Stargate SG-1 & Atlantis - Far Horizons Read Online Free Page B

never knew when circumstances would dictate when engagement with an enemy would occur. Even on this apparently friendly world, he would not wish to be at a disadvantage for long.
    He replenished his body with some of the food left by the boating party. With the warm sun and sweet breezes coming off the water, Teal’c found it difficult to deny the impulse for sleep.
    A shadow crossed his face. He jolted awake. A young girl stood next to him, bare toes curled in the sand, dark hair twisting loose in the wind.
    “Are you lost?”
    Teal’c blinked at her. “I am not. Are you?”
    “I could never be lost here. This is my home.”
    “Indeed? It is a most attractive island.”
    “Yes.” Her face dimpled in a smile. The light dress she wore fluttered over the thin body beneath. She was young, barely into her first years as a woman.
    “I am Teal’c of the Tau’ri.”
    “I am Diana. You are very old, aren’t you?”
    “That I am.”
    Curious. Not many outside the Jaffa could recognize his unnaturally extended age.
    “Many years bring wisdom, does they not?”
    “Only if one is open to the accumulation of knowledge.” He’d known many senior Jaffa gone to their graves firmly believing Apophis had been a true god.
    “The goddess will send her wisdom under the moons’ next eve. Will you partake of what is offered?”
    “How does your goddess deliver this wisdom?”
    “When the moons shine down as one, those who wish can draw inside themselves the goddess’s spirit. It is a very special experience.”
    Teal’c found himself lost for words. Was she describing what he thought? Could this be anything other than a Goa’uld entering a host? Were the potential hosts offering themselves up willingly, or were they being duped into this?
    “I do not believe I will take part in this ceremony.”
    She smiled at him with the ingenuousness of youth. “Perhaps you will change your mind. Farewell.”
    Teal’c watched the girl until she had vanished into the trees at the far end of the bay. More than a little disturbed, he gathered up his vest and radio.
    “SG-1 niner, this is Teal’c. Please respond.”

    Daniel had enjoyed his day in the forest with Sam. They had followed several trails, now and then picking up those same strange energy signals but each time they dissipated before they could be tracked to a source. He was beginning to believe there was no protective shield to be found. None of the locals had any knowledge of one. There weren’t even any tales in their mythology that spoke of a shield that had existed in the past.
    “How’s it going, Sam?”
    He peered up through the branches of one of the tallest trees. Here on the highest part of the island she’d decided to climb up to try for a clearer reading.
    “Great, these trees are really easy to climb.”
    He sidestepped a shower of bark as she settled into a forked branch.
    “Hey, I can see Teal’c and the colonel out in the bay. Okay, I’ll take some readings now.”
    Daniel looked around while he waited. The forest was a busy place, humming with insects, birds and small animals. He stilled as a fat ground bird appeared from behind a bush. It paused, then waddled out, leading a troop of chicks. He grinned at them. They walked right past him and disappeared beneath another bush… right next to a pair of bare, sandaled, human feet.
    He flinched, looked up, took in a woman clad in a green tunic that perfectly blended with the forest. Her auburn hair was coiled around her head and shone in the sun.
    “Hello…” He resisted the urge to look up and give away Sam’s presence. The woman studied him. There was a lot of confidence in her hazel eyes. He got an impression that this was a woman who had traveled far and experienced much.
    “I’m Daniel.”
    “I am known as Diana.”
    “Do you live here — on this island?”
    “At times.”
    “Oh. That’s nice. Uh —”
    “You are one of the visitors?”
    “Yes. We are from a land called Earth.”
    She