"What are they doing, Carter?"
Jack had quietly slipped next to her and waited for a report on the individuals at the base camp below.
"It's the same as before, sir. Collecting and processing algae for consumption."
"Geez, I wonder what that tastes like?"
"Well sir, we do a lot with soybeans."
"Don't remind me, Carter." Jack could feel the soy based protein bar in his front left BDU shirt pocket and shuddered involuntarily.
The SGC had realized that with SG teams running all over the galaxy, the need to be self sufficient was paramount. Thus a group of private food companies, the Agriculture Dept., and the FDA developed a high protein 5000 calorie food bar. It was designed to slowly release its calories through a 24hr period, thus one bar equaled 3 meals.
It tasted like crap.
"What's the carrier doing topside, sir?"
"Just sitting there providing cover. Cover from whom, we don't know yet. General Hammond is meeting with the President now to see if we should help these people."
It didn't hurt that the people in question were obviously advanced enough for interstellar flight. That ability usually included the means to defend oneself and Earth needed all the allies it could muster.
Jack heard a quiet chirp in his earplug, turned around and waited. It was the signal that either Teal'c or Daniel was coming up behind them. Still, Jack raised his SP90 slightly just to be on the safe side.
Teal'c had accompanied Daniel to the remains of what seemed to be some kind of temple inside the mountain they were sitting on. The Prometheus had detected it during initial scans of the planet just a week ago.
Long range astronomical observation by various optical and non-optical means had discovered that the sun in this system was about to nova. Since this would be the first time anyone on Earth would be able to see a natural nova, barring the one that SG1 had personally caused, it had been decided to send the Prometheus out to record the event. Prometheus had been informed of this situation while in transit to the Pegasus galaxy. Carrying SG1 to a scheduled inspection of Atlantis, Carter was more than thrilled when she heard the news.
"Don't you see sir? The first fully recorded nova mankind has ever seen! It's historic."
"No Carter, stars, I believe, die all the time."
"But we're so close to it. It wouldn't take that much time away from the inspection."
Jack sighed. "All right, but I won't be happy about it. I predict boredom, Carter. Lots and lots of boredom. And it's gonna be all your fault."
That was of course before they discovered the temple. This turned Daniel into a happy camper. Clues that it might be an Ancient outpost erased some of the boredom factor from Jack's mind.
The small group of ships literally flashing into existence on top of them burned away the last vestiges of boredom.
"Being bored may not have been such a bad idea," Jack thought to himself.