Part 3
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SAM
Despite having no jacket, cap or boots, I slept like the dead until a scrabbling noise off to my left woke me. The darkness around me was slightly lighter, especially in the direction from which the noises came. I stood again to be in the best defensive position possible.
"I-is anyone there? Simms, Daniel? Answer me, damn it!" My voice shook, though I'd like to think it was from the cold that permeated my body after sleeping on the ground.
More sounds, coming closer. Whoever it was carried a flashlight, which bounced as they walked along a passage just around a corner from my position. I waited not so patiently while "he" stood the light on its end, sending up a cone of light into which a man stepped. Tears pooled in my eyes from the sudden brightness.
"That isn't any way to greet your lord and master, Samantha. Be a little nicer and I'll give you something to eat." It was Lt. Simms! Sauntering up to me as if he was king of all he surveyed.
"Lieutenant, let me out of this collar right now!" I ordered. His response was a brutal slap across my face that knocked me to the floor.
"Sam, my love, I can make your life much easier or much harder. It all depends on you. Now, what was that again?" His voice dripped with false tenderness. I spat blood from a cut lip and stood again.
"Lt. Simms, would you please let me go?" Okay, I said it through clenched teeth, but it was as good as I could do at the moment. The second strike was his fist to the side of my chin. Reassessing my current status, I softened my voice and stayed kneeling in front of him.
"I'm sorry, Jared. It's very nice to see you. Would you tell me why I'm here, please?" It almost made me sick to say it, but aggression obviously wasn't the way to his heart.
"Why darling, you're here so we can be together, be a family. I knew as soon as I saw you at your promotion party that I had to be with you always. Lt. Marten was nothing compared to you. You're the one I've looked for for so long. We'll be perfect together, Sam, just perfect. Your brains and my drive will make for flawless children."
His children? I swallowed the urge to be sick and sat, waiting for his next move. He picked up the light and bustled around in the darkness, once revealing our packs stacked in a corner well out of my reach. I heard the clack, clack of wood being stacked. A sudden flare of brighter light briefly blinded me.
When my sight adjusted to the gentle firelight, I saw Simms sitting comfortably on a ground pad on the other side of the fire, sipping from a canteen. I'd long since emptied mine, no matter how I'd tried to stretch the precious resource. My thirst grew just watching him and I licked cracked, dry lips.
When the silence became more than I could stand, I asked, "I still don't get it. Why did you pick me? I mean, what's so special about me that you had to go to this extent?"
"Sam, Sam, you are so unaware of your own beauty. Your humility only adds to your perfection. When I saw you, standing there like an ice goddess, pure, untouched, and a genius on top of it all, there was no one else for me. Don't you see?"
"Not really. Sure, I'm smarter than average and some say I'm attractive, but I'm hardly untouched. You make me sound like much more than I really am." This was dangerous ground if he decided I was expendable, but I couldn't resist.
"I just knew! Lt. Marten was so flawed compared to you, so I discarded any plans to make her mine. Unfortunately, she felt otherwise, and Capt. Masters seemed to think I owed her something. That simply had to be dealt with before it got in the way of my plans."
I thought about this for some time and came to the inescapable conclusion that he'd killed or arranged for the death of his teammates on SG-11. A sick chill ran through me at the thought of being totally in the power of such a man. I shivered again.
"May I have my jacket and boots? It's really cold in here at night."
"They were sacrificed to the greater good, my love. Your jacket will tell the searchers that you fell over the waterfall and your boot, a couple of miles downstream, will convince them of your death. Soon, they'll give up searching for us at all."
Waiting for him to make the next move, I knelt quietly watching my captor. We sat that way for I don't know how long, but he must have decided I was cowed enough. Simms stood, gracefully uncurling his long limbs, and walked the four steps to our packs. Reaching inside of one, he pulled out a canteen that he threw to me without a word. He turned back to the packs and removed the envelope General Hammond had given me for Colonel O'Neill. It landed on the fire and flared briefly, sending sparks toward the distant ceiling, before the flames ignited the paper inside.
