For the first time, Sam had an uninterrupted sleep.
This was due to her Master using the Force to help her do so. When she did wake up, she looked at the clock beside her. It showed 5:15.
She was for the first time recharged. She decided to get cleaned up and dress.
She quietly walked out of her room and out of the house. Moments later she walked to the clearing that she had her first official Jedi training, Sam simply meditated in the Force for a good long time. She remembered how Mara told her that she could find Jack by herself.
Sam focused hard on what she did the last time. Nothing happened at first, but she was determined to do it.
She remembered what her Master said to her, “Focus on Jack not Colonel O'Neill.”
Sam then used her heart to give her the ability to find him. This time she flew faster in space in the Force. When she saw Earth, her heart moved even faster towards the man she loves.
This time Sam did not say anything, but she made sure that Jack realized she was there.
Jack was alone in his room at the SGC. Jack replied, “Sam is that you?”
Sam with a crying voice replied, “Yes, it is me Jack.” She wept a little and continued, “It is so great to hear your voice.”
“It is good to hear yours again.”
“You heard me the other day?”
With a cheery voice Jack said, “Yesterday actually.”
“My Master told me that you were going for a star map.”
Jack asked concernedly, “What Master?”
“That will be a little hard to explain.”
Jack said patiently, “I have the time.”
She explained to Jack she was being trained to become Jedi Knight.
Jack said cheerfully, “Sounds fun.”
Sam shared a warm feeling with him.
Jack stated concernedly, “I do not need to use this Force or whatever to feel the hurt in you.”
Sam swallowed hard. “Jack to tell you I have been through hell would be an understatement. Right now it hurts to talk to the Jedi Knights and other friends here about my experiences.”
Jack stated sternly, “Carter, do not give up. That is an order.”
Sam said nervously, “Trust me, it is not easy.”
Jack said calmly, “Who said it was, but you cannot give up.”
“I couldn't if I wanted to. I have several proposals for having my ass whooped by Dentralla.”
“Good for her, I guess.”
Sam smiled inwardly, “Yes Dentralla is a female, and a Wookie.”
Jack replied with a smile, “I see we have a few things to learn before we can get to you.”
“Jack, I do not know how long I can hold this contact with you. I need to tell you that I have no damn clue where I am.”
Jack joked, “Not in a house or a boat?”
Sam laughed, “Thank for cheering me up.”
Jack smiled, “Anytime. As for that star chat I was after. It did not help, but everyone says hi.”
Sam started to cry. “I do miss all of you so much.”
Jack replied lovingly, “We all miss you. None of us have given up on you.”
“How long have I been gone?”
After looking at his watch, “Exactly 6 months, 4 days, 7 ½ hours.”
Sam with sadness in her voice, “It feels like a life time.”
“You sound good for a person that is supposed to be old and gray.”
Sam laughed and cried. She replied reluctantly, “I think I had better go. I will try to contact you again as soon as I can. I love you. May the Force be with you all.”
Jack lovingly replied “Take care Sam. Do not give up. That is still an order.”
When she opened her eyes, she found tears were running down her face.
Mara walked towards her quietly. As Sam was wiping her face, she said to Mara, “Good morning.”
Mara asked, “Were you crying again, or is this some Earth custom I do not know about?”
Sam smiled, “I was talking to Jack.”
Mara smiled back, “Good. I told you were a powerful Jedi.”
“What do you mean?”
Mara sat down in front of Sam in the circle.
Mara answered, “There has been no Jedi that I know of that could make contact to someone at that distance with the Force.”
Sam was shocked, “WOW!”
“Are you going to tell me what you two said?”
“We made small talk. He told me that he could not find our location on that star map, but they will not give up. Apparently Jack told everyone that I made contact with him the first time. He told me everyone said hi.”
“You see. No one has left you. They will always be there for you. For the time being hold them in your heart.”
Sam changed the subject. She concentrated on yesterday. “I know that I need to control my feelings, but I will still kick the ass of anyone that confronts me as that guard did yesterday.”
Master Corran stated, “As you should, but the how we might need to talk about.”
Corran did not speak again until he was setting in the circle with the Mara and his Padawan. “A Jedi Knight uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for aggression. You will need to use aggression in the right way to help you release what has been buried inside you Sam, but I am sure you realize that you cannot use revenge to help yourself.”
Mara reminded her of what she could have done if she was not there.
Sam replied to Mara, “I do realize I could have been bitter from that point forward, by the taste of blood sort of speak.”
Mara stated sternly, “Exactly. You are too good for that Sam.”
Corran changed the subject. “I was monitoring you with the Force since you left the house this morning. I saw you running here.”
