DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Daniel Jackson raced frantically down the hall of the SGC, dodging other staff members where possible, muttering abbreviated apologies when it wasn't. "Ooops! Sorry ... excuse me. Coming through. Hold that elevator!"
The young airman in the elevator jumped for the 'door open' button, and grinned as the archaeologist dove through the reopening doors. "Late for a briefing, Dr. Jackson?"
Daniel sighed. "What gave it away, Airman Rivers?"
"The trail of destruction you left in your wake. Nurse Clark did not look happy."
A look of horror swept across Daniel's face. "I..I ran into Nurse Clark?"
"Not exactly, but she did drop that stack of papers she was holding."
'I'm a dead man.' Daniel moaned silently as the elevator slowed to a stop. "What?"
"Level 28, Doctor."
"What?"
"Hardware, sporting goods, briefing rooms..."
Daniel forced a grin. "Oh, yeah. Thanks." He walked quickly into the hall, visions of enemas racing through his head. 'Candy, maybe she likes candy? Or flowers?' He was still thinking frantically as he pushed open the door to Briefing Room 1.
"Glad you could join us, Dr. Jackson." Jack's dry voice broke through Daniel's designs for self-preservation.
Glancing quickly around, Daniel was relieved to find that General Hammond had not yet arrived.
Noticing his friend's surreptitious visual sweep of the room, Jack shook his head. "No such luck, Daniel. The General was here, but left to take a phone call when you were late."
"Ooops. Sorry, Jack."
"Glad you decided to join us, Dr. Jackson." General Hammond's voice hit Daniel's ears just as he flopped heavily into his regular seat.
"Sorry, sir. I got..."
"Another time, Doctor, I'd love to hear your latest reason for being late, but right now, we've a mission to review."
Blushing in embarrassment, Daniel mumbled a subdued, "Yes, sir" and slouched heavily in his chair.
Sam chanced a quick smile at the embarrassed young man, then sobered as the General turned his glare on her.
Jack decided it was time to rescue his team, although Daniel's tardiness of late did merit some sort of reprimand. "General, is there something we should be aware of?"
"I don't understand, Colonel."
"The phone call, sir?"
"Oh, no, Colonel." Hammond cleared his throat, and glared once more at the young archaeologist. "Major Carter, if you please."
"Yes, sir. We've got the telemetry back from the U.A.V sent through to PRS905. It confirmed what the MALP survey showed. There was intelligent life on the planet within the last hundred years or so, but there is definite evidence of Goa'uld destruction. There's a partially destroyed temple north of the Stargate. That's where the U.A.V went down. It picked up nothing to the south."
"Any chance of survivors?" Daniel asked quietly.
"If their assault on other worlds is any indication, then I would suspect that the annihilation of the inhabitants was complete." Teal'c answered the question with a touch of sadness in his voice.
"Much as I hate to admit it, Teal'c's probably right. Sorry, Daniel."
The young man shrugged sadly. "Okay, we go get the U.A.V. And maybe check out the local architecture to see what it tells us about the Goa'uld?"
"That pretty much sizes it up, Daniel." O'Neill looked at the General. "Permission to leave in an hour, sir."
"Granted, Colonel." Hammond disappeared into his office.
"An hour, Jack? Can't we leave sooner?" Daniel's voice held a hint of desperation.
Jack cast a surprised look at Daniel. "What? Why?"
"Oh, uh, no reason. Really."
The tidal pool of simulated liquid released its travelers - gently for a change. Teal'c came through the Stargate first, followed by Carter, O'Neill then Jackson. The hot air hit the foursome like a blast furnace, the glare from the sands simultaneously causing them to shield their eyes. O'Neill slipped on his sun-glasses, commenting dryly. "Well, kids, I hope you remembered the sunscreen."
Teal'c cocked his head. "I believe, O'Neill, that Dr. Frasier ensured the substance you refer to was in Daniel Jackson's pack."
"It was a joke, Teal'c." Carter smiled at the Jaffa's confusion.
"Ah, I see. O'Neill is once again stating a known fact as a source of amusement."
"Uh. Yeah. Whatever." Jack glanced around. "Which way, Carter?"
"North, sir, the U.A.V. showed the temple to be approximately four kilometers north."
"Right, Teal'c, you have the point. Carter, you follow him. Daniel, you'll be... Daniel? Dammit! Where is he?"
"Over there, sir." Carter pointed to a still figure standing about twenty meters south of them.
"Jackson! Over here. Pronto." Jack glared at the young man as he slowly returned to the group. "Well, at least you didn't run very far this time. Try to stay with us, Daniel. It's gonna take some time to reach that temple to the north."
"I'd like to go south, Jack, not north." Daniel stared into the open desert.
"The U.A.V is to the north, Daniel."
"I know, Jack, but..."
"The U.A.V. reported a temple to the north, Daniel."
"But Jack, south of here..."
The disgusted colonel stared at the young scientist. "Carter, what's south of here?"
"The U.A.V. didn't find anything south, sir, except for a valley. No sign of intelligent life."
"See, Daniel. There's nothing to look at to the south."
"Jack, the shots from the U.A.V. lead me to believe that the temple to the north is relatively new. And if you look, you'll see what I believe are the remains of a riverbed. I think we'll find older, more valuable structures to the south. And before you say it, I know that we're supposed to bring home the U.A.V. but the older structures may give us an indication why the Goa'uld chose to annihilate this world and its people."
Jack O'Neill glared through his glasses at the younger man. "Let me get this straight. The U.A.V. doesn't find anything to the south, but does find a temple to the north, but you want to go south because the U.A.V. may have missed something. Does that about size it up?"
"Uh, yeah, Jack."
"Sweet." Glancing at Teal'c and Carter, he said, "Well, kids, don't just stand there, pack up and go get that U.A.V. Daniel and I are going south."
Daniel's face lit up like a kid's at Christmas. "Gee, thanks, Jack. I really appreciate it. You won't regret it." The younger man bounced off toward his desired goal as the colonel shook his head and mumbled something under his breath.
"I'm sorry, sir, what'd you say?" Carter asked quietly.
Jack sighed. "Just that I already regretted it, Carter."