The little Carmelite monastery was abuzz with excitement. The sisters were preparing for a vocations weekend. They were going to house fifteen young women from various parts of the United States in the monastery (which they had the space to do so, since they were a small congregation whose membership had been in decline since the 1970s). So empty cells needed to be cleaned, beds needed to be made-up, Bibles, complementary missalettes and other prayer materials to be put out.

  Sister Helena helped with her share of the work. She looked forward to the young ladies coming to the monastery as she could teach them about Carmel and the saints and holy people of the Order, especially St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a French Mystic who died at a young age, and St. Nuno of Saint Mary who, like her, was a soldier before entering Carmel. She helped with cleaning the monastery in the morning and fulfilled tea orders in the afternoon. It was a long but productive day.

  Sister Helena had just departed from the chapel from Compline. She stopped by Sister Marie Evangeline's cell before heading to her own. She knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” said Sister Marie Evangeline. Sister Helena entered and went in. Sister Marie Evangeline gave her a hug and the two sat down on her bed. “How are you doing, my child?” Sister Marie Evangeline asked in a gentle voice. Every night the two with, Mother Superior’s permission—as their Rule prescribed silence from Compline until Lauds—would allow them to visit allowing the two to catch up on the day and for Sister Marie Evangeline could offer Sister Helena a prayer and a blessing before bed.

  “I'm doing all right, Evangeline,” said Sister Helena. It was a tiring day but worth it. I'm looking forward to our guests coming to visit us.”

  “Have you had any more visions?”

  “Not recently,” Sister Helena replied. It had been a few weeks since she had seen the vision of the festival and the little girl in front of the Stargate. “But I'm still trying to make sense of the visions. I feel I need more information about these people before making a call to my probation officer. I feel I would be written off as a joke at this stage. Oh! I wish I had more information on them!”

  “Perhaps God will reveal it to you in his good time, child.”

  “I suppose you're right.”

  “Who are the two Saints you are at going present on?” Sister Marie Evangeline asked.

  “Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity and St. Nuno of St. Mary. They were influential in my conversion. Plus, nobody picked them. How about you?”

  “I picked Saint Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi and Saint Angeles of Sicily. They were influential in my life. I also went to Saint Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi High School, so there's that connection.”

  “That is very interesting,” said Sister Helena. “Tell me more.” They talked for a little while. Sister Marie Evangeline showed Sister Helena her needlepoint project, which was of the Prophet Elijah. She had gotten the materials and the painted canvas from a wealthy benefactor who lived in Houston, Texas. The plan was to auction the work at the monastery’s upcoming gala. When the two had run out of things to say, Sr. Helena asked for her nightly blessing.

  “Alright, my child. Let me pray over you,” said Sister Marie Evangeline. She took some holy water and, dipping her thumb into it, she traced the Sign of the Cross on Sister Helena's forehead. “Heavenly Father, I ask your blessing on my dear friend Helena this night and may she be blessed with peaceful rest. May Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and all the Saints and Blesseds of our Order keep and watch over you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.”

  “Amen,” Sister Helena replied. Sister Marie Evangeline gave Sister Helena a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

  “Goodnight my child. May you have pleasant dreams.”

  “I hope I will,” said Sister Helena. “Goodnight, Evangeline.” With one final hug Sister Helena left Sister Marie Evangeline cell and went to her own. Once inside she made some tea and began to look over her presentations making corrections and changes with a red pen. As soon as their eyelids begin droopy, she changed out of her habit. As she was about to do so, she felt a flash of white light come over her.

  She found herself in a medieval house looking at a young woman, who was ill and being tended to by... Samantha Carter?! She looked so young. Was this from the planet’s past? The point of view changed to one of standing and moving to another part of the room to produce a package of sorts. Whoever it was began to open it as a male voice was speaking.