"Thanks." I drank half of it before realizing the taste wasn't of purification tablets. "What's in this?"
"Just some herbs to make you sleep again. Similar to the injection, you'll be a little dehydrated when you wake. Here, take these. You'll notice they taste different too, but that's just because they were grown on Eden, not Earth." He thrust a bunch of dirt-covered carrots at me. I was so hungry that I merely brushed off some of the dirt and started crunching away at the most delicious meal I'd ever eaten.
"Good. Thanks," I managed around a mouthful.
"Yes, Sergeant Bodine really has quite a green thumb… and they were remarkably easy to steal. These people haven't figured out yet that food is power." I remained silent, unable to come up with an answer that wouldn't result in another blow. Whatever the drug was, it knocked me out just about the time the last bite of carrot slid down my throat.
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DANIEL
For hours into the night, Aldwin and Jacob worked on the satellite. They removed the two halves from the two boxes and carefully fit the parts together. Tweaking here and there, testing, analyzing readings from handheld devices, kept them absorbed to the exclusion of all else. Nothing seemed to distract them, not the sun setting, airmen erecting portable lights, people returning from search details, nor the almost constant clamor of radios as teams reported their results – or lack of any – and Teal'c's frequent conversations with the SGC.
I interrupted Jacob long enough to ask what I could do for them. He sent me here and there, gathering information and tools. I kept him up to date on the search and any news.
"Got it!" exclaimed Jacob suddenly, startling me out of a semi-doze.
"Wh-huh? You got what?" I asked trying to rub the sleep from my eyes.
"We're ready to launch," he triumphantly announced from amid a sea of tools and abandoned coffee cups.
"So, what now? You need a ship or a rocket, don't you?"
He snorted derisively, "No, it launches itself using a continuous burst from the anti-grav stabilizer units built into it, and they'll keep it in orbit for a very long time."
"Then, what are we waiting for, Jacob?"
"You to stop asking questions, Daniel." He motioned to Aldwin, who carried the basketball-sized object to a spot of ground clear of any tents or people. "Now, watch," he instructed.
Aldwin worked with his handheld for a few seconds, then woosh it was gone, straight up and out of sight in seconds.
"That's it?"
Aldwin answered impassively, "The satellite will be in its permanent orbit within approximately 30 minutes. Then we can start the calibration. Within five circumnavigations of this world, about eight to ten hours, it will begin to send scan data of the area."
"How soon before we can tell where Sam is?" Jacob inquired, once again the anxious father.
"For an accurate location of a specific person, the satellite will require several days of continuous scans." He saw our crestfallen expressions and took pity. Aldwin was all right for a Tok'ra. "However, shortly after dawn, we should have an accurate count of every person on the planet and their approximate location."
Sometimes you have to love technology.
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SAM
Waking up after being drugged was not my idea of fun. Again with the marching band through my mouth, and the drummers kept using my head for practice. Any fast movement would have been a mistake, so I sat up carefully and glanced slowly over at the banked fire. I was apparently alone.
A small stack of wood lay near enough for me to grab and toss on the fire, if my aim was careful. I took the smallest piece, stretched out as far as my leash would allow, and was just barely able to poke it into the center of the small blaze with my fingertips and another piece of wood. The dry wood took immediately and I soon had a tiny bit of warmth to heat my frozen body.
I thought back through my conversations with Simms, and one point kept jumping out at me – why me? I sighed and muttered, "Why do I always seem to attract the wackos and the aliens?"
Even hoarding it jealously, within a few hours my wood was gone and the room grew dim and cool again, and then finally dark. As the hours went on and Simms didn't return, I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or panicked. I was sure now that no one would ever find me. I couldn't stop the slow fall of tears. It was the darkest hour in my life.
