Author: Kimberley Jackson

“Alright, recruits.” O’Neill opened the file he’d been carrying with him all day.

Sam lifted her head and tried to hide her exhaustion. They’d walked through the forest for two hours, and she’d yet to see the purpose of it. From the looks of the other recruits, she wasn’t the only one who’d lost her motivation.

Her stomach growled and she pressed her hand against it with a wince.

O’Neill looked around. “You’re all stranded in an unfamiliar location with no way of getting home. Night is close, so you gotta make camp. You don’t have any weapons on you. Just your clothes.”

A collective groan rippled through the group. Sam closed her eyes. That probably meant she wouldn’t have lunch today. Or be able to take a shower in the foreseeable future.

O’Neill raised his brows. “That’s the spirit.” Sam could swear she saw a smirk play around his mouth. He looked at Colonel Sheppard and the other man stepped forward.

“You’ll all swarm out and prepare for the night. We won’t divide you into teams this time.” He gestured around him. “This clearing marks the meeting point. You can move in each direction from here, but don’t move more than twenty minutes away.” Sheppard held up a number of armbands. “Each of you will get one of these. They hold a sensor so we can keep track of your movements. We’ll pick you all up in about an hour.”