Six soldiers knelt on the ground with their hands behind their heads while Major Adams watched over them carefully.
"What kind of witchcraft is this?" the commander demanded. "How did you force me to say those things?'
"Quiet," Adams insisted.
Aceso didn't want to reveal anything about herself, and so remained silent as she attempted to override the door controls. It didn't do any good since no power made it to the damaged door.
"Where is McKay?" she asked her group. The petulant scientist's whining was noticeably absent.
"They took him," one of the team said. Her name was Jackie. "Ten of them attacked, and four led Dr. McKay into the jumper where they flew away."
She turned to the leader of the other soldiers. "Where have you taken my people?"
The man stared stoically at her. He wasn't yet aware of her ability to force information from his mind, and his thoughts dwelled on the knowledge that he had been ordered to capture McKay along with the jumper and report back to their leaders in the city. He also let his thoughts dwell on the fact that he'd been ordered to kill everyone else, especially her.
"It's you!" he said. "You are able to read my mind, aren't you?" His thoughts suddenly became more guarded as he realized that she was the one responsible for what he experienced.
She smirked. "Most catch on sooner than that." She turned and checked the base schematic which now displayed as a hologram above the internal sensors console. "This facility has a holding cell. We should put them in there for now."
"I know what you are!" the commander said. "You are a wraith."
She held her breath for a moment before exhaling. "How do you know that?"
"My commander said that one of you was a wraith, but that you would appear human."
She approached him. "How does your commander know this?"
He remained silent as his mind sorted the information. She could sense his fear, which permeated the mental landscape around them like waves in a pond. "I don't know where he learned this."
His words rang sincerely, meaning that he really didn't know.
"We should take them to the cell now," Adams said. "Remember though, if his superiors know about us and this place, they'll send more."
Aceso went to the main door control console to try to reactivate the door and cloaking device, but as she approached, the damage from weapons fire became apparent. She tried without success to close the facility door.
"The door won't close," she said to Adams. "I can't keep anyone out."
"Then we need to leave ASAP," Adams said.
She looked to the prisoners. "Help me put these ones in the holding cell. It's one level down."
"Let's get these guys secured," Adams said to his team. The four SG team members got up and brought the enemy soldiers to their feet, leading them along to the next level down, where they were to be put into a holding cell, and the door shut.
The facility could filter fresh water for them, but there would be no food. Aceso felt a little uncomfortable about leaving them like this to possibly starve, but her group really didn't have a choice. These men had come there to kill them after all, and they were doing the soldiers a favor as long as others came to get them within the next day or two.
"Where are we going to go?" Isobel asked. "If we leave, we'll be without shelter."
Aceso had been considering that in the back of her mind. She didn't want to send her group out into the forest without supplies, but clearly the political situation on this world had changed, and for whatever reason, the authorities on this planet were trying to kill them. Even worse is that they somehow knew the truth about her.
"I say we stay," Isobel countered. "Atlantis will send someone after us when we don't check in on schedule."
"Our check-in is tomorrow," Aceso said, "This government will send others before that."
Adams' team returned from the lower level and started milling about with the rest of the group. Adams seemed unsure of himself and what to do. Aceso felt insecurity from him, but also determination.
"All right people!" Adams spoke up confidently. "We have to get out of this place. This base can no longer be secured, therefore we have to make shelter elsewhere."
"Their capitol city is hundreds of kilometers away!" Isobel protested "The military won't be able to get here for awhile."
"We don't know that," Adams argued. "The weapons they left will run out of ammo, and besides that, I don't want to force a confrontation if I can avoid it."
This whole situation had been her fault. She made the call to press on, despite having their weapons confiscated. She should have known that was a bad sign. The impending sense of guilt built up gradually.
Aceso floundered. She wanted to do what was best for the group, but the decision became clouded by the collective emotions of everyone. No one seemed sure of the right course of action, and so neither did she.
Still, a nagging voice from within urged her to speak, providing a motivation to be decisive. "I believe we should walk away from here."
"No," Isobel complained. "We won't survive that long of a walk to the Stargate."
The group of scientists collectively grumbled, and Isobel crossed her arms.
Aceso wanted to make the group happy, but she recognized that would be impossible now.
"We cannot stay," Aceso said more firmly. "Take what food, water and medical supplies we have left, and meet outside the entrance."
"It's the only safe option," Adams said. "And we might not have to walk all the way to the stargate. We just need to get away from this facility."
Aceso appreciated his support.
