Half an hour later Jack was walking with Daniel back towards the gate. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' his footsteps seemed to say. They had another couple of hours too walk back to the gate. Daniel's original estimate of an hour's walk to the village had been way off, go figure. More like three. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.'
"Jack?" He looked up guiltily, Daniel had stopped, watching him with concern all over his face. "What were you saying?" Had he been speaking aloud?
"Nothing. Come on, we need to hurry." Wouldn't need to if he hadn't left them there. He strode off into the trees, mentally calculating how soon they could go back. Two hours walk, half an hours debriefing, half an hour-
"This isn't your fault." Sighing inwardly, Jack turned back. Daniel was still standing there, they so didn't have time for this.
"What?"
"This…the village, leaving Sam and Teal'c, it isn't your fault." Jack counted to ten silently, nope, wasn't working.
"Daniel, when are you going to learn that everything that happens to any of you off-world, on-world, or in the depths of space is my fault."
"No, you think it's your fault. I don't recall you infecting Sam and Teal'c with that virus, or telling those people to aim weapons at us." Jack kicked the ground, the only thing he could take his anger out on,
"I shouldn't have left them there."
"And what was the alternative? Shooting our way out? That was never an option you know that."
"Neither was leaving them there! I did that!"
"They chose to stay, to save us. And Earth. It was their decision."
"I'm their commanding officer! I should have ordered them to come."
"As I recall you tried. It didn't make a difference."
The two men stood, glaring at each other. Jack tried to think of a sarcastic reply, fury boiling in his gut.
SNAP! They whirled about, guns at the ready, high on adrenaline, searching for whatever threat had disturbed the stillness.
A small deer-like creature darted back into the undergrowth, it had stepped on a branch in it's hurry. The remaining half of SG1 stared at each other, shamefacedly. Daniel was the first to speak,
"Look Jack. I know that this isn't what any of us wanted. But Sam and Teal'c made their decision, and like it or not, we have to respect that, and do what they wanted, find a cure for this thing." Jack swung round, heading back into the forest, towards the gate, muttering as he did so.
"They aren't dead yet."
An hour later, several miles away, Samantha Carter sank gratefully into a chair to eat the Dicori's version of lunch. She was exhausted, and it was barely fourteen hundred. Teal'c had declined to eat yet, preferring to continue in the work he had been set. Good for him, he still could.
She'd been pretty nervous when the gate closed behind them earlier. The scrap of the bolts being drawn had brought back unpleasant memories of the many prisons she'd been in over the years. But Teal'c hadn't given her a minute to think about it, calmly half marching, half guiding her up to the building ahead. She'd been so dizzy at that point she wasn't really about to protest. She got an impression of a townhall type of structure, whitewashed, one floor, pretty large, before they were at the entrance and Teal'c was knocking loudly on the large door. She winced at the sound, couldn't he knock quieter?
The door was opened by a young woman, mid-twenties perhaps. She had a look of Janet Fraiser in her, domineering in a 'for your own good' kind of way. She raised her eyes at Teal'c's tattoo but did nothing more than usher them inside and bid them sit down before she left them to it. Only too happy to oblige, Sam did so, taking a look around her as she did so. The hall appeared to be split into three sections. The 'room' she and Teal'c now sat in was obviously a living area of some kind. Chairs were haphazardly arranged round a couple of tables, books, threadwork, and papers were scattered around these. In one corner there were several cupboards, a stone counter, a fireplace, probably what passed for a kitchen round here. The other two sections, she could only guess at. The inner walls were made of thick fabric, hung from the ceiling. People slipped between pieces to go from one section to another, whilst keeping all three neatly partitioned. The sound couldn't be so easily isolated however. From the left side of the hall, low moans, pained voices, the occasional shriek filtered through. People entering and leaving that side all shared a kind of grim determination on their faces. Of the other side, she could hear nothing at all, what was going on?
"Major Carter, are you well?" a deep voice had enquired from beside her. Startled out of her reverie, she'd been fast to assure Teal'c that she was fine. She didn't think he believed her.
A few minutes later their impromptu host returned. Opening a drawer, she'd taken out a large notebook and whatever passed for a pen on this world. Pulling a chair up beside them, she introduced herself as Milliya, current 'Rantak' of Haven. Sam looked questioningly at Teal'c, "Leader." he supplied. Going on without comment, Milliya asked them their names, and where they came from.
"You cannot have come from the village, I would remember seeing you before." She remarked, pen over page as she looked at them expectantly.
Sam hesitantly replied, "No, we aren't. We're from Earth."
"Earth? I haven't heard of it, is it far away?" repressing a smile, she exchanged an amused glance with Teal'c before answering,
"Yes, pretty far." Milliya jotted something down in a writing Sam couldn't read.
"And your names?" An easy question at last,
"Well I'm Major-, I'm Samantha Carter." Ranks could just be confusing here, "and this is Teal'c." The younger woman nodded.
"And you're both in stage one I presume?" The SG1 members looked blankly at her.
