See chapter one for disclaimer.
1) If you haven't already, please read the update (posted 10/5ish) of chapter three. Chapter five will be a mite confusing if you haven't.
2) The addition to this chapter starts about midway down the page.
3) Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words. I really do appreciate them.
4) On with the story!
My Andromeda
Chapter 4
by Mabyn
"Um, Sam? Honey? You sure about this?"
Sam smiled and continued walking towards the herd of wild ferra ahead of them. They knew who she was, and several of them began walking towards her, their ears pricked in greeting.
"Abysus, vetus una, Forta," (Hello, old one, Forta.) she murmured as the herd's matriarch ambled towards her, the animal's pearl white coat glistening in the setting sun.
Expecta, santi. (Welcome, sister.) The words tumbled through Sam's mind as Forta breathed a blessing to her. The ferra at her flanks followed suit; lavender and ginger surrounded Sam, her lungs pleasantly heavy with the scents. Nos ad exspa, (We have been waiting.) Forta told her.
"Itineris diutius quam nos sententia," (The journey took longer than anticipated.) Sam apologized and gently stroked the animal's muzzle.
Sempa facie, (They always do.) the ferra hummed and Sam heard her smile. Glancing behind her, Forta chuckled. Insolitus bestia insisto vos. (Strange animals follow you.)
Smiling, Sam turned to see her companions stopped about two hundred feet short of where she and Una stood.
Do we scare them? Forta asked, smiling. We can be terrifying.
Sam shook her head. "They are uncertain." Her face sobered then and, turning from her companions, Sam gazed into Forta's unblinking eye. "You know why I have come."
Of course, Forta said. It's the only reason you would come. We have missed you and dreaded your coming, both.
Averting her eyes to the distant peaks of Monveras, Sam muttered, "Some of you may die."
Forta stood proudly. The ferra are warriors. We are prepared to fight. And die if necessary―though I hope it does not come to that.
Brown eyes stared back at her from behind mesh cages, terror and death weighing heavily on the air. Animals screamed, cried. She smelled fresh blood and urine. She tasted fear.
Soothing breath cascaded down Sam's face while a velvet muzzle filled her palm. Through her tears, Forta's form came into focus, warmth radiating from her body. Sam melted into it, grateful for the comfort as the image of the caged animals faded.
"I see more than I should," Sam confided, tears springing to her eyes once more. "So much more." Breath hitched in her throat, her chest seized. "I'm breaking," she whispered.
No, Forta insisted, pawing at the ground. You are not breaking; the universe is screaming and you are the only one who can hear it. The ferra paused and looked towards the distant peaks, her mane rippling in a sudden breeze. The cosmos has been ill from this beginning. It aches for restoration, for the purity it once knew.
Sam gripped Forta's body closer to her own, wishing she could crawl into the creature's center and surround herself with the ferra's peace.
You are troubled.
Sam sighed. "The universe is..."
Infinite.
"And I'm not."
She felt Forta smile. You will be. The ferra regarded Sam's companions. They are weary. You require rest.
Sam shook her head. "We haven't the time."
My dear sister, Forta chuckled, her tail swishing through the air. Time does not rule this world as it does yours. You have all the time you require.
"They're coming for me," Sam whispered, her eyes shut against the mental images flashing through her head. War. Avarice. Lust. Greed. Coming for her.
Yes, Forta affirmed, and time will bring them. But it has not brought them yet. She gently nudged Sam towards SG's 1 and 4. Go. Rest. We will be here. Watching.
"What's she doing?" Daniel asked, squinting into the glaring sun.
"I believe she is talking to a horse," Teal'c said.
"That's a horse?" Mitchell gaped, his eyes wide.
"A very large horse," Teal'c confirmed.
Daniel nodded. "With hooves as big as my head."
"Ears bigger than my feet," Mitchell added.
"Keeps the lawn mowed," Jack said, surveying the animals in the valley, their coats a pastiche of hues against the mountainside. "No nasty notes from the neighbors. That's a plus."
