Chapter 11
A/N Thank you for the great reviews! It really makes me want to update quickly when I get a lot of reviews. I hope you stick with the story because there are some good scenes coming up! This chapter is setting up some exciting stuff in chapter 12.
> > > > > > > > > > > >The next day, as she worked in the laundry, the thought that kept running through Major Carter's mind was 'In 71 days the Goa'uld arrive in a cargo ship. It's our best hope of getting out of here!'.
At the midday break Sam made a bold move. She went to ask Ledra, her boss in the laundry, if she could bring her 'amator' to the laundry during the lunch break. She explained that Dra'coe wanted her and, although she hated to admit it, she was afraid to shower in the laundry without Jack there to watch her six, figuratively not literally, and she did not want to go to the public baths.
Ledra studied Sam for a moment. "You have proven to be an exceptional worker. You do not complain, you do not ask for breaks and the quality of your work is very good. However, bringing one's amator to shower in the laundry is not usually permitted."
"Yes, ma'am." Sam was clearly disappointed as she started to walk away.
"Wait." The stout woman said. "It is not usually permitted, but you are a good worker and" she looked cautiously about to make sure they were alone "I too, despise Dra'coe. As long as you do not get caught I will permit it. If you do get caught, then you must know that I will tell them that you did not have my permission."
"Thank you!" Sam said with a big smile and she hurried off to her compartment.
Because of the events of the previous day, there was nothing in the compartment for Sam to fix for lunch except for rice. She poured some in the pot, added water and stirred it with the stick. About 20 minutes later SG1 and Lo'jess returned for their midday meal.
After everyone had eaten their skimpy meal of rice, Sam took the one towel they owned and the lemon soap and said to Jack "Sir, would you come with me?"
"Uh, where are we going Carter?"
"I need to show you something in the laundry."
As they walked to the laundry Sam explained that the laundry vats were drained everyday before the midday break, and that they had permission from Sam's boss to shower in the laundry room.
"A real shower?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Well, no, not exactly. They have an aqueduct system similar to the Ancient Romans and although it is a gravity feed system and the water is..."
"Ack! Carter, I don't care how it works I just want to take a shower!"
Jack sat on the floor with his back toward Carter, keeping an eye out for Dra'coe as she took her lukewarm shower.
She dried off quickly, dressed and then announced "Your turn, Sir."
"You know, Carter, before we get out of here you and I are actually going to shower together!"
"But we have to keep watch for Dra'coe." Sam offered.
"Yeah, yeah..."
The water that came out of the aqueduct piping reminded Jack of the scene from "Singing in the Rain" where Gene Kelly stood under a gutter and rain water poured out on him. Jack didn't care. It felt great! And that lemon soap Carter had found at the concession area wasn't bad either.
Sam stood by the doorway, keeping guard while Jack showered. She was getting worried because he was taking so long. Finally she stuck her head back in the laundry and hissed "Colonel, hurry up!"
Jack reached up and pushed the lever that closed the gate valve, causing the water to shut off. He dried himself with the same damp towel Carter had used and then got dressed again in his BDUs.
"That was great, Carter!" he said as he came out of the laundry, running his fingers through his wet hair. "But when are you going to wash our uniforms? Not that I don't appreciate having clean underwear everyday, but these BDU's are getting pretty rank."
"I'll wash them when I have enough tokens to buy everyone another set of clothes."
"Ah." He paused briefly, "And speaking of shopping..."
"Yeah, I know! Rice is getting a little old, I have to replace the bucket I smashed yesterday, and I still have to figure out what we can use as tools to get out of here."
"Ok, just checkin'"
When SG1 returned from work that evening they handed Sam the 28 tokens they had earned that day, along with the 20 tokens from the day before.
Sam then went across the passageway to get Brenita and the two women headed to the concession area.
At the food vendor's stand Sam purchased the usual stew ingredients, another 5 pound bag of rice, 3 loaves of bread and half a dozen apples. The total came to 11 tokens.
Next she had Brenita take her to the garment booth. "I need clothes for all the members of my team." She told the woman.
Brenita showed her earthtone, baggy pants with drawstrings at the waist.
"How much per pair?" Sam asked her.
"5 tokens." Brenita replied.
"I don't suppose you get an employee discount or anything, do you?" Sam asked.
Brenita looked at Sam for a moment, then turned to the woman behind the counter. "Give her 5 pair of the trousers for 23 tokens." She said.
Brenita then picked out sizes for each member of the team including Sam.
Sam thanked her and handed over 23 tokens.
The next stop was the Cooper, to see about a replacement bucket.
"Six tokens seems like an awful lot for a bucket!" Sam exclaimed to the man.
"Well, it is fine craftsmanship and a great deal of work!" The Cooper said.
"Do you have a used bucket, or a sample bucket that's cheaper?" Sam asked.
The man rolled his eyes, dug around under his table and produced a well worn bucket. He plopped it down on the table. "2 tokens." He said.
"I'll take it." As she paid the man Sam thought about the fact that her angry outburst yesterday had cost her an entire day's wages.
With just 12 tokens remaining Sam purchased another towel for 4 tokens and was on her way home with 8 tokens still in her pocket when she noticed a vendor selling various writing implements and blank books of parchment that were held together with ribbons. Sam purchased 2 of the parchment books and 2 pencils for 4 tokens. On her way back to the compartment, with 4 tokens left in her pocket, she decided she would try to save 4 tokens each day so that she could purchase items to construct tools.
When she got back to the compartment she gave Daniel the notebooks and pencils and told him she thought he would like to take some notes about the society in the mines and keep a journal.
Daniel looked at Sam, speechless for a moment. He knew she barely had enough tokens to put food on the table. "Thank you, Sam." He said as he gave her a big hug.