"Stage one?"
"You know? Of the sickness?" Still blank.
"We don't have the sickness where we come from." Milliya narrowed her eyes, examining them more closely.
"If that is true, you are a fortunate people. I know of no other place which isn't afflicted by our curse."
"It is true. Though it appears we are not so fortunate any more." Teal'c replied evenly. Milliya laughed.
"True enough. Then I will explain, though I cannot be idle long. Our curse is a disease, so strange, and so powerful that we have been able to neither cure it nor stop it, though we have tried for centuries." Her voice took on a wistful tone. "Our history tells of great cities our ancestors inhabited, people who travelled through the great circle at will and defied the Gods. We lived in peace for millennia, and then the dark one came…" she looked down to the ground. There was a silence, Sam was wondering whether to prompt her when she seemed to shake herself and resumed more cheerfully.
"But that was centuries ago and is of no consequence now. You need to know how your illness will progress, what you can expect. This at least I can tell you." Milliya took on the air of a professor explaining a much researched concept. "We separate the illness, and consequently ourselves into two distinct stages." She gestured to the right side of the hall. "You'll reside in that section with those of us who are also in stage one. I imagine you've already found out what kind of symptoms are present. Nausea, dizziness, headaches…"
"Amen to that." Sam muttered quietly, then blushed as Milliya glanced sympathetically at her.
"We have medicines that can inhibit these symptoms, or at least make them manageable. It is the duty of those of us in stage one to look after those in stage two as long as we are capable."
"Do you not obtain help from outside?" Teal'c enquired, his voice concerned. No doubt for her, darn Jaffa! She was completely capa-well mostly capable of working. Milliya gave a short laugh,
"Outside? You think any of them would risk infection?" a pause, "I'm sorry. It is wrong to be bitter. But I've been in here a long time, and am tired of sickness and death. It is a difficult life, and too often seems pointless."
"How long have you been here?" Sam asked gently.
"Five weeks now. Another ten days and I will pass the record for the longest time spent in stage one, at least the longest record we know of." She seemed to regain her professional manner. "We are never certain how long each stage will last. Some, like me, last for weeks in stage one with barely a symptom, others…they pass it within hours." Sam felt a chill inside.
"And stage two?"
"Stage two, most wish it to pass quickly. But again, it can last hours or days. Even weeks with some unfortunate souls." Knowing she would regret asking, but with a morbid curiosity Sam asked,
"What arethe symptoms of stage two?" Milliya simply rose, and beckoned them to the left side of the building. Pulling the heavy fabric aside, the native slipped through, Sam and Teal'c followed her.
It was horrific, in a sickly quiet way. Nine people lay in roughly made beds around the room. A girl, no more than fourteen years old shook and whimpered in the closest bed. They were all of varying age, the girl being the youngest, a white haired man in the far corner being the oldest. All they had in common was the expressions, sounds and movements showing them to be in great pain. All save a man who lay deathly still, eyes closed. If it wasn't for the slight movement of his chest, Sam wouldn't have realised he was breathing.
"This is stage two." Milliya spoke softly behind them, coming forward to place a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder pityingly. "The lucky few lapse into everlasting sleep before the end." she indicated the comatose man. "This is the fate of all of us, save those who take the Fio'kek and surrender. And those who the angel takes."
"What is this angel of which you speak." Teal'c had asked whilst she stared about in horror, too sickened and dizzy to really listen.
"I will tell you of her later. For now I have work to do, and your friend needs help." Immediately Sam felt someone take her arm, "Teal'c?"
"It is alright Major Carter. Milliya will aid you." And they had left the…ward, if that was the right name. Milliya had given her some foul tasting drink, that had nevertheless eased the pain in her head.
"Don't you have anything you can give the poor people in there?" She asked, as the young women put the offensive brew away.
"Little we have has any effect on their pain. And to get them to take any medicine is difficult. No, the only thing that can release them is death. And we choose that option most unwillingly." Sam thought regretfully of the first aid kit in her pack. There were morphine shots in there, among other things that might help. But they'd been made to leave their packs outside the compound, and in any case there would not be enough to go around. Milliya was watching her thoughtfully,
"Do you think you would be able to work now? Only there is much to do, and our numbers decrease now and then, making it even harder to organise this place."
They had quickly assented. She and Teal'c had been sent to help construct a couple of new beds from supplies sent in from the village. They had a most effective system. A small stream ran through the 'garden' of the compound. Supplies were put in waterproof containers and floated in. Similarly, anything not wanted or needed by the 'Haven' was shipped out in these same containers. She didn't ask what happened to the dead.
After half an hour's work however, Milliya had sent her back to the 'living area' to eat something. There was compassion in her words that Sam disliked immensely. She was not going to die in here dammit! So ignoring the warning twinges of pain in her muscles, she finished her meal and went back to work.
Ah, to kill them off or keep them :) Iwas inclined to do either, but I have made a decision. Keep reading and find out ;) And please review:)