A Gift Of The Amazons 3

First Impressions

by John O'Connor

URL: http://area52hkh.net/asj/john/amazons03.php
Summary: Sam, Janet, and their team are made welcome on the Amazons' world

Themyscira - Day One

The hover disks made the trip to the city pass quickly. The warm breeze felt good to the Terrans after the harsh winter they were slowly coming out of back on Earth. Sam felt the soft brushing of Diana's lustrous black hair on her cheek as she looked at the controls. With a quick, slightly guilty glance at Janet, she took a step back.

Janet smiled. She knew Sam loved her and wasn't the least bit jealous. 'Well, maybe a little,' she admitted to herself. 'After all, Diana is a beautiful woman.' Janet eyed the tall, shapely figure showing through the wind-tightened toga with a bit of envy and, admittedly, a touch of interest.

While the two disks traversed the green fields of grass, Diana and the other pilot/driver put the disks on automatic so they could help the visitors prepare to meet the queen.

Diana held out her hand to Sam. In her palm were small devices that looked like ear plugs and golden chains. "These will help you speak to my people. You put this in your ear and everything said will be translated into your language. This other device," she held up what appeared to be a thin, bejeweled choker, "will translate what you say to our language."

"I don't understand," Terri Morgan said nervously. "You're speaking English now."

Diana smiled kindly at the young woman, who immediately blushed a bright red. "I learned it with the help of the Tok'ra representatives. But only myself and Lyta on the other hover speak your tongue. And that with some slight difficulty."

Sam took the two devices and put them on. The plug fit snugly but comfortably in her ear and the choker stretched to fit nicely around her throat. She turned to assist Janet only to find the doctor looking smugly at her, having mastered the devices herself.

Sam noticed that Lieutenant Morgan seemed to be having problems. As she prepared to help the woman, Diana stepped up and offered, "Let me help you with that."

Terri's eyes widened when she felt Diana's hands on her putting the devices in the proper position.

Sam smiled and discreetly nudged Janet. Janet had seen the interplay between the two young women and jokingly whispered to Sam, "Love at first sight?"

"God, I hope not. Not on my mission," Sam whispered in alarm.

"Relax, Sam. It's not like SG team members have never fallen for offworlders. What could be so bad?" Janet asked.

"Two women, one an Air Force officer? Ring any bells?"

"So it would be better if they were both in the Air Force?"

Sam opened her mouth to respond then closed it. She really had nothing to say to that. Instead she looked at the rapidly approaching city.

It was quite impressive. All the buildings were made of white, light grey, and pinkish stone. Most of the larger buildings were columned and the whole city had a Mediterranean feel to it. Not too surprising considering where the original abductees had originated.

Diana resumed control of the hover, as they called the vehicles, and directed it towards an open plaza occupied by other hovers not currently in use.

"These vehicles..., hovers?" Diana nodded and Sam continued, "They are quite extraordinary. Do they work with localized gravity fields? Magnetics? How do they fly? What power source do you use?"

Diana glanced at Sam and said, "We use reverse magnetic polarity to hover. The forward momentum is generated by a series of small air jets. All power on Themyscira is generated by our sun. What we don't use, we store in massive, underground batteries."

The two hovers landed side by side. Diana led the way off the first one, offering a hand to a still blushing Terri Morgan when she seemed to stumble. "Are you alright, my dear?" the young Amazon asked. Terri looked at her feet and nodded, mumbling something unintelligible. Diana held her hand for a long moment, smiling at the shy Earthwoman.

Attendants came up with a hovering platform. Diana nodded to the platform. "If you'd like, place your packs on the lifter and they will be taken to your quarters." Seeing the reluctance of the military to part with their weapons, the young Amazon added, "If you prefer to retain your weapons, please do so. You will find you have no need of them here on Themyscira."

Sam looked at Janet who shrugged, and said, "Okay, ladies. I guess we can leave our gear."

