Spirit Trail

Chapter 1

Team SG-1 disembarked from the granite platform of the Stargate on Planet 3P42753. Colonel Jack O'Neill pulled off his wrap-around sunglasses and squinted up through the bright sunlight at roughly formed sides of the huge canyon that they had arrived in. It looked as if they had stepped off into one end of Monument Valley where all good cowboy movies had been made in the 40's. It was beautiful, not a tree in sight.

The rest of his team seems to be suitably impressed also. Daniel Jackson was circling with his compass in hand trying to determine true north so that he could find the pueblo-like, cliff dwellings that the MALP telemetry had discovered. Major Samantha Carter and Teal'c were already in their guard positions, with weapons up and eyes scanning the rocky niches where anyone or thing could be deciding to make them the evening meal or not.

Finally, Daniel glanced from his instrument on point like a good bird dog and looked back at O'Neill. "I think it's this way, Jack. That is, if true north here is the same as on earth."

O'Neill looked from him to his female Second in Command. "Carter, is it?"

The tall, attractive blond smiled over at her fellow scientist. "Yea, Daniel, it is. You're heading the right direction."

Jack O'Neill slid his glasses back up on his nose and stepped out to the front of the team, and in his best John Wayne imitation spoke. "Come on, Pilgrims. We're burning daylight."

Teal'c, the ex-Jaffa Warrior, looked confused for just a second, and then recognition lightened his dark features. "Oh yes. The Duke. Cowboy movies."

Jack turned back and smiled at him over the shades. "You got it, pilgrim. Forward ho!" And he led off with a good brisk pace, Jackson following behind still concentrating on his compass.

Seeing Maj. Carter smiling over at him, Teal'c nodded at her. "Colonel O'Neill has been showing me movies of your American West. They are great cultural icons of your society."

She smiled at the big man as they started off after their two teammates. "That's very true, Teal'c, especially of small boys and military types."

After about thirty minutes into their trek through the fantastic spires of the Canyon, Maj. Carter peered up at the cliffs that had been overshadowing their journey. "Do you see any sign of recent visitors?" She asked nervously.

"No, Major Carter, I have not, but..."

"I know what you mean. It almost feels like we're being watched." She called out to their team-leader. "Colonel?"

O'Neill was several yards ahead of her, was using a weather eye out for any thing unusual while keeping track of Jackson with the other. "What Carter?"

"Sir, I feel like we're being watched. I can't explain it; I don't see anyone..."

"Yea, I know. I feel it too." He glanced up around the towering cliffs, feeling their vulnerability in this location. "Just keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you see anything funny." He scanned the rocky formations just ahead of them. "Daniel, how far away were those ruins?"

Jackson looked over at his team leader. "Ah, about three miles up this valley, Jack. They're supposed to be up and under the cliff tops, like the old pueblo ruins in the South Western United States, built into the side of the mountains."

"Pueblos, Daniel?" O'Neill asked, interested now with a point of reference.

"Well, actually, Nick believed they may be related to the Anasazi Indians. They disappeared from the Southwest before the Conquistadors invaded the New World from Spain. All that's ever been found of them were their ruins, pictographs, some pottery, and jewelry."

"That sounds suspicious all right." O'Neill agreed, guardedly. "Were they good Indians or bad Indians?"

Daniel sped up to get into step with the older man. "Well, if you mean, did John Wayne ever fight them...then no, they were gone by then."

"No, Daniel." O'Neill replied patiently. "I know that John Wayne never fought them. I mean if they were gone before Tyrone Power got to Mexico in The Captain From Castile, then ...well, the Duke was too late wasn't he?"

"Yea, sure Jack." Jackson shook his head slightly lost trying to follow his friend's movie theme analogy. "Uh, as I was saying, they were primarily agricultural by nature, transitioning from the more traditional hunter gatherer lifestyle to planting maize, potatoes, gourds and still relying on the gathering of wild berries, roots..."

"Daniel!"

"Good Indians, Jack." Jackson pushed his wire-framed glasses back up his nose and smiled at him.

"Thank you." Jack commented haughtily looking over at his friend and teammate. "Cause we just found your Pueblo dwellings." He indicated some shadowed buildings above them in the cliff tops. Jackson stepped back, tilting his head to see where O'Neill had pointed. Then the officer stepped up to his friend's side and spoke in a quiet voice. "Daniel, are you sure there were no signs of life in these ruins?"

"Well, yea Jack. That's why we called them ruins. Otherwise it would be a village." He had located the buildings and was looking at the huge rugged pillars of granite in front of them and up into the structures in the cliff. "Why?"

O'Neill signaled to Carter and Teal'c who took formation on either side of their commander and the archeologist. He pulled off his sunglasses and pointed his M50 towards a rock formation that was off to the left of them. "Cause it looks like we found the missing Anasazi Indians too."

Four dark skinned males came down from the huge rock formation that had been their viewing area they had been watching SG1 from. Obviously of American Indian descent and ranging in age from thirty to possibly forty years of age, they were clad in leather breechclouts; leggings and fringed shirts complete with thin soled moccasin shoes. The men had the typical high foreheads, broad faces and their long black hair tied back in several different fashions. One had painted his face red with patterning of black and yellow dots leaving only his eyes and mouth free of the color. Two of the men were carrying single spears tipped with stone points; the fourth man had two.

