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stargatefan.com : episodes > season 1 > next episode : the broca divide

The team goes through the Stargate. A mess of stone rubble lays before their feet. As they leave the area, the team hears crys for help. An Asian youth was being attacked by wild dogs. The team rushes over, firing their weapons into the air, scaring off the dogs.

The grateful son introduces himself as the chieftain's son of the Shavadai. Daniel makes the introductions, explaining that they were travellers from very far away. The youth is impressed and said that they would be welcomed in his father's camp. He then spies Carter and is stunned. He leans over to O'Neill asking if Carter was a woman. Puzzled, Carter comes closer, wondering what she had done that would have upset him. The youth backs away, saying he can not see her face.

Soon, three men on horseback approaches and the youth tells the team to take Carter and go. The approaching natives seem upset at the appearance of Carter.

...Daniel, find out what I did wrong so I can fix it...
Captain Samantha Carter

Daniel approaches the men, offering to leave if their presence was upsetting to them. He gets pushed aside by the three men, who drew their swords and arrows at them. Jack fires his pistol up in the air, grinning to indicate that it wasn't a good idea to point weapons at them. The men are startled by the strange noise and find themselves surrounded by Jack's gun, Carter's rifle, and the Jaafa's staff weapon.

The chieftain Migaul approaches and scolds the three men for being rude to strangers. The men protested, saying that Carter was a woman. The youth, the chieftain's son, tries to explain that the team did not know the ways. Curious, the leader asks what manner of weapons the team was carrying. Carter speaks up and tries to explain that these were firearms.

Upset at Carter for speaking, the leader orders Carter to be killed. The son Abu jumps in, defending Carter . He said that Carter saved his life from the wild dogs.

"..when a woman saves a life, hers cannot be taken.." Shavadai chieftain Migaul

Carter votes that the team turns around and go home. Daniel thinks it would be a great opportunity to study an ancient culture. Daniel feels if they could learn their culture and ways, the team should be okay.

The team enters a village that looks right out of a history book. The women greet Abu, thrilled that the chief's son was able to return home safely. The women then lead the team into a tent, where they were to wait for the chief to speak with them. Daniel explains that the Shavadai were descendants of the Step Nomads, who kept with the traditions of the Mongrels.

The chief enters the tent. He seats with his son Abu by his side. As they all settle down, the chief explains that it was death for a woman to show her face in public. The old laws, the man continues, are still heavily obeyed and followed here. When Carter saved his son, it gave the leader a way of preventing her death. The old laws, the chief foresees, may no longer serve them. Treaty, he predicts, will some day replace war. During their conversation, the son boasts of their medicinal herbs and Carter believes that the team should check them out. The chief interjects that although the team is welcome to explore the village, Carter, however must wait until she is properly attired.

Daniel: "..anthropologists do it all the time. They dress and live like the people they are studying.."
Carter: "..I'm not an anthropologist."
Jack: "..You are today."

The team leaves the tent with Abu, leaving Carter behind to change into 'proper attire'. Abu shows them herbs they are using to administrate to their injured. Carter was right- there were herbs here they could bring back to Earth for further research. The team returns to let Carter know and finds that the captain has changed into a beautiful, yet hard to manuveur in, blue dress.

"..Daniel, find me an anthropologist who dresses like this and I'll eat this headdress.."
Captain Samantha Carter

The team is stunned. Abu unabashingly declares that Carter was the most beautiful woman he has ever met. Carter responds to this by joking that the boy probably doesn't get out much. The team is invited to a night celebration, but Carter is not invited- it is for men only. She is to wait in the tent, instead.

"All things considered...Samantha...if we have to come back here it might be a better idea if we brought an all *male* team next time. No offense."
Colonel Jack O'Neill

As Jack leaves the tent, he pauses and turns around. Hesitantly, Jack tells Carter that she looks great in that dress then leaves.

The party is under way. The sounds of loud shouting, dancing, and drums beating, block out the sounds of a struggle in Carter's tent. As she was asleep, someone grabs her and takes her away.

In the morning, Daniel goes into the tent to see if Carter is ready to leave. He finds that she is gone. Someone has taken her.

That someone is the chief's son Abu. He tells Carter that he is going to take her to sell to the another clan's chief. This man is not as open minded as his father and would have no qualms killing a woman for her disobedience.

Not finding Carter anywhere on the grounds, he tells Daniel to get Teal'c and to be ready to leave. Daniel believes that perhaps the disappearance of Carter was a cultural misunderstanding and offers to try and speak with Migaul.

O'Neill: "The hell with culture. A member of my team has been neutralized. That's a hostile act."
Daniel: "How is it that you always come up with the worst case scenario?"
O'Neill: "I practice."

Teal'c returns with Migual and informed them of his discovery of fresh hoove tracks leading away from the village. Abu was also not to be found. Migual reluctantly admits that women are highly valued in trade; especially foreign women. He offers to provide horses and himself as a guide to track his son and Carter down.

Carter is taken to another village, lead by chieftain Turgin. Abu, despite his fear of this ruthless man, offers Carter for trade. He claims she is from the Sea of Oagatha to explain her boldness. Turgin orders Carter to remove her headdress and turn around for him, which was refused by Carter. He goes up to her and threaten her with a blade to the throat. Pleased with her appearances, Turgin asks for a price. Abu refuses all that Turgin offers. Just then, a pale complexion of a female enters the tent. It is Turgin's daughter. Abu boldly asks for her, Nya.

