Chapter Four
They had followed tracks all afternoon and the sun was now low in the sky. They had not come across a village yet, and the footprints had appeared and disappeared intermittently, making them difficult to track. They had changed direction a number of times, which had made SG-1 believe that the people they followed were aware of their pursuit and were leading them in circles.
“I think we better stop for today. We’ll continue tomorrow. If there’s a village, it’s quite far from the Stargate, and I prefer to find it in daylight,” Colonel O’Neill decided, putting down his pack.
The day had cooled some as the sun had gone down, and the temperature was now more comfortable despite the humidity in the air. Sam didn’t mind tropical climates temperature-wise, but she hated bugs, she remembered as she slapped her neck for the millionth time. Pesky little things!
“I’ll take first watch again,” she offered, dropping her pack and taking off her cap. “I’ll just take a few minutes to freshen up first.”
“Okay, you’re it! Don’t take too long and stay close,” Jack agreed.
As the three men got busy building up a fire and laying out their sleeping bags, Sam walked away from the camp and into the thicker part of the woods. She was careful, watching her step and looking out for snakes, large bugs and other animals. Although they had not encountered more than bugs and a number of exotic birds, she knew that this did not necessarily mean larger predators were not about.
She was pleasantly surprised when she heard the sound of running water nearby. They had crossed a few streams during their trek through the jungle, but had not stopped for more than a couple of minutes to refresh themselves, intent on catching up with their quarry.
She followed the enticing sound and found herself standing by a tiny creek running quietly through rocks and debris. She quickly took care of personal business nearby and then headed for the water, which she found was cool and refreshing after a long day of hiking.
She was wiping her face, neck and arms with a small wet towel, having shed her hat and jacket, when she heard a suspicious noise close by.
Sam automatically reached for her hand weapon. The sun had almost set and she peered into the darkened undergrouth, trying to see what had made the noise. She slowly turned, cautiously standing up, then started to approach the suspect area. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck, as if a bug had stung her. Her left hand flew to the achy spot to pry loose something attached to her skin.
She opened her eyes wide in the semi-darkness to try to see what she was holding between her fingers. It looked like some kind of tiny dart, she though, then realized that she was having a hard time focusing. Everything was becoming blurry.
Another noise caught her attention and she lifted her eyes to find a semi-naked young man with bright, green eyes, intently staring at her and approaching her cautiously from among the bushes. She vaguely estimated his age in his early twenties.
As if in slow motion, she felt herself sink to her knees as she heard something else coming from her right. She saw another young man crouching close, also watching her expectantly and similarly attired, and her sluggish brain came to the conclusion that she had been ambushed.
She tried to pull the trigger of her gun to catch her teammates attention, but she found that her arms and hands had gone numb. The green-eyed young man continued to approach her and she realized that he was holding a little tube between his fingers. He definitely looked like he was expecting something to happen, and she acknowledged what it was when she felt herself start to lose consciousness.
A frisson of despair clutched at her heard as she fell to the soft ground backwards, knowing that her teammates were unaware of her peril. The last she saw before she closed her eyes were almost round, green orbs getting closer and closer.
~*~
“What’s taking her so long?” Jack wondered aloud, knowing he sounded impatient and not caring a bit. “I better go find her,” he crossly decided, walking into the bushes and following the path his Captain had taken minutes earlier. “I’m checking on Carter,” he informed Teal’c and Daniel over his shoulder as he left.
He walked about for less than a minute, shouting the Captain’s name every few steps until he heard the sound of water. ‘Oh, boy! Don’t tell me she’s taking a little bath,’ he thought. ‘How typical!’ Well, if he caught her less than completely dressed, it would be her fault for taking so long, he smirked.
“Carter, are you there?” he called, giving her fair warning of his approach. “I’m coming, so if you’re not decent, let me know,” he informed as he approached the little creek. He then suddenly stopped dead on his tracks when he stepped on her discarded jacket, her small toiletries bag sitting next to it. A wet towel was partially laying on top of the bag, carelessly discarded. His heart sunk when he then spotted her handgun, lying on the ground close by, and he realized that she was in trouble. Looking wildly around for any sign of her, he realized that darkness was fast approaching and turned to run back to the recently set up camp.
He didn’t hesitate to shout the moment he reached his remaining teammates. “Carter’s gone! We’ve got to find her!” The two dropped what they had in their hands and picked up their guns as he was quickly putting on his jacket and picking up the rest of his weapons. “Let’s move!”
Teal’c and Daniel were close behind when he got back to the little creek. “She was here, but I just found her jacket and gun. There’s no sign of her.” It was almost completely dark now, and it was hard to see details.
