Chapter 1:
The Discovery
Colonel Jack O'Neill knew it was not going to be his mission the minute he stepped through the gate. A desert planet greeted him, with nothing to see for miles except sand and of course the ruins they came to explore.
Sitting on a hot, dry, dusty planet looking for Daniels 'rocks' was not Jack idea of excitement. Kicking alien butt then celebrating by watching the Simpsons and having a beer, now that was fun. But babysitting in a desert for days on end while Dr. Daniel Jackson looked for artifacts and ancient writing was not his cup of tea.
Unfortunately, life couldn't always be fun. So here he was finding sand in every crevice, watching Major Samantha Carter take readings and gather soil samples to take back to the Stargate Command, while Teal'c made sure Danny didn't touch anything. Now that he thought about it; there were worse ways to pass the time than watching Carter.
"I've got something!" Daniel Jacksons shout interrupted Jack's musings. "There seems to be some kind of cover stone here!" Daniel excitedly brushed dirt away from the edges of a small manhole sized cover stone. The stone was in an area in between three large pillars set near each other in a roughly triangular shape. The tops of the stones were bridged by large flat stone. The overall impact was similar to the Stonehenge ruins on Earth.
"Daniel Jackson, I believe caution is in order." Teal'c leaned over Daniel reminding him of Jack's standing order not to lay a hand on anything. "The writing; it's beautiful! At first glance, it seems to be Sumerian, but the style is not right for that."
"Daniel, be careful. Don't touch anything!" Jack snapped as he and Carter hurried over to join Daniel and Teal'c. "Yes, Jack." The annoyance in Daniels voice was tempered only by his amusement at Jacks parenting. He really did treat him like a kid sometimes. "It'll take me a while to decipher this writing." Jack interrupted with a sarcastic, "How long, Danny?" The thoughts of home, Simpsons and beer flying right out of his head. "It will only take a few hours at most Jack. You do know this is what we came here for, right?" Daniel and Sam began taking rubbings of the writing for future reference. "Hey, I'm all for rocks Danny, as long as they lead us to big honkin' space guns."
Sam watched the banter back and forth between her CO and Daniel. From the outside someone might think that they didn't get along. They were constantly bickering. In reality, though, they were closer than brothers. Sam's chalk caught on something grabbing her attention. "Hey, Daniel, look at this! This edge isn't smooth like the others. It looks like the stone may have been broken here." Daniel reached over and ran his hand along the rough spot, his fingers catching in what felt like a crack in the stone. Sam and Daniel both jumped back quickly as the cover slid swiftly to the side and a black hole appeared in the ground before them.
"Holy, Hannah!" Sam yelped.
"Daniel, what have I told you about touching! No touching!" Jack shouted as he pulled the excited Daniel further away from the hole. "Don't you want to investigate it, Jack?"
"Well of course I do Danny, but not until you know just exactly what the cover stone says. I don't want anyone going down in that hole without knowing what we are getting into, got that?"
"Yes, Sir." Carter answered quickly.
"Indeed." Teal'c replied with a slight bow.
"Ja-ack!"
"Ah-ah!" Jack interrupted, shaking his finger at Daniel. "No arguments. You want to explore, you find out what that rock says."
"Alright, Jack."
"Carter, we're due for a scheduled contact with the SCG in 15 minutes. You and I will head back to the Stargate to check in with Hammond. Daniel, get to work on that translation. The sooner we know what it says the sooner we can explore that hole. Teal'c, make sure he doesn't touch anything else."
"I will endeavor to keep Daniel Jackson from coming in tactile contact with anything harmful, O'Neill."
"Thanks, T."
"You are most welcome, O'Neill."
"Let's head out, Carter." Carter nodded her consent and began the mile trek toward the gate.
Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter only made thirty yards before hearing Daniel's shout and Teal'c's response "Daniel Jackson, you must step away from the artifact!"
General Hammond was always anxious when his people were off world; he felt personally responsible for their safety. It was a little more personal when SG-1, his flagship team, was involved. Even when a mission was expected to be peaceful, they somehow managed to find trouble. Currently, SG-1 was 10 minutes over due for their scheduled check in; that was never a good sign.
"Walter, has there been any word from Colonel O'Neill?" General Hammond asked of Walter Davis the resident gate technician and constant at the SGC. "No, Sir. We haven't heard from them. Would you like me to attempt to make contact, Sir?" Walter looked hesitantly at the General. He always got a little cranky when SG-1 was unaccounted for. "Give them a five more minutes, and then dial the gate." Hammond sighed. It just never could be easy, could it?
"Yes, Sir." Walter replied.
