Chapter1

"Well, this was productive." Jack was talking about their current mission. SG1 was exploring a seemingly empty planet.

"Maybe you enjoy dodging energy bolts, but I, for one, am glad to visit a nice quiet planet," Daniel replied. Except for the Stargate there was nothing to suggest anyone had ever set foot upon this planet before.

"I would just like to find some sign of why the Ancients were interested enough in this planet to put a Stargate here. There is nothing here. No ruins, no settlements, nothing but trees." Jack broke a branch off of one of the offending bushes and began pulling the leaves off one at a time.

" I have to agree with Daniel, Sir," Sam said looking at a small furry creature climbing a tree near her. "This is almost like a vacation." The team had halted near the edge of a small clearing in the trees and they were all lounging in the shade.

"Hey maybe that's the answer. The Ancients used this planet as a campgrounds for vacations and the like."

"Do you truly believe the Ancients enjoyed camping, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, apparently intrigued.

"I suppose that's as good of an answer as any. There are a lot of places and artifacts that no one today knows the purpose of. Many were so common to the people who made them that they never bothered to write down the reason why. Some like the pyramids in Egypt were purposely forgotten. Others no one can figure..."

"Can we save the lecture for later please?" The colonel broke in cutting Daniel off. Jack was obviously distracted and not very happy. This planet was way too quiet for his peace of mind. "This looks like a good place to set up base camp." He continued in a lighter tone, truly sorry to have snapped at Daniel that way. The quiet was lulling him into a false sense of security and he needed to stay alert. He had to be ready just in case something did happen, however unlikely that may be. "I'll take the first watch tonight." He had a strange feeling about this trip.

* * *

That night was uneventful and the next morning dawned with everyone in a good mood. The team would be on planet for three more days and nights. Aside from daily reports to base and barring anything untoward, that seemed to mean three more days in paradise with little to do but enjoy themselves. That day was to be spent exploring as far from their base camp as possible. Daniel and Jack went to explore first while Sam sent the daily report and Teal'c held down camp. Jack tensed up shortly after starting out, reminding himself that he was supposed to be on guard for disaster.

"What's the matter Jack?" Daniel asked notice the change in his friend's demeanor. "Too much relaxation for you?"

"As a matter of fact..."

"Don't tell me you really would prefer a firefight?"

"I don't know, I feel like something big is going to happen any minute," Jack sighed in frustration.

"Speaking of something big..." Daniel trailed off and Jack pushed through the underbrush to see what he was seeing. Just in time, he stopped himself from stepping off a cliff. Relief washed through him as he realized the cliff was only a few feet high. The appearance of great height was created by the spread of crystalline water spreading out before them. The water was obviously very deep and very clear. The lake, if it was that, was about seventy-five yards across, a near perfect circle and had near vertical banks. The only way down to the waters edge was a crumbling ramp midway around the circle from where they were standing.

"I think we found our ruins." Daniel said. "That, I believe, is a mine."

"Sounds more like a quarry than a mine to me," Sam said when they told the others what they had found. "But this would definitely explain the Ancients installing a Stargate here. They would need it to transport whatever they were mining to where ever they were using it."

"I wonder exactly what they were mining?' Daniel wore a puzzled look. "And I wonder why they put the Stargate so far away from the mining site? Also, where did the miners live? There are no other signs of civilization anywhere around the quarry."

"All valid questions Daniel Jackson. Is it not possible that there is more evidence under the water?" Teal'c asked.

"Very likely but we won't be able to find it. Odds are that quarry is very deep and we don't have any diving equipment. Maybe we should get some from the SGC and try it?" Sam was obviously enthusiastic about the prospect of diving down to find out if anything remained.

"Whoa, hold on there. We should probably find out if there is anything on the surface before we go swimming," Jack said stalling that notion.

"Sorry, Sir." Sam replied looking a little sheepish. "I guess I am kind of getting into relaxation thing."

"You dive for relaxation?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"Sure. I love the quiet underwater, and the way the sunlight filters through crystal clear water is so tranquil..." Sam trailed off and shrugged.

The entire group went to the quarry that afternoon to see if any other traces could be found. Much to her disappointment, Sam found what they were looking for. More precisely, she found stairs.

The staircase was only six steps tall and led to nowhere but they could find outlines of buildings nearby and what might have been a common gathering area a hundred yards away. It was Teal'c who found the only writing around.

"Look at this, Daniel Jackson." He called pulling back a covering of vines on the staircase. "I do believe it is a dialect of the Ancients."

"Yes it is," Daniel said. "But I don't think it will be very helpful."

"Someone mark it on the calendar, Daniel found writing that he didn't become instantly enthralled over." Jack mocked him but continued with "What does it say?"

"It says 'Watch Your Step'." A voice stated from behind them. All four of them whipped around instantly alert and ready for an attack.

Standing behind them was a young woman. She was wearing knee high leather boots, brown shorts, and a tan shirt. Her light brown hair was shoulder length and her sleeves were rolled up. She carried a largish black backpack with green trim that was very full. Jack eyed her with suspicion when she said, "Hi There, Are you from Earth?"

"Who's asking?" Jack replied very unhelpfully.

"Shay Morgan, American, Earthling, and you are Colonel Jack O'Neil US Air force. That's Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c. All four of you make up SG1 out of Cheyenne Mountain in Wyoming." She replied tilting her head and smiling at him.

"Where did you say you were from?"

"I'm from Houston, Missouri, The United States of America, on the planet Earth." Shay ran through the list smoothly as if she repeated it on a regular basis. "I was wondering if you could take me back there through the Stargate."