Sam replied, “Yes Master, I did. When I was at the SGC, I always did some type of calisthenics and other exercises in the mornings.”
“Then you should do them here.”
“With your permission, I would like to build a race track on the other side of this clearing.”
Sam explained in detail what she wanted to create.
Mara replied, “Interesting. All you need to do is to explain all that to the maintenance droids.”
“Cool! The sooner you can get them here, I will do that.”
They all meditated in the Force till Mirax called them to breakfast.
To them it did not take long before Mirax called them.
Sam showed more of her perky personality when they arrived in the house.
Mirax saw this and smiled, “Good to see you are in good spirits today.”
“Yes I am. I was able to talk to Jack with the Force.”
“Wonderful! What did he have to say?”
Sam told all about their conversation.
Corran said, “When we learn more, and even finding this Stargate here, we will let you know. Hopefully that will give them some important information.”
“Master, I dearly hope so. How I took it, they have no leads at all.”
“It is up to you to approach this scientifically. You are an astrophysicist after all.”
Sam smiled, “Indeed I am. It seems that all life is the same. Yes there are more species here in this world than Earth has seen, but I think I can form a base of life here, and go from there.”
Mara smiled, “Good to see you in action, and doing something in a positive light.”
“Despite all that I still feel, I will do all I can for my team.”
Mirax replied, “No Sam. Do it for yourself. I would expect that your friends would want you to do that, yes?”
“I am Sam Carter, and I am a free person.”
**********
General Hammond told Jack in the conference room, “When Sam makes contact with you the next time, tell her that we need to work together on this.”
Dr. Rodney McKay said, “Sam is one hell of an intelligent person. I am sure she can come up with something that we cannot here.”
Jack replied, “The both times she has talked to me, I felt in her some horrible feelings. I do not think she passed the screwed up stage, but she is hurting very bad. What I am saying here is she is a different person.”
Daniel asked, “It sounds like she either treated very badly or tortured before she was rescued?”
“She did not elaborate on it, but I believe she was tortured beyond anything we know. I am sure the ones that took her and shot at me were not kind people. From the time she had been gone to the time she contacted me, I do not think Sam was having the time of her life.”
Dr. McKay cringed over hearing that. “I do not know Sam as well as you all, but I have to say what she went through was mighty powerful. She is a very intelligence person and tough.”
Jack replied, “I do not know how I could feel what she been through, but I did.”
Daniel stated, “It could be that she shared those feelings with you without realizing she did.”
Jack said with deep sadness, “It is horrible what she has in her. I was about to cry over the feeling what were shared with me. We need to find her boys, or Sam might lose what little hope she has in her.”
General Hammond asked, “You mention to me earlier about these Jedi Knights. What can they offer in helping Sam?”
Teal'c blurted out, “Jedi Knights!”
Daniel asked, “I take it you have heard of these people?”
“I believe I have. When I was a child, there were legends of ancient people that used this energy field that was so powerful that they used it to literally served and protect the galaxy.”
Jack replied, “Sam did mention this Force.”
Teal'c said with amazement, “That was it. They do exist!”
General Hammond asked Teal'c, “What can you tell us about these people?”
“From what I can remember, these Jedi Knights are one of the noblest people I have ever heard of. There were of course not without faults. They had their adversaries from within.”
Jack asked, “I take it there is a way for us to know who are the good guys and who are not?”
“Yes. Like anywhere else in life, they will stand out. There is however one sure way to know. The Jedi Knights are usually on the Light-side of the Force. The Sith are on the Dark-side.”
Daniel asked, “What is this energy field that is called the Force?”
Teal'c answered with certainty, “That is one thing that no one could ever tell us children. For that, I do not know.”
Jack said, “From what I got from Sam, these Jedi Knights that she is with appear to be good people. I for one believe her.”
General Hammond said, “See if you can communicate with at least Sam's Master. I want to know about these Jedi Knight before we even find away to get to her. I do not want to lose any of you the same way we lost her.”
Daniel asked General Hammond, “Now that we know she is alive, will Sam still be on the active duty list?”
Jack answered, “Right now, I do not think that would be a good idea. Not just because of how the relationship is between Sam and me. When she becomes a Jedi Knight, she will be a different person than she was before. She also has a lot of emotional baggage still in her. It will take a lot of time before Sam can truly be the person we all knew.”
Teal'c said, “Perhaps so O'Neill, but if she becomes a Jedi Knight, only great things will happen for Samantha Carter.”
Daniel asked, “How so Teal'c? I only understand the basics of these Jedi Knights, but that was a long time ago. What does that have to do with Sam's training?”
