Chapter 5

Sam came out of her meditative state with a deep sigh, immediately noting a distinct lack of fatigue. Well that was interesting, she thought, making a mental note to ask Teal'c about the experience. Her right shoulder gave an angry jolt of pain, making her hiss and glance down at it. Pressing it against her side to keep it still, she took a quick look at Teal'c and stood to take stock of her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was that Cali was nowhere to be found and she and Teal'c were alone in a massive cavern, the ceiling stretching at least fifty feet over their heads. Roughly circular walls covered in a light colored stone curved around them and Sam estimated another fifty or so feet of floor space from one side to the other. Stalactites bearing an astonishing variety of striations hung halfway down from the ceiling in places. They were mated with either massive stalagmites erupting up from the floor of the cave, or with the shallow pools of water tinted pale shades of blue and green by the minerals within them.

But it was the crystals imbedded within the walls that caught and held Sam's attention. There were thousands of them, glimmering in every hue and catching the soft white light being filtered in through multiple fissures in the ceiling. The crystals then fractured the light into a million splashes of color, making intricate geometric patterns along the sides of the cavern. She glanced back at Teal'c, making sure he was still sleeping, then walked over to a small formation of deep blue crystals that jutted out from the rough rock in a circular pattern.

Noting the center of the grouping contained one particularly long and beautiful piece, she ran her fingers along its edge, fascinated by the smoothness of the natural cut. The crystal shifted just a bit beneath her light touch, and on impulse, she gripped it with her good hand and pulled. It slid free of its housing with very little resistance, and Sam held it up to the light, admiring its simple beauty. She touched the very tip of it and flinched when the point pierced her skin. It was sharper than it looked. She sucked on the offended digit and slid the crystal into one of the big pockets in her pants before continuing her survey of the cavern.

Tearing her eyes from the staccato rainbow that lined the massive walls, Sam looked toward the rear of the cavern. Shadows hid another corridor leading away from the area and presumably into the palace. She walked down the passageway a little until the light from the cavern began to fade, then turned back. Satisfied that she knew all she was going to for the moment about their tactical situation, she wandered over to Teal'c and sat down beside him. Pain bit into her hands and shoulder, reminding her of her exertions the day before and she set about exploring the extent of her injuries.

The wounds in her hands were scabbed over and healing quickly, though they still stung enough to make her wince. Her shoulder was sending deep stabs of pain through the right side of her body, even though she'd been very careful to keep it still until she could get a good look at it. But she knew she couldn't keep it still forever. Grimacing, she moved it around, gingerly testing her range. The staff blast had only grazed her, but it had burned through the meat of the deltoid, restricting her movement considerably.

Reaching around with her good arm, she probed the wound. The heat of the initial blast had kept her from bleeding to death, but raw muscle was visible through the matted blood covering her shoulder Even if the wound was healing at an increased rate, any hand to hand fighting was going to be arduous at best, impossible at worst. It occurred to her that the injury hadn't affected her during yesterday's tangle with the jaffa and she resolved to add it to her growing list of things to discuss with Teal'c.

There's too much I don't know about this "condition", and we've had almost no time to talk about it. Why didn't I ever asked him what it was like to carry a symbiote? She grimaced, already knowing the answer. Because I never had any reason to ask. Even as she thought it, new resolve filled her to get rid of the snake in her belly. She needed to get to that sarcophagus and have enough time to look it over to assess whether it could be repaired.

Sam moved quietly to her knees and leaned over Teal'c, studying him for any injuries she had not seen earlier. Noticing the makeshift bandage on his leg had soaked through, she untied it and pulled it carefully off. A sharp intake of breath as she removed the wadding beneath alerted her that he was awake. She looked up to see his eyes open and looking at her.

"Hi," she said, turning her attention back to his leg. "How are you feeling?"

"I will be fine," he said, letting his head drop.

"Ah. Code for you're hurting like hell, right?" Sam examined the wound, looking for signs of infection, of which there were none.

"Indeed," he rumbled. He turned his head and looked around the cavern. "Have you seen Cali?"

"No, but I've only been awake for a few minutes myself. She may have gone to find food." She nodded toward the back of the cave. "I think that passageway leads back to the palace."

"Perhaps."

"You still don't trust her?"

Teal'c quirked a brow at the ceiling. "I am uncertain. I would like to."

Carter nodded, pausing in her ministrations. "I know what you mean. She certainly seems genuine, but we've been fooled before." Grimacing when she jolted her injured arm, she ripped another couple of lengths of cloth from her shirt with her good hand and set about rewrapping his leg. "If she's not, she's one of the best actors I've ever seen. In any case, we're dependant on her for the moment, so we have no choice but to go along with it until something else comes up."

"Mmm," he said, closing his eyes as she worked..

"Teal'c, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Yesterday, when we were fighting those jaffa, I seemed to be a lot more…effective…than I usually am when fighting hand to hand. The movements were easier and a lot stronger, and I didn't even notice my shoulder had been hit until afterwards. I assume all that was due to the symbiote?"

Teal'c nodded, his eyes still shut. "It was."

"Is that why jaffa are so strong? Because of the symbiotes?"

"Partially, though strength and physical prowess have been bred into my people for countless generations as well."

"But why would the snake want to help me fight? We know it doesn't give a rip about who it inhabits. And why would it take away pain?"

"The larva knows that it needs the jaffa to survive. If the one who 'incubates' it is killed, there is a very good chance it will die as well. Therefore it is in the prim'tah's best interests to keep the jaffa alive and able to defend himself." He opened his eyes and sat up as she finished binding his leg. "That is why it releases hormones and other substances into the bloodstream to give strength and block pain, as well as healing wounds quickly." He looked at her shoulder. "As yours has begun to do."

