Please see chapter one for disclaimer.
If you haven't read the updates to chapter four (posted 10/9/06), please do so to save yourself some confusion. :)
My Andromeda
Chapter Five
by Mabyn
Dying embers still burned red in the fire pits when Sam emerged from their hut two hours later. Daniel, Mitchell and Teal'c had retreated to their beds long ago; two members of SG-4 lay sprawled on the ground, sleeping beside their vat of glowing ashes. The waking sun back lit Monveras in the distance, turning the peaks dusty purple, deep red.
She moved silently, her bare feet skimming sticks and pebbles, her body evading the breezes lest the absence of rustling leaves alert her companions. Ahead, Forta waited, flanked by two of her sisters, a long garment draped across her back.
For you, the ferra told her. A gown worthy of your station.
Sam bowed her head in thanks and quickly donned the garment. It all but leapt onto her body, embracing her like water, the fibers shimmering, seeming to move in the early glow of morning. As the gown wrapped itself around her, peace wended its way into her chest followed closely by profound certainty, a heady resoluteness.
It likes you, Forta said, smiling.
Sam looked to her friend, her lips quirked, her gown brilliantly lighting her features. "The feeling is mutual."
It is the Vesta Luma, Forta told her, turning towards the rising sun. The gown of the priestess. She regarded the huts, the sleeping bodies still nestled within their beds. Your corus awakens.
Jack emerged from the doorway of their hut as Sam turned. He squinted in the young light, scrubbing his hands across his face before flipping his cap onto his head.
"Whoa," he whispered, his eyebrows arching as he fully realized her wardrobe. "Nice," he said, his eyes scanning her frame as he meandered towards her. "You look...wow."
A blush crept over her cheeks and she ducked her head to hide it. "I have to go," she told him softly.
He stretched and his back cracked. "Okay," he yawned. "Where are we headed?"
She kissed him and rested her forehead against his. "You're not allowed in Aedes Luma," she whispered.
"Oh," he muttered, looking at their joined hands. "Can I, uh, go with you until you get to this...llama place?" He tightened his cap with fluttering hands. "I mean, if not, that's fine, I guess." His lips quivered in a small smile. "I'm not used to saving the universe, at least not all of it at once. If I gotta sit this one out, I'll live."
Sam nodded, the unintended implication of his statement sobering her. But she smiled at him. "You want Teal'c and Mitchell to come as well."
He shrugged. "Never hurts to have back-up." When Forta indignantly stamped her hoof, his eyes clipped to hers. "Not that you wouldn't be able to take down armadas of bad guys," he said quickly, warily. Turning back to Sam, he said, "And Daniel would be crushed if he couldn't come along. We're bound to see rocks."
"We are." Sam paused and considered the proposition. While she would rather her friends not accompany her―the probability of danger was remote, but misfortune was always possible―she would appreciate their presence for the companionship more than anything. Should anything happen, they would be unable to offer protection; she would have to protect them. Still, they believed in her, loved her―that in itself was a breed of protection, and one she to which she cleaved.
She nodded at last. "Etiam." She looked up at Jack, her eyes glinting in the growing light. "But you get to wake them up."
He had reduced tidy stacks of notes and reports to a whirlwind of paper in under twenty seconds. While there were few passersby at this early hour, he ensured his profanities were muttered, though his throat longed to hurl them at the walls of his office.
The Book was gone.
Dimly he realized it was of little consequence; he had long ago memorized the relevant chapters and verses.
But the Book was gone.
If the Book was gone, it wasn't here. If it wasn't here, it was somewhere else―with someone else. Someone had taken his Book; someone knew about his Book.
Someone knew.
He slammed his desk drawer shut, his hands clenching his head, his face twisted in a grimace.
The Book was of little consequence, he repeated. He could procure another. There were millions in the galaxy.
Millions.
But only two on Earth.
Two.
More than the Book, he had to find her.
She was beyond time, on the edge of existence.
It was impossible.
"Hallowed are the Ori," he muttered, fingering the small stone around his neck, remembering the tenets, the soothing words of the Book cascading back to him.Vehemently, he repeated, "Hallowed are the Ori."
Nothing was impossible.
He would find her. He had to find her.
He was enveloped in a flash of pure, white light.
"Where the hell did you get this?" Landry asked, his eyes widening as he took the Book from Barrett.
"Area 51, sir," Barrett told him as he stood. "I found it along with several hundred pages of detailed reports about Colonel Carter. Dated two weeks ago."
Landry looked up from his perusal of the Book. "She was missing two--" He stopped, his mouth falling agape as the implications hit him. "Tell me you're not serious."
Barrett shook his head. "I was investigating Doctor Kierken for possible connections to the Goa'uld infiltration. He'd been erratic, secretive. I gained access to his office." He pulled a sheaf of paper from his case. "This is just some of what I found."
Frowning, Landry took the papers and began flipping through them, his face darkening with every page turned. "How many people have you told about this?" he asked at last.
"You and my assistant, Becky." When the general raised his eyebrow, he added, "She has top level clearance, sir." Barrett sank into his seat, leaning towards Landry, his elbows on his knees. "But they know, whoever 'they' in this situation are, the higher-ups, I have no idea. All I know is they're powerful―very powerful." He paused and wet his lips. "Colonel Carter wasn't meant to make it out of that room alive, sir. Doctor Kierken was supposed to kill her if this―procedure didn't go according to plan. Obviously, he didn't." Scooting closer to the general, he continued, "You have to get a message to Carter, let her know what's happening on our end."
Landry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. "That might be a problem, Agent."
