The Patience of Kings - Chapter 1

[alvericff]

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate: SG-1, Atlantis or Universe, I am just playing in the world

A/N: Sequel to 'A Sword in Agate'

The Patience of Kings - Chapter 1

Faced with an intractable roadblock in their quest to learn more about the Alteran's legacy in Avalon, Sam, Cameron and SG-1 return to Earth with a plan no one likes, only to face a threat targeting one of their own.

SG-1 doesn't always have things go their way. Forced to put their plans on hold to focus on other matters, Sam and Cameron become embroiled in a surprising turn of events which promises to test the limits of their patience. Well, at least Cameron's patience.

O'Reardon's Pub, Washington D.C., September 1993

Sam walked into the Irish pub in Crystal City and looked around, scanning the crowd for a face she hadn't seen for a year. She was still surprised she'd received a call from him the week before, telling her he was flying back home for a lengthy leave of absence and asking to meet with her before he headed on to Kansas. She'd accepted of course, seeing him might be a little hard, but she'd never give up on a chance to sit and talk with him. She smoothed down the skirt of her dress blues and played idly with her cover until she finally saw a familiar mop of dark brown hair. She smiled and began to thread her way through the tables and chairs in the bar. She reached for his shoulder, but paused, hesitant of the contact. Instead she moved forward to sit down across from him with a bright smile.

"Hey Cam." she said happily only to blink in surprise when she saw his face. It was dark and brooding. There were circles around his eyes which only now glanced up to meet hers. His mouth, which was usually so quick to break out into a grin, remained tense and downturned. She frowned slightly.

"Hey Sam." he greeted her and a small smile, which was obviously forced, slipped over his lips for an instant without reaching his eyes. "How are you? You look good." He sighed slightly. "I've missed you." Her breath caught in her throat for a moment as he spoke. It was just the simple sincerity in his words which left her heart beating a little faster. He looked away to the bar and raised a hand which received a called over acknowledgement. "I doubt you want a beer this early, would you like some juice? Something to eat?" She tilted her head slightly and glanced down at the table at the drink in his hand. A fifth of bourbon. She frowned again. He was always so good about these things usually.

"Yeah, an apple juice will be great." She looked up when a waitress arrived and Cam ordered her juice for her. "I'll have a club sandwich, please." she added and the young woman made a note. Cam shook his head when she turned to him enquiringly and then walked off. "Cam, are you alright?" she asked the question that had been running through her mind ever since she saw his face. He didn't meet her gaze, just sighed deeply and stared down into the brown liquid in front of him.

"Sam, I have something to tell you." He ran a hand over his chin and the grin which passed over his face left her feeling scared instead of relieved. "This isn't really the place though." He looked around at the crowded bar and his jaw clenched slightly. "I'll tell you in a little-" He stopped and looked up as a shadow passed over her and she felt a hand close down on her shoulder.

"Sam, honey, what are you doing here?" She looked up in surprise to see Jonas staring down at her with a little furrow in his brow. She was wondering the same thing of him, but she still smiled.

"Jonas, I told you last week that I was meeting a friend here who was stopping over in D.C. for a couple of days on his way home." She motioned to Cam whose face had gone still and sharp. She narrowed her eyes slightly at what was unmistakably dislike in his eyes as he looked up at her boyfriend. "Jonas, this is Captain Cameron Mitchell. Cameron this is Captain-"

"I've met Captain Hanson." he interjected in a quiet voice which had an edge of steel in it. She hadn't known they'd met before. She blinked in surprise and looked up.

"Yes, we met in the Gulf last year. I believe you were already here at the Pentagon." Hanson explained though he said nothing more. "You know Mitchell well, then?"

"Yes, since the Academy. He's a very dear friend." She wasn't that surprised when Jonas tensed as she said the words, she'd noticed he had a bit of a jealous side before. However, she was surprised when she saw Cameron tensing at her words. When she glanced over she saw his eyes had moved from Jonas' face to just off her shoulder, to his hand where it still rested over her Captain's bars.