“What you say is true Dr. Jackson, but I know the Jedi Knights, and I know Sam. Her life will change in time, but it will be greater than any of us can imagine.”
General Hammond replied, “Our first objective it knowing how to get to Sam. It is up to her to be who she wants to be. If she wants back in the Air Force, she's welcome to it. If we cannot get to her, I do not know how we can get her back to us. For the time being, Sam is deactivated until further notice. Dismiss.”
After several hours, Jack found Teal'c in his room meditating. Jack said with a smile, “Sorry to bother you, but can we talk?”
Teal'c replied, “You are not bothering me at all O'Neill. Please have a seat.”
After Jack sat down, he asked, “When Sam and I had our foreboding warnings before she was taken, could it be that I am able to use this Force as well?”
Teal'c thought for a moment. “Interesting question. Since Sam is able to be trained as a Jedi Knight, it could be as you say. Of course I have no way of telling if you can use this energy field.”
“The reason that I asked, I was wondering if I could do something for Sam. She feels so much alone, even with her new Jedi friends.”
“What you can do for Sam has nothing to do with using the Force. All you need to do is use your own heart. Let her know how much you love her. She came to you twice. That tells me how much she loves you. In all she has been through, she came to you, and not to any of us.”
That night Jack could not sleep. He kept running those last days with Sam in his mind.
Teal'c was right. He did love Sam very much. How much he wished he was with her now.
Jack was hoping that Sam would contact him right now, but she did not. Jack also reminisced over what General Hammond said about keeping on finding her after she was taken.
Jack thought General Hammond would give up on the Air Force if the President did not open the case back up on finding Captain Samantha Carter. Jack Promised himself he would never leave Sam once they did reach her.
He finally forced himself to get some sleep.
When Jack finally fell asleep, he had a dream. He was on one of the regular Stargate missions with his team. For some odd reason Dr. McKay was not with them. When they got on the other side of the wormhole, they saw Sam.
She was with others fighting a battle of some kind. Jack and the others could not see that much because they were being attacked as soon as they arrived. Even with their military training, they were being out-gunned. It was to a point SG1 thought they would be killed before they could say hello to Sam. All of a sudden they saw an energy field surrounding them.
They heard Sam tell them in their minds, “Get away from the Stargate. I cannot hold this shield that much longer.”
A young lady came to them. She said, “I am a friend of Sam's. Please follow me.” They immediately followed her.
When they found better cover, Jack asked, “Are we in OZ?”
The young lady answered, “Not at the moment Colonel. How much ammo do you have left?”
Jack answered, “Three cartridges and 2 C4 explosives.”
The young lady asked, “Do you have to detonate them manually or a timer?”
Jack answered, “Either way.”
The young lady asked, “Then please let me have them. I can use the Force to put them in position. When I say now, blow them both.”
Jack nodded.
After the young lady put them in position, she said “Now!”
Both C4 explosives did their jobs perfectly.
Immediately Jack woke up. He cursed, and asking himself, “What kind of dream was that?”
In all the confusion of the dream, there was one thing that Jack was able to remember, the chevrons that lit up on the DHD on that side of the wormhole. The most bizarre thing was it was not 7 of them, but 9.
Jack had to find Daniel. He found him in his office.
When Daniel saw that Jack was still in his pajamas, he knew it had to be important.
Jack told him about his dream and the 9 chevrons.
Daniel asked him to draw them out.
After looking them over, Daniel said, “I hope you know how we can get the proper power source to dial these 9?”
“I am afraid not, or at least I did not recognize any.”
“We can talk to the Tok'ra or the Asgards. We will need them if we are going to dial to that Stargate.”
“I personally do not want to go through having the knowledge of the Ancients in my head again.”
Daniel quietly agreed.
Jack asked sleepily, “What now?”
“I have no clue. Telling Sam about this dream will not help either. Just the same, it was given to you Jack. I am beginning to think that you can use this Force, and become a Jedi Knight as Sam will become.”
“All I care about is to be there for Sam. She needs us.”
“No Jack. She needs you.”
Jack jokingly said, “The dream did say I was there. I did help blow whatever it was when the young Jedi lady put the C4s in position.”
Daniel asked with care, “You think that dream will be what will happen to us when we get there?”
Jack answered with a little frustration, “It felt that way Daniel. It really did. Either I am completely losing my marbles, or someone or something is giving me clues. The frustrating thing about this is it is only clues. I want to know who is doing this, and why.”
Daniel replied, “Jack, you are not crazy. You got these chevrons after you arrived. That is not how the Stargate works.”
