Blood of My Heart, Beloved of My Soul
Chapter 2
A Voice in the Wind
SG1 sat around the
table being debriefed by General Hammond.
Jack O’Neill was not a happy camper.
“Daniel, could you please tell me what you thought you were
doing? What in the world made you run
for the DHD like that under such heavy enemy fire? If that whirlwind hadn’t suddenly come up and
pushed those
“Jack, I heard you tell me to go. I heard you tell me.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did not.”
“Did, too.”
“Not.”
“Too.”
“Sir.” Major Samantha Carter broke into the quickly deteriorating disagreement. “I heard you, too. You told Daniel to make a break for it, and dial us home.”
“Indeed, Colonel O’Neill. I also heard you give the order to leave.”
Jack looked at each of his teammates in astonishment. Was he losing his mind? Or were they losing theirs? He had not given that order.
“Well, people,” General Hammond stated, “I’d say that in the heat of the battle there was some confusion. It can happen, but it’s dangerous. Maybe you should all give the whole thing some serious thought, and then write your reports with as much detail as you can. That may help figure out where the wires were crossed. You’ll be on downtime for the next several days, so try to get some rest. You’ve all been going pretty much flat out the last few months. Take a few days and just relax. Hopefully, nothing out of the ordinary will happen for a while. Dismissed.”
Jack and Teal’c were already heading for the door. Their teammates were somewhat slower, taking their time, neatly tidying their notes before gathering them up and heading for the door.
“Sam?” Daniel asked, almost hesitantly.
“Daniel?” Sam answered, a question in her voice, noticing his obvious unease.
“You got a few minutes?” He finally managed to ask.
“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” Now she was curious. It wasn’t like Daniel to be this cautious in his approach. They were very good friends and usually weren’t shy about asking each other things.
“Well, um, can we go someplace a little more private?” He asked quietly.
Samantha Carter laughed softly, “Okay, your lab or mine?”
Daniel smiled back at her and seemed to relax a little. “Well, mine is closer, and I’ll even make a fresh pot of coffee. And I have chocolate, dark, rich chocolate.”
“Sounds like a deal to me. Let’s go.”
The two friends walked together down the hall. One was curious, and one was trying to appear casual and at ease. It wasn’t working. Daniel knew he looked anxious. What he had to say to Sam might get him a medical checkup if anyone else found out about it. Nevertheless, he had to ask her. Things were getting just too strange lately. This last mission had made it all even stranger. He was sure he had heard Jack tell him to dial them home, until now. Now, he realized that it hadn’t been Jack’s voice at all. He had to admit it. He was spooked.
“Okay, Daniel, here we are. Put that coffee on, and then spill it.” She grinned at her unintentional pun, then sobered as she lowered her voice to a whisper, and said, “What’s so secret?”
“It’s not that it’s secret, Sam, it’s just that I don’t want anyone overhearing me and deciding I’m nuts,” Daniel answered calmly.
Sam looked startled, “Daniel…”
Daniel started the coffee and turned back to her. “Have you noticed any strange things going on during some of our missions over the last couple of months?”
“Well, actually, maybe, but you need to give me a clue as to what kinds of things you mean. What ‘strange things’ do you think are happening?”
Daniel sighed, and
said, “Well, ok, P39-987. Do you
remember the
“Yes, they arrived shortly after we did. We thought we’d have trouble getting back to the gate and gating home.”
“Don’t you think that was a little odd?”
“In what way?”
“Well, have you ever
seen Jaffa start looking around like they were scared to death and then just
take off running like the hounds of hell were after them? They looked like they expected to be struck
down at any minute, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a
“We decided there must have been some type of anti-Goa’uld device somewhere on that planet. You were at the briefing. You know that was all we could figure out it could have been,” Sam said, dismissively.
