Dagda and Boann
Dagda and Boann
by Sonya
TITLE: Dagda and Boann
AUTHOR: Sonya
EMAIL: sonyam@gofree.indigo.ie
CATEGORY: Sam and Jack
SPOILERS: None
SEASON / SEQUEL: None
RATING: PG-15
CONTENT WARNINGS:
SUMMARY: SG1 discover a Celtic culture who think that Jack and Sam are gods.
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks to Karen and Ann for all their help when I got a bit stuck! And to my beta readers. This just sort of popped into my head back in November when I was sitting in Irish listening to my spawn of Satan teacher talk about the Celtic calendar and how it was coming up to Samhain, the feast of the god Dagda. I have to make a few little apologies about the really bad Irish you'll see in this and I just hope that no-one here actually knows the language so they can't correct me on it, but I tried and that's what counts. Oh and for the crap name! I just couldn't think of anything better. :)
Oh and words in /'s are the natives speaking in their native language and another one. :)
"Carter, I thought you said this planet was uninhabited." O'Neill hissed to Carter as his eyes flicked between her face and the large crowd of mean looking men, heading towards their position.
"The MALP didn't pick up any signs of life sir! What do you think I am, psychic?" She replied, as she popped her head up over the fallen tree trunk to see where their would-be attackers were. Unfortunately, one of them saw her and started pointing wildly at her and calling to the rest of his friends.
Daniel watched from his position behind a large bush as the men dragged Sam out from the woods and into a small clearing to his left. 'Shit!' He thought quietly as he looked over at Jack who was staring at the group of men around Sam, his jaw set tight and his fingers turning white due to his strong grip on his gun. As he caught Jack's attention he pleaded with him not to do anything rash, but the look in Jack's eyes remained the same.
'I'm gonna kill every one of those bastards!' Jack thought to himself. Just as he got ready to move in Teal'c grabbed him from behind and held him still, motioning for O'Neill to watch what was happening before them.
One of the men pushed Sam face first onto the ground while another was trying to take off her helmet. She reached down to her holster, but her side arm was gone. The man trying to take off her helmet finally finished his task and threw the dark green hat to one side. He reached down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. When he saw her face, the look of satisfaction of catching his pray was replaced with one of obvious fear and he dropped her chin.
He looked up to his fellow comrades and whispered, "Is i Boann! Is i Boann."
At his words all of the men stopped laughing and stared down at Carter in fear. Several of them began repeating the first man's words, "Is i Boann, is i Boann."
The man standing in front of Sam fell to his knees and bowed his head towards her. Others soon followed him on the ground, but most dropped their weapons and ran back in the direction from which they had come.
Sensing that these people were no longer much of a threat, Sam carefully stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes and reached for her gun, which one of the men offered to her. The men, all seven of them, were staring up at her in awe and fear.
"It's OK to come out sir...I think." She called into the woods.
Several seconds later Jack, Daniel and Teal'c entered the clearing, their weapons ready.
Jack looked down suspiciously at the men on their knees in front of her, "It looks like you've got a few admirer's there Carter," he said sarcastically as he stopped beside her. He put his hand on her forearm, his expression serious again.
"These guys didn't hurt you did they?" He asked as he looked into her eyes.
"No...no, I'm fine, just a few bruises that's all," she replied as she stared back into Jack's eyes. It was so easy to get lost in them. She quickly shook herself out of her trance as she heard one of the natives speaking.
"Dagda? Ba a e Dagda?" He said as he pointed to Jack.
The man was still clearly terrified. Both Sam and Jack looked over to Daniel questioningly.
Daniel cleared his throat, "It's some sort of Celtic language that much I can figure out, but I never studied any Celtic language in great detail before so I'm not really sure what he is saying. But the name Dagda does sound familiar and so does Boann for that matter." Daniel said.
The man who had mentioned Dagda looked up at Daniel and pointed to Sam and Jack.
"Is iad Dagda agus Boann?" he asked. Daniel looked over to Jack and Sam and shrugged his shoulders.
'What the hell,' He thought to himself. "Dagda agus Boann," he said and pointed to Jack and Sam. All the men gasped and bowed down until their noses were touching the ground, and then they rose again. They repeated this several times.
