How Many?
Sam regarded the young man carefully. He was almost as tall as her, about 15 years old, with dark hair and dark eyes. There was something about his face that seemed familiar. He in turn was looking at Sam with a cautious, yet hopeful expression on his face. "Don't be afraid. My name is Major Samantha Carter. I am here to help you. I was sent by Treyem of Kortaul. Do you know him?"
The expression in his face grew even more hopeful at this news. "Treyem is my father! I am Josef. My father is well? How about my mother?" His voice grew in volume as the realization dawned on him that his family had survived the attack by the fierce warriors.
"Keep your voice down Josef. We don't want to alert the Jaffa to my presence. Yes, both of your parents are well. They have been sent to my planet for safety. We will join them there as soon as we can. Is your sister here as well?"
"Yes, right over there," he said, pointing to the bench he had just vacated. "Kiera, come over here,' he whispered to his sister.
A young girl of about 12 years came to stand beside her brother. She held on to his arm as he introduced her to Major Carter. "Kiera, this is Major Samantha Carter. Father sent her to us so that we could escape this place." Kiera smiled shyly at Sam. "Mother and Father are both safe. We will join them soon," continued Josef.
"Josef, Kiera, you can call me Sam." She looked around the dim room and saw movement from other benches. "How many children are here with you?" she asked in a puzzled voice. She really had been expecting only to find the two of them, if she was lucky.
"There are five others here with us Major Sam," replied Josef. He couldn't bring himself to just call her Sam. He was brought up to show respect to his elders, one of the ways to show respect was by the manner he addressed them. Calling her 'Major Sam' seemed to be a good compromise between her request and his upbringing.
Sam smiled slightly at the form of address, then furrowed her brow. Seven children? How was she going to get seven children safely back to the Stargate without being detected?
Kiera noticed the frown on Sam's forehead and quietly spoke up. "Major Sam," she copied her brother's form of address, "you will not leave any of them behind will you? They deserve to leave this place just as much as Josef and me. There are some here much younger than me, they can not be left." Upon saying this, a young girl about 5 years old came up to Kiera and tightly clutched the end of her tunic in her small hands.
Sam looked at the little girl, smiled gently and said, "No Kiera, I will not leave any of these children behind. Gather them together quickly Josef. We must leave at once, before any of the guards come back. You can introduce me to the others once we have reached the main tunnel."
Josef gathered the rest of the children, making sure they remained quiet, and brought them over to the opening in the wall. "Josef" instructed Sam, "I want you to climb in first and guide the children through this tunnel. It will meet with a main shaft after about 5 minutes. Continue down the main shaft another 5 minutes and you will come to the end of the shaft. You will have to jump down about 4 meters to get into the main tunnel. Help the children out and wait for me there."
"All right Major Sam,' replied Josef in a strong voice. He was glad that Major Sam showed confidence in his ability to help in this rescue.
Josef climbed into the opening first, followed by his sister, Kiera. Sam lifted up the little girl who had been clinging to Kiera and passed her up. "Follow Kiera OK?" said Sam. She was sure the little girl would be right on the older girl's heels. She then helped two young boys up, another girl, and finally another boy. Looking carefully around the room, Sam grabbed a sack of food that was left on the table, climbed into the opening, and quietly pulled the grate back into place. She followed the children down the vent passageways, extremely pleased at how quiet they were being.
When Josef came to the end of the vent, he peered down into the larger tunnel. Thankfully, Major Sam had given him her flashlight and shown him how to use it. He flashed it around the area, saw nothing amiss, and jumped down. He proceeded to help the rest of the children climb down from the shaft. They waited a few feet from the opening, huddled around in a small circle, waiting for Sam to come through.
Sam jumped softly to the ground and walked over to the children. "You all did a fantastic job," she praised them quietly. "Thank you for following Josef so well. As Josef told you, I am Major Sam and have come to get you out of here and bring you somewhere safe. I know Josef and Kiera, how about the rest of you tell me your names and ages?"
Two boys who were holding tightly to each other's hands walked forward. "I am Kellan, I am 11 years old. This is my little brother Bryson," he indicated the boy holding his hand. "Bryson just turned 7 a few days ago." Bryson gave Sam a small smile, indicating two missing front teeth.
