Chapter 2
"Nothing to say about the trees, Jack?"
Jack shouldered Daniel good naturedly as he passed by. "I think it's all been said before."
Stepping down from the stone dais at the base of the Stargate, Jack pulled his shades over his eyes and tipped his cap forward. The twin suns in system made for an incredibly warm day and he was sure the temperature was a fair degree higher than Carter had warned them it would be. "Pack your sunscreen, did you, Carter?"
Jack watched as his 2IC huffed and shook her head. "It's a little warmer than we're used to, sir, but nothing we can't handle."
"Just asking, wouldn't want you getting burned."
Eyebrow rising at the casual remark, Carter smiled, and pulling her diagnostic tool from her vest, walked away from the dais to start her scans.
"There's no one here." Daniel sounded perplexed. "I expected, after the last encounter, there would be someone here."
"You did phone ahead and tell them we were coming, didn't you?"
"Funny, Jack." Daniel rolled his eyes and didn't seem the slightest bit amused.
Jack snorted, and patting Daniel lightly on the shoulder, turned his attention towards Teal'c. "Let's go, kids, Daniel's got a mystery to solve."
~o0o~
Jack shrugged his pack higher on his shoulder and let out a soft whistle. The small village the MALP had identified earlier loomed in front of him. Its stark white buildings glittered in the forefront of a crystal green sea, reminding him of pictures of the Greek Islands. Fifty feet ahead of the team, Teal'c found a well worn path that led through a lush field of fiery red flowers that immediately sent Daniel into a round of sneezing and rummaging through his pack for his antihistamines.
Jack winced in sympathy as Daniel rubbed at his reddened and watery eyes. "I thought that didn't happen to you anymore since you… you know?" Jack pointed to the sky and then to the ground, a movement that elicited a small smile from his friend.
"Descended? Fell back to earth, Jack?"
Jack chuckled. "Yeah that."
Popping out two tablets from the z-pack and tossing them in his mouth with a wash down of water from his canteen, Daniel shrugged, "So did I. Guess that's one test Janet is going to have to do again."
Setting off again, Jack muttered, "Oh, Joy!" and let Daniel pass ahead of him on the path.
~o0o~
"I guess you're up, Daniel." Jack tilted his head toward the gaggle of villagers who appeared at the edge of the city, their rowdy cries of laughter alerting the team to their presence before they actually spotted them. Dressed in brightly colored robes and carrying satchel-like bags draped over their shoulders, the group looked like they were out for a lazy Sunday stroll. The arrival of the team right in their path didn't seem to faze them at all. The group, mostly children, stopped their laughter and smiled brightly, some stepping forward but halting just short of Teal'c, whilst others stayed with the three adults accompanying them.
Pulling his boonie off his head, Daniel muttered a, "Oh, right," and took a cautious step forward. "Hi there, I'm Daniel."
Trying his very best not to tap his fingers impatiently against his P90, Jack kept a careful eye on the larger members of the group. The adults seemed more cautious about the strangers, their large, cold, black eyes drifting across each member of the team, but not once giving away any intent. This alone made Jack nervous, but the lack of actual threat had him holding his instinct in check and waiting on Daniel's progress.
Listening to Daniel as he introduced the other members of the team, Jack looked across at Teal'c and Carter, pleased that the military faction of his lot had the good sense to spread themselves out, making a sudden escape easier.
"Daniel?" Taking a half step forward, Jack brought himself up square with Daniel's shoulder. "Any progress?"
Shaking his head and pursing his lips, Daniel sighed. "Not yet. Getting them to talk one at a time would help."
Patting his friend affectionately on the shoulder, Jack looked down at the children now tapping Daniel lightly on his leg and smiled. "You live for this type of thing."
"Yeah." Gently pushing away the little hands, Daniel reached out, and stroking the nearest child on the head, frowned and looked up at Jack. "Odd."
"What is?"
"They're not quite right."
Jack had no idea what Daniel was talking about and looking over the collection of children gave him not a clue. "Something you need to share with me?"
"Don't know yet." Squinting against the glare of the midday sun, Daniel pulled his boonie down further and smiled at the small children now clearly besotted by their new friend. "I can see the different species in these children but there's something else as well." Tilting his head in the direction of a lively, scrappy haired boy, he whispered, "This boy is clearly Nox, but then he's not. His skin is just a few shades too light and his eyes aren't quite right. Can you see what I mean?"
Trying his best not to stare at any one child too long, Jack could see that Daniel was right in his observations. These kids weren't quite right. Each child was a specific species for the most part but with a little something added to the mix. Looking past the children at the three adults behind them, Jack was suddenly drawn to their features. "What about them, Daniel?"
"Do you think?"
"I do. Genetics isn't my strong suit," Jack frowned when Daniel snorted at the comment, "but I'm fairly sure that the little extra bits might have come from the same species as our friends over there."
"You're right Jack. Genetics isn't your strong suit. Until we know what's going on here, I think we should keep our observations to ourselves."
Tilting his head in Daniel's direction, Jack whispered, "Well, unless you can figure out how to communicate with these people on some level, this mission could well be a bust."
Reaching out and detaching a small tyke from his leg, Daniel muttered back, "Leave the language to me and I'll let you play king of the kids."
~o0o~
Children and escorts in tow, SG1 headed toward the village as the first of the twin suns headed towards the horizon. Lush overgrown meadows slowly gave way to tended fields as the path they were following turned into a slowly widening road that appeared to lead into the heart of the city. White clay buildings, reminiscent of the Mediterranean, dotted along the road at regular spaces as the road slowly filled with people the deeper they traveled.
"Amazing," Carter breathed as she wiped sweat from her brow with a bandana, "I can see this place doubling as an off world resort for tired SG teams. Just look at that ocean!" It was a postcard moment as the lowest of the suns kissed the horizon and sent beams of dying sunlight across the clear green ocean.
"Does it not seem strange, O'Neill, that these people are not afraid of our presence at all?" Teal'c asked, his face neutral as he scanned the growing crowd.
"They could be used to visitors," Sam commented, tipping her head good-naturedly at a group of adults. "It would seem to make sense if this place is some sort of trade planet."
Sounding unconvinced, Teal'c stated simply, "I have seen nothing that would indicate any center of trade, Major Carter."
"I'm curious about the adults," Daniel spoke up, slowing his pace as they passed by another section of housing. "Is it just me that thinks it's odd the adults here are all from the one race and yet the children are all a mix of others?"
Jack looked around at the crowd, kicking himself mentally that he hadn't paid enough attention to what Daniel had been saying from the start of the mission. Something was definitely amiss here. The adults who came out to greet them were all from a race they had never encountered before. Another fact that made him equally uneasy was the fact that not one of them had uttered a single word and yet the children were quite animated in their interaction with the team.
"Damn," Jack cursed under his breath. The clues were all there, and yet again he'd failed to pay attention to them. "Is this something we should be concerned about, Daniel?"
"I don't know, Jack. Unless you count genetic divergence as a threat, I don't see anything to worry about at this point." Daniel stumbled slightly as one of the children latched on to his leg and dragged him sideways. Regaining his footing and gently prying the child's arms away, he smiled. "There is probably a simple reason for the species blending we are seeing here and hopefully once I get a handle on the language, we should be able to get a better picture of what's actually happening."
Jack shrugged his shoulders and shuffled the dead weight of his P90 from one arm to another, strumming his fingers on the butt of the weapon. "You go, Daniel, and get a handle on your stuff," Jack flicked a hand in the general direction of the population, "but be careful. Something doesn't seem quite right with this idyllic society."
"Idyllic, Jack?"
"You know what I mean."
TBC…
