Tython and Sam Carter

Chapter 12: More to Tell

Life throws challenges our way, but we were never meant to face them in isolation. If isolation creeps in, it's a sign something deeper lurks beneath the surface. Ignoring the problem guarantees it won't vanish. That's where the magic of friends comes in.

Sometimes, friends become the confidantes we can't be with family. As Padawan Samantha Carter's story unfolds, you'll witness her confiding in JN-620 about her struggles. But sharing doesn't erase them entirely.

When you need someone, reach out to that special friend. Remember Hothok's wisdom to Sam: "One is a lonely number." You're never truly alone, even when darkness threatens. The walls surrounding you don't limit your options. Just open your eyes and see the world beyond.

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The bar brawl left a sour taste in Sam's mouth. Instead of catharsis, it plunged her deeper into despair. A terrifying realization clawed its way to the surface: she was morphing into someone unrecognizable. The bitterness festered within, a silent scream she couldn't seem to unleash. Visions of her solitary confinement flickered through her mind — a chilling metaphor for the prison she felt trapped within, too terrified to break free.

It wasn't the recent brawls that truly frightened her. It was the insidious transformation she felt gnawing at her core. Where was the fearless Major Samantha Carter? Now, every tremor, real or imagined, sent shivers down her spine. Jedi training with Master Tumok was a beacon of hope, the Force promising positive change. But the fear, oh the fear, it stemmed from the abduction, the harrowing captivity that Hothok mercifully ended. Those memories were a relentless torment.

She longed to confide in someone, anyone she trusted. But the weight of her anxieties, these crippling, irrational fears, kept her lips sealed. A bitter truth settled in her gut — sometimes, the greatest enemy wears your own face. She knew she had to confront them, to break free from this self-imposed prison. "Dammit!" she roared, slamming her fist against the wall. "Am I afraid of myself?"

There was a knock on her bedroom door. She got up from sitting on her bed and opened the door. When she saw JN-620, she tried to give a smile. She said to him, "Come on in." After he did, she closed the door.

When she sat back down on her bed, he sat beside her. "I just came to say that if you want to talk to anyone, I am here for you."

She had her ever most being screaming at her to talk, but she was still too frightened. After a bit, she breathed in deeply and exhaled it. "I will on one condition."

"Anything Sam." He knew humans well enough that they had to talk out their problems. If he could get her to talk it out, no matter what condition she will offer him, it will do her the wonders.

"For the time being, I want what I will tell you to be between us." She looked at him, "can you do that for me?" "if you don't, I am afraid all will die on my account. Why I think this — there has to be a damn good reason why I was taken from my world, brought here, and put in slavery far worse than any criminal alive. Even under a tyrant nation, no one has faced what I have been through. It is the reason I am keeping silent until I know more about what is going on. At the same time, I need to talk this out, or I will do more harm towards myself."

"I will. I have held information about great sensitivity before. Now I will do the same for the legacy of Samantha Carter if you will allow me to do so?"

She gave a dry smile, "I don't know if my life is that big to call a legacy."

"From what I know of you, your life is already a legacy that is worth saving, and I will preserve those memories as long as I can do so."

The words tumbled out in a torrent, a dam finally bursting after weeks of choking back tears. She told JN-620 everything, from the last desperate moments before the Stargate shut down, spitting her back to a world that felt alien, to the strange, beautiful world she now found herself on. The sobs wracked her body, hot and uncontrollable, each one a release valve for the pressure that had built within.