“There were two people here besides Captain Carter,” Teal’c observed, looking down at the soft ground. “Look here,” he pointed. Now all three could see the footprints clearly marked.
“In what direction did they go?” Jack anxiously asked, quickly shoving Captain Carter’s stuff inside his own pack.
“The footprints go South,” indicated Teal’c, “And they are running, carrying a burden. She is being carried away.”
“Then maybe we can catch them! You lead!” Jack ordered, starting to follow an already running Teal’c.
~*~
They had not been able to continue chasing their quarry for long. Darkness, when it fell, was complete.
Jack had decided against a fire, so they just crouched against trees and braced themselves against the surprisingly cool night. But, as soon as the sun started to make an appearance, they continued tracking the Captain’s captors.
They followed their trail for a few miles until the jungle gave way to open, green land. They soon realized they were close to the foot of a mountain, and they could hear a river thundering nearby. They could also see smoke in the distance, so they continued in that direction, approaching stealthily. Crawling on their stomachs once they were closer, they cautiously peered over a ridge.
They looked down on a large, primitive but picturesque village. The round and sturdy-looking low buildings were built of stone and mud with thick thatched roofs for cover. There were no windows on them, just one large entrance in each one, covered by a colorful tapestry, but there was a partially covered hole in the middle of each roof. The covers for these holes were secured with ropes and sitting on the roofs, ready to be pulled in place in case of rain, and there was smoke coming out of each opening.
The buildings were fairly large, as if made to accommodate a sizeable family or clan. They were arranged in a semi-circle, facing a large river, which came down from the mountain in a spectacular cascade and formed a large lagoon right before the village.
The waterway continued to drain away toward a green, luscious valley, and the three men observed that there were many well made canoes secured to small piers close to the village. There was a large clearing between the buildings and the river forming a plaza, and, on top of a round platform made of rocks in the center of the plaza, sat a fat, almost round figure carved from red rock. It looked like a pregnant woman with humongous breasts.
“What is that on the platform?” Jack asked in puzzlement. The figure looked oddly familiar to him.
“That…” and Daniel smiled in delight, “Is an Earth Mother figure. The earliest form of religion ever found worshiped Earth as a symbol of fertility, and the power of women as givers of life,” he informed his friends.
“Yeah… I think I’ve seen something like that before,” commented Jack.
“In my office,” Daniel informed him, “Top, right shelf.”
“Oh… right!” Jack replied.
There was a lot of smoke coming out of a large fire pit in front of the statue. They could see mostly bare-chested women and children milling about, wearing long, colorful skirts, tall, tan boots, and flowers in their hair. They were adding kindling to the fire in front of the goddess figure, bowing to it and kissing the kindling before throwing it in. They wore their hair loose down their backs, and they were mostly brunettes, although they could see lighter shades of hair here and there. Their tanned skin glistened in the morning sun, as if oiled, and they all seemed to be in good physical shape.
“I don’t see Carter,” Jack observed, looking through his binoculars.
“I can’t see many men, either, can you?” Daniel asked.
“There are very few in sight,” Teal’c agreed. “They may all be inside the dwellings or away from the village. I suggest we observe longer to understand what we may be facing.”
“There are very few in sight,” Teal’c agreed. “They may all be inside the dwellings or away from the village. I suggest we observe longer to understand what we may be facing.”
“We don’t know if Carter is okay,” Jack worriedly replied.
“These do not seem to be aggressive people,” Daniel observed. “Something about the way they move, how much they laugh, the flowers everywhere… I don’t think she’d be in any imminent danger,” he said as if talking to himself.
“All right, we watch for a while, then we approach them peacefully if Carter doesn’t show up soon,” Jack reluctantly agreed, looking through his binoculars again to hide his anxiety.
~*~
Sam slowly awoke to sounds very nearby, as if someone was moving right next to her. She tried to remember where she was and why she had a painful hangover. She was lying on her side on a soft surface that smelled pleasantly like herbs.
She carefully opened her eyes, hoping no one around her would notice, only to find herself looking into a pair of light brown, long lashed orbs only inches from her face, and the little girl the pretty eyes belonged to immediately smiled at her widely.
Sam thought she was probably nine or ten years old and very cute. The girl turned to someone behind her and called, “Mana, the pretty lady is awake!”
A handsome woman that looked to be maybe in her late forties approached to look into Sam’s face and also smiled happily. She had long, brown hair, lightly streaked with silver, brown eyes similar to the little girl’s, and was bare-breasted, which momentarily surprised Sam. The young girl, however, was dressed in a simple, colorful short shift.
