Here's chapter three. Enjoy!
Sam followed Lan and Moiraine through the trees as they headed back to the main road. Moiraine turned and looked at Sam. "Are you all right?" she asked.
Sam looked at the short woman. "I don't know. I mean, I can't ever return home," she said.
"What makes you say that?" Moiraine inquired.
"I saw the Gate get hit by some weird fire bar thing and it melted. Aside from that, there's no power source or way for me to dial my home world. Even if I could, I don't have the device that sends my code through so my world knows it's me and opens the barrier on the Earth's Stargate," Sam explained. "I'm stuck here."
"Perhaps fate has brought you here," Moiraine suggested.
Sam shrugged. "Maybe. In any case, I should try and find a new life for myself." Even though I don't want to, she added silently to herself.
"I wanted to talk to you about that," Moiraine said. "I felt great potential in you to use the One Power."
"The what?" Sam asked.
"The One Power," Moiraine repeated. "Surely you've heard of it."
Sam shook her head. "Sounds like magic to me and I don't believe in magic."
"Did you not wonder how I was able to hurl fireballs at the Trollocs?" Moiraine asked, a small smile on her face.
"I was curious about that," Sam admitted. "How were you able to do it? Some sort of device that starts fires?"
Moiraine shook her head. "I used no device." She held her hands out and an orb of light appeared in front of Moiraine. Sam's eyes widened and she stared at it closely, looking for something that would prove it wasn't magic. Finding none, Sam sat back down in shock. "A select number of women have the ability to use saidar, the female half of the One Power. The male half is known as saidin. Since the Second Breaking of the World, no man has come forward and used the One Power."
Sam frowned. "Why not?"
"Before the First Breaking of the World saidin was tainted by the Dark One. The men that did use it were driven insane and Broke the World. The Dragon Reborn came next in the Third Age and fought the Dark One. After the battle he Broke the World."
"And the men who can use this saidin are afraid they'll go insane," Sam figured.
Moiraine nodded. "The using of the One Power, whichever side you use, is known as channeling. Women who can channel are known as Aes Sedai."
"And you're an Aes Sedai," Sam said. Moiraine nodded. "And you want me to become an Aes Sedai."
"Only if you wish to Samantha. You have a great ability in the One Power. To not master it would be a terrible crime, but I will not force you to do something you do not wish to. The path of an Aes Sedai is difficult and laced with trials. Few women who train become Aes Sedai."
"What do you do with the ones who fail?"
"They learn enough so as not to hurt or kill themselves or others and are sent back home," Moiraine answered.
"Have any Aes Sedai ever become evil?" Sam asked.
"That is forbidden to speak of," Moiraine replied. "You will learn more about Aes Sedai once we reach the White Tower at Tar Valon."
"If…if I do decide…to become an Aes Sedai…what kind of training are we talking about?" Sam asked a few minutes later.
"Difficult training. Every girl and woman that comes to the Tower begin as novices, then when they are ready they are raised to Accepted. Only after years of practice and study are the Accepted tested for the shawl of an Aes Sedai."
"I'd have to think about this," Sam said.
"Of course," Moiraine said. "Though the Amyrlin must be asked first should you decide to become an Aes Sedai."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"You are older than most who come to the Tower to train," Moiraine said. "That and we are not entirely sure of your story."
"It's not every day a person from another planet ends up here," Lan added.
Sam nodded. "I can understand that." The three fell into silence as they continued their trek. As the sun began to set Lan led them to a small clearing. The two set up camp while Sam gathered some firewood. A short time later a roaring fire was going and the three were eating in silence.
Sam set aside the few remains of her food and stared at the hand device. She let her mind drift back to the briefing SG-1 had before that fateful mission…
"SG-1, you are going to P9X-616 on a recon mission," Hammond said to his premier team. "And I want Major Carter to take a hand device with her."
"Might I ask as to why General?" Jack asked, beating Sam to the punch.
"I want her to learn how to control it," Hammond said. "If she learns how to develop that skill then she may be able to use the healing device as well."
"With all due respect General, why can't I just practice here?" Sam asked.
"Some people could notice. Going off-world reduces that risk. What's more, the planet is supposed to be uninhabited so you don't have to worry about hurting innocent people. If you learn to control the hand device, you might also learn how it works and that might lead to stopping the Goa'uld from using it. It's an order Major," Hammond added when Sam opened her mouth to protest. She closed her mouth and reluctantly nodded, not at all pleased with the order…
"May have saved my life though," Sam murmured quietly to herself. She ran a hand through her hair and reclined onto the ground. She pulled her zat free from her holster and placed it next to her head. She had been surprised when she saw it was still in its holster, figuring it had fallen out during her flight from the Trollocs. She closed her eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.
Moiraine watched Sam fall asleep with sorrowful eyes. "What's wrong?" Lan asked as he stoked the fire.
"She's suffered so much for one so young," Moiraine said softly. "She may not have told us and probably never will, but you can see it in her eyes. She's lived through more than most of the Aes Sedai."
"Are you worried about her falling to the Black Ajah?" Lan asked.
"You know there's no such thing as the Black Ajah," Moiraine said.
"There's no proof that they do or do not exist," Lan corrected. "But we've both read history from the Second Breaking. There were Aes Sedai that had pledged them-selves to the Dark One."
Moiraine looked at her Warder. "I suppose I'm more worried about what will happen to her if she is not accepted into the Tower. She has no where else to go and is a stranger to our land."
"I'm sure the Amyrlin will decide what's best for all," Lan said. "If what you say is true about the power within Samantha, the Amyrlin won't dare turn her away."
Moiraine nodded slowly, wondering what it would be like to never see her home or friends ever again. "May the Light watch over her," she whispered softly before bedding down herself.
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