They had received Intel that PX3768 was an uninhabited, naquadah-rich, idyllic planet. Indeed the MALP feedback had shown a lush green landscape and undulating hills. A sensor scan had revealed no major hot spots so the chances of 'real' life forms seemed very slim; in fact, it seemed a perfect chance to mine the naquadah without risking any conflict.

On paper, it was the ideal mission for SG1 to do the initial recon and was the best way to ease their way back into action after the Osiris 'incident.' Jack was sure that Daniel was still not sleeping. Nights of having a Goa'uld infiltrate your dreams for information does have an unnerving effect; the fact that he had been ribboned AGAIN had not helped. Daniel was exhausted and emotionally spent. He had spent days with Sarah after her return from Chimera and prior to her assignment to Atlantis, the powers that be having made the decision, after her debrief, that Atlantis would be the safest option for them, not for Sarah, but for them. Loose lips sink ships and all. Jack himself struggled to get back to fitness, being slammed against a brick wall did his dodgy shoulder no good at all and Sam had barely left Pete's bedside as the young cop recovered. Now though, it was three months on and time stood still for no one. It was time to get back in the saddle and PX 3768 seemed perfect, yup, perfect. How wrong they had been.

Xxxx

"Okay, kids. How lovely is this?" Jack smiled, adjusting his cap and sunglasses. "Let's move out."

It was a glorious day on arrival on PX3768, the three suns orbiting the planet made the atmosphere extremely bright and warm, bordering on hot. The suns were still low on the horizon but the temperature was tipping the scales at an estimated eighty degrees and judging by the crystal clear, cloudless blue sky it was going to get even hotter. SG1 were prepared, the information given by the MALP the day before had been duly noted and actions had been taken. Each member had plenty of sunscreen, water, water purifying tablets, and were appropriately dressed in cool desert combat gear, granted in green not the standard beige though to merge into the background colour of the planet if necessary. Daniel had his trusty boonie, Jack and Sam their standard issue baseball caps; even Teal'c sported a cap on this mission. They each had wet weather gear in their backpacks; a lush green landscape obviously indicated plenty of rain.

By their calculations the Naquadah was located in the hills which were at least an earth's day away on foot, a long way in the growing heat, so they knew to pace themselves, rest often, and take as much water as possible.

After a couple of hours of steady walking they came across a small clear stream shaded by a crop of what looked like a cross between rubber plants and weeping willows – a welcome shade from the suns' heat. Sam started testing the water for any harmful minerals, making sure that it was safe to drink.

Daniel sat gratefully under the shade of the largest tree. He let his headrest against the bark, sighed and shut his eyes. He was dog-tired and the walk coupled with the heat had been hard going for him. His condition was not lost on Jack who had been keeping a close eye on his younger team mate from the get go, watching for signs of exhaustion, signs he knew were just below the surface. He walked over to Daniel, nudged his shoulder and offered him his canteen.

"You okay?" He asked as Daniel opened his eyes, smiled wearily and took a long drink.

Daniel handed the canteen back with a nod. "Just a bit tired," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah," Jack sympathized, lowering himself to the ground next to his friend. "You look bushed," he observed with a sigh. What Daniel needed was a break, a break on a beach, with a cocktail, not a long hike in a blistering heat.

"Well, sleep is over-rated," Daniel, mused with a small smile.

Jack took a swig of water, twisted the top back on the canteen and placed it into his pack. "Yeah, you can say that again." He smiled back and then cleared his throat. "Listen. No rush. Take a nap, we're all tired. We'll move out in an hour or so, okay?"

Daniel nodded and yawned. He could barely keep his eyes open. "Okay," he mumbled and pulled his bonnie over his eyes.

Jack patted his leg. "I'll wake you when we're ready."

"Umm," Daniel replied sleepily.

Jack then made his way over to Sam who was kneeling at the stream collecting samples. "Any good, Carter?" He asked as he watched her dip a PH stick into the sample water.

She looked up and smiled. "Looks okay, sir, but I think we should purify it just in case," she replied, scooping up the water and adding two white tablets to it. "I'll re-test this in a couple of hours." She swirled the water round in her canteen and glanced over Jack's shoulder at her slumbering teammate. "He okay?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah," Jack replied, filling his own canteen. "He's just exhausted." He dropped two tablets into the water and shook his own canteen. "Told him to take a nap, no rush, looks like we've got plenty of daylight left and judging by the height of the suns it's gonna be the hottest part of the day. Might be a good idea if we all got some rest."

Sam nodded. "I agree, sir, I must admit this heat is getting to me too."

"Yeah."

The heat had begun to get unbearable an hour or so into the trek. It had become slow going and the lack of shade had been a problem. Jack looked at the horizon. At least there were a few trees scattered between them and the hills, which, looked, thankfully, as if they were covered in a forest of sort. At least there should be shelter from any rain that might fall at nighttime.

"O'Neill."

Jack turned to see Teal'c the other side of the stream. He leapt over the water and jogged to the Jaffa who was on one knee examining the earth.

"What ya got?" He asked, dropping down to his teammate's side.

"These look like track marks, O'Neill." Teal'c indicated several markings that led to and from the water supply.

"Any ideas?"

"I am not certain," he replied, rubbing the soil between two fingers. "The marks are large, not human but large enough to be an animal of great stature."