“Then why wasn’t
Teal’c bothered by it? There was nothing
on that planet, Sam, but some ruins that were interesting to me and a lake that
Jack thought could be great fishing. In
fact, the only thing we know about that planet, is that it seems safe from
Goa’uld and might make for a nice archeology expedition because of the
ruins. And don’t you think it’s a little
strange that, although we saw those
“Yes, when you put it that way it does seem a little out of character for us. Normally, we would have been a little bit more on guard. Maybe even left and monitored the place before we went back. But, we didn’t. We just set up camp and carried on as if nothing odd had happened. You’re right.” Sam frowned, as she began to think about what Daniel was saying. She hadn’t really been giving him her complete and serious consideration, and maybe she should be.
“What about P56-988? The natives were ready to sacrifice us to their version of a God of the Harvest. Then all of a sudden, they all turned toward the forest, untied us, mumbled something, and left. We at least had enough sense that time to gate home.
“And what about P64-555? I wandered off completely from where I was supposed to be, fell down an abandoned mine shaft, broke my radio, and yet you guys found me in less than thirty minutes.”
“You were lucky you weren’t hurt worse that time, Daniel.” Sam grimaced slightly. “But you know, I just realized, it was almost as if someone was showing me where you were. I kept getting flashes of that area, and I just had an urge to go there.”
Daniel nodded. “P41-788.
It was as if the
“What did it say, Daniel?” Sam asked.
“It said, I can only slow them down a little, the rest is up to you." It sounded like a voice in the wind and I swear I thought it was Jack saying he’d only be able to slow them down a little. The rest was up to us. But, it wasn’t. It was a woman’s voice and I think it was inside my head, not aloud. Sam, I didn’t even remember hearing it until just now while we were talking.”
“And that brings us
to today. Sam, those
“Well, you usually dial the gate when the Colonel tells you to, Daniel.”
“Sam,” Daniel paused, trying to put his thoughts together, “Sam, I’m saying, the voice I heard wasn’t Jack’s. I realize that now. It was the same voice I heard before, and it was inside my head, too. And I definitely think it was a woman.”
Sam almost dropped her coffee cup. She stared at Daniel with wide, shocked eyes, “My God, Daniel, you’re right, it wasn’t the Colonel’s voice. I heard it, too. I believed it was him, and I even said so, in the briefing. But, it wasn’t him.”
“I haven’t said anything before. I thought I had to be imagining it, but the truth is that I’ve fleetingly felt a presence with us, on and off, for a couple of months. It hasn’t been a constant feeling. It’s more just a barely felt whisper of something. It’s as if something is watching us. But, it isn’t a- a- malevolent, evil type of presence. It’s, I don’t know, soothing?” Daniel looked embarrassed, “It’s kind of a warm, soft, touch, as if a butterfly landed in your mind, and then it’s gone. Have you felt anything at all like that?”
Sam looked a little uncomfortable, but then confessed, “Well, yeah, I guess I have a bit. Not actually a presence, just a comfortable feeling once in a while, when we are off world. Sounds weirder to say it aloud than it did when I just thought it to myself. Daniel, this could lead to some dangerous situations. I think we need to talk to the Colonel and Teal’c. If someone, or something, is using some kind of mind control on us, we’ve been compromised.”
“It doesn’t appear to mean to harm us in any way but, yeah, I guess you’re right. I just hate to. I know Jack isn’t going to believe us.”
“Maybe not at first, but I have a feeling that Teal’c is going to back us up on this, once we bring it up. The Colonel will be more likely to listen if we are all saying the same thing.”
“I know you’re right. OK. Let’s go see if we can find Teal’c, and then Jack.”
Before they could leave the room, the klaxons were blaring. “Unscheduled Off World Activation.” Suddenly, every bit of power in the base, shut down.
“Well, either we’re under attack, or it’s the Asgard. I hope it isn’t our newly recognized friend come to visit without an invitation. We’d better hurry up and get up there.” Setting down their coffee cups and leaving the office, Sam and Daniel sprinted towards the control room.
TBC