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JACK
Exhausted, I returned to the command center just after dawn. There was nothing new from the Tok'ra - go figure. Daniel was curled up in a chair, sleeping. I muttered something I hoped was comprehensible to Jacob and walked to my cabin for a shower and some food.
A few hours later, I'd napped briefly, showered, found new clothes and pounded down my third cup of coffee. Apprehensively, I headed back to the command center. Daniel ran up to me, jostling the mug in my hands. Barely missing wearing the scalding liquid, I held it out to him with a frown, "For you."
For the first time since I'd met him, Daniel ignored a cup of coffee. He tugged excitedly at my arm. "Jack, they just stripped the first scans from the satellite. We know how many people are on Eden. Come on, they need to ask you some questions." I dropped the mug and ran after him.
"Jacob, I hear you have good news."
"Yeah, Jack. Aldwin just downloaded the latest and we know there are 127 humans on Eden. Does that match your roster?"
I ticked off each group on my fingers, "Sixty permanent military personnel, 18 scientists and their assistants, 44 USACE personnel, Teal'c, Daniel, and you two – that's 126." I looked around at my friends. "Who's the extra, Sam or Simms?"
Jacob to the rescue. "Aldwin, can you bring up a 3-D display of everyone's position?"
The younger-seeming Tok'ra fiddled with several knobs and buttons on the satellite receiver until a hazy picture of the base and its surroundings appeared in the air above the squat box. Aldwin adjusted something Sam would understand and the blur popped into focus. We were looking at a map with each of us shown as a glowing dot.
I stepped from side to side to see if I could find myself. Sensing a silence from my companions, I noticed they were all staring at me. "What?" No sense of humor in this group.
Calmly ignoring my antics, Aldwin posed, "Colonel O'Neill, how many of your people are below the escarpment?"
"Mm, there should be three there right now. Sergeant Bodine sent two down and I sent another. That way, we could cover both directions at the bottom, plus down the river. Why?"
Aldwin pointed to the map, "If you look at this portion of the display, you will see one, two, three, and over here, four humans in the river valley. Who is the fourth?"
Good question. I grabbed my radio and pressed the button to contact Capt. Jessed, who was back in charge of the search after a few hours of sleep. "Captain Jessed, this is O'Neill." The radio crackled with his reply.
"Jessed here, sir."
"How many men are down in the river valley right now?"
"Three, sir. They're still searching the cliff base and riverbank, but should be returning soon for a meal and some rest. We've found nothing since Colonel Carter's boot washed up on the other side of the river."
"Our wonderful new satellite just showed us four people down there. We'll meet you at the 'gate in 15 minutes. O'Neill out." I started madly grabbing my gear from where I'd left it hours earlier. "Daniel, you and Jacob stay here and direct the two SFs I'm going to send after that fourth dot. Teal'c, you're with me."
We sprinted back to the 'gate, making the 20-minute trip in a record eight. I knew I'd pay for it later. Jessed waited for us, standing in the shade of the Stargate as a break from the hot afternoon sun.
I started giving orders as soon as I stopped running. "Jessed, there's someone, possibly Lt. Simms, west southwest of here down in the valley. Send two armed SFs after whoever it is and have them coordinate with Dr. Jackson at the command center. He can use the satellite intel to guide your people right to our friend. If it's Simms, approach with caution. He's already killed three people." The young captain's eyes widened. "Yeah, it was SG-11, his old team," I added grimly.
Teal'c and I headed for the waterfall and the rappelling ropes. We figured that, if Simms was in the valley, the best place for him to keep Sam without her being visible to the satellite was in one of the many caves along the cliff. We each made our way down the rock face and conferred briefly at the bottom before going our separate ways along the cliff.
I walked south with the vertical face to my left, pulling bushes away to reveal the bare rock. It was a good way to burn up some of my frustration – at first. The further I traveled, the greater my anger at Simms grew and a few bushes had the misfortune to be in my way. I left mayhem in my wake until one bush with deep roots fought back and I ended up on my butt, breathing hard.