  “Simon! Listen to me!” The voice exclaimed. Sister Helena recognized the voice; it sounded awfully familiar. The point of view turned suddenly and she saw... General Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c—SG-1?! What were they doing here? O’Neill spoke:

  “Look, we've run into this kind of thing before. Now, it's not a demon. It's demonesque, I'll grant you, but it's a big ugly creature.” Dr. Jackson turned to O'Neill.

  “Who's inhabited by a Goa’uld that gives it strength, intelligence, and the ability to regenerate,” he said.

  “Yes, it's all very smart, resilient creature,” said O'Neill.

  “In the service of Sokar who, for all intense purposes, is Satan to these people,” Dr. Jackson reminded O'Neill.

  “But it's not a demon,” said O'Neill.

  “No, it's not a demon,” Dr. Jackson affirmed.

  “My friends speak the truth, Simon,” said Teal’c his stoic voice. “This demon is nothing more than a parasite that inhabits another creature. Your fear is its greatest power over you.”

  “You do not fear it?” The voice asked. Sister Helena assumed this was the person sending her the visions. But where was the little girl she had seen and our last two visions?

  “We do not.” Teal’c replied. The view looked up and down at Jack with his strange black metallic device and Tea’lc and his staff weapon.

  “You say you have killed an Unas once before?” The voice asked.

  “Indeed,” Teal’c said stoically.

  “Then perhaps God has sent you. Perhaps you are the answer to our prayers. All my life I've asked God to deliver us from this evil,” The voice said.

  “So, what did the lizard say? That he'll be back at sunrise?” O'Neill asked.

  “Are you contemplating attack, O'Neill?” Teal’c asked.

  “Yeah, sure why not?” O'Neill responded.

  “The Unas is difficult to destroy,” Teal’c reminded O’Neill.

  “A couple of shots with the staff weapon, we owe him,” O'Neill said.

  “We hope,” Carter said. “It took Thor’s Hammer to kill the last one.”

  “All right, a whole lot of shots for the staff.” O’Neill turned to Dr. Jackson. “Daniel, how long have these people been living like this?”

  “Well, I can't be for sure without proper reference.”

  “A thousand years,” O’Neill asked impatiently.

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  “At least,” Dr. Jackson replied.

  “That’s long enough,” said O’Neill. “These people are being terrorized. We have the power to stop it.”

  “Sokar will seek revenge, Teal'c reminded O'Neill.

  “All right, so we have been very the gate after we're gone,” said O'Neill.

  “They could come in ships,” said Dr. Jackson.

  “Ships?” asked O’Neill.

  “I can't be sure,” said Carter, “but the coordinates of this planet are yet are years away from any known Goa’uld homeworld, even with their fastest ships." O’Neill turned towards Simon.

  “Simon, do you want us to do this?” he asked.

  “Are we not in God's hands?” the voice asked rhetorically. This whole vision began to confuse Sister Helena. SG-1 was helping people? This was not how she remembered them. She then saw SG-1 struck down by some sort of blast from the sky by the village religious leader, known as Canon, who was convinced SG-1 was evil as they had come from “the Circle of Darkness” she saw Teal’c, who had been tortured by Canon and his minions, being drowned in the lake, as a test for witchcraft despite vocal protests from O'Neill, Carter, and Dr. Jackson.

  With Teal’c seemingly dead and about to be buried, the three tried to reason with Simon as he was about to drill a hole in the young woman's head, whom he called Mary, in a trepanning ritual to release a hypothetical demon from her (in reality, Mary had chickenpox and the fever had broken on its own). When Teal’c awoke (having put himself in his deep state of Kelno’reem and his symbiote sustaining him on the oxygen in the water), Canon deemed them all evil and ordered SG-1 and Mary to be chained to the stocks in the center of the village to be taken as hosts for Sokar by the Unas.

  SG-1 tried to reason with Simon about helping them, but he refused, deeming them evil. When the Unas took SG-1 and Mary and Cannon threatened Simon as being acceptable for sacrifice for the Unas (as punishment for questioning his authority), that's when Simon decided to act. Sister Helena saw another flash of light and she saw Simon pointing Teal’c’s Staff Weapon at the Unas, who had found SG-1 and Mary when they had tried to escape. They were chained together.