"Right. Can I have a quick word, Samantha?" he squeezed her shoulder slightly and moved off. She frowned at how he'd emphasized the request. As if it wasn't one. She looked over at Cam and he tilted his head as a wash of emotion passed across his eyes for a moment. He just leaned back in the booth and she stood up, apologising. She walked over to Hanson who was standing near the bar. She looked around and could see no one else she recognised. She wondered why he was here.

"What is it, Jonas? I'm a bit busy." She turned her head slightly towards the table to indicate Cameron. "I haven't seen Cam in a year and there's something he wants to talk to me about." He looked over her shoulder and she saw his lips draw tight for an instant.

"It's about that." He looked at her with serious eyes. "How well do you know Mitchell." She frowned heavily.

"Like I said, we're very good friends. We were a team at the Academy, then he was my wing leader during the war. He's watched my back for years." She tilted her head slightly when Jonas grunted and looked at Cameron over her shoulder again.

"I'm just concerned. When they come to give you your gold leaves I don't think his should be a name you're associated with." he said and she glared at him. "Remember, an astronaut needs to have a spotless record."

"Jonas," she said with a steely tone, "no one has supported me or my dream more resolutely than Cameron." He frowned at her with his own glare.

"I'm just saying you should be careful." Again his eyes moved over her shoulder. "Scuttlebutt is that this 'leave of absence' he's taking is forced. And that it could become permanent, if you know what I mean." She looked over her shoulder at Cam, remembering the dark circles and haggard look when she came in. What was happening with him? "Even if he does come back they say it'll be somewhere out of the way. Okinawa."

"What are you talking about, Jonas?" she asked seriously. He shrugged.

"I'm just telling you what I heard." he offered with a gentle look. "Just be careful, okay? You haven't seen him in a year, right?" He pushed a strand of her hair over her ear. "I think you might find he's changed since then." He looked over her shoulder again. "Now go on, I'll be here if you need me." He turned to the barman to place an order and she furrowed her brow momentarily, but decided to ignore that and turned to walk back to the table. Sitting down she noticed her sandwich and juice had arrived. She glanced apologetically at Cam.

"Sorry about that. Jonas can be overprotective." She watched the same look from before pass over Cam's face before he looked down at the table. "Why don't we talk about what you want to talk to me about?" He shook his head.

"You and Hanson are..." he trailed off and she paused with the sandwich part way to her mouth.

"We're dating." she said softly. She found she couldn't say it any louder than that and keep her voice under control. Cam's shoulders seemed to sag slightly and when he looked up his eyes were roiling turbulently. "Cam?"

"I shouldn't have come." he whispered and stuck his hand in his pocket to grab his wallet. "Sorry, Sam, I... I shouldn't have come." He dug out a ten dollar note and put his glass over the top of it while moving to leave. "It's on me."

"Cam, what are you doing?" She reached out to put a hand on his arm only for him to flinch away from her before freezing and looking her way for a moment. He began to stand up again. "Cam?"

"I'll talk to you later, Sam." he said in a broken voice and started moving away. She left her sandwich at the table and began to move after Cam only for a hand to close around her arm.

"Let him go, Samantha." Jonas said and she whirled on him angrily.

"Let go, Jonas." She ripped her arm from his grasp and he raised both of his up in surrender. She began to move again and looked both ways up the street when she got outside. She spotted him moving through the crowd heading south and gave chase. When she caught up to him she grabbed his wrist and turned him around to face her. He turned his head aside.

"Cameron, what's wrong?" she asked as she let go of his hand and placed hers gently on his chest. She could feel his heart beating like crazy under his dress blues. She lifted it up and used a gentle touch of her fingers to turn his face her way. "You can talk to me." His brows tightened and he blinked rapidly when her fingers drifted across his skin. Her breath hitched at seeing what was unmistakably pain in his eyes.

