In Darkness
Written by Suto Eszter,
Translated by Rita Ballantyne

The SG-1 team was preparing for departure in front of the gate. Colonel O’Neil checked his guns, Carter was tying her shoelaces- shevron nr five coded-the voice howled into the momentary silence-while Daniel was searching for something feverishly. He searched through his pockets, his bag, everything, he didn’t even notice the gate activating.

„Can we go, Daniel?" asked the colonel, and, as he didn’t get an answer in a while, he spoke again: „Dr. Jackson!"

„Yes? What-what’s up?" he asked confused.

„Can we go?"

„A moment, I-I’ve still to find…"

„Daniel, everybody is waiting for you!"

„But I can’t go without my glasses. I can hardly see a thing," he answered in dispair.

„We’ll help," said Carter, and she tried to put on the most friendly face she could manage.

„All right, but…" wanted Daniel to disagree, but Jack cut him short.

„Then let’s go!"

The team landed in a dense forest at the other side of the gate.

„I can’t see anything! Let’s go back!"

„Stop wailing Daniel," the colonel told him off, „you will survive!"

At this moment something moved in the darkness. Everyone turned that way and searched the bushes. There was a little boy in long clothing standing amidst the thorns, a basket on his arm. His hair unkempt and uncombed, and there was a middle sized, coloured bird resting on his
shoulder. The boy stood silent for a minutte, but then he run away.

„Stop, stop, we don’t wanna hurt you!" cried out Carter.

„Let it go, he will not come back anyway," said O’Neil quietly.

„Let’s follow him," said Teal’c in his well-known tone of voice.

*

Following a short walk, they arrived at the edge of a small village. It also meant that the forest ended too. In the village, there were tents, each one a different colour, the people were wearing widely coloured clothing too. In a few minutes, a small sized crowd came close to see the four arrivals already.

„Oooh…Hello!" started Jack acquintancing.

„Look," whispered Carter, „there is a bird on everyone’s shoulder, and…and…, as if they would look above us…"

Right enough. Everyone was blind here. The colonel waved his hand in front of a middle aged man and said: „No,…I don’t think they can see us."

„Welcome to Zimukk."

„Thank you, ooo…we came from Earth, with good intentions," started Jack off, but feeling a bit uncomfortable.

In a while, people went off carrying on with their business. Seemingly, they were not even bothered by the SG-1 team being there.

„Can’t they see anything?" asked Dr. Jackson.

„No, but if I’m not mistaking, neither do you."

He wasn’t mistaking. Daniel saw less and less clearly and was completely confused. „Why is it that my sight is getting worse and worse?" he asked deperatly.

„Well, it could be, that the air contains some kind of chemical that…"asked Carter.

„But why does it not effect you?" stopped him Daniel annoyed.

„I don’t know," came the quiet response.

In that moment, there was a girl of around the age of 24 coming close. She had an impressively beautiful bird sitting on her shoulder. You could tell that she was sad.

„Hi. Who are you?" asked O’Neil.

„I’m Kamil and her name is Velm," she pointed at the bird.

„Why does everyone have a…"

„Zimke," finished Kamil the sentence. „They are Zimkes. They see for us too. Everyone gets one at birth, and by the time we make our first steps, the Zimkes sit on our shoulders.

„That’s interesting…and why are you unhappy?"

„Velm didn’t choose her partner yet. Whoever she chooses, that will be my partner too. I mean, the one with the shoulder."

„Couldn’t you help our friend? He can’t see anything just now…"asked the colonel.

„We’ll rent a bird for him," joked Jack around.

„Well, I’ll see if I can do something," went Kamil away, but soon came back with a chirping bunch of feathers in her hand.

„This is Tibu," she said and she stroked the ball of feathers with her finger with the effect of a head appearing from under the wings.

Tibu flew over to Daniel’s shoulder and gently chirped in his ear.

„This is fantastic!" he fazed out, „he talks to me!"

„I didn’t know you spoke bird language," the colonel said messing around again.