Adams began directing the others to gather essential items, and they prepared to leave the laboratory behind. Aceso gave one last try to close the main door, but it remained wide open.
(0)
McKay couldn't believe his bad luck. A single dim light burned overhead, the bulb's glass smoky and opaque from too many hours of operation.
The cell could only be described as dank, with water seeping in through the concrete walls.
The cell bars were heavily corroded, which gave McKay a faint hope that he could break the hinges, but he could see that they were thick. Even with the rust, they were very strong.
So far, he'd been led out of the supposedly secret facility at gunpoint, then forced to fly the jumper to an unknown location. Then they put a bag over his head and led him here.
It dawned on him that all the times he'd been taken prisoner, he'd seldom been alone like this. Panic set in and he paced nervously from one end of the cell to the other.
"Hello?" he called out nervously. "Is anyone there?" He gazed pensively out of the bars. "Look, just uh — don't ignore me."
No answer came.
"Fine!" he shouted to nobody. "I'll be just peachy here on my own!"
Only his own voice echoed through the dim hallway.
(0)
Aceso led the group of scientists. Adams' team followed directly behind her, and Isobel behind him. In a pack falling further behind were the remaining five scientists and technicians.
Aceso stopped in order to let them catch up. As she stopped, a horde of flying insects caught up with her and swarmed her head. She tried to be calm about them, but their constant nagging made her eyes water, and she couldn't help but give in to flailing and swatting the flying tormentors away. Aceso remembered seeing a smaller village on the opposite side of the valley from the large one and decided that they should try to make it there first. The main road led to the larger village, but the smaller one seemed to be only accessible by boat, or by one very wet walk across the valley.
The valley had begun to get swampy and wet, making it less and less likely that they were going to stay dry through their trek. Fortunately, the trees were tall enough that they provided cover to conceal their presence.
"We should have just stayed on the path," Isobel said.
"That's not a good idea," Adams countered. "The road could be swarming with soldiers waiting for us."
Jackie stumbled and fell knee-first into a soggy patch of moss. "I can't believe this," the petite woman said. She was a language expert, not a survival expert. "Why did we have to go this way? Walking through this swamp could be just as dangerous."
Aceso felt their collective despair, both in herself and in the air emanating from her team. She stopped and turned to address everyone. "We only have to wait as long as it takes for Atlantis to send a jumper. That should be sometime tomorrow. I have faith that we can all survive at least that long."
The group's anxiety waned somewhat, but didn't disappear.
Adams caught up with her. "We should discuss what we're going to do when we get to the village."
Aceso knew that there could be a risk that they would be recognized and caught in the smaller village too, but they had precious few options given the situation. These people would need food, shelter, and fresh water soon.
"We will ask for the village leaders, and then we will request to be granted food and shelter for an evening," Aceso said.
"Okay," Adams said. "What if they know the military is looking for us and decide to turn us in?"
"What would you suggest instead?" Aceso asked.
"I say that we go farther into the forest," Adams said. "We can build makeshift shelters."
Isobel walked up quickly. "What about food?"
Adams shrugged. "We can go a few days without food."
The rest of the group had caught up.
"No! I don't like this." a man said. His name was Derek, and he was working as an engineer under Isobel's supervision. He was heavy-set and struggled greatly across the puddles of moss and water. "I'm not going starve!"
"Relax," Jackie, said. "You can live for several weeks on water alone."
There was murmuring and arguing among the group. The decision remained unpopular.
Aceso had to decide, and quickly.
"We will avoid the village,' she said loudly to get everyone's attention.
There was a collective groan. They had been looking forward to some kind of relief from their trek, but it seemed that wouldn't happen.
They continued on, until passing on the periphery of the settlement. Thankfully the ground became drier, allowing them to move unimpeded.
"I want to scout the area." Adams said, pointing to the village.
Aceso stopped. "I thought you wanted to stay away?"
Adams seemed thoughtful, mulling over an idea in his head. "I want to see if there is any military presence here."
Aceso considered scouting the village a good idea. It would at least give them an indication of how serious the government on this planet was about capturing them. "All right, go ahead."
Adams turned to one of his team. "Stevens, you're with me, the rest stay here."
Adams and the other set off swiftly, leaving the group waiting quietly in the underbrush some distance from the village.
Derek sneezed loudly, and she glared at him as he took out a tissue and blew his nose with much trumpeting.
He glanced at her, and she spoke. "Please be more quiet."
"It's the pollen," he said placatingly. "I can hardly breathe."
Aceso felt that she would have to let the issue go lest she create a scene.
