5.
Appearances
"Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception." ― Niccolò Machiavelli
Sam turns towards Daniel and he gives her a small smile. She is the astrophysicist and the ex-soldier - Daniel's the expert on cultures and languages. He must read the slightly pleading look on her face because he clears his throat, and faces out into the forest.
"Um, hello?" he calls out. The rain dampens the sound and his words fall flat. She sees him glance back at Jack who is giving him a withering look.
Sam resists the urge to tell Jack to cut it out.
Daniel narrows his eyes at him. "Shouldn't you be busy watching for movement?"
"We got it," Jack says, drawing Daniel's attention to the MP5 he holds. "We don't want to appear aggressive, now do we?"
Daniel hums, a note of scepticism in it, before looking back out into the surrounding trees again. He takes a few steps out of their group, and Sam takes a step to follow him, but she feels Jack's fingers circle her upper arm, and she stills. They are warm, even through the fabric of her fatigues, but they loosen and slip away again quickly. She does not look back at him, even though she wants to.
"Hold on, Carter," Jack says, his voice so low she barely hears it.
In front of them, Daniel makes a slow circle. "We are explorers," he says. This time it's loud enough to project. "We came through the Chapaa'ai.
"Chapaa'ai," he repeats after a pause, making a big gesture with his arms that Sam thinks is meant to be a circle, but ends up looking more like a heart.
Sam can't stop herself from chuckling.
Laughter suddenly fills the forest. It peals off of the trees and merges with the sound of the rain in a brief but disturbing symphony before trailing off.
She feels Jack tense beside her, and Daniel takes a step back towards them. It is then that she notices it; she blinks, because for a moment it looks as though the bases of the trees are shifting and moving and that just can't be right.
Daniel takes another, careful step backward.
Slowly, dark shapes separate from the trunks and she finally realises what she is seeing.
Children. They are children.
Most wear hooded cloaks made out of something resembling oilskins, so close in colour to the rain-soaked bark of the trees that it is no wonder the children were nearly invisible.
They are all barefoot, and move silently across the ground towards Daniel.
There are six that she can see, and Sam is sure that there are more behind them, but Teal'c is silent, giving no indication one way or the other.
"Oh. Hello," Daniel says. He's raised his arms slightly, hands palm up.
Jack eases past her, and she follows.
"Chapaa'ai," the one closest to Daniel says, and draws a circle in the air with his index finger before moving to push his hood back from his face; at least, Sam guesses that it's a boy, because they all seem young enough that it is hard to tell. The others follow his example and drop their hoods.
She stills when she gets a better look at them, because they've all got a marking tattooed on their foreheads. It's not like Teal'c's; it's a simple rounded rectangle which looks a bit like a totem standing upright on a short horizontal line which is most likely meant to represent a base. But it is only when the one that spoke tilts his head up to smile at Daniel that she sees that he also has a thick dark line running outwards from the inner corner of each eye and across the top of each cheek. The overall impression, Sam thinks, is like the black tear tracks on a cheetah.
"Chapaa'ai," Daniel repeats, and waves his hands in that same big arc he'd made previously.
His small audience giggle and smile, and she shares a brief glance with Jack. His expression is blank, but there is something in his eyes that makes her insides twist, and she has no doubt that he is thinking about Skaara.
Maybe even Charlie.
"Teal'c," Jack calls over his shoulder, and Sam follows his gaze. The Jaffa stands in exactly the same spot as before, the butt of his staff weapon now resting gingerly on the ground as he grips it in one hand. "Do you recognise their markings?"
"I do not," Teal'c says after a beat; he is watching the handful of children that are slowly making their way towards him; they look like cubs approaching a lion.
Sam's attention returns to Daniel. The one who she imagines is the appointed leader of the group is making circles around his eyes using his thumbs and forefingers. He is grinning manically, and she thinks that he must never have seen anything quite like Daniel's glasses before. Daniel laughs and flips his glasses up and down, demonstrating that they are not part of his face, and the boy reaches towards them with one hand. His slim fingers twitch, and she can see how he is itching to touch them, but Daniel simply smiles and straightens, bringing them out of reach without stepping away. She has no doubt that his glasses would disappear into the group and he'd never get them back.
The boy's disappointment is evident, and for a second his eyes harden, flinty and dark, before softening again into the petulant face of a child that's been denied a toy.
Daniel doesn't seem to notice.
"Daniel," he says, pointing at his own chest before turning and pointing at the Colonel. "Jack."
Jack raises an eyebrow at him, but offers an awkward wave at the children.
"Sam," Daniel says finally, gesturing in her direction. She smiles and nods her head.
Before he can introduce Teal'c, the boy points over to where Teal'c stands. "Teal'c," the boy says, and smiles broadly at Daniel as he bounces up on the balls of his feet.