"Daniel! Why did you tell them that? For all we know this Daga and Bonn could be their arch enemies and that would NOT be good for interplanetary relations!" Jack hissed at him.
Daniel shrugged again. "I had to tell them something, besides I think we'd be dead already if that were true. I'm guessing that Dagda and Boann are their gods, just not gou'auld ones... I hope."
Jack sent an evil glare in Daniel's direction and Sam just rolled her eyes.
"I think Daniel's probably right on this one, sir." Sam said, "I mean they really do look scared, well scared of you sir."
Jack looked over at Sam. "OK, Ok, so maybe the Space Monkey has a point, but I still don't like it," Jack said, 'And I really wish they would stop looking at Carter that way!' He thought to himself.
One of the men looked over at Daniel and began pointing in the direction that the other men had run several minutes earlier. "Teighimid go dhi an bhaile?" Daniel looked at him blankly for a moment. "Bhaile... bhaile," Daniel repeated to himself several times, as the rest of the group looked at him questioningly.
"Town or village, that's what it means. Jack, I think he want to take us to their village."
Jack looked at him sceptically. "You sure Daniel?"
Daniel nodded his head. "I do remember some of the basic words and phrases of the Celtic language. Maybe now I'll get to brush up on them," Daniel said with a grin and followed the group of men who had already begun walking.
Jack sighed and gave Sam and Teal'c the all clear to go and follow him.
***
The journey through the forest was a silent one. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, except for Daniel that is. He had been bothering one of the local people since they had first started walking. Sean Og, Daniel somehow found out his name, was looking pretty annoyed with the young archaeologist. Sean Og was bigger then Teal'c. With his long blond hair, moustache and the sword tied to his belt he looked like a force to be reckoned with. Of course this was not something Daniel picked up on, and he had been trying to talk to him
for almost an hour.
Jack had been keeping an eye on Daniel. He seemed to always get on the bad side of all the big guys and Jack didn't want to add another whumping to his list. However, even Daniel eventually tired of trying to communicate with the guy and eventually left him in peace. Now that Jack knew that Daniel was safe for the moment, he turned his sights onto another member of his team. Sam was walking several meters behind him and appeared to be lost in thought. Jack slowed his pace so she could catch up.
"Hey Carter, are you ok?" He asked her once she was walking along side him. Sam looked up at him, only just realising that she was walking beside him.
"Sorry sir, I was somewhere else. What did you say?"
"I asked if you were ok. I mean its not every day that a group of people who were about to kill you suddenly change their minds and decide you are a god, or something." Jack said as he unconsciously put his arm around her shoulder to steady her when she tripped slightly over an exposed root.
"I'm fine, I just can't help feeling uneasy about this. I keep thinking that e are about to get ambushed or something." Sam said as she looked at Jack's arm, which was still draped over her shoulder, she felt her heart quicken and her breath catch at his close proximity. Jack continued on as if he didn 't realise what he was doing.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. This friendly villager thing has happened a lot and we always end up getting into some kind of life or death situation."
Samsmiled a bit and then looked up at him."Ah... sir?"
Jack looked down at Sam and realised that he had had his arm around her shoulders the entire time. "Oh, sorry Carter," he said and removed his hand. "I'd... mm... I'd better go and see what Danny's up to now," he said and walked faster to catch up with Daniel.
But Sam had easily seen the embarrassment and the shock in his eyes when he realised what he had been doing. Sam couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed, she had enjoyed those few minutes of closeness with Jack. 'Get a grip girl,' she chastised herself. 'He doesn't think of me that way. He was just being friendly and helping me regain my balance,' she thought to herself as she picked up her pace to catch up with everyone else.
***
The village that Daniel had said they were going to turned out to be a hell of a lot bigger then a village. It looked like a city of shabby, battered mud huts. A few of the city's more important buildings were made out of wood, such as the main meeting hall where they now stood.
"Danny, what's going on?" Jack asked Daniel for the tenth time in twenty minutes. After arriving in the city, they had been rushed through tiny empty streets to the largest and most elaborate building in the city.