  “Leave them!” Simon shouted at the Unas.

  “You dare to challenge me?” asked the Unas in a menacing and flanged voice.

  “Shoot it!” O'Neill exclaimed.

  “You shall join them in Hell,” said the Unas as he picked up the chain and jammed one end of it into a tree.

  “SIMON!” Mary cried as the Unas walked toward Simon.

  “Shoot it!” O'Neill ordered.

  “SIMON!” Mary cried again.

  “Shoot!” O'Neill ordered for a second time. Simon fired the Staff Weapon, hitting the Unas in it’s chest. Green blood appeared from the wound. The Unas appeared unaffected.

  “Again!” O'Neill ordered. Simon fired the Staff Weapon a second time, but the Unas remained unaffected. It just kept walking towards Simon.

  “Shoot!” O'Neill cried. Simon fired the staff weapon at the Unas at point blank range; this just made the Unas angrier.

  “For this, you will pay for your life!” the Unas said as it knocked the staff weapon out of Simon's hands. It backhanded Simon, sending him flying across the clearing.

  “SIMON!” Mary cried. Simon stumbled to his feel and ran off; the Unas trailing him. After running with a limp through the forest for what seemed like an eternity, he stopped to rest behind a rock. The Canon, having heard the commotion and the Unas’ roar came from behind the rock to find Simon. He angrily pushed him to the rock.

  “Simon! What have you done?” The Canon asked angrily.

  “The demon comes. Release me,” said Simon in fear. They both looked up as they saw and heard the Unas coming toward them. Simon put himself before the Canon as the Unas spoke:

  “Your God has abandoned you.” Simon stepped toward the beast and firm but defiant said:

  “My God is with me always.” The Unas hit Simon, knocking him out. Some time passed before he was revived by O’Neill. O’Neil and Teal’c helped Simon to his feet, the Unas dead as it's wounds were too severe for the Goa’uld in it to survive. The three and Canon returned to the Stargate where Carter, Dr. Jackson and Mary were waiting for him. Mary hugged him and just as SG-1 was about to leave Carter sensed the Goa’uld that was in the Unas jumped into Canon, O’Neill and Teal’c took defensive positions with their pistol and staff weapon and Simon protecting Mary. When he showed his true colors (his eyes flashing white and his voice changing), O’Neill shot him several times and the Canon collapsed to the ground, dead. Simon rushed over to him tracing the Sign of the Cross on his forehead:

  “By the sorrows He suffered, in Your agony in the garden, they scourged and crowned him with thorns. In Your crucifixion and death, have mercy on their souls. Deliver them from dire torments they endure and admit them to your most sweet embrace in paradise.” After signing himself, he stood up and faced O’Neill and said, “Now, the demon is truly gone.” As Carter dialed the gate, O’Neill turned back to Simon. Mary stood beside him.

  “You know what to do?” O’Neill asked.

  “We’ll burry the gate. Immediately. And there will be no more sacrifices,” said Simon.

  “Thank God,” said O’Neill. The Stargate activated to Simon’s amazement and SG-1 walked up the steps and through the Gate. Then the Gate deactivated leaving Simon and Mary alone. Then the was a flash of white.

  The vision ended and Sister Helena sat on her bed bewildered. She remembered meeting O'Neill at the awards banquet where she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He seemed like a nice man; they had talked for an hour and a half afterwards. He was very inquisitive about her career in the Air Force and her exploits in the Middle East. It almost seemed like he was conducting a job interview of sorts. But that was not how she knew and viewed O'Neill. She knew him as the man who captured her.

