reverently took one of the finely crafted pieces and tied it to their wrists.
They smiled at each other.
"Now we're ready."
She smiled at him then softly squeezed his hand.
"Me too."
They finally let sleep claim them, joining the heavy breathing of their companions.
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Hope you enjoyed! Thanks so much for all the reviews! Please keep them coming! Next chapter may take a while, but we shall see. I'll have a bit more of Daniel and Teal'c's side in that one. Should be interesting. Lots of love!