SG1-25 Hostile Ground(46)
The colonel was awake, standing next to Teal’c at the head of the passage leading from their sleeping quarters. Still buoyed by the thawing tension of the previous night, she waved in response and climbed to her feet. “Thanks for showing me this,” she said, returning the weapon to the young lad next to her. “It’s fascinating.”
He grinned and colored a little, making Sam smile.
Then, with a nod to Aedan, she began picking her way through the people toward the colonel and Teal’c. “Sir,” she said as she drew closer, “I was just looking at one of their weapons. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Fascinating,” the colonel said, without interest. “Now gear up and get ready to move out.”
“Move out?” She glanced at Teal’c. “Where to, sir? Back to the gate?”
He ignored her question — so much for last night’s bonhomie — and instead summoned Aedan over with the kind of curt gesture usually reserved for airmen.
Obviously irritated by the colonel’s manner, Aedan muttered a few words to the people around him before strolling over. “Jack O’Neill,” he said. “Good morning.”
“These ‘Devourers’,” the colonel said, without preamble. “Where can I find them?”
Aedan gave a gruff laugh. “You don’t,” he said. “You hide from them.”
“Say I wanted to find one,” the colonel pressed, his patience clearly thin. “Where would I look?”
Aedan shook his head and sipped his tea. “Up,” he said.
Sam frowned. “Up?”
Aedan gestured toward the ceiling of the cavern. “They fly,” he said. “And if they see you, they take you. And then you die.”
“Teal’c,” the colonel said, “you think you could take down a glider with your staff weapon?”
“It is possible, O’Neill. But not easy.”
And suddenly Sam understood his plan. “You think we’ll be able to recover some kind of DHD from a wrecked glider, sir?”
“You said they probably had one on board.”
“I was speculating,” she pointed out.
“And yet it’s the best plan we’ve got,” he said, as if he was willing her to agree. But she couldn’t, she knew there was a better plan. After a moment, the colonel turned back to Aedan and said, “Thank you for your… hospitality. We’ll be leaving now and we’ll need our weapons.”
Aedan nodded. “You’re strange people,” he said, “not to know or fear the Devourers. I don’t know whether to admire or pity you.”
With a flicker of a smile, the colonel said, “Go with ‘admire’.”
Aedan’s expression softened a fraction, but all he said was, “Either way, if you seek out the Devourers you will end up dead.” He nodded to Teal’c and Sam. “I will have your weapons ready for you topside. Elspeth will show you the way.” Then he walked away and Sam watched him until he disappeared down one of the other passageways.
“Okay,” the colonel said. “Let’s grab our stuff.”
He headed back toward their sleeping quarters and Sam followed, Teal’c at her shoulder. “Sir?” she ventured. “Are you sure this is wise?”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Carter.”
“No, sir,” she said as they entered the small room where Daniel lay looking sallow and fevered. “But I just think the further we move from the gate the less chance there is of a rescue team finding us. And, sir, Daniel’s really not well and —”
“I know!” He spun to face her, anger sparking in his eyes. “I know Daniel’s sick. I know.” He took a breath, calming himself. “That’s why we have to go. We have to get home today.”
“Sir,” she said carefully, “our best chance of getting home is staying close to the gate and waiting for rescue.”
His jaw tightened in the way it did when he was biting back words and he turned around and started to pack up his gear. “We have no idea if rescue’s coming, Carter.”
“But it is, sir.” She tried another tack. “Think about it: if you’d left the vicinity of the Stargate on Edora your radio wouldn’t have picked up our signal and Teal’c would have died in that cave. You’d still be there.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, rolling up his bedroll with quick, angry movements. “Three months,” he growled, stuffing it into his pack. “I waited three damn months on Edora, Carter. Do you think we have anything like that time?”