Daniel gapes, and for a moment Sam feels just as confused as he looks. Her eyes find Jack's, but his expression is unchanged. She takes a breath, ready to draw Jack's attention to the fact that this boy somehow knows Teal'c's name, when she remembers that Jack called Teal'c's name just a few minutes ago.
The boy must have heard.
She releases the breath she's holding, and Jack looks at her questioningly, but she simply shakes her head at him.
"Um, guys," Daniel says, turning wide eyes on them.
"He heard Jack," she says, gesturing in the boy's direction with a lift of her chin.
"Boy's got good ears," Jack says, bringing one hand up and tapping a finger lightly against the side of his head. Daniel stares uncomprehendingly for a second, but Sam can see the moment he registers what they've said, and he visibly relaxes.
The boy turns his toothy grin on Jack, but Jack doesn't reciprocate. His expression softens though, almost against his will, she thinks. There is something guarded in his demeanour, but she can't tell if he is trying to stay detached, or if he is genuinely wary.
"Do they understand us?" Jack asks, finally breaking eye contact with the boy and raising his head to look at Daniel.
"It's hard to tell," Daniel replies. "They're not nearly as interested in communicating with us as we are with them."
Sam startles when she feels a small hand slide into hers where it hangs by her side. She looks down to see one of the smaller children standing so close that he or she is practically hugging her leg. The little one looks up at her, and for some reason she is sure this one is a girl. She has the symbol on her forehead, but is missing the thick black lines across her cheeks, and there is something anxious in her expression; she lacks the fearless curiosity of the other children. Sam feels tiny fingers tighten around her own, and the girl's mouth moves but her words are practically inaudible. Sam instinctively bends down to the child's level, straining to hear what she is saying as her little mouth works silently over the same word again and again.
"Ne-le, ne-le," she whispers in that way that only children do, loud but quiet all at once. "Ne-le."
Sam doesn't understand what the word means, but that ever present weight in her chest sinks a little lower. She knows that she must be looking down at the little girl helplessly because she sees the child's frustration in the crease between her brows and the puckering of her mouth.
"Ne-le," the girl mimes once more before glancing at the group leader who is still occupying Daniel. Her eyes flick once more to Sam's and then she abruptly pulls her fingers free from her grasp. She disappears quickly behind some of the other children gathering near Teal'c.
Sam straightens herself and looks back over at the boy; his gaze shifts, eyes flitting across hers and continuing past in the direction the little girl went. But then he blinks and his attention is focused intently back on Daniel. He reaches for the sleeve of Daniel's fatigues and tugs.
"Be-le," he says, taking a few steps away and making a gesture that could only mean he wanted Daniel to follow.
"I think he wants us to follow them," Daniel says, and Sam stifles a laugh at the look Jack gives him.
"Teal'c," Jack calls over his shoulder again. "We're moving on."
She hears the heavy tread of Teal'c's boots as he crosses over to them, and they all set off behind the boy on a line nearly perpendicular to the original trail.
"Be-le!" the boy says, and all the children scatter; some into the trees, and some dashing to the front of their little procession. Sam tries to spot the little girl, but can't; she wonders how they all manage to keep up.
Since they're no longer following the path, she finds herself falling into step beside Jack. Daniel is just ahead, the group leader now refusing to relinquish his arm as he leads them on through the trees. The rain has eased considerably into something closer to a fine mist, and she thinks the air should feel less heavy, but it doesn't. Instead, it feels like it's pressing in on them. She chances a glance at Jack, and in doing so ends up bumping her shoulder against his. His eyes meet hers and for a moment the solidity of him, the nearness, is comforting; the look on his face is not. She feels a chill run down her spine despite the slowly rising temperature.
"Jack - "
"I know," he says. He looks away, down at his feet and then across at Daniel. The silence stretches, and she would think that he was trying to create some distance except for the fact that his arm now brushes lightly against hers with each stride.
She reminds herself that he wears a mask. He has to. She hadn't noticed it on their missions to Abydos and Chulak - too distracted and overwhelmed with her first trips through the Stargate and walking on the surface of planets that were not her own.
And there had been Skaara.
She wonders if Jack blames himself, if he believes things could've turned out differently if he'd reacted less emotionally. She's replayed that mission several times through in her mind, analysing all the scenarios and always arriving at the same conclusions: there were simply too many unknowns for there to ever have been a right decision. It was a miracle that they'd even survived.
She thinks that behaving differently would have somehow made him less human.
His elbow knocks gently against her own, and she feels some of her tension ebb. She resists the urge to look at him, instead scanning over their group of tiny guides hoping to spot the little girl.
She doesn't see her.
"One of them was trying to communicate with me," she says quietly, returning her gaze to the ground at her feet.
"I saw that," Jack says.
Sam thinks about the girl's expression, her frustration at not being understood, and the speed at which she disappeared amongst the other children again. "She didn't seem especially happy," she says.