"Close by?" Jack enquired, glancing around as he unbuckled his binoculars.

"Again, I am uncertain, O'Neill. Maybe half an earth day. The marks are confusing and not easy to read."

Jack scanned the area on high alert. "Ain't seeing anything," he shrugged. "Level of threat?"

"I do not know, O'Neill. I suggest we proceed with care."

Jack nodded. "I agree." He was beginning to get an uneasy feeling about this planet, he couldn't put a finger on it but something did not feel right. "I don't get it, Teal'c. Why there is no reported life on this planet? I mean, the climate, the water supply, the vegetation – surely this would be perfect for life to exist, yet the scanner showed no real heat signs of any living creatures. Doesn't add up to me," he observed, standing and offering Teal'c a hand.

Teal'c bowed and pulled himself up. "I too have a strange sensation in regard to this planet."

"Okay," Jack said with a sigh. "Let's round up the kids and move on. I'll be much happier under the cover of trees, we're sitting ducks at the moment."

"Carter?" he called his 2IC. "Give Daniel a nudge. We're moving out."

"Yes, sir."

xxxxxx

"Hello, my name is Daniel Jackson."

Jack had heard that greeting, time and time again over the years. Even the year Daniel had ascended Jack had sworn he had heard it whispered in the wind. Each time those words worried him, it was the unknown, and those words were used as a greeting, a question, which meant that they were not prepared. If they were prepared they would damn well know who was in front of them right now.

They had made their way to the tree line at the foot of the hills on high alert, Teal'c concentrating on the track marks that peppered the ground. They knew they were no longer alone. It had taken them eight hours in their estimation and had arrived as the suns began to dip below the horizon; the purple moons had started to appear alongside the suns, creating a twilight world bathed in yellow and crimson rays, most strange. Jack's spidery senses had told him to turn the hell back and get to the gate but they did not know what riches were hidden in the hills. As they entered the shade of the forest they were immediately surrounded by what could only be described as sort of hybrid human forms. Two legs, one head, two arms but their bodies were transparent, their internal organs undulating beneath their clear skins, their vivid green 'blood' flowed through veins, their skin had a yellow, jaundiced tint to it. They were completely void of hair, anywhere, and appeared not to have any genitalia of any description. They were no taller than three feet and made no sound and seemed to 'glide' a couple of inches off the ground, giving them the appearance of being much taller in stature.

Daniel inched his way forward towards the 'pack.' "Hello, my name is Daniel Jackson," he repeated, reaching out a hand in greeting as what looked like the lead 'being' glided forward and tilted his head as if scanning the archaeologist.

"Daniel."

"Jack."

"Do not touch," Jack warned as Daniel met the 'being' half way.

"We mean no harm."

The being reached a translucent hand towards Daniel's stomach, let it hover, nodded and blinked his saucer-shaped purple eyes.

"Daniel," Jack growled again, Daniel was too close and Jack was not happy.

"It's okay, Jack," Daniel replied, keeping his voice slow and calm. "It's just checking me out." He stood as still as possible as the being rotated around him, palm down as if checking for energy. After a while it slowly backed away and made its way towards Jack and then Sam. No sound was made. The others began to move in on SG1 and floated higher off the ground.

"I do not like this, Daniel," Jack spat as he was being inspected. "Hey, back off, buddy," he warned as the head honcho's hand levitated towards his body.

"Just stay perfectly still, Jack," Daniel warned. "No sudden movement. They're just getting to know us."

"Daniel, this is making me uncomfortable," Sam complained as the being moved on to her, his head leaning to one side as he reached for her breasts.

"Hey, pal – I told ya – back off," Jack warned with a growl.

"Jack, please," Daniel whispered.

"Hey, hey!" Jack shouted as the being touched his 2IC's breasts. "No touching!" He reached for his P90.

The being clapped his hands and - all their weapons disappeared.

"What the hell!" Jack exclaimed looking round. "Daniel?"

Daniel shuffled from one foot to another. "Just stay still. Sam, you okay?" he asked as the being circled her once more.

"Peachy, Daniel."

"Anyone got any ideas?" Jack asked as the pack turned towards Teal'c.

"No, sir," Sam replied letting out a breath.

"O'Neill, I am feeling most disturbed," Teal'c complained as the beings moved in to surround him.

"Hold still, big guy," Jack urged.

The aliens began to pulsate and rotate around the Jaffa.

"Okay, guys, this is getting out of hand," Jack complained. "Come on, back off." He moved to help his teammate but the beings closed rank. Their bodies began to glow yellow as they reached for Teal'c's abdomen.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c stared, wide eyed at Jack, pleading with him.

Daniel moved to his side. "Excuse me," he began, "we mean you no harm, we are just explorers, peaceful explorers. We came through the Stargate, we did not mean to trespass, please let us return to our world."

The beings began to spin faster and faster around Teal'c.

"We promise we will not return, just let us go back to our world," Daniel pleaded once more.

Suddenly the spinning stopped, and the main being held out a finger and pointed at Teal'c's stomach. His finger extended to reveal a point, which headed straight for Teal'c's abdomen…

"Hey!" Daniel shouted and pushed Teal'c out of the way as hard as he could. He felt a sharp prick in his side, a flash of brilliant white light and then no more.