Chapter 8 - Complications
"Still seems strange without Daniel along with us."
Sam's attempt at light conversation finally broke her CO's intense stare straight ahead, turning his head to meet her concerned gaze. He shot a look over his shoulder to where Teal'c and Karrington were walking behind them in silence. "How much further, Carter?"
"Only a mile or so, sir. It'd be easier to tell if we were in contact with SG-13, but with radio silence I can only guess."
He looked amused for a second. "But you do know where we're going, right?"
"Yes, sir." She responded with an insubordinate roll of her blue eyes, stepping over one of the many large stones that scattered their path from the stargate.
All they could see up ahead was the continuing green of the dense forest trees, making Jack wonder if they would prove to be a problem in finding their fellow SGC members. He turned again to his 2IC, mentally focusing his full attention on the mission ahead of them, rather than the complicated problems that hopefully could wait until they got back to Earth.
"Is this going to be a mission where I have to watch what I say?" He asked her warily.
She met his dark eyes with a smile. "Probably, sir."
The sparse but comfortable conversation continued for another fifteen minutes before SG-1 stumbled across Major Walters of SG-13, who led them to his teammates' location not far from the village. Their outpost was littered with the geology equipment they'd been using to study the make-up of the planet, the two junior officers on the team still working.
"Hey kids, hear you're having some trouble." Jack broached brightly, resting his hand on his P-90 as casually as if he were discussing restaurants to dine in.
"The leader of the villagers has agreed to meet with us this afternoon, sir." Lt. Colonel Craig informed him.
"Well that's good, right?" Karrington spoke up.
"It is if they hear us out this time." Walters confirmed for him, a note of distaste in his voice.
"They appear to have pretty nice weapons at their disposal, Colonel. Had a couple pointed at us yesterday, but no weapons-fire as yet." Craig explained calmly.
"So they haven't mentioned naquada?" Carter asked.
"No mention whatsoever, Major. Although we haven't had an overly long communication with any of them yet." Craig answered.
"So how should we play this? Nice, friendly Earthlings who want to dig around their planet for no apparent reason? Or are we going to tell these guys what we want?" Jack asked, candid as ever.
"Play it by ear I think, sir. We may not have any choice but to be honest if they do know of the pockets of naquada here."
"There's no guarantee these people will have any use for the naquada even if they are aware of it. If that's the case, we might be better limiting the amount of information we give them about its value to us." Carter put in quickly, receiving nods of agreement in response.
%%%%
The large village was spread over a clearing, surrounded by enormous trees, resulting in a very dramatic setting that would've kept Daniel happy for weeks. The leader of the village - Has'in, was a little more welcoming than they'd expected, offering them drinks and small pastry-like salty things, which Jack had to admit didn't taste all that bad.
There were several other villagers also present in the large stone room, who mostly stayed silent during the short meeting. Has'in apologised for their apparent hostility towards SG-13, explaining that some of their people had recently discovered another dwelling on the far side of the planet, with whom they had had no relations with thus far, due to their aggressive threats when contact had been attempted.
"We feared you," Has'in gestured to the four men of SG-13, "came from this place to attack us. We apologise for our short-sightedness, and would like to welcome you all to our village."
Jack fought the urge to groan aloud, seeing this turning into a purely diplomatic mission that could be handled easily by SG-13 alone. Better call the teams by the gate and tell them to go home, he thought enviously. He and Sg-1 would now, no doubt, have to stay and 'play nice'.
"We would like to invite you to dine with us tonight. A celebration in new friendship." Has'in continued, much to Jack's disappointment.
"We'd love to." He replied with all the pleasantness he could muster.