As Sam removed her pack and set it on the platform with her H&K and sidearm, she heard muffled groans of relief from some of her teammates. Stifling a smile, she looked towards Diana.

"Follow me to the palace, please," Diana said, after helping Terri Morgan with her pack. She began to walk towards the city center. SG-13 followed, looking around at the beautiful architecture.

All around were women going about their daily routines. Many greeted the newcomers with polite nods and a few words. Sam saw the usual variety you would see in any city in America; all ages and all ethnic types. Sam was amazed at how many seemed to be couples, either holding hands, or with arms possessively around each other's waists. Looking closer, she saw no men in evidence. 'A reverse Taliban?' she mused.

"You know what's weird?" Sam asked Janet quietly.

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me," the doctor teased.

"It's how the words and the lips don't match. It's like watching a Godzilla movie."

"It's not that bad, Sam. And what did you expect? These translators to alter other people's lip motions?"

Sam glared at Janet, "Of course not! I'm just saying it's weird."

"Okay, okay. Weird."

The palace, looking much like the Parthenon reproduction in Nashville, Tennessee, stood on a small rise in the center of the city. It had pink walls, white columns, and a grey roof and eaves. The stone appeared to have suffered little from the effects of the elements, as did the rest of the city.

As they neared it, Sam realized it was much larger than the Nashville landmark. It was over four stories tall and proportionally larger in all other respects.

They were led inside. The entrance was a large open space extending to the roof. There were galleries around the walls of the entrance hall and a series of doors at the far end that undoubtedly led to other chambers and halls. In the midst of the wall was a large double door that Diana led them towards.

The doors opened onto a long corridor. It was lined with mosaic pictures as well as tapestries showing what Sam assumed were historic events in the Amazons' long history on this world.

At the end of the corridor was another set of double doors that led into a large throne room. It, like the entrance hall, extended up to the roof of the structure, with skylights letting in the sunlight. At the far end of this room was a raised dais complete with an occupied throne and the requisite attendants.

The woman sitting on the throne stood and held out her arms, "Welcome to Themyscira. I am Hippolyta. Queen of the Amazons."

Sam and the rest of SG-13 bowed. "We thank you for your hospitality. We hope to gain much from this meeting of our people," Sam said.

As Hippolyta stepped towards the Terrans, Sam noted that she looked like a slightly older version of Diana. She had the same lustrous hair and tall figure as well as a certain regal bearing, befitting her apparent status. Like Diana, she was clad in a white toga but it had royal blue trim and a wide golden belt. Her hair was piled on top of her head and held by a small, gold tiara.

Hippolyta kissed Sam, then Janet, and then the rest of SG-13 in the customary greeting of the Amazons as Diana introduced each woman.

Sam noticed that Terri Morgan seemed a little more interested than the others in this greeting, but her eyes kept straying to Diana. 'Oh, please,' Sam pleaded quietly.

She stood in front of the newcomers and took Diana's hand. "Thank you, daughter." Diana bowed and stepped up to the dais, standing next to a young teenaged girl who was trying desperately not to fidget.

"What, may I ask, is your interest with our fair world?" Hippolyta asked.

"We understand from the Tok'ra that we have a common enemy in the Goa'uld. We were hoping to discuss an alliance of some sort," Sam said.

"I see," the queen said. "What would you bring to this alliance against the Serpent Lords?"

"I do not know yet, your highness."

"Please, Major. Call me Hippolyta. I may be queen but I am that solely because my bloodline can be traced directly back to the original Hippolyta. We have disdained titles for centuries."

"Yes, Ma'am, uh, Hippolyta, part of the reason for our visit is to learn what we can about your people and your culture. We also would be interested in some of your technological achievements, of course. However, until we learn more, I do not know exactly what we can offer," Sam explained.

"Well said. I appreciate that your candor. You need not make any commitments that you may not be able to keep."

Hippolyta returned to her throne, "I will, of course, try to be available to you at any time. But, since matters of state might conflict, I am assigning my beloved, eldest to be your host. Diana?"