The woman had on a long, also colorful straight skirt hanging low on her hips, her toned legs showing through slits on the sides as she moved. She was wearing animal skin boots that Sam thought looked comfortable. Although Sam could tell she was a mother, she still had a good, firm figure. The woman also smelled beautifully and her skin shone in the light coming from an opening in the roof. She had a crown of little flowers on her head, which gave her a youthful air.
Sam tried to sit up but grimaced as a flash of pain raced through her head, and the lady gently helped her up. “Be careful, your head must hurt terribly. I’ll give you something to make it better,” she was saying as she turned to the little girl. “Go get the bowl I prepared, sweet one, for the pretty lady.”
“My name is Sam,” Samantha helpfully offered, sitting up and looking at her surroundings. “Where am I?”
“I am Itama; welcome to our village,” the woman introduced herself as a response, putting a drinking bowl to Sam’s lips.
Sam obediently drank the concoction, which was rather bitter, hoping it would indeed make her feel better. Itama smiled at her when she finished and put the bowl aside.
“I am the mother of this home,” she said, “And this little sweet one is my last daughter, Seema,” she added, delight shining in her eyes. “I have contributed three sons and three daughters to the Okapa people,” she continued, clearly proud of her accomplishment.
“The Okapa people?” Sam was trying to remember whether she had ever heard that name before. Her head still hurt, but she could tell that the medicine was working. “Am I in the village of the Okapa people, then?” she asked to confirm.
“Yes, and we are grateful that the Goddess has sent such a beautiful blessing to our people,” Itama said. “You have brought hope that the Okapa are not forsaken as we had thought for so long.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand,” Sam said softly, holding her head in pain. “What blessing did I bring?”
“Well, you are the blessing, of course!” Itama answered with a chuckle, seemingly amused by the younger woman’s ignorance.
Sam’s blue eyes got bigger, staring at the Okapa woman in surprise. “You think I’m some kind of gift from the Gods?”
“Goddess!” Itama corrected, still smiling.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m no blessing. I’m here as… an explorer. I came here with my friends, three men traveling with me. Are they also here?” she asked hopefully.
“Friends? No,” Itama responded, puzzlement clear on her face. “You came alone through the Circle of Light. Trone said so! Trone and Okan found you in the jungle and brought you to your new home. They said they found you alone and that you were afraid of them, so they had to put you to sleep.”
“Would Trone and Okan be the two young men wearing nothing but loincloths, boots like yours, and face paint? One of them has large, green eyes,” Sam asked.
“Yes!” Itama responded, smiling proudly again. “Trone is my second son, the one with the beautiful green eyes. Okan is his best friend.”
“Well… I hate to tell you this, but they attacked me and took me away from my friends. I didn’t come here alone, and my friends are probably very worried and looking for me,” Sam informed Itama. Then added, trying not to alarm the woman, “They will try to get me back peacefully, but they will definitely come.”
Itama seriously assimilated what Sam had said, sitting on her heels and disappointment written all over her face. She then stood up and asked her daughter to go do something that Sam could not hear. The little girl quickly ran out of the dwelling and Itama came back to sit next to Sam.
“If what you say is true, Trone and Okan have offended you and your men, and I ask that you forgive the Okapa people for what they have done. I have called them so that they can face you and apologize,” Itama told Sam, visibly upset.
She made herself comfortable next to her guest, crossing her legs, and explained, “You see, it has been a very long time since the last one of us came through the Circle of Light. History says that the Goddess sent us to this beautiful place as a reward for good deeds and in order to protect us from evil. However, we were few at the beginning. More came later, little by little, to join the Okapa people, and our village grew, but then new blood stopped coming. We thought we had done something to anger the Goddess and we were being punished for it. No more blessings ever came. Then, for many years, more boys than girls were born, and many young women died giving birth. Now there are not enough young mothers for all the young men ready to mate. A mother cannot take more than three mates into her home. We tried, but it was unmanageable.”
Sam could not believe her ears, but encouraged Itama to continue her story. “My two older daughters already have three mates each, and three young men have already spoken for Seema, when she is old enough. My first son has found a home, but I worry for Trone and Creb, my third son. They don’t have a mate to go to. When I saw you, I thought the Goddess had answered my prayers and that my second and third sons would be secured a home.” Itama seemed to be on the verge of tears. “Many young men spend time in the jungle, praying to the Goddess and still seeking a blessing from the Circle of Light, hoping…” she faltered, then continued. “I thought Trone and Okan had finally been blessed, but if you belong to other men…” Itama could not finish, deeply disturbed.
“I’m not sure I follow everything you just said, but I’m definitely not a gift from the Goddess, and I can’t stay here,” said Sam, noticing that her headache was almost gone in a matter of minutes.