"I can't... see you and... him. I can't..." He looked away again when she started to frown. She had chosen to give up her stupid one-sided crush after she came back and now he was... Her jaw clenched and she looked down for a moment.

"Cam, he's a good man-" she began only to stop at his barking laughter. Ugly laughter she had never heard from him before.

"Jonas Hanson is a douchebag!" he said manically. "A controlling, manipulative egomaniac." He gritted his teeth and looked away. She knew it was because her anger must be showing plainly on her face. She was livid. When he looked back at her he'd set his features as stone. "He's the worst officer I've ever had the misfortune to fly with." She slapped him across the face. He blinked several times, then turned back to her. "And you're worth a hundred of him." he said shakily in a broken voice. He shook his head. "A thousand." He turned away and began walking and she nearly collapsed. Her hand was throbbing and as she watched him striding away she couldn't help wondering why she'd done it. Or why the sight of his retreating back filled her with so much dread.

Stargate Command, February 2007

Sam opened the file in her personal folder with Cameron's name and re-read it once more. All the words she could never say to him were in this file, mixed in with feelings and thoughts she'd already articulated to him in some form or another. It was those forbidden words however, which always caused her chest to constrict and her breathing to hitch. Wishing she had the courage to speak them was something she'd foregone long ago, giving him the password to this folder when she thought she was about to die had been the limit of her courage. And it was an onerous courage, one which cloaked itself as a bequest, veiled itself in the guise of an imposed duty. She hated herself sometimes.

As she read she was forced at several points to stop and look down at the keyboard or at one of the walls of the infirmary, or to minimise the document when a nurse came to check on her or the IV drip which was keeping at bay the intense pain she felt simmering under the surface of her left side. She'd almost died, she would have died if not for Cameron. Not because he'd done his best to treat her wound, he'd just willed her to live and she couldn't deny him. She stared blankly at the text in the file as her mind drifted back to the previous day's events on P9C-882. She couldn't deny him. 'Sam, don't give up on me.' he'd demanded of her. 'Just believe you're gonna make it.' he told her. 'I can't lose you, too.' She screwed her eyes shut as his words flowed over her mind again. She missed Daniel and she could tell Cam did too, but when he said he couldn't lose her he had a look in his eyes that had scared her. She looked back to her screen and read over the last paragraph in the file. She'd written it not long after Daniel had been taken by Adria. She was telling him she didn't blame him. That Daniel's loss wasn't his fault. She started a new paragraph.

You just saved my life, Cameron. Again. I know I've saved you several times as well and that you always remind me of that, but this time it wasn't your actions that saved me when we were out of phase, although they certainly helped. It was your will, your belief in me. 'Tell yourself whatever you have to.' you said. Do you want to know what I told myself? I told myself that I can't leave you. I can't let you mourn me because I know that would end you. I know it deep down in my soul.

We've always been friends, Cameron. I know I wish we could have been more, truth be told, I still wish for it even though I'm sure you've never thought of me that way. But I sometimes catch a glimpse of something in your eyes, Cam, that scares me. Whenever we're in trouble and you look at me and I see the fear in your eyes, the fear of losing me, I know it in my heart that if I did die you'd never recover. So as I lay there on that cot, I kept telling myself. Don't leave him. You can't leave him. He needs you to live.

The last thing I remember before I woke up in the infirmary was the feel of your arms around me, Cameron. After I'd strengthened the field and cloaked the whole village you held me in your arms and I felt safe. Safe enough that I could sleep for a little while. You always make me feel safe. So whatever the future brings us, I won't leave you to wait for me alone.

