Major Carter blinked in the bright light of P3X-106, effulgent after spending the last two days in the humming strip-light world of her lab in the Cheyenne mountain complex. The MALP sat somewhat forlornly at the base of the steps on which P3X-106's Stargate was mounted, having slid down the stairs and into the DHD in an unfortunate accident upon arrival through the 'Gate. There were three previously introduced representatives from P3X-106 waiting for them at that bottom. O'Neill favoured them with a broad smile.

"Morning folks. I'm Jack O'Neill; this is Major Carter, Teal'c and Doctor Jackson," he said, indicating them with a careless wave of his hand. He pulled out his sunglasses and hurriedly put them on to shield his eyes from the light. Daniel stepped down from the 'Gate to shake hands with the representatives.

"Greetings, Jack O'Neill. I am T'Yanthon, leader of the High Council. These are my aides, J'Kartha and Helmont."

Carter smiled slightly at her CO's expression as he registered the names. Colonel O'Neill was notoriously bad with alien names. She opened a panel on the MALP with a practised ease, attempting to see if any of the wiring had been knocked loose during the fall. Finding nothing wrong she checked the camera and located the problem; it had smashed upon hitting the DHD, explaining their lack of visual contact with the members of the High Council.

"The camera's smashed sir," she called out as O'Neill shook hands with T'Yanthon, "I'll send it back now. I can't understand why it fell..."

It was O'Neill's turn to smile, knowing how irritated Carter could get when her technical... doohickeys... failed her. "We can send it back later, Carter." He paused and looked a little expectantly at T'Yanthon "I'm sure you folks have a tour planned...?"

T'Yanthon nodded. "We would be delighted to take you on a tour of our city, it has been many years since we have received visitors through the... um, how do you say it? Stargate?"

"Yes," said Daniel, mouth framing several suitable questions as SG1 set off after T'Yanthon and his aides. O'Neill fell into step besides Teal'c.

"Nice place," he said.

"It is indeed pleasant O'Neill," Teal'c said and Carter, a few steps behind, nodded her mute agreement. The path they were walking down was made of a shining black material, too smooth to be concrete and more like polished glass, but their boots did not slide on the surface. On either side there were huge grassy verges with neat flower beds awash in riotous colours; gold and magenta, far more vivid than any plant on earth. Carter made a mental note to ask if she could take a cutting; her plants did not seem to be responding well to her daily chatter of late, three of them had died over the last two months. Perhaps some quite literal alien amongst them might improve their general health.

Chuckling at her own lunacy she followed the rest of SG1.

*

O'Neill found himself gazing around in wide eyed amazement, something the cynical and world weary old soldier did not find himself doing very often. The residents of P3X-106 were obviously very technically advanced, their strange dome shaped houses dotted around on the rolling green grassy plains that stretched as far as the eye could see in almost all directions. On the horizon directly ahead of them was dark mass of trees.

"If you will follow us?" said J'Kartha and O'Neill realised he had been wandering away from the group in his awe. He gave a slightly embarrassed cough as Daniel and Carter shot him identical amused grins.

"This is our Council Room," said T'Yanthon with a note of pride in his voice. All three non-Jaffa members of SG1 gasped in awe and even Teal'c raised an eyebrow in appreciation. The walls of the room were a huge mural, the ceiling a massive dome with an even huger frieze. O'Neill couldn't say exactly what they were showing; Carter was reminded strongly of the ceilings in the giant Italian cathedrals, in her mind's eye she could see a Michael-Angelo figure painting the chubby cherubs and seraphine so beautiful they almost hurt to look at.

"Nice," said O'Neill, eloquent as always.

Carter and Daniel nodded in agreement. "I am glad you appreciate it. In these modern times some of our young people do not value it as much as we would prefer..." murmured Helmont.

"Kids eh?" said Doctor Jackson, as O'Neill's mouth opened to say exactly the same thing. He shot Daniel a sideways look.

"We have much to discuss," said T'Yanthon, a signal to all present that the conversation should now turn to business at hand. "I believe your commander mentioned trade agreements?"

Carter turned to the man. "Yes Councillor, we are here in a negotiation capacity."