„He tells me everything in such detail, as if I’d see it myself."

„We thank you," said Teal’c.

„Yes. We hope that we can thank you some way," joined Carter, „maybe…"

„We have everything here, there is nothing mother nature wouldn’t give us," lifted her head up Kamil. „You are welcome," she took off.

The team addressed Daniel, who happily described, how good it was to be with the bird.

*

The next morning, Carter woke up noticing, that she couldn’t take out the edges of the objects around her. She rushed to Jack.

„Sir, I think I am affected by something here too, I mean my eyes are effected."

„No problem, you will get a chirper too," but the next sentence got stuck in his throat and he lifted his hands to his head: „aauuuch!"

„Colonel?"

„Let’s go home, something in not right here."

„We can’t go," said Daniel, who just arrived into the tent, „there are so many things we could learn from these people."

„I begin to have enough of this, you always say that. Besides, this is not worth it, for all of us to go blind!"

„It is worth it to me! And it is possible, that it’s only temporary!"

„Let it be. But you had better be right!"

An hour later when everyone except Teal’c walked aroud with a Zimke on shoulder, Captain Carter spoke out: „Why do I have two birds?"

„Another chose you as a partner," they could hear Kamil.

„Then now…"

„You have a lover. You are lucky!"

„But I don’t want one."

„You will not know who chose you, you will only find that out when the other Zimke leads its master to you.

„We’d better not wait around for that to happen," said the colonel worriedly (and a bit jealous )

„You can’t leave, he’s your partner!"

„But I can’t stay with him here. My home is on Earth."

„Well…it’s up to you…"they could only hear her fading steps in the distance.

„What now?" they all asked almost in unison.

„I have an idea," said Daniel fearfully.

„We are listening."

„What if we make him believe that she already has a…partner?"

„Tell me, that it’s not what I think, Dr. Jackson?" O’Neil could not believe it. But in the circumstance it didn’t look like they had a choice….

*

In a short while Sam and Jack was wondering about the village hand in hand, changing lovy-dovy comments in the approximity of certain tents.

„I feel you shining stronger than the Sun today, darling…"

„Sir," said Carter quietly, „don’t overdo it…"

„Captain, don’t think that I enjoy this all that much," answered Jack, „however…" but he only said the last word more to himself, so that Sam couldn’t hear it.

„Yes…" played her role Carter, „ I love you too, very much."

As they bumped into Daniel and Teal’c at one corner, they instantly asked: „Well? Did they buy it?"

„I don’t know, Daniel, but when this ends…"started the colonel, but changed his mind on the way. But he changed his mind again and finally whispered „I will strangulate you."

A young man stepped over to them: „my name is Lumer, and Helt chose you for me."

„Hey…well…ooo…she already had…in other words she is my girl!"

In this moment, Carter looked at the colonel as if he came from Mars. But the colonel whispered to her as if he felt how she was thinking: „sorry."

„But..but," tuttered Lumer, „Helt can not be wrong!"

„Listen, Lumer…we are strangers," started to explain Carter, „I can’t be your partner. Don’t…"her voice dampened down „I already have a partner."

„Well…if…if you tell me so…" he said and run away. But in his great rush, he run into Kamil.

„Velm! Helt!" they shouted simultaneously.

„Don’t be angry, I don’t know what’s got into him…"excused Lumer.

But if there is love at first sight, this was it. They locked hands and walked away happily. This was the first time in Zimukk’s history, that not a Zimke chose.

„Then we could go too," spoke the colonel first.

„Yes, we can go," agreed Daniel.

At the gate the birds took off from their shoulders and flew away. Teal’c punched in the code and the team went back to base. Except from Daniel, everyone could instantly see very well.

„Dr. Jackson," came General Hammond, „we found this is the medical room, you left it there on your last visit," and he handed the glasses over. „How was the journey?"

„We’ll tell the story," said Jack. He winked to Carter: „right, darling?"



THE END

Written by Suto Eszter,
Translated by Rita Ballantyne