She blinked at the stinging in the back of her eyes and took a slow breath. More forbidden words. Words she could never show him. Her eyes widened in realisation. She'd given him the password. She bit her lip then chuckled when she recalled his words as she'd told him the password to the personal folder. 'Ah, see? Now you're gonna have to change the password.' He was right, not that she had any fear of him betraying her confidence or her privacy, but it amused her to give him his due in this instance. A nurse bustled around her bed, checking over a few things as she brought up a command window and typed in some commands, pausing at the prompt to think for several seconds. A new password. He'd just saved her life, given it back to her with a super-human effort of will. She smiled slowly at the image it brought to mind and quickly typed in a single word, 'kryptonite'. The nurse smiled in reaction to her smile and walked away, nodding to someone at the door to the infirmary. When Sam glanced up she saw him leaning against the frame, his arm braced across the space in that nonchalant way of his. She smiled at him and closed her laptop as he moved to walk in.

"Hey there. You're looking better."

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, October 2008 (alternate timeline)

"Cameron, when you say you're going to be outside Hollywood International at 0900 hours you should be here at 0900 hours. I've been waiting for thirty minutes." Sam glanced up from her phone as it recorded her frustration to see an incredibly gorgeous 1965 Aston Martin DB5 pull up right in front of her. She could see Cameron grinning at her from the window of the imported right-hand drive car. "I'm going to go tell you I love you now. And I won't mean it! Though it won't be easy since you've shown up in the most beautiful car I've ever seen." She spun her phone around for several moments to record some footage of the car. "Except for my baby of course." She shut off the recording and leaned down to pick the Delta Airlines tag from her luggage as she watched him climb out of the car to walk towards her. She smiled at him and lifted her sunglasses up onto the top of her head.

"Hey there, darlin'. Sorry I'm late, people can't help looking at the car." He cupped her cheek in a hand and kissed her gently. "I missed you." Damn the man. She didn't even care that he was late anymore. She leaned into his hand as his fingers caressed her cheek. "I love you." He grinned and she blushed at his words. "I like being able to say that." She shook her head slightly before kissing him again and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I like hearing it." she admitted softly. "I love you too." she added with a touch of her fingertips across his flushing cheeks, she even meant it. "Now, who did you steal that beautiful thing from?" she growled with a mischievous nibble on his ear as she looked over his shoulder. "You cannot afford that on your Air Force stipend." He chuckled as he pulled away and bent down to pick up her suit case.

"I found this little beauty for my first procurement customer." he replied, putting her case in the trunk. "You know that airfield near my place that I told you about?" She nodded as he opened the door for her on the street side, making sure there wasn't any traffic in her way. "One of the regulars is a little on the wealthy side, if you take my drift, and when I told him what I did he asked me to look at his '71 'Vette Stingray." Sam reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her laptop which she powered up. She fiddled with the track pad and a few clicks had a picture of a black, low slung Mako Shark style Corvette with a prominent bulge in the hood, under which sat the 454 cubic inch big-block LS6. "Yeah, that's the beast." Cam chuckled as he turned over the DB5's own 4 liter Tadek Marek inline six. "He was so impressed he told me he'd bring any other cars of his my way once he got them and I asked him if he was always looking for new cars." Sam began chuckling seeing where this was leading. "He said, yeah, that he was working off a list of cars he'd been compiling his whole life. Cars he's always wanted to own." As they got on the freeway he turned to look at her with a bright smile. "Want to take the coast road all the way to Miami?" She nodded with a smile as he indicated to turn off and head east. "Anyway, I told him I was also setting up to find cars for interested buyers and he gave me this look." He hit her with his imitation of the man's scrutinising glare and Sam laughed. "He said, find me a pristine DB5 and I'll pay you to find the rest of the list too. So I did. In Idaho."

"Idaho?" She looked over the car in amazement. "Wait, did you drive this all the-" She stopped at his emphatic nod and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Holy Hannah, sweetie, will you even be able to hand over the keys to this thing after driving it nearly three thousand miles?"