Sam shook their hands with a smile. "I am very pleased to meet both of you," she said. Both boys had light brown hair and green eyes. You could tell right away that they were brothers. Sam was glad that they had each other; it would help the younger one to have his brother along.
A lovely girl with long, blond hair stepped forward next. She looked to be about the same age as Kiera. "My name is Jalia," she said in a quiet voice. "I am 10 years old. Do you know if my parents are with Josef and Kiera's?" she asked.
"I am sorry Jalia, I don't know. We will find out as soon as we get to my world. The people we found from your village, hiding in the caves by the Stargate, were taken to safety a while ago. If your parents were among them, they are safe."
The last boy that Sam had helped into the vent stepped up next to Jalia. "My name is Teegan and I am nine," he cocked his head to the side and looked up at Sam. "Can you tell me what a Stargate is?"
Sam chuckled to herself. In the midst of what had to be a frightening situation, Teegan showed his natural curiosity. He reminded her of Daniel...maybe this is what Daniel was like as a child. Teegan even had the same light brown hair and blue eyes as Daniel. She'd have to be sure and introduce them once they got back.
"I'll tell you all about the Stargate once we get away from here, OK Teegan?"
"OK," he smiled back at her.
Sam went over to the smallest of their party and knelt down in front of her. "And who are you?" she asked in a gentle voice. She could tell that this youngster was extremely shy and frightened.
"Her name is Anya," Kiera spoke up. "She hasn't talked since the warriors came. That was two days ago. She saw them beat her mother and take her away. Anya is five years old."
Sam's heart ached for the little girl. She reached out and touched the bouncy blond curls on Anya's head. "I am sorry Anya. I promise I will take you somewhere safe, where you won't have to worry about those warriors anymore."
Sam got up off the ground and addressed all of the children. "We are going to make our way down this tunnel. It will take about 15 minutes. I will shine my light ahead of us a bit but we all need to stay close. I want each of you to hold at least one other person's hand, OK? And no talking. I don't know if the Jaffa will be able to hear us, but we want to make certain they can't."
"What are the Jaffa?" asked the inquisitive Teegan.
"It's the name of the warriors who came to your village," replied Sam. "Everyone ready?"
All of the children nodded and grasped the hand of someone near them. Sam ended up holding onto Teegan's small hand. "Let's go," she whispered quietly.
They made their way down the tunnel in silence. Sam's flashlight scanned back and forth in front of her, lighting their way in the dark. Just as she was about to reach the end of the tunnel, she heard the sound of larger footsteps scraping against the rocky ground behind them. Quickly, Sam pushed the children against the side of the tunnel, indicated with her hands that they should scrunch down, and turned off the flashlight. The footsteps stopped momentarily, then began again, although moving a bit slower.
"Stay here," Sam whispered to the children. "I'll be right back."
She grabbed her Zat gun firmly in her right hand and stepped away from the children. She was going to meet whoever was following them head on. She had promised these kids that she would get them out of here and, by God, she would!
Sam could tell that there was only one person behind them due to the cadence of the footsteps. She pressed herself against the wall, gave a slow count of 3, turned and shined her light down the middle of the tunnel. There, no more than 20 feet in front of her, was a Jaffa. She didn't know how the hell he had gotten down there but wasn't going to take the time to ask him. Raising their weapons at the same time, Sam fired first then dove to the side and rolled. She felt a searing pain as the blast grazed her left arm. Knowing she didn't have time to think about the wound, she directed her light back to the Jaffa. She was relieved to see him lying on the ground, out cold. Without even stopping to think about it, Sam blasted her Zat at him two more times, effectively getting rid of the menace that was this particular Jaffa.
Holding her left arm up slightly with her right, Sam slowly made her way back to the children. They had remained exactly where she had left them, for which she was extremely grateful. As soon as they saw her though, they clambered around her, eyes wide with fear.
"Major Sam! Major Sam! Are you OK? We were so scared. What happened?" they all began to talk at once.
"SHHH!" Sam whispered loudly. "I'm OK, but we need to move out of the tunnel and find somewhere safe to rest. Don't worry; no one else is following us." Sam prayed that this was true as she led the children out of the cave and onto the side of Blasling Ridge. TBC
I hope you are enjoying the story! Please review. We'll check in at the SGC in the next chapter to see how the guys are doing.
