Author's Intro: So, a new story! I'm afraid I won't be updating as fast as before, though. My Real Life just won't leave me alone. Anyway, this time, I'm going for more action/adventure and a bit less angst, though there will probably be plenty, later on. And hurt/comfort. As always. But the first chapter's all nice and green. Set all the way back, sometime in Season 1... Wait, no, make that early Season 2, since they've got zats.
"Doesn't look like the top pick for tropical gate holiday trips," Colonel Jack O'Neill commented, as SG-1 made their way down the long, slowly sloping stone ramp.
There was a clean area right in front of the gate, where the vortex had cleared off all the plant growth. The rainforest was everywhere around it, a thick web of countless greens and browns and little spots of other colors. It hugged the edges of the gate's ring, and the DHD was hopefully hidden inside it. Jack couldn't see one, but it had to be there. Of course it was there.
The MALP had only reached the foot of the ramp. It was too big and clumsy and still not powerful enough to force its way through the thick mass off trees and bushes and lianas and flowers.
Daniel had already made his way down the ramp, and was peering eagerly at the green wall. "So, which way to the ruins?"
When the MALP hadn't told them much, except that the place was a tropical paradise, they'd sent through a UAV. It had revealed a very interesting something that lay a bit over a day's walk from the gate. It was vast rectangular something, over half a mile long, and high enough that its top rose above the green canopy. If it wasn't artificial, then it was the weirdest and hugest bit of plant life or the most amazingly geometrical rock formation anyone had ever seen.
"Straight ahead, for starters," Sam answered the question.
Daniel was about to plunge face-first into the greenness, so Jack leaped ahead and stopped him. "Wait a sec, Daniel. I'll take the lead."
From up close, the plant growth wasn't as thick as he'd thought. There was actually some room between the tree trunks. He picked the widest space he could see, and stepped through, into the rainforest.
He took few more steps ahead, and turned to look back. He saw his team behind him, following his lead. Behind them, the looming ring of the gate was barely visible. But right next to Carter, there was a smaller dark shape in the greenery.
"Carter--on your left. That the DHD?"
She turned, stepped closer, and pushed aside a set of huge leaves and a vine with vivid pink flowers. It was the DHD all right, and it didn't look broken, though it was pretty clear no one had used it in a while.
"Let's see if this thing still works," Carter muttered.
Daniel nodded, approached the DHD as well and started dialing out.
Jack waited, feeling just slightly anxious. They had no reason to expect that it wouldn't work. Even if it wouldn't, they could dial out manually, though it'd be quite a bit harder.
No need to worry. He saw the flash of blue between the leaves, and heard the familiar whoosh of the opening vortex.
"It appears to be quite functional," Teal'c stated the obvious.
Time to say a few words to the folks back home. Jack flicked on his radio. "SG-1 to SGC. O'Neill here. Enjoying the tropic. Everything looks fine. We're about to start our walk to the ruins."
"SG-1, this is Hammond. Proceed at will. Next communication in 6 hours."
"Will do. SG-1 out.--So, kids. Let's get going. Straight ahead, into the jungle."
The place was pretty incredible. So green. Daniel had spent the most important years of his life in deserts--the Egypt of his childhood, and then the dunes of Abydos. He knew well that sand could cover things, and that shifting storms could reveal unexpected ruins. Here, he could just begin to guess what the vivid green might hide. Fair-sized buildings would be completely lost within it, and they could just walk right past them without ever noticing.
He liked the rainforest, he wouldn't complain about the temperature, but he could definitely do without the humidity. His clothes were already damp and sticking to his skin, though they'd hardly walked a hundred paces from the gate.
After another ten paces, Jack held up his hand to stop them, and then signaled for silence, holding a finger over his mouth.
There was something in the thick, high bushes to their right, rustling, making the leaves shiver. Could be the natives of the planet--Daniel was eager to see what they were like. He pictured them as somewhat similar to Amazonian Indians on Earth. Of course, it might just be an animal as well.