"Yeah, well," she said, grimacing down at her stomach. "I'd still rather rely on my natural abilities than have to carry this thing around.

Teal'c grunted. "I do not blame you." He touched his leg. "Thank you."

Sam nodded at him and stood, brushing herself off. "That should hold you for a little while. Hopefully we can find some medical supplies and wrap it up properly."

Movement from the shadowed rear of the cave made her turn and Sepha walked in, bearing two large bags slung over her slim shoulders.

"Oh good, you're awake," the girl said, dropping the bags at Sam's feet. "I brought some food for you. Are you hungry?"

Sam's stomach rumbled in response. "Absolutely. Where have you been?"

Sepha reached into one of the bags and retrieved a hot loaf of crusty bread, a container of cold spiced meat and a small wheel of white cheese. She motioned the others to sit and passed the food over to them. Sam tore a hunk of bread from the loaf and handed the rest to Teal'c, who did the same before offering it to Sepha.

"Thank you, but I already ate. I brought this for you." Her green eyes flashed white and Cali spoke up. "We have spent the last several hours scouting the palace, but it seems that there are very few guards left inside. They are probably out looking for you." The young queen cocked her head at them. "What do you wish to do now?"

"Find the sarcophagus," Sam said immediately, her mouth full of bread and meat. She took a quick drink of some kind of honeyed ale from a flask Cali had brought and continued. "After I fix it and get back to normal, we need to find a way to get home." She looked at Teal'c. "Any ideas on that front?"

"Not at present. Perhaps we should first concentrate on finding the sarcophagus. It may be that a solution will present itself in time."

Sam nodded and finished her food and Teal'c turned his attention back to Cali. "What hour of the day is it now?"

"It is nearing the noonday meal, but as I said, I scouted the palace and saw very few guards."

"And you're certain no one followed you back here?"

"They would have no reason to follow me."

The jaffa looked troubled. "Cali, I do not believe you are as safe as you think you are. There is a chance you are being watched, and if that is true…"

"Then while we've been sitting her eating, they've had plenty of time to regroup back at the palace," Sam finished.

Cali pulled the second sack close to her and started to rummage around inside. "If you are correct, then we must hurry. Here." She pulled out two zats and a wad of cloth. "I thought it would be easier to fight in close quarters with zat'ni'kitels rather than a staff weapon." She dipped her head and Sepha spoke.

"And Teal'c, I brought you a tunic from the laundry." She smiled shyly. "I thought you might prefer to be clothed when doing battle."

"I thank you for the gesture, little one," Teal'c said. "However, it was not necessary. I have fought many battles covered by nothing save my weapons."

Sam choked on her ale and stared at him, laughter dancing in her eyes. Teal'c, seeming to realize what he'd just confessed to, glanced at her, then stared straight ahead.

"When was this?" Carter spluttered, having finally swallowed her drink. "And where was I?"

"It was many years before you were born, Colonel Carter," he answered, a slight smile now tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I also brought these." Sepha pulled out a roll of white bandages and a small pot of ointment which she passed to Sam. "For your wounds."

"Thank you. What's in the pot?"

Cali answered her. "It's a painkiller. The slaves use it to mask the pain of their injuries, so they can keep working, and avoid being killed."

Sam nodded and got to work. Moving closer to Teal'c, she quickly unwrapped his leg and smeared the wound liberally with the clear greasy paste before rewrapping the injury using most of the gauze. When she was finished, they both stood and he tested his weight on the leg. It held.

"Thank you," he said softly. "Now, it is your turn."

"I'm fine Teal'c. Let's get going, okay?" she said, hefting her zat in her left hand.

"Lift your right arm."

"What?"

"Lift your arm, Colonel Carter."

"Okay," Sam said, starting to lift her arm over her head. Pain lanced through her, almost sending her to the floor. Teal'c reached out and grabbed her at the last second, holding her up until she'd regained her footing. "Alright," she conceded after she'd caught her breath. "That hurt a bit."

"Indeed. You have barely moved it since the climb down the waterfall. The wound has healed more quickly than you are used to, and the tissues are becoming stiff."

"Already?"

"Yes." Teal'c examined her shoulder. "I must also clean it. Your shirt has adhered to the wound." He bent carefully and retrieved the container they had been drinking from. Steeling herself, Sam hissed as the alcohol was poured over the wound. Where are those pain numbing abilities now? Sam sent furiously down to the larva in her gut.

Clenching her teeth, she endured the cleansing, forcing herself not to move as Teal'c pulled away the bits of black cloth that had stuck to her skin. "Teal'c, we don't have much time here. Just get the worst of it, and the sarcophagus will do the rest."

The jaffa just looked at her, the warning "The sarcophagus may not be doing anything anytime soon," fairly screaming at her from his expression. She looked away, not willing to reveal just how much that thought had been haunting her.

Nonetheless, he finished quickly, tearing the sleeve from the shirt so that it would not get in the way and smearing the wound with ointment. He didn't bother covering it since the gauze wouldn't stick on its own and they had no tape to keep it in place.

Once he was finished, he corked the little clay pot and picked up his zat. He looked over at Cali, who stood there, unarmed. "What of your weapon?" he asked.

Cali shook her head. "The last time I killed, Sepha was so traumatized that she was practically comatose for days. I will not put her through that again."

Teal'c looked meaningfully at Sam, who was studying the girl. Then, hefting her own weapon, she started out. "Let's go."