CHAPTER 2

Jack was in a foul mood as he stepped back through the Stargate to M9X-163. His return had been delayed at Doctor Frasier's insistence–she wanted to make sure that all traces of the sleeping drought were out of his system and to run a myriad of other asinine tests on him before clearing him for active duty.

When he had awakened in the infirmary and been apprised of the situation by General Hammond, he had wanted to get back through the gate instantly. Now, five hours later by his watch, he was finally cleared and back through the gate. It was 1400 hours MST on earth which would mean that Carter had been missing for up to sixteen hours.

Teal'c met him at the gate. "Report!" demanded Jack. "And make it thorough, T. I don't want to miss anything."

Teal'c nodded and began, "I awoke at approximately 0600 hours this morning. I understood quite readily that I had been given a narcotic of some kind, for, as you are aware, I do not require sleep. I was lying along side you and Daniel Jackson very near the Stargate. We had been disarmed. I discovered that Major Carter was not with us. After assessing that neither you nor Daniel Jackson could be awakened by ordinary means, I followed emergency protocol and dialed earth to inform the SGC of our situation. General Hammond sent SG-3 to assist me in locating Major Carter and a medical team to return through the gate with you and Daniel Jackson."

"Yeah, Hammond told me that part Teal'c." Jack sounded terse. "What then?"

"SG-3 and I performed a sweep of the area between the village and the gate, finding no sign of Samantha Carter. When we neared the village, we were greeted by the inhabitants in much the same manner as yesterday. They act as though nothing is amiss."

Jack prompted Teal'c to continue. "It is most unfortunate that thus far we have been unable to speak with the villagers. Asking them directly about Major Carter's whereabouts would present an expedient solution to our problem."

"Yeah, well, I brought Sam's picture to show the folks." Jack replied. "Maybe that will get us somewhere. As per speaking with them, Daniel was still out when I left the SGC. Frasier thinks that his reaction to the whatever-the-hell-it-was was compounded by one of his allergy medications."

"Will Daniel Jackson be well?"

"Oh, yes. Doc says he's stable, for now, but that it's going to take a few more hours for him to snap out of it. That's all." Jack tried to sound blasé but his concern for his teammate was apparent in his voice.

"I am certain that Doctor Frasier will be able to overcome this difficulty, O'neill. She is a capable physician, and Daniel Jackson is adept at making recoveries."

"Yeah, well, let's get to work." With that, O'neill, Teal'c, and two members of SG-3 began a sweep of the village with Carter's picture leaving the other members of SG-3 to guard the gate. Two hours later, they had nothing to show for their efforts. Many of the villagers had seemed willing to help in that they smiled and gestured and wouldn't shut up, but the team members couldn't understand what they were trying to say.

The Colonel was exasperated. "Damn it! We need Daniel!"

Teal'c looked thoughtful for a moment. "Perhaps there is another means of obtaining information regarding Major Carter."

"How's that?"

"Did not Daniel Jackson conclude that this planet is under the protection of the Asgard?" Teal'c asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, so?"

"Would it not be helpful then to contact them?"

Jack's face lifted, "Using the device that Freyr left on K'Tau?"

"Indeed."

SG1

The late afternoon light that shone through the roof's ornamental ceiling was fading. However, candles were being lit by the matron. There were nine other women in the room, including the matron. All Carter noted in dismay had blond hair and blue eyes; she fit right in, she thought, and shivered. The other women had left her alone though she'd been among them all day. Except for the matron, no one had attempted to communicate with her.

Carter had continued to refuse food and drink, fearing that it might be drugged. The matron had shown concern and had eventually consulted with one of the guards. Within minutes, the guard had returned to the room with Sam's canteen. The matron accepted it from him and brought it to Sam. Carter, in spite of her suspicions was touched by the gesture, and she drank very cautiously from the canteen–plain, ordinary, albeit slightly stale, water.

Carter's choices were limited. She could try to escape. It wouldn't be too difficult to get past the two guards at the door, but there could be other guards less easy to bypass somewhere else in the structure in which she was being kept. In truth, she had no idea where she actually was, which certainly put her a disadvantage strategically. Additionally, if the rest of SG-1 was being held prisoner, her escape attempt might endanger them. Her other option was to wait it out. Maybe her situation was not hostile; maybe she had been separated from her team for inexplicable cultural reasons–it had happened before. And, if something was really wrong, then her teammates would eventually rescue her. And, if they were being held captive as well, another SG team would be on the way. After all, they didn't leave people behind.

It was frustrating. She certainly did not want to just sit around and play damsel in distress, but she didn't want to compound or complicate her situation by doing something stupid. She needed more information before she could proceed. So, Samantha Carter did something that she didn't often do well, she waited patiently.