Something pushed its way through the foliage. A small, lizard-like head emerged, at about knee-height. Just an animal. Possibly a snake. It was light green with darker spots, fitting perfectly into the surrounding forest, except for a pair of bright black eyes. It peered curiously at Jack.
The creature stepped entirely out of the bush. It definitely wasn't a snake. At a quick glance, it looked like a lizard, but there was something odd about it. Its hind legs were thick and looked strong, while the front ones were thinner, shorter--and they weren't touching the ground. The creature walked on two legs.
The not-quite-lizard approached Jack, and two others just like it appeared from the bushes behind it.
SG-1 stayed frozen on their spots. These little bright-green not-lizards didn't look particularly dangerous, but they'd learned to be smarter than to judge things by their looks. These were alien things on an alien planet, so, who knew.
The first creature nudged Jack's knee with its snout. Jack promptly brought his gun to point at it. At the sudden movement, the creature stopped, stood straight on its legs, and hooted. The other two jerked up as well.
All three creatures fled, moving in a coordinated manner, as a pack.
"Soo... Thoughts, anyone? Animals? Aliens?" Jack asked when they'd disappeared into the bushes where they'd come from.
Daniel really had no idea. The creatures might have been trying to communicate, or then they could've just been like any Earth animals, curious about these new things they'd met in their forest. There had been something strangely familiar about them, but that wasn't much to go on.
"Definitely aliens," he just said. "Thereal question is, how smart."
"Didn't look very smart to me," Jack replied. "Let's move on, campers."
Teal'c was certain that this was not the first time he saw creatures like the three they had encountered. He had seen something similar before. He simply could not recall when, or where. Among his years in serving as a Jaffa, he had not spent time studying animals.
He had time to try and think of this as they walked on in the lush forest. They had been walking for an hour or so, when he heard an unusual sound, and called for the others to stop and listen.
The sound came again, a high-pitched, melodic howling. It did not remind Teal'c of anything he had heard before. Soon, it was repeated, this time, nearer to them.
Colonel O'Neill motioned with hand-signals that they should move closer, to try and see what was the source of the sound.
They proceeded in single file, brushing aside branches and bushes.
After a while, Teal'c saw the branches above them move, as if shaken by something. He kept staring at them, scanning for any hint of who or what might be there.
His gaze fell on a lizard-like face, well above and ahead of them. It was somewhat like the smaller animals they had seen before, but much larger. The rest of the team saw it as well, and stopped.
The large lizard-like animal was eating tree-leaves. It turned, moved to another tree, and Teal'c got a good look at its head. It was actually quite different from the small creatures. There was a long, bony crest that continued in a graceful arc beyond its head.
It looked familiar, and now, Teal'c knew where he had seen these things before. Not during his time as a Jaffa, but after that, in the world of the Tau'ri.
He motioned to the others that they should retreat. He did not wish to begin speaking so close to the animal. It was likely to be peaceful, but there was no need to frighten it.
"I believe this animal to be what is called a Parasaurolophus," Teal'c told the others when he considered they were far enough.
"Come again, Teal'c?" Captain Carter asked, her voice overlapping O'Neill's confused question,
"A para-saw-what?"
"Parasaurolophus. It is a dinosaur," he explained.
He had run across these ancient beasts first in TV-programmes and literature aimed at young children, and, since he had found them intriguing, he had sought some additional information. It had not been out of mere curiosity, but also because of some ancient Jaffa stories he had heard, which featured reptilian creatures very much resembling these dinosaurs.
"Right, of course!" Daniel Jackson uttered eagerly. "I figured there was something familiar about them. The smaller things were just, well, smaller ones."
"I cannot recall their name," Teal'c announced with some regret.
"Dinosaurs--as in, Barney and friends?" O'Neill asked, calling to mind one of the television shows Teal'c had seen.
"Indeed, in my opinion, the resemblance is great."
"Dinosaurs," O'Neill repeated. "Sweet."