"I'm almost sure I can." he admitted and she laughed again. "Mr. Cabott has a house in Miami and he asked me to meet him there to drop this baby off." He ran a hand over the dashboard. "He also agreed to loan me his kitchen when I told him about our plans to sail to Bimini. He says it's always good to take a hamper of food and drink." Sam smiled at that before she looked out the window at the Atlantic Ocean filling her view. She sighed in contentment as the warm autumn breeze whipped at her hair while they cruised along sedately under the morning sun.

"Will he not be upset when he finds out you gave me a ride?" she asked with a sidelong glance. He laughed, shaking his head.

"Baby, you are the pièce de résistance. You complete the effect." He eyed her with a decidedly evil smirk. "No car looks as good as when a beautiful woman is stepping out of it." She gaped at him and turned away, blushing furiously. She looked out the window for a while longer.

"So this is why you asked if I was free for the three days before this trip?" she asked while looking at him wistfully. He nodded slightly. "I'm starting to regret accepting that install." she mumbled, he looked at her askance.

"The woman who owns the metallurgical refinery plant?" He shook his head. "No, baby, having her as a contact is important and you were right."

"Yeah, but this is car is something else and we only have the drive to Miami to enjoy it together." she grumbled with a theatrical pout. He chuckled.

"I'm sure Mr. Cabott will want me to give the car a thorough going over when he gets it back to Austin." he explained. "I noticed one or two things while driving her down. I expect he'll notice some others on his own drive back." He smiled broadly. "And while I'm working on it I'm sure I'll need to drive it quite a bit." He winked and she laughed.

Stargate Command, September 2010

"Denied." O'Neill said from his seat in between General Landry and Teal'c. Daniel stopped his presentation to turn around and frown at the man from his position in front of the TV screens at the end of the briefing room. Cam shifted uneasily in his seat beside a troubled-looking Sam on the opposite side of the table from the Generals. Vala blinked in surprise from where she stood next to the television with a pile of reference materials at the ready while Teal'c steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair with a lift of his eyebrows, clearly surprised himself.

"Jack-" began the archaeologist.

"No, Daniel."

"Sir, I think-"

"Forget it, Mitchell."

"O'Neill, this is-"

"Negative, Teal'c."

"General, we really-"

"Ne. Ga. Tory, Vala."

"But, sir, the only-"

"Nyet!" Sam sighed beside Cam, obviously knowing that when Jack O'Neill broke out into foreign languages there really was no going back. Especially when it was Russian. "There's no way I'll ever agree to anything as crazy as this, Carter." Landry just smirked as if telling them all 'I told you so' and drummed the fingers of his hands over the table.

"I'll beg, Jack." offered Daniel. Everyone turned to look at him with evident surprise.

"As much as I'd love to see that, Danny-boy, it won't change my answer." Jack said with a small smirk, though he grew more serious before he spoke again. "It's more important that we identify the bastards who hired Masim's men to launch bioweapons at us, than it is to chase after clues about long-dead Ancient spoilsports."

"They're not-"

"As good as, Daniel!" Jack cried. "You said so yourself! Merlin stuck 'em in the freezer!" Daniel closed his eyes with a frown and a sigh.

"Yes, sir, but-" tried Cam one more time.

"No buts, Mitchell." Jack interjected. "Your team is in on the stakeouts, are we clear?" Cam had clamped his jaw shut at the interruption and now turned to look at Sam who sighed softly for his benefit.

"Yes, sir." he acknowledged when he turned back to the Lt. General across from him.

"Hank's got your assignment," O'Neill muttered as he and Landry stood up from the table, Cam shot up to attention and Jack waved him back down, "sit and listen to the man." There was a slight apology in Jack's eyes when he walked out of the briefing room. Cam slumped back into the chair and turned slightly to smile at Sam when she intertwined her fingers in his under the table.

"Don't take it personally." Landry intoned as he sat down in his usual place at the head of the table and pushed a stack of folders forward to the center. "Jack is under a lot of pressure from above with this situation. Our window of opportunity is closing fast. Dr. Heidal only had intel for the dates and times of three meetings." Daniel and Vala came to sit beside Teal'c in the seats vacated by the generals and they all picked up one of the folders from the pile. "If we don't get a break soon we'll be back to square one."