A few minutes passed, and Adams returned. "I saw a few soldiers there," Adams said. "I was right about avoiding this place."
"That was clever of you."
"Yeah, well, it means that we have to keep moving unfortunately," Adams complained. "We're close enough to get discovered."
Aceso surveyed the landscape. The area was swampy with small shrubby trees, and had many small streams moving through it slowly. Each stream seemed to converge into a larger stream, which suggested that they were at a tributary of the main river that fed into the city.
"Let's go," she said. Aceso gestured for the group to keep moving. They would need to stop, but she would only let them camp farther from the village to avoid detection.
She kept working on the problem of shelter. They would be forced to stop when the sun set shortly, but she feared this group had no idea how to approach making shelter for themselves.
She knew that Atlantis would send another jumper to search for them if they didn't report in tomorrow, so making camp and waiting was their best option. Every person there had a locator beacon under their skin, so their entire group would be easy to find.
Adams scouted up ahead, pointing out the path to take. Finally they the sun went down, and the sky began to turn dark. That is when she knew that they needed to make camp.
Adams started the process, showing the group how to make bedding and shelters from broken branches.
Her own knowledge on this was a bit weak, which made her feel less useful than she should have been. Diligently, she helped the group gather the branches and leaves to make their shelters.
She heard a noise and smelled smoke, and looked over to see Isobel succeeding at starting a small fire.
Adams ran over and kicked dirt over the flames, snuffing them out.
Aceso understood that a fire could improve comfort, but would surely give away their position.
"No fires," Adams said. "We can't risk being seen."
"You aren't in charge here!" Isobel argued.
"I agree," Aceso interjected. "We shouldn't risk a fire."
Isobel glared at her. "Most of us are wet, we're cold, and a fire is going to help us keep insects away."
"No," Aceso said. "We are in too much danger to risk the smoke and flames being seen."
"You don't speak for us," Isobel said. "Your mission is over. You messed up, and now we're struggling to survive out here. What makes you think we need to listen to you?"
Aceso stepped back, Isobel's words landing like physical blows. Her mistake led to their predicament, and everyone there knew it. It felt bad enough being an outsider and an alien, but to put all these people in danger for a reckless decision on her part felt the worst of all.
"I can't promise that I won't make a mistake," Aceso admitted. "What I can promise is that I am executing my best judgement to keep you all safe."
"We need a fire," Isobel said. "I can still re-light that kindling."
"No," Aceso affirmed. "I cannot let your need for comfort trump the continued safety of everyone here. It is a warm night, so there will be no fire."
Her ability to gauge warmth was a bit skewed from a human perspective, and she knew that. Her own senses told her that the weather was balmy and hot still, and the presence of sweat on almost everyone probably meant that they felt hot too.
"It's going to get cold tonight," Isobel complained.
"We will have to focus on adding shelter," Aceso said. "Tonight, that will be our only protection."
Water wasn't quite an issue just yet. Each of them had taken several bottles of water which had been brought out of the jumper in a crate before it was stolen. Atlantis would send out a search before they needed more. Food would be another issue. Nobody wanted to go hungry, but no one would be in dire need of food just yet.
Through the next hour or so, the sounds of rustling and branches breaking filled the camp. People piled dead leaves into makeshift beds.
For herself, she remained alert, with no intention to sleep tonight due to her diminished need for it. A lack of sleep wouldn't become a problem for her until two nights without it.
As the noise in the camp died down, she remained vigilant, her eyes scanning the surrounding forest for animals, or intruding people. She listened to the soundscape, and became a bit unnerved by slight rustling in the leaves surrounding them.
Taking careful steps, she investigated the source of one of the noises under a sapling. A small rodent poked its head out of a hole and stared at her curiously.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and the animal disappeared into one of its hidey holes.
"Is everything okay?"
She jolted at Adams, who sat in a tree just above her. She hadn't noticed that he was hiding up there, which impressed her.
"Why aren't you asleep?" she asked.
"Keeping watch," Adams said. "I hope those creatures aren't venomous,"
"We can only hope," Aceso said.
"You can't sleep either?" he asked.
"I will remain awake until we are safe," Aceso said.
She stood there, gazing out into the blackness of the night with only the noise of insects around her. Behind her, the odd groan or cough let her know that their group was fine.
She worked hard to stave off feelings of guilt, but she couldn't help but ruminate over it. Those feelings began to form into panic.
It was one thing for a decision to turn out badly for herself, but to lead others into a bad situation felt truly horrible.
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