"Jack, for the last time, I don't know." Daniel said and turned his attention back to one of the many paintings that were hung in the room.
"Perhaps they are sending for their leaders, O'Neill." Teal'c said in his usual stoic voice.
"Ya think!" Jack muttered and sat down on the dusty floor beside Sam. "You still feel worried about this, Carter?"
Sam looked around the room and sighed, "Well yeah, this just seems to easy, sir. But maybe I'm just being paranoid. For all I know, this could be the first peaceful mission we've had in a longtime."
Jack laughed "Where have I heard that before?" he said with a chuckle.
"Ah guys, I think you'd better get over here. I think I know why those guys were so scared of you," Daniel called without turning his attention from a painting at the other end of the room. Both Jack and Sam stood up and walked over to Daniel. Teal'c stayed near the door probably waiting for the townspeople to return.
"What is it Daniel?" Sam asked.
"Look at the painting." Daniel said, as he stepped back to let them get a closer look. Jack and Sam stared at it for a moment,
"Oh my god!" they both murmured simultaneously.
In the painting stood two people, a man and a woman. They were dressed in simple woollen clothing. Both held a sword up to the dark cloudy sky. In the background stood a burning village, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky. But the two people in the picture were holding hands, the woman's hand resting on her swollen stomach. The woman looked exactly like Sam.
"O'Neill, the villagers are returning." Teal'c called from the doorway. Jack reluctantly tore his gaze from the painting and jogged over to Teal'c. The men who had led them to the city were returning with a large crowd of men and women. All of them were dressed in the same kind of garments. The men were wearing long brown tunics, which reached mid thigh, black trousers and boots. A sword hung at their sides. The women were wearing much the same except they were also wearing long red shawls which were pinned to their tunics with large ornamental broaches.
Teal'c and Jack stood further back into the room so they wouldn't be seen watching for them. Daniel and Sam were walking over to them as the crowd pushed into the room, They seemed to be half-debating, half-arguing about something. "Probably us!" Jack thought to himself with a snort. As soon as they noticed Carter they were silent, the men who had led them here had an obvious 'I told you so smirk' on their faces. Again, whispers of, 'Is I Boann' were heard through the crowd. Several of the women took off their shawls and laid them on the ground by Sam's feet. One of them also took out a small dagger from underneath her tunic, she pulled out Sam's hand and carefully put the dagger into it.
Sam looked up at the woman in shock. The woman had just handed her the most beautifully decorated dagger she had ever seen and that included all the sacrificial Inca and Aztec ones Daniel had shown her over the Internet. The handle of the dagger was made out of some sort of crystal with other different coloured jewels embedded in it. The actual dagger was made out of silver, but there were spiralling patterns of gold on it. It was clearly a decorative object.
One of the men, who Sam recognised as the one who had tried to remove her helmet in the woods earlier pointed over to Jack.
"Is e Dagda!" he said. Everyone looked over at Jack. they didn't seem as sure as they were when they had seen Sam. 'That's probably because the guy in the picture didn't look like Jack.' Sam thought to herself. 'The people in the picture were obviously lovers, but why then had the men thought that Jack and I were them?' Sam suddenly looked around nervously, 'God! I hope they're not telepathic!"
***
Jack looked in the mirror with a sigh. He looked ridiculous in the long dark red tunic that reached to his knees and tight green trousers that looked more like tights. For the fifth time he cursed Daniel for accepting the local's invitation to this celebration, well, what he hoped was just a celebration. He was still having difficulties understanding their language. But as usual several of the local women had been only too happy to try and teach him. Jack shook his head and smiled. 'And Danny-boy still believes that women don't see him that way! Man, that guy can be really slow sometimes!' Jack thought as he turned his attention back to fixing his clothes.
The one thing that he liked about the monkey costume that he had to wear was the sword that one of the towns-men had given to him when they were in the town hall. He knew everyone would laugh at him if he told them that he used to run around his neighbourhood with a plastic glow-in-the-dark sword and terrorise his neighbours when he was a kid. And what would probably make them laugh even harder was that he still had it stored somewhere up in his attic. He looked over at the door as he heard it creaking open and Sam popped her head through the door.