  Her mind recalled the moments that led to her capture. She and her Rogue NID team had been on the run for days after their assault on SG-24. With no other option, Victoria’s team killed all the members of SG-24. The event, while claimed in self-defense, weighed heavily on Victoria's conscience. Stealing things was one thing but taking an innocent life was another. Colonel Galli via a Goa’uld Long Range Communication device contacted Victoria's team and told them to make their way to a certain warehouse in Montana that contained a shielded bunker. He could not ring them out onto their Tel’tak at the moment because of several Earth ships in orbit. So, they would stay put.

  Once they got to the warehouse, Colonel Galli had a small shield generator powered by a Naquadah generator waiting for them at the perimeter. They were instructed to activate it, make their way to the bunker and send their fastest runner to grab both generators and bring make it back to the bunker quickly—all without getting caught. The team had gotten intel that SG-1 was hot on their trail. Time was now their enemy.

  Victoria, sitting shotgun in the team's black SUV guided Neumann to the location Colonel Galli had specified. They were nearly there when Victoria noticed another black SUV following them in the rearview mirror. After five minutes and a few normal turns later, the SUV was still following them.

  “Neuman, we need to lose that SUV.”

  “Got it, Burney.” With Victoria's guidance through the rough Montana terrain and Neuman’s savvy driving they managed to get to the warehouse and activate the generators without being followed. The team made it to the bunker. After what seemed like an eternity, the team checked their security cameras.

  “Alright there’s nothing there,” said Victoria. “I'm going out to get the generators. Maintain radio silence unless in emergency. Wish me luck.” After the team wished her luck, Victoria made her way out of the warehouse. Some time passed before she got to the perimeter and the generators. Victoria shut them off and put them in her backpack, she started back for the warehouse, making sure she wasn't being followed. And she got halfway there, Victoria stopped hiding in the underbrush to assess the situation. Some time passed before Victoria felt it was safe to continue. As she was about to take off, there was a crackle on the radio.

  “Burney, SG-1 is here,” said Neuman. Victoria acknowledged the message with a couple of clicks on the talk button and pulling out her binoculars surveyed the scene. Her blood ran cold. SG-1 was legendary and known their relentless pursuit of justice and their unparalleled skills. If they were here, her chances of making it to the bunker were slim. After what seemed like an eternity she made it to the warehouse. She glanced around, searching for a way to get to the bunker unnoticed though the maze of crates and machinery. She rounded a corner and there standing in her path was Brigadier General Jack O'Neill, his weapon trained on her.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked, his tone deceptively casual. Victoria's mind raced. O’Neill was a seasoned warrior; she was a mere young officer. Anything sudden moves would be futile. There was no way out and that surrender was her only option. She put her hands up in surrender.

  “Smart move, O’Neill said lowering his weapon slightly. “Let's take a walk. They walked through the warehouse and through the exit. He asked who she was, and all Victoria could do was give her name rank and serial number He escorted her out to the out to their SUV. Victoria saw glimpses of the team: Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, her eyes with sharpened focus, Teal’c, the imposing Jaffa warrior and Dr. Daniel Jackson, whose calm demeanor belied his fierce determination. As Victoria climbed inside, she climbed inside she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. The chase was over; she was captured but at least she was alive. Her sense of morality had been shaken up. For her, her life was about to change in a radical way.

  Sister Helena came to and prayed, fingering her stone in her hands. “Lord, forgive me for my past actions. I ask your blessing on the members of SG-1 and my team. I pray for the repose of the souls of those who I murdered. Amen.” She then went to her desk and pulled out her notebook and began to write all she had seen of the newest vision and her recollections of her past with the Rogue NID. She knew at some point she needed to come forward to Colonel Davis and tell her what she had been seeing, especially since it involved the Stargate. But she still needed to know a little more information. Why were they contacting her? How were they contacting her?

  And so, a solitary light was seen from a monastery in North Dakota as a nun wrote about a vivid and hurtful and the hope for greater things to come.

  Author's Note: Excerpts from the chapter from the Stargate SG-1 episode "Demons", written by Carl Binder.