But she's here!
Chapter 4: A night out
Sam was escorted to the balcony at the back of the mansion. The stars glittered overhead and the air felt slightly cool against Sam's face. Torches lined the balcony, providing a romantic atmosphere that made Sam a little uncomfortable.
"Sam, it is good to see you again." Listin walked up behind Sam. Sam turned to him and smiled.
"It's beautiful out here."
"This view is why I decided to build here." Listin swung his arm in front of him. He stepped closer and put an arm around Sam's waist. She stiffened slightly, but tried to relax so she wouldn't offend her host.
"Please, come and sit." Listin led Sam to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Servants arrived with trays filled with food and drink, and left with a much lighter load. Sam tried numerous different dishes and enjoyed most of them. There was a pink vegetable she found especially appealing; it tasted a bit like chocolate.
"You seem to appreciate dralik. It is a favorite among my wives." Listin smiled, but Sam stopped chewing.
"Your wives? I assumed you weren't married."
Listin laughed. "Why would I need such a large home if I lived alone?"
Sam shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip. "Wives you say? How many times have you been married?"
"Twelve, but only ten of my wives are still with me."
Sam's eyes widened but she quickly reined in her shock. "You live here with ten wives? And they don't mind you having dinner with me tonight?"
"Why would they? I often date. It is how I was able to meet and marry twelve times. They also date. My third wife is married to four men. My sixth wife is married to two men, although I think a third may propose soon." Listin smiled again. "I take it from your reaction that having multiple spouses is not common on your world."
"There are some cultures who believe in polygamy, but monogamy is more the norm."
"It sounds boring, but I suppose there is something to be said for having less daily drama. Having ten wives, who in most cases also have other husbands, adds up to many opinions. The results can be interesting and at times stressful. Are you married?"
Sam shook her head. "No."
"Is that normal at your age?"
Sam sat up straight. "I am not that old…really."
"Forgive me. It is possible that we begin marrying at a much younger age."
"I guess you'd have to start early if you were going to have enough time for all those spouses."
Listin laughed. "I like your sense of humor, Sam."
--
"So what have you discovered so far?" The director walked along beside Sam's body, running his hands over her pronounced curves. The length and grace of her body amazed and aroused him.
"The newling birther is capable of adapting its belief system to include acceptance of an alien system, even when it goes against its own. It was enraged over the treatment of the child based on its own system of beliefs, but when it questioned its host and learned the explanation, it accepted a different set of beliefs as valid. It has made ethically sound decisions, but there are memories that make it doubt other newlings would react similarly." The short stocky scientist referred to his tablet as he spoke.
"Are you planning to continue the scenarios?"
"Oh, yes. I have learned much but it still holds a wealth of information within its mind. It will take time to gather it all."
"What have you learned about it physically? Does it carry the disease?" The director caressed Sam's long shapely legs as he spoke.
"There is no evidence of the disease but it has not produced young. There are chemicals in its body to prevent the formation of young. I believe it willingly introduced these chemicals into its body. It has memories of couplings with seed bearing newlings, but there is neither physical evidence nor memories indicating these couplings have resulted in young."
The director gasped and shook his head. "Then the younglings have not learned from those who came before."
"It does desire to be mated and have young, but believes it has not yet found the correct mate."
"But you said it had mated?" The director moved back up to her face and ran his short stubby fingers over her delicate features.
"Yes, but all of those mates proved to be unacceptable."
"Unacceptable how?" The director looked over at the scientist.
The scientist looked down at his tablet. "One of its mates attempted to dominate it. Its memories indicate it is a strong and independent newling that did not like being treated in such a manner. Another of its mates lived at a great distance and confused it with another. That seed bearer died by her hand. Another of the seed bearers died in battle. I do not think the birther saw the other as a potential life mate, even though the seed bearer made it clear it desired to be mates. The birther felt another was too different. That potential mate died protecting the birther. The last of the birthers mates was ultimately deemed undesirable. The birthers reasons for rejecting the seed bearers do not seem to show a pattern but I will continue to explore this."
