Sam stumbled in the blackness and shuddered as the brittle wind hissed against the exposed skin of her wrist. She couldn’t tell if it was day or night, because the planet she was on was engulfed with varying degrees of darkness at all times.
Five minutes ago, Cam and Daniel had been right in front of her. She was certain of that. In the intervening moments, though, the darkness seemed to have swallowed them whole. Part of her wanted to call out to them, to ask them to make a sound to help her get her bearings. The seasoned USAF officer in her knew she couldn’t risk exposure, though. The best she could do is make it back to the ‘Gate and get reinforcements.
Four days before, SG-1 and SG-3 had arrived at a village, one they’d visited many times in the past two years. Recently, the residents, who called themselves the Kerebens—Daniel said it meant “Peaceful Dwellers” in the villagers’ native language—had been visited by an Ori Prior. The Kerebens had been well-briefed on the threat posed by the Ori, so the village elders had immediately sought the assistance of their allies from Earth.
Landry had ordered SG units 1 and 3 to aid the Kerebens in resisting the Ori or if need be, in relocating to another home. Sam was pleased they’d been assigned to help the Kerebens. After all, it had been SG-1 who had made first contact with the Kerebens two years ago. They’d bonded with the villagers. In particular, Sam had fond memories of Morlan, the teenaged son of one of the elders, who had insisted upon following her and Daniel around when SG-1 had first arrived in the village. He had been fascinated that Daniel could speak so many different languages and tried to coax Daniel into teaching him greetings in twenty different languages.
When the SG teams had arrived to aid the Kerebens against the Ori, they did not find the warm, peaceful allies they had expected. Instead, they discovered the broken bodies of the village elders, littering the once-immaculate village meeting house.
It didn’t take long for Sam and her companions to realize that there had been some sort of coup in the village. The elders, as it turned out, were the lone Kerebens who opposed the message of the Ori, and they had paid for their dissent with their lives.
Cam had just ordered the teams back to the ‘Gate, when the villagers ambushed them, pledging to eradicate the unbelievers in the name of the Ori.
The hours and days since that moment had been a blur. Sam knew at least one member of SG-3 was dead, and she thought she might have seen Teal’c take a hit. The Kerebens weren’t the most technologically advanced culture they’d encountered, but they were formidable guerilla fighters. And they knew this terrain inside and out.
“Peaceful Dwellers, my ass,” Sam muttered, as she felt around in the darkness.
***
After wandering around for what seemed like hours, Sam finally heard loud voices coming from somewhere a few feet to her left. She couldn’t tell who the voices belonged to, or if their volume was due to panic, or anger. Still, they were the first signs of life she’d heard in a while.
She crept toward the voices until she realized with some relief that one of them belonged to Cam.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Cam was saying to someone. Then, there was a muffled voice and a thud, and Cam spat, “Dammit.”
She was about to call out to Cam when a familiar voice said, “ColonelCarter?”
“Teal’c,” she said, relief flooding over her. “I am so glad to hear your voice.”
“Whoa,” Cam said, shuffling over. “Teal’c is that Sam?”
“Indeed.”
“Score one for the good guys” Cam said. He walked toward her until he nearly ran into her. Still, she could barely make out his form in the darkness. “We thought we’d lost you.”
“Likewise,” Sam said. “Is Daniel with you?”
“Yeah,” Cam said. “He’s here. So is the cavalry, finally.” Cam leaned in a whispered, “SG-12 and SG-14. The boneheads didn’t bother to bring extra night vision goggles. They have theirs, but the rest of us are blind. We’ll have to play follow the leader.”
“Is this all of us?” Sam asked.
“This is it,” she heard Colonel Reynolds answer, his voice hollow. “I lost two of mine.”
Sam winced. The members of SG-3 were good people, and Sam wondered to herself which two didn’t make it. “How close are we to the ‘Gate?” Sam asked.
“According to SG-12,” Cam said. “We’re about ten minutes away.”
“How about the Kerebens?”
“I reckon a few are still out there, but SG-14 has the ‘Gate secured. You’re gonna have to help me with Vala. She’s a little out of it.”
***
The trek back to the ‘Gate was done in silence. The only sounds were the occasional gusts of wind and the tramping of Air Force issue boots. The blackness of the Kereben world seemed to embody and amplify the sense of gloom that was swirling around in Sam’s chest.
She wanted to wrap her arms around herself to ward off the winds, but she they were full of a swaying and unnaturally quiet Vala.
After they all walked through the ‘Gate into the light of the SGC, Sam glanced around and noticed that a limping Colonel Reynolds was being supported by Cam and Baker, the only surviving member of Reynolds’ team. When she caught a glimpse of Daniel, noticed that he was covered in blood. Concern jolting through her, she reached out to see if he was wounded, but he pulled away.
“Not mine,” he said, his voice as icy as the Kereben winds. With no further explanation, he trudged down the ramp toward the waiting medical personnel, leaving Sam to stare after him.