"Have the Tok'ra not been attempting to infiltrate Masim's hierarchy, General Landry?" asked Teal'c while he perused the contents of the file in his hands.

"Yes, Teal'c." confirmed Landry. "They have a man making his way up the ranks, but they're nowhere near being able to use it to their advantage. We've also got to remember the Lucian Alliance has brainwashing technology. The safety of their operatives and ensuring they are not compromised is their top priority." The Jaffa nodded once.

"Will we have eyes on P4S-891, sir?" Cam asked while checking over the details of their assigned planet.

"Yes, Colonel, Apparently the selection criteria does not preclude using the same planet twice in a row." replied Landry. "That's SG-6's beat this time around though."

"We don't want to create the impression of familiar faces hanging around these planets at the times of these meetings," Sam explained, "even if they never leave the area of the Stargate themselves, it doesn't mean they don't have people who go to the villages in advance of their arrival." Cam nodded.

"I've been here before." Vala announced tapping the open folder in front of her on the table.

"Okay," began Cam as he glanced over at the former thief, "is this a good thing or a bad thing." She hemmed and hawed and eventually came down on the side of 'bad thing'. "All the other teams are already at their designated planets, right, sir?"

"That's right, Mitchell," confirmed the General, "all the other planets were assigned by the time you and your team returned from Camelot."

"Well," the Air Force officer turned back towards Vala, "I guess that means you and Jackson are on surveillance detail, while Sam and I are undercover in this coastal town below the 'gate." He tapped the second page with its summary of the local community of fishermen and tradesmen. Daniel sighed and looked at Vala with an accusing glare, she pouted theatrically.

"It's a boring place anyway." she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Daniel just sighed.

"You're okay with performing orbital surveillance in a cloaked ship again, right, Teal'c?" asked Sam with a glance towards the Jaffa.

"Indeed, Samantha Carter." He nodded once deeply.

"Alright, SG-1, you have a go." Landry stood up again with Cam quick to follow. He turned to head to his office while Cam glanced around the table at his team.

"Don't worry, guys. General O'Neill will come around." he intoned. Daniel crossed his arms with a rueful smirk as he leaned back in his chair, turning it slightly from side to side. Vala lay her head down on her forearms on the table as her ponytail flopped over the top of her head, she was obviously upset that Daniel hadn't been able to use any of the material she'd prepared for the presentation before Jack shut them down.

"We just need to be patient, it is kinda crazy." Sam added as she stood up herself.

P7X-611, September 2010

"Do you think Jackson's gagged Vala yet?" he asked with a glint in his eye and an amused grin.

"Cam!" she cried in mock-horror. "Daniel would never do something-" She stopped when he lifted his eyebrow and she tilted her head in recollection. "Okay, I admit, he has gagged her before. A few times." she replied in defeat as he chuckled. He touched his hand to the small of her back as they walked along the coastal road into the small seaside community, not really large enough to be called a town, but certainly larger than most villages in the vicinity of Stargates on similarly out of the way planets. This one did actually see a steady trade with at least one other world, though the general infrequency of the trade missions still made it suitable for Masim's purposes. The Stargate itself was situated atop a rocky crag on a bluff overlooking the western sea, the path they were on wended its way down the high cliff along the coast and doubled back to the town, situated at the foot of the cliff on a broad spit of fertile green pasture land beside the inlet and high walled river channel which fed into the sea as a tidal estuary.

Sea birds of various descriptions nested along the cliff face as it towered over the town and its harbour-full of fishing vessels, both groups waiting for nightfall, the local marine life being nocturnal. They screeched and cawed as they hovered on the winds which blew along the rock wall while Cam and Sam walked their way past the first ramshackle buildings on the edge of the town. Incongruously, the settlement was actually best known out among its trading partners for the quality of its weave and cloth, warm and durable and made with an eye for aesthetics, it came in many different colours and patterns, enough to suit almost any taste. Which is why Sam was posing as a textiles merchant while Cam was meant to be her partner slash bodyguard.