The growing shadows from the sun's progress toward the western mountains made an unusual pattern on the cliff wall to my left. I studied it for a few moments before it occurred to me that it was an opening about 15 feet up, partially hidden behind an overhang. I stood and walked nearer to examine several small scrape marks on the stone below the shadow.
The bleep of my radio startled me so badly I tried to hit the TALK button three times before I could answer Teal'c's call. "Teal'c d'you find anything?"
"There are many small caves along this expanse; however, none have yet revealed anything of interest. What of your search, O'Neill?"
"Just found an interesting cave opening that's pretty much invisible except at certain times of the day and from specific angles. I'm going to climb up to check it out. If you don't hear from me in ten minutes, hotfoot it down here. My radio will be sitting outside on the ground so you can triangulate on its signal."
"O'Neill, it would be best if you waited until I am there in case Simms has returned. O'Neill. O'Neill!"
"Nice try, big fella," I thought as I lay my radio on a flat rock. My recent months behind a desk came back to haunt me as I tried to scramble up the rock face with no climbing gear. By the time I heaved myself onto the overhang, my breath was coming in gasps. After resting for a few seconds gazing out at the valley, I hauled myself to my feet and started walking slowly into the darkness.
Belatedly remembering the flashlight in my pocket, I shone it into the dark and barely missed a concussion waiting to happen right in front of me. I ducked and wove to get through the narrowing way and around the many outcrops of rock. About 20 feet in, I met a blank wall and only an errant breeze and a small sound to my left kept me from giving up. My toe hit a rock and I swore loudly without thinking.
A shaky voice called out from within the cave, "Hello? Simms, is that you?" My heart beat like a trip hammer.
"No, it's not. Sam?" I hurried in the direction of the voice and moved out into an open space that echoed from all sides. "Where are you? Can you see my flashlight? Tell me where you are."
"Over here," she called again, from my right now. I panned the beam around until I saw her - filthy, tearstained and recoiling from the light. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"Sam!" I called out. Somehow, my feet got me across the irregular floor without falling on my face. Without even a thought to what my reception would be, I pulled her into my arms and held on with all my strength. I placed small kisses in her hair, down her face until my lips found hers. I kissed her until we were both breathless. "God, Sam, I've been going crazy the past few days while you were missing." She just held me tightly.
"Eh-hm," Teal'c cleared his throat from the cave entrance and she pushed back from my arms. "ColonelCarter, I believe we will need a hacksaw to remove your bonds. I will go back outside to call Captain Jessed." With that, he turned and tactfully left us alone again.
"Bonds?" I asked, knowing that her hands were free. They'd been all over my back and butt moments ago.
"Yeah." She held up a heavy chain attached on one end to a bolt in the wall and on the other end to a thick leather band around her neck.
"He had you chained up like this for three days? Are you all right, Sam? He didn't hurt you?" I babbled, shocked at Simms chaining her like a dog to the wall.
"I'm tired, hungry and I stink, but there's not much else wrong. Other than a slap or two, he never touched me."
"Did he tell you why…" I waved my hand around to indicate her prison.
Her voice was bitter, "Oh, it's really very flattering. He thinks I'm perfect enough to be his brood mare. You know how much I love being appreciated for my looks and I.Q., instead of myself."
"Oh, god, Sam. I'm so sorry you had to be the victim of his madness. Even though, I have to say, I've always appreciated your looks and I.Q." I waggled my eyebrows in an attempt to make her laugh. What I got was a watery grin, but it was still enough to cause my brain to stop working for a few seconds.
While we waited for the hacksaw, I tried my knife on the band around her neck. Only the outer layer was leather. The inner layer was metal that my knife couldn't do more than scratch. Finally, I gave up and sat next to her on the stone floor. She shivered and huddled into my body for warmth.
"I am such an idiot! Why didn't you say something?" I blurted as I tore off my jacket and put it around her.