"Two, actually," Mitchell told him, his eyes still wide as they leapt from one ferra to the next. "God," he hissed. "Can you imagine the saddle sores? Youch."
"Somehow I doubt they're ridden," Daniel said, a slight frown at his lips. "Though I'd be more than happy to watch you try."
Mitchell smirked. "Funny man."
Jack's eyes narrowed as he watched his fiancé lean heavily against the chest of one of the creatures. While he usually trusted her to keep herself safe, her recent abduction and subsequent condition had left him more cautious than normal where she was concerned.
He blinked quickly twice. Three times. He could hear them. Softly, gritty, as if they spoke through a tunnel through sand, but he could hear them. Echoes, he caught the echoes, the vibrations of their speech. Dull images, fractured syllables splashed through his mind.
Caged animals. Distant sounds, vague images―but caged animals.
Then it was gone. It lapsed so quickly he almost thought he had imagined it, but then he watched as Sam pressed herself tighter against the animal, her eyes tightly shut, as if trying to banish a memory.
He had seen some of what she had. But how, he didn't know.
She began walking away from him then and he felt his heart in his throat. She paused and turned.
"Insista," she called, her eyes matched to his. He needed no translation; it was clearly written in her eyes.
He followed her.
The phone rang for the twelfth time in the past forty-five minutes.
"Jesus Christ," Landry muttered, clashing his coffee cup on his desk, scowling as the liquid washed over the edges of the mug. He sighed deeply before answering. "Landry."
"General, this is Agent Barrett."
Landry frowned at urgency oozing out of his voice. "Agent Barrett. What can I do for you?"
"Is Colonel Carter there?"
"Right here? Nope. Sorry. Must have the wrong number."
Barrett sighed. "I mean is she earth-side?"
Landry's frown deepened. "Is there a problem I should know about?"
"Yes, sir. She has very powerful people looking for her, General," Barrett told him in a rush. "And they don't have her best interests in mind."
Landry's frown deepened. "How do you--"
"Look," Barrett said. "If she's off-world, keep her there. Send her a message, tell her to stay put for the time being."
That could be a problem, Landry mulled. "I'll do what I can," he assured him.
"No, sir," Barrett said, his teeth clenched. "You don't understand. If she can't stay where she is, send her somewhere else. Earth isn't safe for her, not right now."
"This is the most secure facility on the planet, Agent," Landry reminded him. "Are you telling me even the SGC is off-limits?"
"Yes, sir," Barrett sighed. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Landry's eyes widened. "Tell me what you know."
"I can't right now, sir, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm leaving for Colorado Springs in twenty minutes. I'll tell you everything then."
Jack gripped Sam closer to his chest and buried a kiss in her hair. The firelight flickered and threw red-gold hues over the foliage and his colleagues faces. Teal'c, Daniel and Mitchell conversed softly opposite them, SG-4 sat around their own fire just behind that trio; Captain Caise stared into the glowing embers at the base of the fire.
"How's your mom doin'?" Jack asked her softly.
Caise looked up, surprised. "Uh, all right for now, sir," she told him. "I was supposed to go see her before this mission came up." Her eyes widened. "Not that I--"
"Oh, hush," Jack said, waving away her apologies. "You didn't want to come and you don't understand why you're here."
"Sir," she began to protest.
"No, no," he said, "I understand. It's all right. You can be bitter. You do good work, you're allowed bitter."
"Thank you, sir." She regarded him a moment. "With respect, sir, why was I chosen for this mission? There are other candidates much more qualified than I am."
Sam looked up. "There is going to be a major accident at Hancock and Pike's Peak this morning at 0824."
Caise frowned. "Sorry, ma'am? What does that--" She stopped, her eyes growing to saucers. "That's on my way to see my mom," she whispered. Looking to Sam, she said, "You mean I--"
Sam nodded.
Caise's head grew too heavy for her neck, and she gazed down at the ground. After a moment, she looked up, her eyes glowing in the firelight. "Thank you, Colonel."
Sam smiled. "You're welcome, Captain."