"I guess you hate your clothes as much as I hate mine?" She said with a smile as she looked him over.
Jack nodded, "Come let me see you, it can't be as bad as mine." He said as he held out his arms and did a half twirl. Sam laughed and stepped into the hut. She was wearing a simple dark green dress that reached down to her ankles and she had more then a bit of cleavage showing. Jack was speechless,
"You...um... you look...nice." He eventually managed to stutter out. Sam smiled.
"Thanks... I wish I could say the same about you!" she said as her smile turned into a full-fledged grin.
***
Daniel looked around and sighed. The party was in full swing and everyone seemed to be having a great time, including Jack and Sam, who had drunk a lot of the local alcohol and had relaxed considerably since earlier in the evening. Once again Daniel was tempted to try some of the booze, but he was worried. The more he thought about the names Dagda and Boann, the more he became sure that it wasn't a legend were they all lived happily ever after. "I think way too much for my own good." He chuckled to himself as he stood up and stretched the kinks out of his legs. It was then that he noticed Teal 'c standing by the door keenly watching what was going on in the hall, but mainly watching the other totally-pissed half of SG1, who had gotten up and were now slow dancing to a fast upbeat jig.
"Do you think we should remove them from each other?" Teal'c questioned Daniel as he came to a stop beside him. Daniel smiled.
"I dunno, it would mean we would have less to tease them over in the morning." Teal'c cocked his head and raised his eyebrow like he usually did when he was confused.
"I do not think it is wise to leave them together in this drunken state Daniel Jackson, they may to something to damage their delicate relationship."
"Delicate relationship, Teal'c? Is there something you're not telling me?" Daniel asked.
"It is obvious that there is a mutual attraction between Carter and O'Neill, one which they are not yet ready to explore and if we let this happen it could damage any chance they have at finding love together at a later date." Teal'c stated with a certainty that shocked Daniel. Daniel had always known there was an attraction between his friends, but he had never though that anything would ever come of it. Thinking of his two best friends together was a scary thought, they were so different!
***
"So Sam, do you wanna take this somewhere a bit quieter?" O'Neill asked as he pulled Sam even closer to him.
"As tempting as that sounds...Jack," Sam purred into his ear, "I think Danny and Teal'c have other idea's," she said as she pointed over to Teal'c and Daniel who were now walking over to them.
"Damn! They have to have the worst timing. What do you say we try to ditch them?" Jack said with a sly grin.
"I'd say lead the way babe!" Sam said, her voice slurred. Jack took her hand and led her through the crown of dancing people.
***
"Where have they gone?" Daniel asked for the tenth time as he scratched his head. Teal'c, who had obviously figured out that it was a rhetorical question, didn't reply.
"You don't think they were deliberately trying to get away from us do you?" Daniel asked. Teal'c raised his eyebrows and Daniel could have sworn he saw amusement in his eyes.
"I think it is very likely that they are trying to be alone, Daniel Jackson. Do you think we should stop them?" Daniel stopped and looked at Teal'c, his expression thoughtful.
"No Teal'c, I think this is one mistake they have to make by themselves." Daniel said and with that he turned around and started walking back in the direction of the party.
"Where are you going Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"Well Teal'c, I don't see why Sam and Jack are the only ones who can enjoy themselves."
***
Both Jack and Sam fell in a heap on the bed still locked in a passionate kiss, their tongues duelling for supremacy as fingers tried to remove clothing. Sam rolled over so she was on top, sitting on his thighs, she broke the kiss and tried to open the buttons of his top. Jack ran his hands up and down her arms, over the shoulders and chest, stopping briefly to caress her breasts. He leaned up and began kissing her neck as he tried to pull down her dress. Sam pulled his head away from her neck and kissed him hard on the mouth. Jack let out a frustrated groan as he tried again to get her dress off, he rolled them over and they fell onto the flood with a thud. Sam moaned as the air was knocked out of her lungs, she pushed Jack off her, sat up and tried to catch her breath. Jack sat up against the bed and redid the buttons of his shirt as Sam straightened out her dress and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Eh... what just happened?" Jack asked, feeling a bit more sober. Sam sat back and leaned on the bed beside him, the length of their legs touching.
