Sometimes, though… Sometimes he woke and felt nothing but old. And it was those times that made him wonder whether this was his game anymore. Did he still have the heart for the fight?
Edora. The place had tested his commitment and he’d come up wanting. Some days he truly wished he was back there, back to the simplicity of farming and fishing. Some days he wished there had been no rescue, that Carter hadn’t been smart enough to find a way home. Some days he thought he could’ve lived with that.
Yet right here, right now, being on this godforsaken rock at the ass end of the galaxy made him realize how wrong he’d been. Maybe it was that old school Air Force ego kicking in, but all Jack could think about was how much he was needed elsewhere, and what might be going wrong without him and SG-1. He had a duty, to his people and to his team, to make it through this. He wouldn’t forget that again.
This wasn’t Edora. And this time there would be no rescue, because he’d ordered it so. Hopefully, Carter, Daniel and Teal’c were already on their way to see Dix, whoever he might be, and hopefully Dix would help them find a way off this miserable world.
If he made it out of this, he’d try and pick up their trail and follow on behind — no, when he made it out of this. Because right now Jack knew that he was the only hope he had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dawn crept into the sky, a vague brightness through the shroud of mist. Whatever sun stood at the center of this solar system, it brought little light and almost no warmth. Sam thought it would have been almost useless as a guide in most circumstances, but Hunter had said where the light rises, and that much, at least, was distinguishable.
They packed up their rough camp in silence, but when she suggested they get rid of the debris from the fire to hide their trail, Hunter shrugged and shook his head. “They won’t track us here. They don’t hunt in places like this.”
“Why not?” asked Daniel.
“They have easier ways.”
Sam stepped forward and touched his arm. “Hunter,” she said, “if we can, we’ll take them down for you.”
Hunter only smiled, a beaten expression, and said, “You won’t defeat them. There are always more.” Then he headed into the forest, gesturing for Daniel to follow.
Sam, Daniel and Teal’c spared each other a moment, one that had passed between them many times. A look exchanged, a nod, a few brief, meaningless words that didn’t — couldn’t — capture everything they’d want to say if this was the last time, if one of them, or none of them, were coming back from this. The words couldn’t be said out loud so they settled, as they always did, for the nods and the looks, and then they moved out.
The way back to the ship was harder than their escape had been the night before. That had been an all-out run across the open scrubland towards the forest. This time, Sam and Teal’c kept to the tree line when they could, making use of the sparse cover it offered, but it meant a harder uphill climb, with fallen branches and twisted roots to bar their path. The ever-present mist didn’t help.
“Major Carter, do you believe that Hunter is being truthful in saying that the Amam will not hurt O’Neill?” asked Teal’c, as they hoisted themselves up and over a large rocky mound.
“Why would he lie?” replied Sam, though she’d harbored the same doubts. She focused on her footing, not wanting to consider the possibility of what might be happening to the colonel right now if Hunter was lying.
“I do not know. But his tale of a flying city would make his word seem less than reliable.”
“He said himself that he didn’t think those stories were true.”
“He did.”
“And Daniel would say that myths like that tend to be more elaborate versions of something that once was fact.”
“He would.”
“I don’t think we have any reason to doubt Hunter’s word.”
“Indeed.”
She stopped in her climb and turned to face him. “Why would he lie, Teal’c?”
“I am sure he did not.” But Sam knew what Teal’c wasn’t saying: perhaps Hunter hadn’t lied, but perhaps he didn’t know the Amam as well as he claimed. She picked up her pace, more eager than ever to get to the ship.
By her watch, it took them a further half hour to reach it and they headed around it counter-clockwise, as per Hunter’s instructions. It unnerved her to be so close to the enormous vessel and she fought the prickly feeling that the thing was somehow alive and watching them. In truth, it probably gave them more cover than if they’d approached their intended point of entry in a direct line from the forest. This route also gave Sam a chance to scrutinize the hull.