Smiling at her mother, Diana stepped forward. "I understand that our time of day is different than yours?"

Janet nodded, "Yes. We left Earth late in our day. Our internal clocks, uh, chronometers, sense that this should be early evening."

"From my own travels around Themyscira, I realize how disorienting this can be. Let me show you to our guest quarters," Diana offered as she stepped up to SG-13.

"Diana! Hey! Diana!" A shout came from behind followed immediately by the young girl who had been so edgy in the throne room.

"Yes, Troya?" Diana stopped to talk to the girl.

"Can I come with you? You promised you'd let me help with the Earthers," the girl, Troya, said.

"I'm merely showing our guests where they will be staying." Turning from the somewhat hyper teen, Diana addressed the Terrans, "I am sorry. This is my sister, Troya. She has been so excited since we first announced your visit."

Sam smiled at the tall girl, she did resemble Diana and Hippolyta. Still in the awkward middle teen years, she had black hair tied into a ponytail and a pretty face that promised to be as beautiful as her older sister. 'She's about Cassie's age, I think,' Sam thought.

"Hello, Troya. My name is Janet. I have a daughter back home who's about your age," Janet said.

"Are you her mothers?" Troya asked Sam and Janet.

Sam froze momentarily but Janet said, "Well, we help take care of her. I adopted her a few years ago and Sam here helps out when she can."

"Did she come with you?"

"No. Only specially trained people come through the Stargate," Janet said.

"Troya, please attend to your studies. I won't forget you when we show the Terrans around Themyscira," Diana said as she nudged her sister towards the palace. "I am sorry. She should have been studying long ago but Mother allowed her to sit in attendance while you were introduced."

"No apology necessary, Diana," Sam said. "Teenagers can be a handful." Janet simply nodded.

"We have assigned you to a series of suites with two of you to each sleeping chamber, if that is agreeable?" She led them down a side lane and out to another courtyard.

"Over there is one of our communal dining centers. You may, of course, prepare food and dine in your quarters. However, these are open all day and night. The cooking staff often leaves a wide selection of fruits, vegetables, and cold meats after the kitchens close," Diana said. "And, I might add, our chefs are quite excellent."

Continuing on, Diana said, "You can get some rest and dine later if you wish."

"Well, that sounds great but we should get used to your time since we will be here for a while," Sam suggested.

"But, Major, if you're exhausted, you cannot function to the best of your abilities. Come, rest, then eat. Tomorrow you can begin your mission."

"Sam, it's not a bad idea. Jet lag can be seriously debilitating if it's ignored," Janet said. "We're not on any set schedule."

Sam nodded in agreement and said, "Okay SG-13, time to buddy-up. Janet, would you care to bunk with me?"

Innocently, Janet said, "I'd be happy to Major." Then she flashed Sam a wicked look that caused the team leader's pulse to speed up.

Diana led them into an open courtyard with a bubbling fountain in the center. Around three sides were two-story buildings that had the appearance of upscale apartment buildings. The hover platform with their gear was resting near the fountain.

"These are our guest quarters. Visitors, both from Themyscira as well as off-world, stay here in comfort. Let me show you to your rooms," Diana gestured to the doors opposite the court entrance.

Opening the center door, she said, "These are our standard rooms. I hope they will be sufficient."

Sam gasped as she looked inside. The front room was large and open to the second floor. There were several couches and some large pillows scattered around the room with doors leading off to what Sam presumed were the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Janet stuck her head in and said, "Wow!"

"Is there something wrong?" Diana asked quickly.

"No. Not at all," Sam finally managed to say. "I think we'll be quite comfortable here. Ladies..."

"Major, these rooms are for you and the doctor. Your teammates will be housed in similar rooms along here. Unless that's a problem?"

Sam shook her head slowly. She was stunned by the lavishness of the apartment. 'God, you'd be paying one or two hundred grand in Colorado Springs for a place like this. I'd hate to think how much in New York or LA...'