"I think you should be asking, what almost happened, sir." She said as she rubbed her face with her hands.
"Yeah, and I think your being a bit formal, Sam, considering what almost happened. Call me Jack." Sam nodded,
"Jack... we were... are drunk, we aren't responsible for our actions, it didn't mean anything." Jack studied Sam closely,
"Liar," he whispered. Sam turned her head sharply and glared at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded. Jack shrugged.
"If it meant nothing, Sam, then it wouldn't have happened. I won't lie to you Sam, I find you very attractive and there is no point in me or you saying it meant nothing because it did mean something and you know it did," he said, his voice rising a bit before the end. Sam stood up and began pacing in front of him,
"You're right, it did mean something. But it shouldn't," she said as she stopped pacing and stood in front of Jack, a sad expression on her face. "What are we going to do now?" Jack reached up, took her hand and pulled her down to sit next to him.
"I don't know. I know how important your career is to you and I don't want to lose you from SG1 but..." He left his sentence unfinished.
"But you want more," Sam finished for him and Jack nodded looking up at her.
"So do I," Sam whispered as she looked into Jack's eyes. Without thinking Jack reached over and caressed her cheek, his thumb gently brushing over her lips. Sam's eyes flicked from Jack's eyes to his lips and back again. She gently lowered her head to kiss him gently on the lips.
After several seconds they hesitantly parted and rested their foreheads together. Sam closed her eyes but couldn't stop a single tear from falling down her cheek.
"But we can't... can't let this happen, Jack... we have to stop." She whispered as she stood up and wiped her face. Jack stood up and took her into his arms in a gentle hug. Sam buried her face into his chest determined to stop crying like a child a do what she had to do. Jack gently pushed her away and took her chin in his hand.
"I know Sam, right person but wrong time and place right?" Sam smiled as she backed away and sat on the bed.
"Yeah, that's about right," she said, "I'm so tired." She yawned as she lay her head gently on the pillow. Jack nodded and turned to leave.
"Stay with me." She called after him. Jack didn't need another invitation, he lay down on the bed next to Sam and put his arms around her. They both fell asleep almost immediately.
***
A local man and woman stood outside the hut where Sam and Jack were sleeping peacefully.
/They are the gods. / The woman whispered in awe as she watched the sleeping couple.
/If they are, we must follow the prophecy, the woman will be drowned at dawn. / The man replied gruffly as he walked away, hidden from view by the shadows of the houses.
***
Sam awoke to find a young woman shaking her shoulder gently. Jack was still fast asleep behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. Sam was about to shake Jack awake when the woman shook her head negatively. The woman placed a finger on her lips, indicating for Sam to be quiet and she held out a hand to her.
Sam carefully disentangled herself from Jack's close embrace, careful not to wake him, and stood up beside the woman. The woman took her hand and led her out of the hut and out into the dawn.
*** Daniel sat up with a start, trying to identify his surroundings and ignore the beginnings of light that were seeping into the hut that did nothing to improve his headache. He was sitting on a bed in one of the huts, Teal'c was meditating on the floor and gave no indication that he knew Daniel was awake.
Feeling the need to empty out his bladder, Daniel slid off the bed grabbed his backpack and padded out of the hut.
Having relieved himself and now feeling a bit more awake, Daniel decided to take a quick look around. The first light of the day was beginning to sweep the horizon and the place was deadly quiet. Most of the huts were simple ones made from mud and sticks. Some were bigger then others, that obviously indicated wealth but other than that they all looked the same. Daniel remembered the large meeting hall they had first been in when the entered the village, it was the only completely wooden building there and the only building of any significance the village. From the sheer size of it he knew there was more to the building then they had seen yesterday.
"I wonder what they keep in there?" He thought to himself and images of gold and valuable things flashed in his mind, but they were quickly replaced by the thought that it might be an archive of some sort, filled with books and documents about their past. It seemed to make sense since the pictures on the walls seemed to be telling a story that was obviously very important to these people. Daniel began walking in the direction of the building, his thoughts fixed on what treasures he would find.