"What is customary exchange?" asked T'Yanthon, motioning for them all to sit down and nodding to J'Kartha, who left the exquisitely decorated room.

"Er, well, anything really," said O'Neill, "Raw materials, technology, weapons..." his voice had a decidedly hopeful edge towards the end of the sentence.

T'Yanthon frowned. "We have no need for weapons as you would recognise them, none have been manufactured for the last hundred years by my people as far as I am aware. I admit I was hoping for an exchange of knowledge, history. You are the first visitors we have received through the, uh, Stargate and we have never pursued a vigorous policy of exploration ourselves..."

O'Neill's face fell slightly at this news but Daniel's lit up. "That would be welcome trade," he replied and Carter, no doubt thrilled at the thought of new scientific knowledge to try and understand, smiled. Teal'c's countenance of calm patience remained unchanged.

O'Neill found himself switching off, much to his disgust. He always felt like a spare part at these discussions; Carter found something technical to get excited about, Daniel was amazed by some historical discovery, and Teal'c... well, Teal'c at least looked vaguely interested in the goings on. He stared around the room at the pictures. They really were rather good.

"Hmm?" he said mildly, realising that someone had spoken to him. "Sorry," he apologised, looking into the smiling face of Helmont.

"I'm afraid the technicalities of this discussion are of little interest to me," said the younger man, grinning embarrassedly. "I couldn't help but notice you admiring our art. I wondered if you would like to come for a walk with me?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, offering a silent prayer of thanks to whichever deity had managed to get him off the hook and out of this discussion. Helmont nodded to T'Yanthon, and Jack followed him out of the room.

"Where are we going?" asked O'Neill after a few moments of walking outside in the bright sunlight.

"It is not far, Colonel O'Neill. We will take a transportation module to reach our destination."

"O-kay," said O'Neill warily.

They walked onwards, O'Neill pulling out his sunglasses again to shield his eyes from the light. Helmont lead him inside a particularly large domed building and O'Neill blinked at the row of pods lined up inside. Pods was the only word he could think of to describe them; egg shaped green machines, with two seats inside. Helmont motioned for him to sit in one, and he did so uneasily. The man sat down next to him and said something O'Neill couldn't understand, and the pod started to move, out of the doorway and into the sun.

"Cool," said O'Neill as the shining black road sped away underneath them.

"I'm sorry?"

"These pods. They're, um.." O'Neill sought for a word that would be understandable. "They're very nice," he settled for.

"We will reach out destination momentarily. I have to speak to security."

"Sure. Okay. I'll um, just wait in the pod..."

A few moments later they slowed to a stop, seemingly on the edge of the huge mass of trees that had been on the horizon when stepping through the gate. Helmont disappeared for a moment, leaving O'Neill tapping his fingers on his knees; gaze roving idly over the pod.

"You can come out now," said Helmont, his head reappearing briefly again and O'Neill unfolded his long legs out the pod and stood in the bright sunshine. He followed Helmont through a wide gateway.

All the hairs on his body stood on end and he blinked, a strange sensation shivering down his spine. "What the hell-" he began, and stopped.

Wherever he had *just* been was certainly *not* where he was now. The air had a hot and heavy feel to it, wet heat slapped into him although it was not an unpleasant sensation. Around him there was forest, creepers and vines in a tangled web above his head; the green-grey trunks of trees that were huge beyond Earth reckoning forming a wall in almost every direction except that directly in front of him. More than that there was a strange sensation that crept over him so slowly that it took him a few moments to realise it. He felt peaceful, more so than he had ever done in his life.

Helmont smiled at him again; the man spent more time grinning than Jonas... had used to. O'Neill blinked at the remembrance of the younger man, the slight sadness at his loss from SG1 surprising him, a momentary cloud across the sun of his happiness. Then the peaceful feeling reclaimed him.

"You wish to know where you are?" asked Helmont.

O'Neill muttered something that even he couldn't understand, his senses overloaded by the chirping jungle.

"This is Eden."

"Very nice," O'Neill muttered, before the comment really sank in. Then: "I'm sorry?"