Jack replied with more frustrations, “I know Daniel. That is why I am in my pajamas talking to you right now.”
Daniel replied after looking at the chevrons again, “They do look somewhat familiar. Let me dig into this. I might find some more clues, and finish this puzzle.”
Jack smiled, “That is the Daniel we all dance around the campfire. I knew you were my man.”
**********
That afternoon, Sam was back in town with Mara alone. Mara knew of a good place to release Sam's negative energies, the old cantina on Yavin 4.
That place always had a fight of some sort going on. Sometimes Mara had to start it.
After walking in, Sam said, “This looks like a rough place.”
“Now it looks rough. Wait till the place gets interesting.”
Sam smiled, “Cool.”
“Sam this is the place I go every weekend. It is my way to release my frustrations without going to the Dark-side in order to do it.”
As Sam's luck turned out, there was the same guard she dealt with yesterday with some of his colleagues. When Sam saw them, her heart raced. Sam was terrified of them while at the same time wanted to kick their asses so bad.
Sam told Mara who she found.
Mara looked at her watch and asked, “Is it lunch time already?”
The guard that Mara used to polish that street sign heard her.
When the five of them started to walk to their table Sam smiled, “And it is about to be served.”
“They do serve fast here.”
When the five of them surrounded their table, Mara asked, “Anything us ladies can do for you boys?”
The guard from yesterday answered, “Finish off a slave and a slave lover.”
Mara looked at him and said, “We did come here to have fun. I hope you boys are man enough to handle us.”
Before one of had the chance to attack Sam, she kicked him between the legs. She then pulled on one of his arms to swing him to ram him into another guard.
Sam said to Mara, “All too easy.”
One of the guards cursed at Sam.
She replied, “Interesting. I have not been called that since I was in grammar school.”
The fight between them took off.
The first two Sam attacked was far from out of the game.
Sam allowed herself to be held down while a few punches where swung at her. She wanted to get really mad before she let them all have it.
In Sam's combat training, she had to fight off a lot tougher opponents.
The adrenalin rush allowed Sam to pull both of the guards that were holding her arms back to play sandwich with the one that was hitting on her. She immediately kicked the middle guy in the stomach. She then smacked the other two in the face at the same time with clinched fists.
One of the guards went for her. She ended up grabbing his arm and kicked him so hard in the ribs. He felt a few of his ribs break. She let go of him after she kicked him in the ribs and let him fall on his ass.
Another one swung at her. She dodged it like a pro. Sam gave him a hard kidney punch, but it did not stop him for long. He swung at her again, but she still dodge his blows. Another kidney punch was her reply.
Afterwards she grabbed one of his arms, and nearly threw him across the room. She then kicked the third guard in the head. He did not get back up.
After Sam was finished, she saw that Mara was still dancing with her two boys. When Mara broke off from her two dates, she looked for Sam. Seeing she had finished before her, she smiled “This place is fun.”
“Yes, but I had it worse in basic training.”
“Damn! You have been holding out on me girl friend.”
They both laughed.
As the five rejects crawled slowly out, Mara said, “Let me buy you a drink.”
They went to sit at the bar. When the bartender came over, Mara ordered 2 Raavas.
As the bartender filled the order, Mara asked Sam, “Feeling any better.”
“Yes a little. It was good to give them my compliments for their services to me when I was at the mines.”
“There is a difference in revenge and releasing your frustrations.”
“I know. I will never go for revenge. I was able to release some of my frustrations, but I feel like I need to hit more than just those three to release all that I have in me.”
Mara smiled, “I know what you mean.”
Mara was quiet until the drinks came. After taking a sip of hers, Mara said, “Doing what we did is not the only solution, Sam.”
After gulping down a swallow, she replied, “Thanks for helping me Mara. Everyone's help means a lot to me. What scares me, the most is not what I have been through. It is what I have turned into. Before, I would not even drink beer. Now I am drinking hard liquor, and find myself enjoying it to stop feeling the way I do.”
Mara replied, “One day you will be that person you once were.”
Sam got a little angry, “You do not get it Mara. I do not want to go back to my old life.”
“What do you want?”
Sam sighed, “To be with Jack. Due to regulations, we could not even date. When I was talking to him earlier, I did not call him sir, or Colonel. I only called him Jack.”
Sam gulped another part of her drink.
She continued, “I wanted to leave the Air Force since the first time I met him, and just be a scientific adviser or something. I found out only military personal went through the Stargate, with an exception of a few. Anyhow, that is why I feel that my life is so messed up. I do not know what I will do when I do get back to Earth.”
Sam gulped down the rest of her drink, cringed, and put the glass down.
