Beware the Elysian Fields

Chapter 1: Three days?

Jack stared at the clock in the debriefing room. The same damn clock that he'd stare at during every tedious brief; the same clock that took a cruel pleasure in illuminating the cold fact that he'd only been sitting in the room for a measly half hour, when in fact it felt like half a day. Jack sighed; most of the time he had something of interest to contribute, and the clock would happily tick away in the corner without an onlooker, but as far as he could gather Carter and Daniel were having an in-depth discussion to General Hammond about some new element that SG3 brought back for testing a few hours ago...not his area of expertise. The bored Colonel dragged his attention back to the room, catching the end (to his glee) of the conversation.

"Even though the preliminary tests that were run on the element were surprising, it'd be a whole lot more comprehensive with a larger sample General." Sam glanced at Jack, wondering how much of the debriefing he'd actually listened to.

"So you're saying that you'd like to return to P3X-900 Major?" The General didn't even need to ask that question.

"Uh, yes Sir. Sam and I think that they we could be looking at something that will put a bit more "oomph" into the nuclear generator that we were going to give to the Scythians, the inhabitants of PYX-348." Daniel smiled enthusiastically and prompted for Sam to explain it further.

"We were hoping that it would give it an increase in power and stability, which would be perfect to generate power to the Scythians' major city while they rebuild it. Since their power supply was destroyed during an earthquake, we were told it would take up to five years for power to be restored to the whole city. It's possible that the generator could last for at least five to eight years with the element added, but we'd need to run some intensive tests to be sure that it won't cause more harm than good"

"And, assuming that it works, we could have a new ally on the table General." Daniel grinned and thought of sinking his teeth further into a new culture again.

General Hammond shifted his glance to and from the members of SG1, reading their expressions. Naturally, he paused when his gaze met Jack's.

"Colonel, what's your take on all this?"

Jack sighed and lent back in his chair. "Personally I'd rather write reams of mission reports. But...." The Colonel looked at his teammates, ".....if Carter and Daniel see some profit in this then I've got no qualms about tagging along....besides, I'll have Teal'c to keep me sane while they prattle over dirt."

Sam smiled and turned to General Hammond. "Sir, SG3 were only present at P3X-900 for five hours, and as far as the MALP was concerned there were no visible life signs, but we believe the planet to be one and a half times larger than Earth so it's highly likely that there's some form of life there. It may be possible to scout a little further; there may be something Daniel can find."

"Oh yes, SG3 did find a small artifact - which is in my quarters - that could lead us to something."

George pondered for a bit, gathering all the information he needed to allow a "go-ahead" on the mission.

"SG1, if you are happy with the idea of spending 72 hours on P3X-900 with radio contact every five hours, then the mission is a go-ahead. If there are any intelligent life forms I want you to attempt to find them, however keeping in mind that your primary objective is to collect enough of this new element as is needed to complete an analysis."

Daniel's face lit up, "Three days?"

Jack's jaw dropped, "Three days?"

"The possibility of an alliance with the Scythians is a priority as well. Keep that in mind."

"Three days is it then....just as long as there's plenty of snacks. I have a feeling I'm going to need them." Jack closed his folder and glanced at the clock, glad to notice that he was free in less than two minutes.

"If there are no further questions, you are required to brief for your mission to P3X-900 at 0800 tomorrow." George paused to let it sink in to the four people before him, "Alright then, dismissed."

Jack was the first man out of the room. He had full intentions to make for the cafeteria to see how much junk food he could swindle out of the staff, when Daniel bounced up behind him, an excited grin plastered on his face.

"Three days! For my sake I hope there's some form of life there, it's been ages since we've met a new culture."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Yes, three weeks is such a long time....."

"Tell me about it. I've almost finished translating and cataloging the artifacts from our last encounter." Daniel ignored the sarcasm in Jack's tone.

"Well I can understand your enthusiasm to learn about that culture; I mean they did capture us, torture us, steal from us, call us names....."

"Yeah, but they said that it was a big misunderstanding."

"Oh yeah......BIG misunderstanding!"

"What's your point Jack?" Daniel knew this was going somewhere.

Jack stopped and turned to face his friend.

"Daniel, just remember that not all cultures we meet are inclined to be the friendly sort. So before you go shaking their hands and accepting invitations to banquets and such, do me the honor of...asking. Okay?

Daniel smiled, "I do ask....it's just that I got caught up in the moment I guess."

"Well next time, please refrain from doing that." Jack patted Daniel on the back and continued his walk to the cafeteria, leaving the archaeologist feeling slightly sheepish.

Shrugging it off, Daniel turned and walked to his quarters to pack for the morning. He had a feeling that he'd make some new discovery off world, and wasn't going to risk forgetting to pack something, so in his mind flashed pictures of items that would accompany him on his trip, including something that he was sure he'd left in Jack's quarters.

With a sigh, he changed direction. "I'm going to be waiting for ages before he decides to show up."