"If you'll excuse me, sir, ma'am. I'd, uh, like to get some rest." Caise nodded to each of her superiors in turn and ducked into the smallest of the nearby huts, her mind still a storm.
"I wasn't sure you wanted her to know," Jack said.
"It's to her benefit," she told him softly. Looking towards the hut the captain just entered, Sam winced, her thoughts becoming tangled in the ferocity of Caise's mental maelstrom. Pressing the heels of her hands soundly against her eyes, she forced herself out of that storm, telling herself there was little she could do to ease the woman's burden.
The air thudded around her. Eyes gleamed in darkness, unblinking and hushed. She heard footsteps, fear dripped from her lips.
A baby wailed.
Gunshots resounded on all sides.
Bullets ripped holes in the fabric of the universe.
...seeping, flooding, the universe was flooding...
The ground quaked as Forta pawed the ground; Sam fell back into herself, blinking rapidly to clear the atrocities from her eyes. She gripped Jack's hand in hers, her eyes drifting shut as he began to rub her back.
After several moments, he said, "I see what you see. Not as clearly, I don't think, and not all of it, but...enough."
She kissed the back of his hand. "Tenae." Sighing, she closed her eyes, words and syllables flying before her, their definitions melding, their sounds taking shape. "I know," she choked. "You have the gene."
"The Ancient gene."
She nodded. "Et we're corus." She dug her fingernails into her scalp and groaned.
"Hey," Jack breathed, covering her hands with his. "It's all right." Gathering her to his chest, he said, "Let's turn in, get some sleep. You gotta be exhausted."
Sniffling, she silently agreed and began untangling herself from his limbs. "Nos sola..." Wetting her lips, she began again, "We only have a few hours."
"That's a few hours we have to sleep, then," he told her, his hand warm at her back.
She led them towards one of the huts, her fingers interlacing his, her eyes staring through the doorway and to the valley of watchful ferra below.
Agent Barrett barreled out the doors of Petersen Air Force Base, his attache case clutched to his side, his cellphone jammed to his ear. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry," he rattled off, watching as Becky scanned the thoroughfare for their ride. "I won't be back for another couple days," he said, scowling. "I took personal time."
"Malcolm," Becky called, holding open the door of a black SUV. "Ride's here."
"Gotta go." He hung up and jogged over to the car. Opening the driver's side door, he briefly surveyed the large black man behind the wheel. "Thanks," he said, smiling. "We'll take it from here."
The man frowned. "I have orders to take you to Cheyenne, sir."
"Which is great and I appreciate it," Barrett assured him. "But I'm accustomed to driving myself."
"He's a bit of a control freak," Becky said. "Always kicks out his drivers."
"But, sir," the man protested. "I have my--"
"I know," Barret told him. "And orders are very important. I'll see to it that you're not reprimanded." Barrett held the door open and waited for the driver to exit the vehicle. He did, though slowly. "I'm sure you'll be able to get a ride to wherever you were going."
"Cheyenne, sir."
"Lucky you. They're back and forth from here all the time." Barrett hopped behind the wheel and buckled himself in. "Grand Central Station practically." He moved to close the door, then paused. "Can I get your name? I want to make sure you're in the clear."
The man straightened, his eyes shifting slightly. "Madson."
Barrett nodded. "Madson. Good name." Sliding his sunglasses on, he continued, "Thanks for understanding, Madson."
As the doors slammed shut, Becky regarded the retreating back of their would-be driver. "They're getting sloppy," she said.
"Or we're getting better," Barrett countered. "Keep an eye on your mirror."
"Since when have you been all cloak and daggery?" she asked, glancing in her side mirror and then the rearview.
"Since my driver in Denver tried to kill me this morning," he said, merging onto Platte Avenue. "Kinda clued me in."
Becky's eyes widened. "Must be some assignment."
"It's not an assignment," he said. "I owe a friend."
Becky frowned. "Your superiors don't know you're here, do they?"
Barrett cast her a dark look and reached into his bag. Handing her a tattered volume, he said, "My superiors are the ones trying to kill me."
Thanks for reading. :)