"Our packs are over there. Might be a blanket inside," she added through lips stiff with cold. Only one pack remained in the corner where she pointed. All of the supplies and gear were missing, leaving only a spare pair of socks and one well-worn boot that I recognized. She took these gratefully.
We sat in silence, my arms holding her to me until Teal'c returned with the saw.
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SAM
We marched back into camp, a rather bedraggled looking group, me lugging my leash and collar, limping on my one stocking foot. I'd refused all offers to carry me. Daniel and Dad were waiting for me and ran to meet us at the edge of camp. Suddenly, two pair of arms engulfed me, as my father and Daniel both converged on me.
"Dad, Daniel, you might not want to stand so near. I smell bad."
"How are you, kiddo?" my dad asked, backing off a little to examine the bruises on my lip and chin. "He do this to you?"
"Pretty good, considering. Yeah, these are Simm's work. His idea of foreplay, I guess." Their expressions of shock brought me back to civilization. "Sorry, bad joke."
Daniel grabbed my arm and tugged toward the Stargate. "Let's get you back to the SGC so you can be checked out. I know Janet and General Hammond are practically jumping up and down to hear everything now that we've found you."
Meanwhile, Colonel O'Neill grabbed my other arm, tugging toward the base infirmary. "Let's not waste time going all the way back there. Our medic can check her out just as well. This isn't the back of beyond, you know." Dad merely stood back with an amused look on his face.
"Hey!" I jerked my arms back and glared at both men, who squirmed under my intense scrutiny. "Anyone care what I think?"
Teal'c stepped forward. "I care, ColonelCarter, as I'm sure they do. May I show you where you may shower and get some sleep?"
"Yes, thank you, Teal'c. I can always count on you." I stopped for a moment and turned back to the colonel. "Here, you can keep these as a souvenir of my third and, hopefully, last trip to your lovely planet." I put the chain and collar into his hand, ignoring the crushed expression in his eyes, and walked back to Teal'c.
He put an arm around my shoulder and gently led me to a dormitory room, complete with a private bathroom. I was in heaven. As he turned to go, I softly called his name and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you so much for being there for me – again. I love you Teal'c."
"As I love you, Samantha Carter. Sleep well, my friend." He turned again and left me alone.
Moments later, I stood under the hottest shower I could coax from the plumbing, frantically scrubbing off the filth and the stink of Simms. Not having anything to put on except the soiled uniform I'd worn for the past few days, I crawled into bed with nothing between the sheets and me. Within seconds, I was fast asleep.
When I woke, the window beside my bed showed no light except from orange-tinted security lamps outside. A hand on my battered cheek alerted me to another presence. Before thought impeded action, I grabbed the hand and rolled us both over so that I sat astride the intruder. I pinned his arms to the mattress at shoulder height, while he lay across the bed.
"Isn't it a little late to be creeping around a lady's bedroom, Colonel?" I asked him, sarcasm dripping from every word.
His eyes bulged and scanned every inch of me that he could see, which was quite a lot. I noticed him staring and added, "Yes, I am a real blonde. Now, do you mind telling me what you're doing here, sir? Or do I need to call the guard?" Even in the poorly lit room, I could tell he was blushing. Colonel O'Neill blushing?
"I, uh, brought a bag that Janet sent for you." He pointed with his chin at a small gym bag by the bathroom door and very carefully kept his eyes on my face. He cleared his throat and added, "And I wanted to check on you, Sam, see how you're doing."
The sound of his voice, raspy with emotion and … something I couldn't identify made my breathing quicken. A mental picture of me kissing him like this, at my mercy, sent a jolt of raw lust through me. He must have seen it in my eyes, because his sable eyes reflected my desire. Disgusted with the both of us, especially myself after what I'd just been through, I leapt off him and paced toward the bathroom.
At the door to the small room, I paused to call over my shoulder, "Please be gone by the time I'm done in here, sir. I'd like to get a little more sleep before morning." A few minutes later I heard the door quietly close behind him. Alone, at last; alone, again.