"We only left them forty minutes ago, Cam, I'm sure they'll manage for a little while longer on their own." She smiled with a sidelong glance at her love. He grinned back with a chuckle. "Okay, better get in character now. My name is Angharad," Cam smiled at that, "I'm starting to expand my textiles import business on Hebridan now that recovery from the Ori occupation is well on its way. Do I look the part?" she asked with a sweep of her hands down her front. Cam looked her up and down, taking in the hair tied up with a twirled braid at the back, the dark green, ankle-length jacket tied up with silk knots from the waist to a mandarin collar, over black slacks and dark brown leather boots. She finished off the look with her glasses, much to Cameron's delight.

"You look rich, and business-like, not to mention beautiful." he replied with a smile then hitched up the gun belt around the waist of his brown slacks below the dark blue double-breasted shirt he wore with a couple of buttons undone to show the black t-shirt underneath. He pulled at the cuffs of the tan duster he tended to wear when trying to blend in with galactic society while on off-world missions and spun around on the heels of his black leather boots to walk backwards in front of her and let her get a look. "How about me?"

"You look like a scruffy-looking nerf-herder." she jibed with a smile. He clapped his hands together, obviously pleased.

"Exactly what I was hoping for!" he exclaimed as she laughed.

"Remember, you're my muscle. You need to look tough so I don't have to." she said with a waggle of her finger at him. He grimaced slightly, getting into character.

"Cam Mitchell, Bounty Hunter and Bodyguard." he muttered in a low, rumbling voice.

"Lose the 'Bounty Hunter' and the strange voice." she warned as he glared at her with a snort.

They spent the next hour or so making sure they were seen frequenting various merchant houses and enquiring about quotas and production schedules. Sam was serious, but calm while Cameron stood just off to her side like a stone statue, albeit one which looked capable of striking a killing blow on anyone in sight at any moment. He exuded menace. They also visited several of the market stalls in the small bazaar by the waterfront to check out the merchandise the locals preferred for themselves. Sam arranged to buy a few pieces from one of the stalls with particularly fine cloth. To keep up her cover, of course. She was getting a strange vibe from the merchant whenever he glanced at Cameron. For his part, Cam merely let his eyes wander over the environment nonchalantly. Sam got the merchant's attention again and frowned slightly with an inquisitive tilt of her head.

"Is there a problem, Ser Pamuin?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"Not at all, Sar Angharad. Not at all." he looked down at the handful of naquadah coins she'd used to pay for the small bundle of cloths she'd handed over to Cam. She narrowed her eyes at the man, indicating her slight disbelief. "I'm just wondering why a fine lady with a keen, discerning eye such as your good self is able to tolerate the unrefined presence of one such as he." She glanced at Cam, but he gave no indication he'd even heard the man speaking. He was really getting into his character, just scanning over the small clusters of townspeople as they moved through the bazaar. Sam turned back to the trader.

"Ser Pamuin, when a man can shoot a coin out of the sky at thirty paces, I am really not interested in his taste in vestments." she replied with a furrowed brow. The man blinked in surprise and glanced at Cam once more and at the galactic-style heavy stubber hanging off his right leg.

"I am having trouble believing such a claim, Sar Angharad." he said with a quick glance in her direction, she pursed her lips slightly, making sure he got the impression she was displeased with his insinuation she wasn't being honest. He quickly caught on and raised his hands in a placating manner. "Perhaps a small demonstration?" Sam glanced around at all the traders nearby who were looking their way in eager curiosity.

"You are asking for my man to demonstrate his marksmanship in such a crowded place?" she asked with subtle incredulity. Cam had actually turned to lock eyes on the trader.