Once he got there it didn't take him long to find a door on one of the east walls of the room, it was painted the same way as the walls which made it easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. Surprisingly it wasn't locked and Daniel stepped inside and shut the door. He was standing in a windowless hallway, simple wooden torches on the wall gave the only light. As he walked along the hall he studied the pages of writing that were fixed on the wall.
"What the hell?" He murmured to himself. The symbols were undoubtedly Egyptian hieroglyphics. Suddenly he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder.
"Ca bhfuill a bionn tu san ait?" Said a very annoyed looking middle-aged woman. Daniel had no idea what she had just said, but by the expression on her face he knew he wasn't supposed to be here. The woman studied him for a moment and then looked at the hieroglyphics thoughtfully.
/You... understand the pages? / The woman spoke in faltering Egyptian. Daniel stared in shock, 'how the hell did this woman know Egyptian?'
/Yes I do/ Daniel said slowly so the woman could understand, /Where did you get this? And how do you understand it? / The woman shook her head and muttering something Daniel couldn't understand lead him by the elbow down the hall. She stopped at a large door and pulled one of the torches from the wall she pushed open the door and led him into the room.
It took Daniel's eyes time to adjust to the lower level of lighting in the room but when he did he gasped at his surroundings. The walls were covered by golden hieroglyphic symbols. The only place he had ever seen that before was on a gou'auld ship.
/This is where the knowledge was made. / The woman stated as she walked around the room.
/What knowledge? I don't understand. / Daniel said, becoming even more confused as he noticed a shelf filled with journals. He walked over to the shelf and picked up the one closest to him, he flicked through it, it was hand-written in hieroglyphics. Daniel closed the book and looked over at the woman.
/What is your name?/ He asked her in Egyptian. The woman looked unsure as to whether on not she could trust him,
/ My name is Bhride. You are Daniel Jackson,/ she said with a small smile, /How do you know the language of the scholars?/
Daniel looked around again, as far as he could see the only things in this room were books, pictures and the occasional map. There was no gou'auld weaponry or technology. He decided to change the subject.
/Tell me about Dagda and Boann,/ he said as he bent down to open his backpack.
/Dagda is the god that protects our village from rival villages, he keeps us save. Boann is his mistress and mother to his son./ The woman said as if she was surprised that Daniel had to be told about them.
/So.../ Daniel began as he put the journal in his bag and took another off the shelf. /They protect you, they make sure your crops are good, that kind of thing?/ Daniel finished as he packed up his bag again. The woman nodded her head,
/Yes, but we never thought we would see them again and we do not look forward to following the prophecy and completing the legend. You cannot take the knowledge of the scholars without getting permission from the Re./ Daniel looked up at the woman.
/I have permission to try and translate some of it./ He lied, /What is the prophecy?/ The woman studied Daniel carefully.
/You know what it is you are the one who brought them here. The woman is being drowned as we speak, it will bring an end to the fear of Dagda and all other gods. They will no longer have any power over us. /
Daniel's head shot up to look at her. "Sam!" he whispered. Daniel grabbed his bag and ran out of the building.
***
The woman led Sam through the maze of huts. It was still semi-dark so Sam couldn't place where she was or what direction she was heading in. She was beginning to have second thoughts about following the woman when the huts began to thin out, indicating that they were leaving the village. Having made up her mind, Sam stopped walking and looked at them woman.
"I'm going back," she said pointing back to the village, "I'm going to get my friends." Sam said, hoping the woman would understand. Sam tore herself from the woman's grip and began to walk back towards the village. Sam looked back once and saw the woman shaking her head sadly.
A feeling of unease settled over Sam, she was sure now that something was going on. Then she heard heavy footsteps approaching her from behind. Without thinking, she broke into a sprint towards the village. But it was too far and the people behind her were too fast. She knew she was never going to make it. She pulled off her dog tags and was about to throw them on the ground when something hit her in the shoulder and sent her flying to the ground. A searing pain swept through her body, starting at her shoulder. Her last thoughts before she lost consciousness were of the pictures on the walls of the hall.