Daniel stepped forward in his role of communicator, extending his empty hands out in front of him. "My name is Daniel Jackson. We're peaceful travelers from another place."

The male with the painted face stepped forward and responded in a language that was not one of Jackson's twenty-three known varieties. Daniel never one to give up easily tried again. Pointing to his chest he said "Daniel"

The other man replied. "Dan-yel."

"Hable Espanol?" Daniel tried a few more languages. No response to his attempts at Latin, old English, Egyptian, Hebrew and Abydonian. Well, time to start working on learning number twenty-four.

Jack looked at his favorite archeologist linguist patiently. Daniel shook his head. "I can't seem to find a common language. I'll have to start from scratch." He looked at Teal'c for any sign of the big man having any familiarity with the dialect.

"No, Danieljackson. I do not recognize their language either." His teammate responded to his questioning expression.

When Teal'c spoke up, the largest 'Indian', the one carrying the two weapons, stepped forward to the side of his speaker. He talked urgently to the younger man, pointing at Teal'c and pantomiming to his own forehead. He didn't sound happy.

"What's up Daniel?" Jack watched the preceding action suspiciously.

Daniel looked back to see what the Indian had alerted on. "Well, I would guess that they have seen Jaffas before. They may not have good memories of them." He turned back to the spokesman. "No, Jaffa. Friend." Jackson motioned the four of SG1 in a group. "Friend! We're all friends!"

Unimpressed by the young man's declaration, the other two Indians stepped up and around the group, encircling them. The young spokesman with the painted face spoke quickly to his older comrade then motioned for SG1 to follow him and turned and walked back the direction that the Indians had come from. The big Indian brought up the rear behind the other two men.

The SG Team followed their new 'host' with the escort bringing up the rear. "Well, Daniel, suggestions?" O'Neill asked quietly as they accompanied the Indians around the rock formation and further down into the valley.

Jackson looked at O'Neill and shrugged. "They haven't been hostile. We're being taken to their home. What more do we want?"

"I want Tonto here to put down his weapons and smoke the peace pipe." O'Neill looked over his shoulder at the large warrior behind Teal'c and Carter.

"Jack, we're probably the first non Goa'uld they've seen since they left Earth. They're just being cautious."

Teal'c spoke slowly and in a low tone so as to not cause any alarm on the part of their escorts. "They have not threatened me, O'Neill. He has just recognized me as a possible danger. I understand his caution."

O'Neill sighed. "OK, I just hope he's careful. I'd hate to be the victim of a misunderstanding."

After an hour's hike, the narrow path started leading upward to a mesa formation in the distance. The team could see what appeared to be a good-sized village on the tabletop mountain. People were beginning to gather at the edge to watch the arrival of their new 'visitors'. Once they entered the village proper, Jackson was hard pressed not to visibly ping. He turned to O'Neill in his excitement. "Jack, this is tremendous, a Stone Age village that has remained virtually untouched. It's incredible! This is such an opportunity to study what other people can only dream..."

"Calm down, Daniel." Jack hushed the young linguist. "First let's make nice and become friends before you want to immerse yourself in the culture." O'Neill was still tense and alert, waiting for the other shoe to fall on this too good to be true scenario. "Didn't ancient Americans practice human sacrifice and such?"

Jackson caught himself up short on that idea. "Well, yea. The Mayans and the Incas did, but we have no proof on the Anasazi. Besides there's no big temple..." As the group entered the center of the village and turned the last corner of what had rapidly become a wide thoroughfare from a narrow path, they could see the step sided pyramid shape looming in the outskirts of the community.

"Ya, think! Danny, that looks like a temple to me." O'Neill retorted as he raised his eyes to look up at the top of the mammoth structure.

"Ah, yea. That would be a temple, alright." Daniel agreed, looking up at its peak, watching the evening sun approach the top most point of the pyramid.

The team continued walking, finally coming to a stop at a much smaller dwelling. Its construction appeared to be of Adobe bricks built up into the classic beehive pattern. The doorway was an arched aperture with a colorful blanket stretched across its lintel area.

The man with the painted red face paused before the doorway and scratched on the side of the opening. He then said something in a low singsong voice then stepped back away from the building. After a few minutes an elderly man came out and stood up straight as he cleared the short opening. The man stood about 5 ft 9 in tall, just a bit taller than Carter. His skin was the color and texture of old well-tanned leather. His hair a pure silver white of great age, but his bearing and his eyes belied that fact. The old man stepped out with a slow but firm stride and approached the four strangers to his village. The painted faced man stayed at his elder's side, but the old man ignored his presence.