Sam regarded the young man carefully. He was almost as tall as her, about 15 years old, with dark hair and dark eyes. There was something about his face that seemed familiar. He in turn was looking at Sam with a cautious, yet hopeful expression on his face. "Don't be afraid. My name is Major Samantha Carter. I am here to help you. I was sent by Treyem of Kortaul. Do you know him?"
The expression in his face grew even more hopeful at this news. "Treyem is my father! I am Josef. My father is well? How about my mother?" His voice grew in volume as the realization dawned on him that his family had survived the attack by the fierce warriors.
"Keep your voice down Josef. We don't want to alert the Jaffa to my presence. Yes, both of your parents are well. They have been sent to my planet for safety. We will join them there as soon as we can. Is your sister here as well?"
"Yes, right over there," he said, pointing to the bench he had just vacated. "Kiera, come over here,' he whispered to his sister.
A young girl of about 12 years came to stand beside her brother. She held on to his arm as he introduced her to Major Carter. "Kiera, this is Major Samantha Carter. Father sent her to us so that we could escape this place." Kiera smiled shyly at Sam. "Mother and Father are both safe. We will join them soon," continued Josef.
"Josef, Kiera, you can call me Sam." She looked around the dim room and saw movement from other benches. "How many children are here with you?" she asked in a puzzled voice. She really had been expecting only to find the two of them, if she was lucky.
"There are five others here with us Major Sam," replied Josef. He couldn't bring himself to just call her Sam. He was brought up to show respect to his elders, one of the ways to show respect was by the manner he addressed them. Calling her 'Major Sam' seemed to be a good compromise between her request and his upbringing.
Sam smiled slightly at the form of address, then furrowed her brow. Seven children? How was she going to get seven children safely back to the Stargate without being detected?
Kiera noticed the frown on Sam's forehead and quietly spoke up. "Major Sam," she copied her brother's form of address, "you will not leave any of them behind will you? They deserve to leave this place just as much as Josef and me. There are some here much younger than me, they can not be left." Upon saying this, a young girl about 5 years old came up to Kiera and tightly clutched the end of her tunic in her small hands.
Sam looked at the little girl, smiled gently and said, "No Kiera, I will not leave any of these children behind. Gather them together quickly Josef. We must leave at once, before any of the guards come back. You can introduce me to the others once we have reached the main tunnel."
Josef gathered the rest of the children, making sure they remained quiet, and brought them over to the opening in the wall. "Josef" instructed Sam, "I want you to climb in first and guide the children through this tunnel. It will meet with a main shaft after about 5 minutes. Continue down the main shaft another 5 minutes and you will come to the end of the shaft. You will have to jump down about 4 meters to get into the main tunnel. Help the children out and wait for me there."
"All right Major Sam,' replied Josef in a strong voice. He was glad that Major Sam showed confidence in his ability to help in this rescue.
Josef climbed into the opening first, followed by his sister, Kiera. Sam lifted up the little girl who had been clinging to Kiera and passed her up. "Follow Kiera OK?" said Sam. She was sure the little girl would be right on the older girl's heels. She then helped two young boys up, another girl, and finally another boy. Looking carefully around the room, Sam grabbed a sack of food that was left on the table, climbed into the opening, and quietly pulled the grate back into place. She followed the children down the vent passageways, extremely pleased at how quiet they were being.
When Josef came to the end of the vent, he peered down into the larger tunnel. Thankfully, Major Sam had given him her flashlight and shown him how to use it. He flashed it around the area, saw nothing amiss, and jumped down. He proceeded to help the rest of the children climb down from the shaft. They waited a few feet from the opening, huddled around in a small circle, waiting for Sam to come through.
Sam jumped softly to the ground and walked over to the children. "You all did a fantastic job," she praised them quietly. "Thank you for following Josef so well. As Josef told you, I am Major Sam and have come to get you out of here and bring you somewhere safe. I know Josef and Kiera, how about the rest of you tell me your names and ages?"
Two boys who were holding tightly to each other's hands walked forward. "I am Kellan, I am 11 years old. This is my little brother Bryson," he indicated the boy holding his hand. "Bryson just turned 7 a few days ago." Bryson gave Sam a small smile, indicating two missing front teeth.
