Thirteen
Resolve
Sam abruptly excused herself from the Tok'ra guests' company leaving Daniel to play Cluedo with them and headed to General Hammond's office.
"Sir, I need to go off-world," she said coming to stand at ease before his desk.
Hammond set down the file in his hands, "please, explain, Major Carter."
"Martouf has left the Tok'ra to returned to the world where he was taken host by a Goa'uld. I believe he's in danger."
"So you want to rescue him?"
"I… not exa-… well essentially: yes."
"We're only just met the people and you want to go… I can't authorise this."
"Sir, with all due respect I need to go."
"All the same, Major–" "Sir, I need… I can't…" she sighed, "there's not a lot of time."
He emphatically stated, "I will not allow it."
"Sir, you have to," she told him.
He stood up, "I'm warning you, major, for the last time: I will not allow it."
"There are other ways-"
"Godammit, show a little dignity!" he yelled.
"There's no time for dignity," she retorted with a steel glare.
He sat back in his chair, eyeballing her transformed demeanour.
"Enough. You know what? You're off active duty. Go home. Dismissed."
For a second it looked like it was over.
"No, you know what?"
Sam sprinted straight down to the control room, slowing as she neared the twisted iron stairs and walked in with a smile.
"We ready?" she chirped to Siler.
"Major?"
"It's time," she said simply.
His expression clearly said "for what?" and he was about to ask.
"General Hammond called you… I was there," she said confusedly.
"Um…" he frowned again, "Oh ok… sorry. Which… was it again?" he asked hesitantly.
She chuckled, "here," and leaned over him to type in the co-ordinates.
He repressed a sigh of relief at being let off the hook and blushed at the wink she sent him as she breezed out.
"I'm already late, Siler," she yelled slipping down the stairs.
He complied in record time so as she stepped onto the ramp the blue light burst out then settled into calm ripples.
"The signal is sent," he confirmed over the PA.
But then as Sam reached the surface O'Neil came crashing into the control room and clicked on the PA.
"Carter!"
Her heart beat wildly. She dared not acknowledge that she'd heard. Dared not turn around. So she walked though.
On the other side the sun was shining and a low breeze swept particles of sand into a mist. Sam was met by Aldwin and hoped she wouldn't offend him by asking point blank.
"Where's Martouf?"
"My apologies, but I do not know."
"Ah, ok. Um, is Ren'al around then?"
He smiled warmly, happy to be of assitance , "yes she is. Ill take you to her," he led her though a series of tunnels to the doorway of a lab where Ren'al stood poised over a set of crystal displays. She turned to them, having recognised the sound of their footsteps approaching down the corridor.
"Major Samantha Carter, I did not expect you back so soon."
Sam smiled in response to Aldwin's goodbye and entered Ren'al's lab.
"Same here. Oh by the way, do you happen to know where Martouf is?"
Ren'al's face took on an amused smirk at the answer, "mmm, yes I do."
Sam waited.
Ren'al just continued enjoying some private irony as she worked on one of the displays. When she looked back from some more calculations on the crystals, Sam was still waiting with a carefully trained expression of curiosity and the beginnings of intrigued amusement on her slightly tilted face.
Ren'al dropped her hands to her sides and confided, "he has gone to Teirkar."
Sam ran the name through her neural database but didn't come up with anything.
"Who's that?"
"Not who."
"What?"
"Where," Renal corrected.
"Where then?"
"It is a located in a system beyond the Eqiria Delta."
"The Eqiria Delta?"
"Yes. You have not been there? Very well," she said and gestured Sam follow her over to another set of displays. Ren'al activated one of them and a hologram flickered on above it depicting a river of stars forking out into a softer milky way.
"Teirkar," she said pointing to a bright star centred in the haze beyond the mouth of the delta, her hand passing through layers of the image.
"What are the co-ordinates?" she asked trivially.
Ren'al manipulated the controls and the image zoomed out substantially before six stars brightened from the darkness and their symbols appeared illuminated above them. Sam took her time committing each one to memory.
"So you have the results to our experiment already I take it," Ren'al asked eyebrows raised in question directing Sam's keen attention away from the hologram.
Sam's replied a brief, "yep," and glanced back hoping to catch a last glimpse of the co-ordinates. Alas, the hologram had faded away.
Ren'al pressed, "may I see them?"
"Huh?"
"May I examine your results."
"Oh," she swung her backpack forward and rifled through as though looking for something, "my… lap-"
No, its too big.
"…ah palmtop must have fallen out on the way here."
The Tok'ra did not look impressed.
"I'll just be a minute," she said pulling her pack back into position and rushing out. She ran a little but reminded herself that moving too fast would call unwanted attention. She was unable to slow down much though – so scared.
Seeing the transporter rings ahead she knocked into a passing Tok'ra and turned to say sorry as she walked on. The words stopped in her throat when she saw who it was.
"Sam?" her father stared at her in surprise.
The Tok'ra colleague he had been in conversation with left with a slight bow, obviously seeing her awkwardness.
"Dad," she tried to greet him with a smile but ended up looking like a teenager on the verge of guilty tears.
He slowly approached her, "what's going on?"
She managed eye contact but wouldn't answer
"What are you doing?"
"You'll find out," she was looking away.
He pleaded, "talk to me, Sammie."
She cast her eyes down and shrugged involuntarily. "Dad, I have to go. I'll be back… soon, ok?" she touched his cheek with her fingers for a moment.
When he opened his mouth to speak she was already standing within the rings, a second later consumed by its golden beams of light.