The old Chief, as Jack dubbed him in his mind, approached the strangers fearlessly. He walked up to Jack peering up into the taller man's eyes. The elder looked deeply into them; Jack stood his ground returning the gaze fully. Then the old chief turned his attention to Daniel Jackson who likewise returned his look. But when he noticed that Daniel's blue eyes, the old man made a remark to the waiting crowd that had followed, surrounding the newcomers. The group comprised of men, women and children started talking excitedly among themselves and to their escorts. Daniel calmly waited for the elder to return his attention to him, then returned gaze for gaze. Samantha Carter, in her turn, also caused much commentary, not only for her blue eyes but also for her short blond hair. This elicited a touch and stroke, light and tentative with trembling hand of the old chief, as if the man was caressing a bird. Teal'c also came in for his share of attention. His baldpate was stroked and patted by the same gentle hand, and obviously a description of the sensation was passed back and forth to the crowd of onlookers. The large Indian from the 'welcome party' became very vocal when the forehead symbol was examined. But the grandfather quieted him with a word. As the elder stepped back from the huge warrior, Teal'c bowed his head slightly in acquiesence to the old man. This brought a smile from the elder.

After the initial examination was performed the old Chief turned to O'Neill as the obvious leader of their group and spoke, in a familiar sounding dialect, Goa'uld. "How do you come to us strangers? It has been a long time since anyone came from out of the God's Mouth."

O'Neill looked to Daniel who stepped up with excitement. At last, communication! "Honored One, we come from out of the God's Mouth as peaceful travelers seeking knowledge."

When Daniel started the conversation, the elder's eyes lit up in triumph. "Do you come from the false god who has taken the people from their true home or do you come as one from the Great Spirit with truth on your tongue?"

"We come from the Great Spirit with truth, Grandfather." Daniel smiled and nodded at Jack in relief. "We are enemies of the False Gods. We come seeking wisdom with which to defeat them."

"Ho, this is a good thing for The People." The old man smiled and clapped Daniel on the shoulder. "But you have traveled a long distance I think, and a good tale is always told best on a full belly. Come tonight and we will eat together, smoke the pipe of truth and tell our tales to each other when the Mother Moon is high." The old one looked back at O'Neill who was watching the proceeding with interest. "Tell your Chief that I am called Grey Badger, because I fight from a hole in the ground." The tribe laughed at the elder statesman's comment but they quieted at his look. "You are welcome at my fire."

"Thank you Grey Badger. I am Daniel; my chief's name is Jack. I will tell him of your kindness to strangers at your fire." He turned to O'Neill who was standing, waiting impatiently for Jackson to finish. "Jack, this is wonderful. He is the tribal elder. His name means Grey Badger in their language. He asked me if we were from the false god or the Great Spirit. Jack. These people know that the Goa'ulds are false gods already. We may have found allies here."

"Yea, Daniel. Calm down, will ya." O'Neill tried to slow his friend down. "We're going way to fast here." When Jackson had stopped and taken a deep breath, Jack smiled at him. "So what's the plan so far?"

"Well," Jackson replied, more calmly. "We're invited to stay for the evening meal, smoke the pipe of truth and tell him our story."

O'Neill looked back over at the old man and smiled nodding. "Works for me. Ask him where we can set up our camp and we'll meet him back for a late dinner."

After Daniel made their needs known to the friendly people of the tribe, Painted Face escorted them to a small clearing next to a stream just outside the village proper. When their guide noticed that each member of the team had their own tent, he remarked to Daniel in a friendly tone about Carter being alone. Jack's attention was caught by the interest paid to his second in command and looked over at the linguist. "What'd he say about Carter?"

Jackson looked back over where O'Neill was pitching his tent next to their female teammate. "Well, he is just surprised that you don't share your tent with her. He thinks she's your wife."

"What should we tell him, Daniel?" Sam asked the question before her CO could.

Daniel thought a moment. "Either way, I think there's a history of special women, medicine women who are powerful spirit figures." He glanced over to the patiently waiting man. "He thinks you and I are brother and sister because we both have blue eyes, so he's assuming that you're Jack's woman, uh wife unless I tell him different."

"You think? Don't you know?" O'Neill demanded of the younger man.

"Jack, I'm an Egyptologist. I'm a little far west of my area of expertise." /the archeologist replied. "But yes, I do think I'm right."

"OK. Leave it alone for now, Daniel." Jack looked over at Carter then back to Jackson. "Don't lie to him outright, but I don't want Carter to be open to any compromises here." He smiled in her direction. "Sorry."

She smiled back at her Colonel without saying a word and went back to pitching her tent.

Daniel thought quickly then went for the middle road. "My sister is a Medicine Woman, so she comes with us on our journey. She has not chosen a man. My chief has great respect for her but she has not accepted him yet. So she sleeps alone."

Painted Face seemed satisfied with the answer. "It is good for a woman, even a Medicine Woman to be chaste. So as her brother, you are her protector?"

Daniel looked over at her, thinking of the times Sam Carter had saved his life. "Yes, I am her protector, when she lets me be."

The man smiled back at him. "I understand. I have a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law and three daughters living in my house." He laughed then. "A strong woman is a blessing from the Great Spirit, but sometimes the blessing is hidden."

Daniel laughed along with him. The man turned to leave then stopped. "The meal will be held by the fire circle of Grey Badger's lodge with the setting sun. It is polite to be early in this clan."

"Thank you. We will be there before the sun goes down."