“That is a shame,” Itama said with a sad smile. “I was so happy for Trone and Okan. They were so ecstatic when they brought you in at dawn! They woke up the whole village and they are already hard at work building your new home. I feel sorry for my son. He is a lonely man, but he should not have taken what was not his to take. He stole from your mates.”
“My mates? No, you don’t understand… I don’t have a mate. I don’t even want one. My friends are just that, friends. They are the people I work with… explore with,” Sam tried to clarify.
“You don’t want a mate? At your age?” Itama paused, an incredulous frown on her face. “Then Trone and Okan were not wrong to take you. The first man to claim a woman has the right to call her mate unless another man challenges him for her and wins,” Itama explained. “It seems you are, indeed, our blessing, Sam. Even if you do not know so.”
“Oh, no! You don’t understand…” Sam said, standing up and towering over the smaller woman. At this point, the two young men Sam remembered from the jungle entered the dwelling. They still wore nothing but the loincloths and boots, colorful as they were. Their face paint was gone and a leather strap held back their dark long hair. They were both handsome youths, especially Itama’s son, but they were dripping with sweat, as if they had been exerting themselves.
Trone widely smiled at her when he saw her and charming dimples appeared on his cheeks. He was just a little taller than Sam, but the other one, Okan, was a very tall man. He was also smiling shyly. Both of them were eyeing her as if she was a scrumptious delicacy.
Itama stomped toward her son, glowering, and Trone lost his smile, looking back at this mother warily. “Her name is Sam, and she says she did not arrive through the Circle of Light alone. She says she came with three men.”
Trone looked away guiltily and Okan dropped his eyes to the floor sheepishly, not wanting to face the anger of the older woman. “Did you lie to me, Trone?” the mother demanded.
“It was a small lie, Mana. She did arrive with others, but Okan and I could tell they were not her mates. They did not take care of her as mates are supposed to. And she was alone when we took her,” Trone explained apologetically.
“You should have confirmed that she was not attached! You could have made a terrible mistake and you would have been humiliated in your punishment. You too, Okan; I thought you were the sensible one. What happened?” Itama was now staring down the taller man and Sam could not help but find it amusing. The two youths looked like whipped puppies.
“I am sorry, Itama. But I agreed with Trone in that this woman seemed unattached. And we knew Creb and other younger ones were also in the jungle. We did not want to miss the opportunity to claim her for our own. You know Creb would not share with us as we would with him,” Okan justified, still not wanting to look at Itama’s angry face.
“You are very lucky that your assessment happens to be correct. She is unattached, but I think she needs to be convinced to stay with us,” Itama said, now looking at Sam.
“Wait, there’s no way…” Sam started to say, but Trone interrupted her by going down on one knee in front of her and taking her hand, kissing it fervently. “You will be the happiest woman in Okapa, I swear! We will provide for you like no other men ever could,” he passionately promised.
To Sam’s horror, Okan followed Trone’s lead and did the same thing, kissing her other hand and looking at her adoringly. “You are the most beautiful blessing any man could hope for, Sam. Please accept us as your mates,” the handsome man begged, his dark eyes pleading.
Sam anxiously turned to look at Itama, desperately seeking assistance, but found the woman smiling at her as if daring her to refuse the two beautiful men’s adoration.
‘Oh, crap!’ the Captain thought. ‘Where the hell is SG-1?’
~*~
“Okay, now I see more men around, but they all seem to be coming from somewhere,” observed Jack, still flat on his stomach and looking through his binoculars from the ridge.
“They have tools in their hands. They look like construction and agriculture tools, not weapons,” Daniel commented, also looking through his binoculars.
“A meeting seems to be taking place. The woman standing on the platform seems to be the leader,” Teal’c contributed.
The people of the town, old, young, and even the children, were taking places around the platform as if waiting for some kind of ceremony to commence. Once everyone was seated on the ground, the three men looking down from the ridge noticed that someone was being led to the platform from inside one of the dwellings closest to the plaza. It was Sam.
“I don’t like this,” Jack murmured worriedly.
Sam was calmly walking between two young men. Like the rest of the village, they were bare-chested. Dressed in her green pants and black t-shirt, Sam looked out of place amongst the scantily dressed people. She did not seem mistreated, but Jack could tell that she was very uncomfortable.
“We better watch for a few moments before we do anything,” Daniel suggested cautiously, putting a hand on Jack’s shoulder to prevent him from moving.
“Watch for what? She’s there, she’s not supposed to be there, and we are going to go get her!” Jack responded in a no-nonsense tone.
“I would like to try to understand the situation better, that’s all,” Daniel insisted.
“We’ll understand it once we ask them what the hell is going on, Daniel” Jack retorted, already on his feet and motioning Teal’c to start walking down toward the village.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]