Two of the men lifted Carter's still from up off the ground and began walking in the direction the woman had taken her. No one noticed the discarded dog tags lying on the ground.
***
Teal'c was awakened from his meditation by someone shouting his name. He quickly stood up, grabbed his staff weapon and exited the hut. He saw Daniel Jackson running towards him.
"Teal'c! I have to find Jack! Follow the people to the lake, Sam's in trouble." Teal'c wasted no time and began sprinting in the direction the crowds of people were headed.
Daniel ran from hut to hut, trying to find Jack, all the while he was screaming his name.
"Oh come on Jack! Where the hell are you?" He muttered to himself as he ran into another hut to see Jack sleeping peacefully on the bed. Daniel rushed over and began shaking him vigorously.
"Jack, wake up!" he shouted at him. Jack opened his eyes and immediately shot to attention.
"Danny what's wrong?" he said as he looked around, "And where's Sam?" he demanded. Daniel took a few deep breaths,
"Sam's in trouble, they want to fulfill a prophecy and drown her," he said.
"What! I knew something had to go wrong!" Jack said as he got off the bed and grabbed his gun. "Where did they take her?"
"To a lake outside the village, I don't know exactly were it is, but Teal'c went on ahead." Daniel said as they ran in the direction that Teal'c had gone. The streets were now quiet, everyone was at the lake, which meant it would happen soon, or it already had. They were still running when they reached the outskirts of the village. Jack stopped and looked around, the path forked out in opposite directions as it entered a forest.
"Where too now?" Daniel asked.
"The one to the left it looks like a lot of people have passed through it recently," Jack replied as he began running again.
***
Teal'c shadowed the groups of people that were making their way down the dirt road. He had been glad when the path had finally entered the woodlands as it offered more cover than the few shabby huts had in the village. The people were all dressed in black, and were talking quietly among themselves. He followed them silently for several hundred meters until the trees began to thin out and a large expanse of water could be seen ahead.
Teal'c had no choice but to wait in the trees behind a fallen tree trunk as he would easily be seen if he left the shelter of the forest. In front of him stretched a large lake, the land on the other side only visible at the horizon. The groups of people began walking along the shore line and when Teal'c looked left he saw what they were heading for. About half a kilometre away a wooden pathway reached out into the lake, and the people were all gathering around it. The wooden walkway went out about a hundred metres into the lake and then stopped suddenly. A large platform was attached to the end of the walkway. At that distance Teal'c could barely make out a lone figure lying on the platform. Teal'c looked behind him, willing for Daniel and O'Neill to hurry up.
***
"Jack, wait, I think I've found something." Daniel said as he made his way over to the piece of metal that had reflected the early sunlight and caught his attention. He bent down and picked them up as he heard Jack approaching from behind and said, "They're Sam's dog tags." Jack stopped beside his and took the tags and placed them in his pocket.
"At least we know we are going the right way." He said gruffly.
Soon enough they came to the river and began to skirt around it, all the while they were becoming more and more concerned about Sam's safety. As they approached a large fallen tree trunk Teal'c popped his head up and signalled for them to join him.
"Major Carter is out on that platform O'Neill. I believe she is in serious danger. She has not regained consciousness in the entire time I have been observing her. One of the villagers went up to her briefly but I could not see what he was doing. I believe..."
"That they're going to try and drown her." Daniel finished for him. Teal'c simply nodded in response. Jack swore and took his binoculars.
"They tied something to her waist, it looks pretty heavy and she is bleeding, but I can't see from where." Jack said as he handed the binoculars to Teal'c. "Teal'c you've observed that's been going on, what's the best way to do this?" Jack asked.
"I do not believe that they would be pleased that we interrupted their ceremony. Also if we tried to go up and get Major Carter, she would be dead before we get there. We must surprise them, O'Neill." Teal'c stated as he looked through the binoculars. Jack looked at the crowd of people for a moment,
"Teal'c, can you swim fast?" He asked.
"I can." Came Teal'c reply.
"Teal'c I want you to swim out to the platform and we will create a diversion long enough for you to get Carter away from these guys." Both Teal'c and Daniel nodded and Teal'c began to make his way down to the shore.