Hearing Tealc's shout, both Jack and Sam rushed back toward Daniel. The symbols on the cover stone began to glow. They became so bright that they burned into Daniels vision leaving the imprint of the symbols in his sight. He stood transfixed, unable to move or cover his eyes.
"Daniel Jackson, you must move away from this device." Teal'c attempted to pull Daniel away from his place by the cover stone by force, to no avail. Daniel had taken on the same appearance as a person in an Assgard pod. Daniel began to experience something similar to the Tokra's memory recall device. He experienced his lifetime, every decision, in fast forward. His parents death came and went, the first mission to Abydos, his marriage to Share', the day he joined SG-1, every second was relived; right up until the moment the alien device grabbed hold of his mind. He was suspended in time, unable to move or speak totally unaware of his surroundings; completely immersed in his memories.
"Carter, what do we do to get him out?"Giving her a look of grave concern Jack, as always, looked to Sam for the answers.
Major Cater walked slowly around the device where Daniel kneeled, her mind gathering up every detail that might help them recover Daniel. "Well, Colonel, it looks as though Daniel has been put into some sort of suspended animation. I think that if it was meant to hurt him it would have done it already." Sam looked thoughtfully at Daniels face; he didn't seem to be in any distress. In fact, his face was at peace as if he was simply asleep. "If it was going to kill him it would have already, our best option for now seems to be waiting it out." Carter did her best to reassure the Colonel, but they were dealing with a totally unknown alien device.
"I concur, O'Neill." With a slight bow of his head Teal'c accepted the inevitable, hoping his commander would be willing to wait.
"Oh, for cryin' out loud! You all know how much I love waiting around for something to happen!" Just as Jack finished his outburst Sam, Jack and Teal'c turned at the sound of the gate activating. Through the quiet desert, even at a mile away the sound of the gate was distinct and disturbing.
"Let's take cover folks, until we know what's coming through that gate!" The colonel took refuge behind one of the large rock formations. Carter and Teal'c followed suit. Thankfully, Daniel was already hidden from view by the rocks. Seconds later the radio came to life."
"SG-1, do you copy?" General Hammond's voice came through clearly and SG-1 let out a collective sigh of relief. "I repeat, SG-1, do you copy?"
"Yes, Sir. We copy you loud and clear," Jack replied, "I suppose you're calling to find out why the kiddies are late for curfew?" Jacks customary sarcasm cut through General Hammonds worry enough for his anger to escape. "Colonel, will you please tell me why you missed your scheduled check in?"
"Well, sir. Daniel just won't stop touching things, sir. There is a small situation here, but so far it only has Daniel immobilized not ascended!" Jack shook his head, "In all seriousness, Sir."
"Yes, please, be serious Colonel," Interrupted Hammond.
"There is some kind of alien device that Daniel inadvertently activated. It has him in some sort of frozen cartoon." The colonel continued only to be interrupted by Carter.
"Suspended animation, Sir." Sam corrected with a small smile. No matter the situation, Jack's insistence on acting dumb never ceased to break the tension.
"That's what I said, Carter. Anyhow, General, it doesn't seem to be harming him in any way. Carter here thinks that if it was meant to hurt or kill it would've done it already." Jack continued, "The Major thinks that we should wait it out and see what happens."
"Alright, Colonel, but I want you checking in every four hours. If there appears to be any danger to Dr. Jackson, I want you to use any means necessary to separate him from that device. Is that understood, Jack?"
"Yes, Sir! Loud and clear!" Jack replied, "O'Neill out." Turning to Teal'c and Sam, "The suns beginning to go down, who's making dinner."
"I will, si-" Sam began.
Teal'c interrupted quickly. "Food preparation will be my occupation this evening, O'Neill." Carter was not known for her cooking and neither Jack nor Teal'c wanted to sample one of the Majors science experiments tonight.
"Oh, come on!" Sam sounded indignant, "I may not be Holly Hobby, but my cooking isn't that bad!" She thought for a moment chewing on her bottom lip, "Is it?"
"Indeed it is Major Carter." Teal'c's stated as his eyebrow rose slightly.
Sam huffed, "I think, I'll just keep Daniel company." As she began to walk toward him, SG-1 was surprised to hear Daniel join the conversation. "I know what the symbols mean."
The change in Daniel was so subtle, no one had noticed until he spoke. The lightness was suddenly gone from the conversation. "Daniel!" Sam rushed toward him followed closely by the rest of SG-1." Are you alright?"
"It is a form of ancient cuneiform." Daniel said quietly, ignoring her question. "The first part means Protector."
He sighed softly. "The second part is a request of sorts; defend the well of understanding to protect the whole of man."
"To whom do the symbols refer, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked concerned by Daniels demeanor.
"It refers to us, all of SG-1."
Protector Defender
Defend the well of understanding to protect the whole of man.