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JACK
My heart beat so hard after slinking out of her room, I had to lean against the hallway wall. I really thought for a minute there… The look in her eyes, the reactions of our bodies. It was a good thing the base was pretty much deserted this time of night or I'd have to explain my condition.
I guess I don't really blame her for being mad at me. It wasn't one of my brighter ideas to slip into her room as she was sleeping off her ordeal of the past few days. And, then to touch her was a classic bonehead O'Neill move.
I had to get her to at least consider the idea of coming back here to take the job. Before too many others were out of bed, I enlisted the help of Sergeant Bodine, my friend from the search. Seems he has a soft spot for young lovers. Even though we may not have met all of his criteria in that regard, he was willing to overlook a few gray hairs.
While the sergeant prepared a sumptuous breakfast for us, I woke up and talked to the rest of her team and her father. Daniel would have agreed to anything pre-caffeine; Teal'c is at heart a romantic like the sergeant; and Dad, well I hadn't figured out his motivation yet. They all agreed to leave the two of us alone together for breakfast.
At 0700 sharp, she arrived at the mess hall. I waved her to my table over in the corner. Every eye in the room was on one of the two of us. Seems Bodine couldn't keep a secret.
"Morning, Sam." I pulled out her chair as my mother taught me. She seemed surprised at the gesture.
"Good morning, sir. Will the rest of my team be here soon?" She was every inch the professional this morning.
"Uh, no, they've already had breakfast and are probably packing."
"I should do the same then. Sorry about breakfast." She started to stand, but I put my hand on hers.
"Please, Sam, stay and eat. You could probably use the meal." Her stomach conveniently rumbled at that moment. I couldn't help a small grin. "And Daniel and Teal'c really want to know what you're going to say to my offer."
"So, sir, what is this great offer you have for me? General Hammond said I'd get to see the orders he gave me to deliver when I got here. Unfortunately, Simms burned them." She sat back, arms folded across her chest, temporarily distracting me with images of last night. Naked Sam, mmmm. "Sir?"
It mustn't have been the first time she said it, because there was more than a little edge of annoyance to her voice. "Um, yeah, the assignment." I took a quick slurp of Bodine's excellent coffee. "My job here has gotten too big for one person. I have to manage the military people, the scientists, the Army Corp of Engineers construction troops, plus work on the design of the colony which has to be ready for construction to begin next summer. I'm working 16 and 18-hour days and still falling behind, something you should be able to relate to personally, Sam. The scientists hate me because I'm military. The USACE construction workers think I'm a bureaucrat."
"How could I possibly help, sir?" There was a distinct lack of caring in her voice.
"Hammond got permission for me to recruit a base commander to take over all base and science station operations from me, reporting to him. I'll work on the colony plans full time once the transition is complete." Still no signs of curiosity in her face, so I played my last card.
"The job would probably come with a promotion once you've served the minimum time as a light colonel. If you decided not to stay once the three-year assignment is up, you could take your pick of commands on Earth." I paused, nervous about this part.
"If you do decide to stay, we could be together. We'd both report to Hammond and there's no longer a significant difference in our ranks." Was that a flash of interest, I saw? "I really want you to come here, to be here with me. When I pushed you away all those months ago, it was a seriously stupid move, causing both of us unnecessary pain, especially you. Would you please forgive me?"
"Yes, I can forgive you, sir." Still with the 'sir'. Her face twisted up in anguish and her head dipped. "I don't know if I can forget… or if I can trust you again."
"Sam, please! Just say you'll think about it. Don't dismiss this chance out of hand." Reddened eyes rose to meet mine, and my heart did a painful dance.
"I… I'll think about it." She stood again, but I didn't dare stop her this time.
Continued in Part 4
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Author's Note: To Amy the hyper caffeine addict andgater62, don't give up now. There's still hope. She hasn't said no. evil grin>
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