"I find it hard to believe there is not a common reason behind the failure of this birther to mate. Are there no seed bearers to whom it has not rejected?"
"There is one to whom it believes mating might be prolonged, but it has not yet joined with that seed bearer."
"We have to determine if all newlings act as this one. They may be the answer to all our problems so we must investigate all possibilities." The director gave Sam one last lingering caress before leaving the room.
--
Landry sat at the head of the briefing room table. Although it was unusual for the ranking General to take a side seat, Jack didn't want Landry's chair. He felt more comfortable sitting in his old seat, the one beside where Sam often sat.
"Thor still hasn't answered our messages. Colonel Carter hasn't made any attempt to contact us using the FRED left behind. We have no additional clues about her whereabouts." Landry looked at Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Cameron. "I'm sorry gentlemen but I don't think we will be able to continue to suspend your normal missions in this search for Colonel Carter."
"But General Landry, we…" Daniel leaned forward as he began the debate. He was shocked to be cut off before he began.
"He's right, Daniel. The gate checks can be reduced to once a week. I'll check in each week from Washington to see if there are any changes. I'm sure Thor will come by as soon as he can." Jack pushed his chair away from the table.
"You're the last person I thought would give up on Sam." Daniel glared at Jack. Jack sighed and stopped moving away from the table.
"I haven't given up on her." Jack tightened his grip on the edge of the table. "Carter will return. I have complete faith in her ability to get home, but at this time there isn't anything we can do to help her. She's the strongest person I've ever met, and she'll do it, but for now she'll have to do it alone."
"This is the same as giving up. What if she needs our help?"
Jack grimaced, but returned Daniel's glare. "I'm sure she'd appreciate our help, but we don't even have one decent clue, Daniel! I can be back here in a matter of hours. If we get any leads, we'll go after them…I promise. Right now we have to concentrate on doing our jobs, and for me that means Washington. For you that means getting back out there and finding ways to fight the Ori." Jack stood up and stepped back from the table.
--
Sam walked up to the DHD and dialed Earth. The gate swirled around and the coordinates locked. Once the wormhole was established Sam entered her IDC and turned on the FRED.
"Colonel Carter reporting to the SGC."
The screen on the FRED came to life. "Morning, Colonel. The General is on his way."
She bantered politely with Walter while she waited. It only took General Landry a few moments to get to the control room. "Report, Colonel."
"I have spent the last several days on tours of different technology companies. I have seen the planetary shield used in a demonstration. They also have suits designed for combat use that can absorb energy. They should be effective against zats, but I haven't had a chance to test that theory yet. The best thing I've seen so far are weapons capable of fracturing crystals. They could be used to disable most Goa'uld technology. I hope it might also damage Ori weapons." Sam's face beamed.
"That sounds exciting, Colonel. How long until you expect to have access to some of the designs or plans?"
"That may take a while, sir. I have earned the trust of a few people, but there are several people who need to be convinced of our worthiness before they'll be willing to share. I have offered some helpful advice, and that's earned me some respect as a scientist. There is also supposed to be a party of sorts being held in three days. I've been told I can invite some of our representatives."
"Help will be forthcoming. Look for them tomorrow afternoon. Good job, Colonel."
Sam glanced down at her wrist and noticed the IDC she'd entered had not been accepted. She looked back up at the camera to ask if there was a problem, but the FRED disengaged and the wormhole shut down. Sam's interest was piqued, but she decided her questions could wait until the next radio check.
--
Landry picked up the phone on the first ring. "Landry"
"Hi, Hank. It's Jack. Any changes?"
"This week's check went unanswered."
"Right…Thor sent me a message. They don't have any information that could assist us. That was the last chip I thought I could call in for help. I'm stumped now."
"We all are."