Sam shook their hands with a smile. "I am very pleased to meet both of you," she said. Both boys had light brown hair and green eyes. You could tell right away that they were brothers. Sam was glad that they had each other; it would help the younger one to have his brother along.
A lovely girl with long, blond hair stepped forward next. She looked to be about the same age as Kiera. "My name is Jalia," she said in a quiet voice. "I am 10 years old. Do you know if my parents are with Josef and Kiera's?" she asked.
"I am sorry Jalia, I don't know. We will find out as soon as we get to my world. The people we found from your village, hiding in the caves by the Stargate, were taken to safety a while ago. If your parents were among them, they are safe."
The last boy that Sam had helped into the vent stepped up next to Jalia. "My name is Teegan and I am nine," he cocked his head to the side and looked up at Sam. "Can you tell me what a Stargate is?"
Sam chuckled to herself. In the midst of what had to be a frightening situation, Teegan showed his natural curiosity. He reminded her of Daniel...maybe this is what Daniel was like as a child. Teegan even had the same light brown hair and blue eyes as Daniel. She'd have to be sure and introduce them once they got back.
"I'll tell you all about the Stargate once we get away from here, OK Teegan?"
"OK," he smiled back at her.
Sam went over to the smallest of their party and knelt down in front of her. "And who are you?" she asked in a gentle voice. She could tell that this youngster was extremely shy and frightened.
"Her name is Anya," Kiera spoke up. "She hasn't talked since the warriors came. That was two days ago. She saw them beat her mother and take her away. Anya is five years old."
Sam's heart ached for the little girl. She reached out and touched the bouncy blond curls on Anya's head. "I am sorry Anya. I promise I will take you somewhere safe, where you won't have to worry about those warriors anymore."
Sam got up off the ground and addressed all of the children. "We are going to make our way down this tunnel. It will take about 15 minutes. I will shine my light ahead of us a bit but we all need to stay close. I want each of you to hold at least one other person's hand, OK? And no talking. I don't know if the Jaffa will be able to hear us, but we want to make certain they can't."
"What are the Jaffa?" asked the inquisitive Teegan.
"It's the name of the warriors who came to your village," replied Sam. "Everyone ready?"
All of the children nodded and grasped the hand of someone near them. Sam ended up holding onto Teegan's small hand. "Let's go," she whispered quietly.
They made their way down the tunnel in silence. Sam's flashlight scanned back and forth in front of her, lighting their way in the dark. Just as she was about to reach the end of the tunnel, she heard the sound of larger footsteps scraping against the rocky ground behind them. Quickly, Sam pushed the children against the side of the tunnel, indicated with her hands that they should scrunch down, and turned off the flashlight. The footsteps stopped momentarily, then began again, although moving a bit slower.
"Stay here," Sam whispered to the children. "I'll be right back."
She grabbed her Zat gun firmly in her right hand and stepped away from the children. She was going to meet whoever was following them head on. She had promised these kids that she would get them out of here and, by God, she would!
Sam could tell that there was only one person behind them due to the cadence of the footsteps. She pressed herself against the wall, gave a slow count of 3, turned and shined her light down the middle of the tunnel. There, no more than 20 feet in front of her, was a Jaffa. She didn't know how the hell he had gotten down there but wasn't going to take the time to ask him. Raising their weapons at the same time, Sam fired first then dove to the side and rolled. She felt a searing pain as the blast grazed her left arm. Knowing she didn't have time to think about the wound, she directed her light back to the Jaffa. She was relieved to see him lying on the ground, out cold. Without even stopping to think about it, Sam blasted her Zat at him two more times, effectively getting rid of the menace that was this particular Jaffa.
Holding her left arm up slightly with her right, Sam slowly made her way back to the children. They had remained exactly where she had left them, for which she was extremely grateful. As soon as they saw her though, they clambered around her, eyes wide with fear.
"Major Sam! Major Sam! Are you OK? We were so scared. What happened?" they all began to talk at once.
"SHHH!" Sam whispered loudly. "I'm OK, but we need to move out of the tunnel and find somewhere safe to rest. Don't worry; no one else is following us." Sam prayed that this was true as she led the children out of the cave and onto the side of Blasling Ridge. TBC
I hope you are enjoying the story! Please review. We'll check in at the SGC in the next chapter to see how the guys are doing.