"Sir?"
"From what I understand of their current mission―which isn't a whole hell of a lot to be perfectly honest," he said, the sheaf of papers wilting in his hand as he pegged Barrett with a heady look. "We have a gate address, of course. Problem is, I have no idea when they are."
"When, sir?"
Landry glanced at the clock on the wall; fifteen minutes until his next scheduled appointment. He settled back into his chair. "Let me tell you a little story," he began.
"Don't suppose you could whip up some coffee or something, could you, Sam?" Daniel grimaced at the rising sun and pulled his hat down to shield his eyes from its rays.
She smiled and shook her head, but stopped walking long enough to fall in beside Daniel. Watching her expectantly from behind drooping eyelids, he started when she reached for his head.
"Whatcha doin'?" he asked, his eyes shifting warily―and then widening. "Wow," he muttered as exhaustion flooded out of him, leaving his body in droves. His surroundings sharpened, his brain focused, his muscles strengthened; he had never felt more alert or rested. "Thanks," he said, smiling broadly. "That's way better than coffee."
"Me next," Mitchell said, stepping up behind Daniel, all but pushing him out of the way. "Jackson might end up shot if he's the only one awake this morning."
"You didn't have to come," Daniel countered. "Jack gave you the option."
"A choice between helping save the universe and staying in bed isn't my idea of a choice," he muttered as Sam pressed her fingers against his temples. "That one's pretty self-explanator―Whoa!" Mitchell's eyes flew open as effects of Sam's ministrations coursed through his body. "Okay, that's cool, that's definitely cool." He punched the air several times in rapid succession. "Bring on those bad guys."
Sam turned to Teal'c who politely shook his head. "I am well, Colonel Carter."
"You sure?" Mitchell asked, shaking out his limbs. "This is like having an I.V. Of Jackson's coffee."
"Then I must insist," Teal'c said. "I am well."
Daniel frowned. "I think I'm offended."
"Don't sweat it," Mitchell told him, slapping his arm. "Your black caffinated gruel ain't for everybody."
"That's for damn sure," Jack grumbled. "Daniel got coffee duty that first mission to Abydos. Never seen Kawalsky spit a quasi-liquid that far that fast."
"You guys wouldn't trust me with anything else," Daniel protested. "You didn't even trust me to get us back--" He stopped as Sam gasped, her eyes wide and gleaming. Before he could ask her if something was wrong, her face broke out in a euphoric smile.
"Sona," she whispered, her fingers fluttering to her cheeks. "Audita sona. Sic decorae." A breeze tangled the folds of her dress, rippling it, and the sun glimmered off the pale silver fabric.
Daniel jotted down her words, his eyebrows knitted in a frown. "Singing," he said. "She hears singing. It's 'so beautiful.'" Looking up from his notes, he briefly scoured their surroundings for a source of the sound Sam heard. Finding none amidst the fields of blowing grasses and wildflowers, he exchanged confused glances with the remaining members of the team.
It's the stone you hear, Forta said coming to rest at Sam's shoulder. It's calling for you. It's not much further now.
Eyes gleaming, Sam grabbed Jack's hand. "Adveha," she said, continuing forward towards the Monveras. "Adveha."
Forta's assurances proved true. Within twenty minutes, a great stone structure loomed ahead, its doorway like a gaping mouth. The structure's main body looked like it had been hewn―or grown―out of the foot of the Monveras. A deep blue river meandered past the door and several water birds ducked in and out of its ripples. Sam informed the trio that they could not continue further.
"Aedes Luma est inconcesa ut forae," she said, an apology written on her tone. She could not help but hum as the music of the stone wafted back to her. Its volume had grown the closer they came to Aedes Luma, the birthplace of the Orsa Calax.
"The, uh, house of light," Daniel said, his pen skipping over his notes, "is...forbidden, closed to, I'm guessing 'forae' means 'outsiders.'" His look decidedly darkened at the implications and Jack was almost certain he heard his friend mutter a profanity under his breath.
"We're just supposed to let you go in by yourself?" Mitchell asked, squinting at the structure. "Sounds like a bad plan to me."
"I said that," Jack muttered. "Or have." He drew a breath, held it for several seconds and surveyed his fiance. "We don't have much of a choice, though." Turning to the ferra, he said, "Besides, they'll go with her, watch her six."
Mitchell grumbled something unintelligible, but faded back a few steps, obviously resigned to waiting.
"You sure we can't get closer?" Daniel asked, his eyes hungrily roaming the face of the doorway. "I'd love to--"
"Daniel," Jack placated. "There are plenty of other buildings on plenty of other planets."
"But this--"
"Ah! You can go explore something old when we get back," Jack told him. "This is Sam's show. She says wait, we wait."
Daniel tried to fight the scowl forming on his face, but was only partially successful.
Shaking his head at his friend, Jack turned to Sam, his hands cupping her shoulders. "You be careful in there," he muttered, disquiet settling in his eyes. "And remember my rule about dying. As a whole, I disapprove."
Sam smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "Amata si," she whispered. She glanced over her shoulder at Aedes Luma, her insides quivering, begging her to go forward. But she turned to Jack. "Exspecta," she told him. "Vigila."
"Wait," Daniel supplied. "Watch."
"Will do," Jack assured her before leaning in for one last kiss.
And then she turned and began walking away from him, the ferra at her sides.
Is the Book:
a) a copy of the Space Corps Directive Manual
b) a copy of The Feminine Mystique
c) a preview copy of Sam's book on "theoretical" wormhole physics
d) other
Thanks for reading!