"Very well. I'll show the rest of your people where they will stay." Diana started to turn then said, "I'd like to call on you."

Sam looked quickly at the dark-haired woman while Janet snorted in amusement at the look on her lover's face. "What?"

"Yes, you and Doctor Fraiser. To make arrangements for your visit. You are, of course, welcome to explore our city on your own but I thought a guide might..."

"Of course, Diana. Thank you for the offer," Janet replied. "Is there some way to contact you when we've rested?"

Diana stepped in and showed them a communications console. It was small and matched the decor almost perfectly. "Let me program in my code then you can just touch this contact and we can converse."

"Speed dial." Terri Morgan blushed when she realized she had spoken her thought. Timidly she added, "Sorry."

Diana touched her shoulder, making the girl blush even more. "Don't be sorry. We appreciate you saying what's on your mind. Come, let me show the rest of you to your quarters."

With that, Sam and Janet were alone. Turning to her lover, Sam said, "How do you read all this? What's your take, Janet?"

"I think they're very open, honest people. But I am curious where all the men are?" Janet admitted.

"I was thinking about that on the way to the palace," Sam replied. "Maybe this is like a reversal on the Taliban in Afghanistan? Men are not seen or heard? It would fit with some of the ancient legends of the Amazons."

"That might be it. I don't know. But it doesn't feel like anything sinister is going on. At least to me. Do you feel...?"

"Not exactly. But it seems almost too perfect. You know?" Janet nodded and Sam continued, "It's like being on the Tollan homeworld but they're letting us keep our weapons. I feel so safe and comfortable, it's making me uneasy."

"Okay, Sam, I think I understand. But do you feel like we're in danger?"

Sam simply said, "No."

"Neither do I. As a matter of fact, I feel very welcome and I think we'll be very comfortable while we're here," Janet said looking around the large room. Sam nodded in agreement.

"Uh, Janet, I'm not that tired..."

Janet looked at Sam and saw a glint in her eye. "Samantha?"

"I've never made love to you on another planet, Janet. And, for some reason, I feel pretty aroused right now..."

"Must be our busty guide," Janet teased before taking Sam's hand. "C'mon, let's figure out where the bedroom is. This door?"

The door Janet opened led into the apartment's bathroom. They both stared at the opulence. The room was almost as large as the front room. There was what had to be a toilet and a bidet next to it. In the center of a raised platform at the far end was a large pool.

"God! Sybarus has nothing on this place!" Janet exclaimed.

"Sybarus?" Sam asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"My ex and I went before we agreed we had both made a huge mis..."

Sam's fingers on her lips interrupted Janet. "I don't want to hear about him. Or anyone else. Not right now."

Sam pulled Janet to her and kissed her softly, their lips pressing together gently. Janet pressed her lips against Sam's in response. They held each other tightly, their hearts beating loudly.

Janet opened her mouth and licked at Sam's still closed lips. The soft, wet tongue slid gently between Sam's opening lips.

Hands began to pull at clothing. Shirt tails came out of fatigue pants and were pushed over rounded bosoms. Buttons and zippers were opened and the pants pushed down. Hands began to stroke soft, bare flesh, finding secret passion points.

Panting into each other's mouths, Sam and Janet were being consumed by their passions to the exclusion of the world around them.

This was the state the two officers were in when Diana opened the door. She stood just inside the door for a moment, openly admiring the sight before her.

Janet had pushed Sam's pants down to her knees and had her hand under the white panties, pressing into the taller woman's sex. Sam, meanwhile, had her hand gently squeezing Janet's bare breast and her thigh pressed against the brunette's mound. Their lips were nearly fused together.

Diana finally cleared her throat politely causing Sam and Janet to jump apart. Sam, forgetting that her pants were down around her ankles, fell backwards onto a settee. Janet, who managed to remain on her feet, was blushing as she tugged her t-shirt down.