Once he was waist deep in the water he was able to start swimming. He had moved slightly away from the walkway so there was less chance of him being noticed. His strong arms sliced through the water leaving only a small splash each time they entered the water. When he was about 50 metres away from the platform he looked up and noticed that two men were now hauling Carter to the edge of the plat form. Teal'c picked up his pace, but he knew he would be too late.
From the shore he heard weapons being fired and he knew his friends had initiated their diversion, but it was too little too late. When Teal'c was about 20 meters from the platform he heard a loud splash and he saw Carter sink straight under. He looked up again to see the two men who had pushed her running back down the walkway. The people at the shore by the walkway had dispersed and Jack and Daniel were running down the walkway at full speed. When the two men saw Jack running towards them they both jumped in the water and began swimming to shore. Teal'c finally reached the position where he had seen Carter go under and, after taking a deep breath, dived under the water.
It water was murky and it stung his eyes, making it very difficult to see. He swam deeper and deeper reaching blindly in front of him, desperately hoping to grab a piece of fabric. He only surfaced when lack of oxygen forced him to. He was greeted by the worried faces of O'Neill and Jackson. As he shook his head negatively Jack began shrugging out of his gear and dived into the water. Teal'c took another deep breath and dived under the water. Samantha Carter had been under water for over 2 minutes.
Teal'c pushed himself further under than before, at this depth it was almost impossible to see so he was just groping around blindly. Suddenly his hand touched something that felt distinctly like human hair. Ignoring the burning sensation in his lungs, he reached deeper until he had his arms wrapped around her waist. He quickly untied the rope wrapped around her waist and began his rapid ascent to the surface.
As he burst into the air he breathed a sigh of relief as he tried to call to Daniel and O'Neill. Daniel, who was still on the platform, noticed him first and called to Jack who helped Teal'c carry Sam over to the platform. Daniel hauled her up onto the platform and checked her breathing as both Jack and Teal'c hauled themselves out.
"She's not breathing!" He called as he began chest compressions. Jack tilted her head back and breathed air into her mouth,
"Come on Sam!" He whispered between breaths, "Breath for me." Still nothing... Daniel and Jack continued CPR.
***
The first thing she noticed was the pain, and boy was there lots of it! Her head, her shoulder, her chest, her throat. She moaned as someone gently shook her other shoulder,
"Sam? Can you hear me? Come on I know you're awake!" She recognised that voice anywhere... Jack. Slowly she opened one eye and looked out sleepily at Jack. Jack grinned at her and took her hand in his.
"Hey sleepy head you gave us all quiet a scare out there," he said in a mock annoyed tone. Sam smiled sleepily at his words and at the fact that he was holding her hand.
"Yeah? Sorry bout that," she said with a yawn. "So tired," she mumbled as she drifted back to sleep again. Jack smiled down fondly at her and he gently brushed her bangs from her forehead lovingly as he stood up he placed a tender kiss there. He turned to leave just as a young airman entered the room.
"Doctor Jackson is looking for you, sir. He says it's urgent, he's in his office," the airman told him.
"Very well, thanks," Jack said as he left the room and made his way down to Daniel's office.
"So Danny whats so important that it couldn't wait till the debriefing?" Jack asked Daniel who was hunched over his desk studying something intently. Daniel looked up at Jack, he seemed rather dazed.
"You know the meeting hall we were led into when we were on that planet a few days ago?" Daniel started.
"Yeah?"
"Well I found some sort of archive in the building, a gou'auld archive and I took two of the books with me." Jack's attention spiked when he heard this.
"Yeah? Find anything interesting?" he asked. Daniel took off his glasses and looked at Jack.
"Actually yes, I was able to translate the beginning of one of the books," he said as he put his glasses back on and lifted up a piece of paper and began to read.
"In the beginning, when god created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, the Spirit Of God was moving the water." Daniel finished the piece and looked up and Jack expectantly. Jack just stared at him for a moment.
"It that from what I think it's from?" he asked uncertainly.
Daniel nodded his head. "Yeah, it's from the book of Genesis. It's from the Bible."
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