"It is a favoured sport in our land, we are all avid shooters and take great pleasure in such informal displays of skill, is that not so, fellows?" Many of the other merchants brought up various guns and long rifles from behind their counters and a general rumble of acknowledgement went up from the gathering quickly forming around Pamuin's stall. "For instance, a preferred target is that bell at the end of the pier-" the trader's pitch was interrupted by a sharp report and the pealing of said bell. Sam didn't even have to turn around to know Cam had just raised his pistol and fired in a single motion at the small bell some 60 paces away. The look on the merchant's face also told her that Cam had done it with only a cursory glance at the target. "How... we usually start at 20 paces with pistols and get progressively more distant... you barely even looked at it."

"I looked at it when I first arrived." Cam replied indifferently, re-holstering the gun after a quick flick of the wrist. Pamuin gulped nervously while the other traders all around them were clapping enthusiastically. Sam almost sighed, her fiancé really had watched far too many movies.

"As I'm sure you can surmise, Ser Pamuin, I hire my employees for their skills, not their fashion sense." She turned around and gave Cam a little appraising look. "That is also not the only gun he is skilled at handling." Cam glanced her way and gave her a knowing leer with an upward flick of his head which completed the effect to a 'T'. She turned back to the merchant with a small smile on her lips.

"Hrm, yes, he does indeed show great skill with a gun, Sar Angharad, I must admit to rarely seeing such talent among the outworlders." he murmured. Sam lifted an eyebrow up behind her glasses.

"You mean your trading partners the Paressi?" Sam asked as she noticed Cam had returned to his nonchalant scanning of the crowd who were giving him nods of approval and calls of good cheer.

"No, we do not consider them as outworlders. They are of our own." He screwed his face up in a gesture of slight discomfiture. "You are a well-travelled lady, are you not, Sar Angharad?" She nodded. "There are all kinds out among the stars, am I right?"

"I have seen more than most, even among my people of Hebridan." she replied. Pamuin looked at her with a curious gaze. "Hence my choice in travelling companions." She flicked her head in Cam's direction, which brought a look of understanding to his eyes.

"Have you met many peoples on your travels who leave you feeling... a chill?" He spoke hesitantly, though the fact he spoke at all indicated Cameron's demonstration had engendered some appreciation for them in the trader's sensibilities. Still, the question left her slightly bemused.

"I mostly deal with traders and merchants such as your good self, Ser Pamuin." She looked at Cameron for a moment. "My man has more experience with those who give others... chills." Cam grunted without looking directly towards them.

"I'm sure. A man has to have a reason to be that skilled." Pamuin murmured with a look of new-found approval towards Cameron. "My reason is sport, whatever Ser Cam's may have been when he began, it is now to guard your good self, yes?" Sam's only reply was a tilt of her head. The merchant rubbed at his chin. "We see traders and merchants from a dozen worlds among the stars, even sportsmen on occasion come to hunt the game on the wild plains beyond Turya. They are all much like us, it is something our landsteaders have come to take for a truth. That is until we met Olun and Helur of the Aschen." Sam was very glad that Pamuin was arranging some bolts of his weave and not looking directly her way when he spoke. It gave her time to school her features, she could sense the air behind her vibrating just from Cam's sudden tension. "Odd ones they are, very... odd. Distant, dispassionate, disdainful." He finally glanced up at Sam and she hoped she managed to convey equanimity with her gaze. "Do you know their people? I am reticent of course, to judge an entire world by the demeanour of but two of their number."

"I have heard the name, yes, it is my understanding however, that they are not fond of travelling outside the borders of their own Confederation." Sam replied. Outwardly she tried to appear calm, inwardly she was seething with curiosity as to what two members of the notoriously cautious race were doing so far from their space. "Did they come here to trade?" The merchant shook his head.

"Indeed not, they come to conduct experiments." He pointed up into the sky. "With the weather." Sam looked at him askance. "They make it rain."

On to Chapter 2