"Diana!"

"I, uh, that is..." Sam was at a complete loss for words and was quite red, a combination of the passionate embrace and embarrassment at the situation. She buried her face in her hands.

"I am sorry. I knocked on the door for several minutes but got no response. Hearing something inside, I entered fearful that something had befallen you. Had I known..." Diana smiled gently.

"I, uh we didn't even hear you," Janet said, nodding towards Sam. Sam just sat on the couch with her head in her hands muttering to herself.

"From the passion I felt, I can well understand. You should engage the privacy mode on your door," Diana suggested.

"Privacy mode?" Janet asked, still looking at Sam.

"Yes, simply engage this," Diana pointed to a small pad near the door. "When someone comes to the door, they are informed that you do not wish to be bothered."

"Oh, well, I... Thanks. I'll...we'll remember."

"Why are you so embarrassed?"

"On our world, se...um, making lo...mmm. This is a private matter between, uh, consenting adults," Janet tried to explain. "And, sex, uh, love-mak... Well, it's not allowed between members of the same..."

When Janet paused, trying to collect her thoughts, Diana said, "Your world sounds like a repressive place. Here, sex is open and natural. We only worry about privacy with our life mates."

"You mean, people just... In the open? Where anyone can see them?"

"No, not exactly. We protect the children until they come of age. And there are certain conventions... This is a conversation better suited for another time. I'll leave you two," Diana started for the door.

"Uh, Diana?" Sam finally looked up. "I hate to ask this but...what Janet and I are is not allowed in our military. If it became known that we... Well, our careers would be over. Please, don't..."

"Major, your secrets are your own. I will not divulge this to anyone," Diana assured Sam. "Oh, I did want to tell you that these are the buttons to press if you wish to call your teammates. This is for Lieutenants Morgan and Moore, this is for Captain Harding and Jennifer Crue, this for Commander Davis and Ensign Greene, and this for Lieutenant Cavanaugh and Ashley Rand."

"Wait. I have to get this memorized or I'll never... These things work great for oral communication but written..." Sam had gotten off the settee and pulled her pants up, trying desperately to appear dignified.

"Easy Sam, I got it. Got some masking tape here in my kit," Janet said, her earlier embarrassment fading. "Here it is!"

Janet tore off small strips and stuck them next to particular buttons and wrote initials on the tape strips.

"There. That should do it. Okay Sam?"

Sam nodded, still having trouble looking up.

Diana smiled and tilted Sam's head up, looking into her eyes. "Please, Sam, do not feel embarrassed by your actions. It was quite beautiful. Are you life mates?"

Sam held the gaze then glanced at Janet. "Yes. Yes, we are."

"Good. You both seem perfectly mated. There is something..." Diana stopped and then said with a smile, "Please call if you need anything."

After Diana left, Janet quickly hit the privacy mode control and fell against the wall laughing. Sam stood there trying hard to look mad or chagrined or something until she had to join Janet.

"Oh God! I felt like I was back in high school for a minute there," Janet finally said.

"Yeah, I felt my stomach shrink to a little knot. The pucker factor..."

"Was quite high!" Janet finished.

"You know, I think she enjoyed the eyeful she got," Sam said with a leering look at Janet's chest.

"Sam!"

"Well, she wasn't in any hurry to leave..." Sam responded.

"Maybe she was waiting for an invitation..." Janet said teasingly.

Sam stood there not knowing whether to take Janet seriously or not before deciding she was being kidded.

"Touche," Sam said. "But she did get a good look..."

"Shut up, Sam. I'd prefer we continued our earlier discussion about you making love to me on an alien world."

"Come with me Doctor. Let me show how good it can be with a spaceman, er...spacewoman," Sam took Janet's hand and led her into the spacious bedroom.

"God, Sam, that bed is bigger than our room!"

"Let's see how comfortable it is..."

Soon, both women were naked and laying side by side, trading languorous kisses in the late afternoon light.

Next: Questions