%%%%
SG-1 and 13 were then lead towards a large house that apparently served as a guesthouse of sorts, where they could relax until the 'celebration' began. The eight SGC members took their time in following the boy who looked no older than late teens and served as their escort, taking the opportunity to study their surroundings. There seemed to be many buildings of red or grey stone, large buildings which Carter guessed meant several families shared due to the number of villagers she'd seen so far and the number of houses. As she scanned the area, Sam became aware of several of the young men who escorted the teams watching her as they walked, turning away quickly when she tried to meet their eyes. She had yet to spot any female villagers, but she was continuing to hold on to the hope that men simply outnumbered women on this planet.
They were lead into the guesthouse by the young villagers, who hovered around the large entrance room whilst their guests roamed the building, some studying the structure, others exploring with a mix of military training and plain curiosity. After a quick assessment of their situation, finding no sign of anything untoward, Jack made himself comfortable on the plush satin-like cushions in the entrance room. He watched Carter for a minute where she sat on one of the nearby pillows, studying one of the doo-hickeys she always had with her.
"Whatcha doin'?"
She smiled at his question, her eyes firmly on the little gizmo's LCD screen. "Just checking the electro-magnetic fields from this planet's sun, sir."
"Ah." He nodded, feigning comprehension.
Sam looked up to grin at him, about to launch into an explanation, but caught another of the attendants watching her again. She looked to Jack, who had also seemingly noticed the attention she was receiving. Getting up, she moved over to where one of the men were hovering, seeing to their guests' needs under Has'in's orders.
"Excuse me," Sam touched his arm gently to get his attention, surprised by the startled look on the boy's face.
"Is there something you would like me to get for you?" He asked her, a wavering tone to his voice as if he wasn't sure if he was doing something wrong.
"No, thank you. What's your name?"
"Kay'lan, kiria."
"I was hoping you could tell me a little about your people, Kay'lan." She explained, smiling encouragingly.
"What is it you wish to know?" His eyes seemed locked to her face, his expression slightly fearful.
"Where do your female villagers live?"
His expression changed to confusion. "With their husbands."
"Will all the villagers be at the celebration tonight?"
"Our women must stay inside before darkness, then they will dance for us."
She opened her mouth to question him further, but an older man who she recognised from the initial meeting stepped in next to Kay'lan, asking him to go fetch more clothing for their visitors.
Not to be put off, Sam turned her questions to him instead. "You don't allow women outside until after darkness?" She asked lightly.
The newcomer's face took on an amused expression, seemingly knowing what her concern was. "Do not worry, Samantha Carter. Your ways must differ from ours."
She smiled, feeling a little uneasy at his penetrating stare. "Yes, I think they do."
"The younger males will appreciate your beauty in the sunlight as they cannot with the females of this village."
Sam felt rather than heard Jack's approach from behind her, obviously as concerned about this strange custom as she was. Undaunted by Jack's proximity, the older man reached out to touch her shoulder, a little more possessively than Sam was comfortable with for a stranger, as he continued;
"Females in our village are not to cut their hair shorter than their waist. It is a sign of beauty. The males of this village cannot understand how a woman such as yourself can cut short her hair and yet possess a rare beauty."
Jack didn't like where this was heading, the warning signs of trouble already surfacing from the male-female customs. "I think we should be okay from here, thanks, buddy." He said as airily as he could, steering his 2IC away from leering eyes before she could voice something he'd rather she didn't.
"We shall meet again at the celebration." He stated agreeably, sounding more of a threat than a goodbye.
Alone in the large room, they sat opposite each other on the plush cushions. "I have a bad feeling about this, sir."
"You're not the only one, Carter," he agreed, getting up to search for the rest of their group.
Sam watched the light material that served as a door billowing inwards from the breeze outside, thinking through scenarios that may or may not be a danger at the celebration that evening. She kept coming back to the fact the villagers seemed genuinely excited at their visitors, and if each SG team member watched what they said and did without tripping over local customs, a treaty might be possible.
The members of SG-13 entered the room from deeper within the house, Walters clutching the geology instrument he'd been using earlier, followed by Teal'c and an annoyed Jack.
"So where the hell is Karrington?"
%%%%