PX8 987 - 1997
"This complex has been completely decontaminated," Janet announced as they exited the decontamination chamber. The medical team had arrived shortly after SG-1's report, and Hammond had sent Janet in the hopes of containing another health crisis and preventing the government, always looking for an excuse, from shutting down the Stargate project permanently. He had just managed to reopen it and couldn't afford to lose the battle now.
"How many dead?" she asked, glancing at Sam, relieved to see her in apparent good health.
Her friend gave her a reassuring nod. "We estimate about a thousand."
Over the past few weeks, the two had developed the ability to communicate without words. A single glance could convey a lot of information. The countless girls' nights, fits of laughter, and shared secrets had created an undeniable bond between them. They knew everything about each other, without barriers and without lies.
"Why didn't they send a message, some warning that this was happening?" Janet asked the team, trying to understand the situation.
Sam, on the other hand, felt uneasy. Her instincts were screaming at her to go back and search for survivors. She didn't know why or how, but something inside her was urging her to return. "There may still be survivors there. Shouldn't we be looking for them?"
"No," Janet immediately replied. "Not until I examine you. We'll use the barracks room."
She then turned to Jack, surprised to see him so silent. Someone on the outside wouldn't notice anything, but knowing the backstory, Janet couldn't help but feel the tension between the two. "Colonel, you said you touched one of the victims before putting on gloves?" she asked, concerned about their health safety.
Jack seemed to size her up, wondering what exactly she knew, and shrugged. "Yeah, but I washed my hands right away."
"No. You're first," Janet announced, using the excuse to separate the two soldiers. Though Sam hadn't told her anything, she could sense that something had happened for her friend to become so distant. And if, as a form of female support, she could make sure Sam didn't have to talk to Jack for a while… why not?
A few hours later, finally cleared to go out with protective gear, the team found themselves once again under the sun of planet Hanka to sort through the bodies and search for any possible survivors. Although everyone was saying they wouldn't find any, an invisible force drove Sam to keep believing. And besides, the time spent searching helped her avoid thinking about Diane and the exquisite ring she had seen at Jack's.
After tagging one of the bodies, her gaze was drawn to a moving shape in the tall grass. "Hello?" she called out as she immediately moved forward. "It's okay, you can come out," she reassured. "I know I must look pretty scary in this mask, but I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay."
When Teal'c emerged from the bushes holding the hand of a small girl, something in Sam immediately shifted. The little girl couldn't have been more than ten years old, with long brown hair and blue eyes reflecting all the worry she carried. She looked exactly like the mental image Sam had created years ago. The image of the forbidden.
Her heart skipped a beat, then started racing in her chest. Without hesitation, she approached the little girl and took her to see Janet.
After passing through the decontamination chamber, Sam was happy to finally remove her suit, though sanitary protocol still required her to wear a mask.
"It's okay, don't worry, everything's going to be fine," she tried to reassure the little girl, who remained strangely silent. "Can you hear me?"
Feeling tired and trusting her instincts, Sam finally asked Janet for permission to remove her mask. She suspected it wasn't helping the little girl feel at ease. Despite her various attempts, however, all she received was silence in return. It reminded her of herself a few years earlier, when she had gone mute after her mother's death.
Rejoining the boys who were waiting in another room to give them some privacy, Janet spoke up directly. "Well, I have some bad news. The samples my team collected show the entire area to be contaminated. It's in the water and the ground. And the bacteria doesn't seem to be airborne, but it has a unique ability to survive in a variety of environments."
Daniel couldn't help but ask, "Listen, I hate to sound self-centered…"
"Your tests are fine," Janet interrupted.
"What about the girl?" Teal'c asked.
Janet turned to him. "No sign of infection. And as a precaution, I did an ultrasound to make sure she wasn't parasitically infested with a Goa'uld."
"So she's coming back with us," Jack announced, having remained silent until then.
"Doctor, would it be safe for someone to stay a little while longer?" Sam asked. Despite her encounter with the young girl, her need for scientific answers took priority.
"Captain?" Jack asked, surprised. He could no longer read her and didn't understand why this sudden change… as if the forbidden words they had whispered to each other a few weeks ago had never existed.
"Sir, the eclipse happens in less than a day. This is our only chance to use this window of darkness to photograph the black hole with this telescope. It could change the course of human history. I don't want to diminish what's happened here, but if we just pack up and leave, SG-7 and all these people will have died for nothing."
At that moment, the little girl appeared behind Sam and rushed to hide behind her.
"Well, you won't be staying," Jack announced, more than happy to have an excuse to send her back to the safety of Earth.