"I saw that, too."
She catches him looking at her out the corner of his eye. His expression has gone from hard to something closer to pensive, and he inclines his head in Daniel's direction, shifting his focus forward.
She knows even before she looks that it's the boy that he's indicating.
There is something off about him, and Jack's clearly seen it too.
"She was afraid of him," Jack says softly.
Sam contemplates this, studying the back of the boy's head as she does so. Seconds pass, and then he turns slightly, just enough to give her and Jack a broad smile. It seems friendly and open, but there is something about it that makes her insides grow cold.
The smile doesn't reach his eyes.
Sam looks away. She looks at the ground, the trees, the branches spreading above their heads - anywhere but back at the boy. It's a strange feeling that grips her. It's not panic, but she can feel the adrenaline slowly starting to course through her, elevating her pulse.
A firm pressure against her arm jolts her from her present train of thought; Jack's elbow again, but this time a little harder. She glances at him but he's simply watching where he's putting his feet as they pick their way through the forest's undergrowth. It's as if their conversation had never happened. She finds her eyes drifting once more to the boy, but she doesn't let them linger on him this time.
For a while, there is only the sound of wet leaves rustling, soft and slick, as they move through the trees. Sam doesn't know why Jack is playing this game, allowing them to be lead by these strange children when he obviously has reservations, but she can't imagine using force against them either. She supposes that that is the whole point, and the implications of that thought are sinister. Then again, maybe the boy is simply a brat with authority; a cruel bully who isn't really liked by the rest of his group.
She has to admit that he is the greatest source of unease for her at this point in time.
There is one thing she is sure of though, and that is that Jack isn't the only one wearing a mask.
When they finally walk out of the forest, the rain has stopped entirely. There is a cool wind blowing across the open grass, and Jack feels like he can breath again. He scans their surroundings but still can't see any form of civilisation. There is a ridge of grassy hills which the children head towards with purpose, and finally, he gets the faint smell of smoke being carried on the breeze. He searches the horizon for the source and notices a thin trail of it rising from beyond the hills; hard to make out against the low, grey sky that still looks heavy with rain.
He tamps down the small amount of relief that he feels in this moment - he doesn't want to get ahead of himself imagining a small camp of friendlies around a homely fire who greet them and offer weary travellers something warm and comforting - and not poisonous - to drink. For all he knows, they are being lead straight towards some Goa'uld temple.
"Yit!" the boy says, still dragging Daniel forward; Jack can't see his face but he's pretty sure that at this stage Daniel will have lost patience with being lead. A few of the children run ahead, and disappear over the rise of the nearest hill.
One of them is the little girl from earlier.
He knows when Sam has spotted her because her stride falters ever so slightly, and before he can stop himself, his hand is resting on the small of her back, guiding her forward. He feels her tense under the pads of his fingers, and she looks across at him, her eyes a little too wide.
Should've gone for the shoulder, Jack.
Even the elbow would've been good, he thinks.
He removes his hand swiftly, giving her what he hopes is a mollifying grin which he is sure ends up as more of a grimace, and not knowing what to do with said hand, raises it to rub awkwardly through his hair. She's watching him carefully, and he's surprised by the playful smirk that tugs at the corner of her mouth before she looks away and ducks her chin.
It's a gesture he's seen her make a couple of times now, and he smiles to himself as they cover the remaining ground to the rise of the hill.
He stills as soon as they hit the apex, Sam taking a few more steps before coming to a stop herself. A few seconds more and he feels Teal'c's bulky presence at his back, the butt of his staff weapon making a dull thud as he plants it heavily into the soft earth at their feet.
Jack draws in a deep breath and exhales it slowly as he surveys the scene below them.
"Well at least it's not a Goa'uld temple," he says, rocking back on his heels. Uncertainty floods him then. "Right, Teal'c?"
"I have not seen dwellings such as these before, O'Neill."
"That's... not really an answer," Jack says, scrutinising Teal'c over his shoulder; the Jaffa gives nothing away.
"They look vaguely Asian, Colonel," Sam says, and he almost flinches at her use of his rank, but her voice is soft, like she's far away. "Just like the bridge."
"Honestly, they make me think wigwam," he says flatly, drawing Sam's eyes back to his. "So let's try and avoid smoking the peace-pipe - even if Daniel insists," he adds.
On mentioning the other man, he notices that Daniel has already been hauled halfway down the slope. After a beat, he follows.
A/N: I'm so embarrassed about how late this is. I have reasons, but it's not what you guys want to hear because it will just sound like excuses. I'm so sorry, and I hope you enjoy this.
As always, thank you so much all followers/favouriters/readers/reviewers! I know this is a bit of a slow build, but Sam and Jack have a lot to figure out. They're also kinda busy at the moment, aren't they?
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the Stargate franchise. All other characters mentioned in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.