Turgin refuses the trade and coldly tells him to take the gold or lose his life. Nya was to be wed to an older warlord instead. Abu leaves with the gold instead. Turgin, after Abu leaves, backhandedly hits Carter and warns her to behave. His daughter is crying in the background, being consoled by her mother.

The rest of the team tracks down where Abu must have rested the horses at and decided to rest there, too. During that time, Migual offers his apologies and tells them that he is willing to compensate for their loss if they can not find Carter. Daniel tried to explain to Migual that they don't own women. Daniel asks about legends about women who, once freed, would fight along their men's sides. Migual tells Daniel that although this may be so, it is something they do not speak about. The ancient laws were set up to protect the women from demons who come through the Stargate. Despite the fact that the demons no longer come here, the laws are not changed because men, no matter their status, could still be a chief among his many wives. He, on the other hand, was regarded as weak because he remained loyal to one wife, but Daniel corrected him with a smile, that Migual was not weak- he just loves her.

Meanwhile, Abu sneaks back in and asks Nya to run away with him in the evening. Carter, during all this, was being asked by Turgin what she can do. Can she cook, spin, weave, or make dye? Carter responded negatively, telling him that she is a warrior and a scholar.

"Let me tell you what I do. I raided and burn the tents of my enemies. I slaughtered the men and traded the women and children. For this, I am feared. Because I am feared, I have the alliegence of 22 tribes.."
Turgin

Turgin wants to make that 23 tribes with the joining of his daughter and Nya. Carter boldly disagrees with him and Turgin just responds with a threat to hang her upside down with dirty rags stuffed into her mouth and nose.

Set to prepare food, Carter sees an opportunity to escape when the women with her are taking a unconsolable Nya into a tent. She takes the knife and runs off with one of their horses. However, a guard set in the boundaries of the village catches her and drags her back to Turgin.

Turgin rages that what Carter did was a selfish act and now the women responsible for watching her would have to be punished. He prepares to beat one of the women when Carter stops him. She said that if he wanted to beat a woman, beat her. Turgin stops and does not beat his woman, but tells Carter that if she doesn't learn her place and be obedient- Carter would suffer more than a beating.

Sent to do chores again, Carter is approached by Nya, who thanks her for trying to help the woman, who turns out to be her mother. Nya confesses that they are all afraid that Carter would be killed if she continues to disobey him. Nya defends her father to Carter, stating that he is a good man at what he does and he protects them. Nya is, however, unhappy with her arrangement with the other warlord and asks for Carter's help.

The team arrives at Turgin's camp and plans for a night raid. Migual disagrees, stating it would be war between the tribes. Turgin is too powerful with his allies. He opts that they wait for morning. Jack doesn't agree after he learns that Turgin will try to partake his newest purchase tonight and opts that they approach Turgin now for a trade.

Carter takes advantage of the arrival of her teammates and starts a fire on some hanging blankets so that Nya may escape. Inside the tent, the team tries to negotiate a price for Carter. Daniel tells Turgin that Carter is very important to their people, that she is a shaman or a chieftain there. Turgin, although professing that she was more trouble than her worth, refuses to trade. Jack, seeing no other choice, fires a bullet that shatters a tent lamp. Startled, Turgin is amazed. Jack offers the gun with the five rounds left, as a trade for Carter. Turgin accepts. The team leaves with Carter while Turgin proudly shows his people his newest trade, firing rounds into the sky.

The team is still camped nearby when Abu arrives on horseback, seeking help. It seems that the two young lovers were caught before they could successfully escape. Now Nya was to be stoned to death for breaking a law of the land. Carter wants to save Nya, but Jack at first disagrees. Carter points out that one of their directives was to free the oppressed, but Jack argued that it pertains to the people on Earth. Interfering would create a war for the Shavadai. Daniel asks Migual if there were any old laws to work their way around this. There was, Migual said after great thought.

Nya begs for forgiveness. In an expected tender gesture, Turgin embraces his daughter and tells her that he does. Then he walks away and orders for the stoning to begin. The team arrives before the tribe could begin. Migual challenges Turgin with the old laws, saying that a chieftain may challenge a stoning. Turgin refuses to fight a man, who is injured, Turgin declared, referring to Migual's limp. He would only accept if another chieftain was to take the challenge. Carter steps forward to accept.

The battle prepares to begin and Jack learns that it is to be to the death. But before he could protest, the tribal men held them back with knifes to the team. Carter readies her fists when Turgin suddenly pulls out his curved blade. She immediately takes out her own. Carter manages to get a swipe in, drawing blood from Turgin. This enrages the chieftain and he knocks her down. She rolls away from him as his blade stabs near her ear. She pulls a couple of punches to the stomach, then a roundhouse kick, then back to her blade again. Carter manages to get Turgin on the ground with her blade to his throat. Nya begs Carter not to kill him, but before Carter lets him go, she makes him verbally declare Nya is free to go and that Carter has won.

Later on, the team gets ready to leave. Jack declines to remain for the six day wedding event of Abu and Nya. As they turn around to head back, the women of Migual's tribe reveals themselves, discarding their veils. Migual declares that from now on, all women are free. This is how Carter would be remembered among his people.

The team approaches the Stargate, musing on whether the herbs they were bringing back from this planet would be the newest miracle drug. Carter points out that even if it was, they couldn't take credit for it. How were they to explain the origin of it?

Carter: "So you think this new anesthesia will be a miracle drug on Earth?"
Daniel: "Well, if it is I bet somebody else will get the credit. We can never say where it came from."
O'Neill: "Damn. Guess I'm going to have to cancel that Oprah interview."
Teal'c: "What is an 'Oprah?'"
SG-1 as they head back for the Stargate

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