Chapter I

She was predictably early in the Gateroom for the mission, though he had come to expect that of her. Teal'c was just behind him in the hall, which left Daniel. The man was almost constantly late for everything. Either deliberately, or through his genuine forgetfulness Jack didn't know. Either way, he was late. Checking his watch, Jack counted the minutes s they ticked by. Three, five, seven, finally ten. The door to the Gate room ground open, and then closed after permitting the doctor entrance.

He appeared unashamed by his lateness, which infuriated the Colonel even more. Shooting a quick glance up to the control room. The whole group was there. General Hammond, the dork with the glasses who makes sure he and the other teams get through the Iris okay whose name Jack could never remember to save his life. Several other techs were present.

Putting them all out of his mind, Jack turned back to the Gate as it started to slowly spin, Seven loud 'thuncks' later, the field of plasma had boiled back into the blue shimmering circle that was the event doohickey that Carter kept raving about the first time she saw it. Settling his green baseball cap more securely onto his head, Jack gave a quick salute up to the control room and then headed up the ramp, letting his team settle in behind him.

He found it interesting how they'd all settled into a system so quickly. It had only taken a few months for things between them to become part of a routine. The emerged on the other wide, to exactly what the MALP had shown. Bright, blue sky. Trees. Grass. Typical. Looking around, he saw Daniel peering intently at something on the ground. Carter was using some techno thingy to take readings of the planet's surface and atmosphere. Scientists.

"Carter. Daniel, spread out, let's see if there's anything worth looking at here." He turned back before he could catch the looks they would undoubtedly give him. Sure, Daniel may have found some thing that showed how a dead civilization was oh-so-advanced as to use pottery, or something unhelpful like that. Every planet, he got a bee up his proverbial backside whenever it came to things like that.

"Wait, back up, did Sam find anything in her readings? Any anomalous bio presence?" Janet interrupted his explanation with a worried look.

Jack shook his head. "If she did, she didn't tell me. She usually points out stuff like that, Doc."

Janet nodded, making a small note on her writing pad. "Okay, carry on."

The room was cold, and not due to the temperature. Daniel stared across at him, and he stared right back. "You were in the room at the exact moment it happened. You must have seen something."

The technician looked at him with a slightly scared expression. "No...no sir. I was busy with work. What with Major Carter... incapacitated, I wanted to get a start on the computer system overhaul if I could at least get the project started, and she could then concentrate on the work."

Daniel arched an eyebrow at him, but let it pass. Many wanted to make Sam's job easier, him amongst them. Sitting back, he sighed. This was their only lead. Many believed he was just flat out lying, but not Daniel. There was something in his eyes, his voice. They screamed the truth at him, and maybe they were. All knew what an accusation of this level could do to someone's career. If he was innocent, then it would be a shame to kill a promising career. On the other hand, if he was responsible for them all being stuck on the base, then Daniel would personally make sure that he suffered.

"Okay, take me through what you did hear and see, just for the record, from the top." Sitting back, he let the microphone recorder capture every noise in the room.

The technician took a deep breath then started. "I went on duty t 1602. I was running a little late as I spilled coffee over my uniform. Not much happened for the entire evening. Except at around 2030, I thought I heard the door open, but when I looked up, no-one was there, so I ignored it and carried on working. A few minutes later I heard typing, and not just my own. Yet, no one was in the room other than me. It didn't make any sense, so I figured I'd go and get more coffee to snap myself out of it."

He paused, took a breath again and thought a moment. "I guess it could have been someone who was invisible, or had some form of cloaking device, though it wouldn't be our technology. Maybe something the Goa'uld had. Or a Reetou, we had some trouble with them not long ago, remember? Though why they would want to..." He sighed and shook his head. "That's all I got, sorry."

Daniel waited for a fraction of a second before jumping up and leaving the room. Poking his head back in, he looked at the tech. "Wait here, I'll be back." Closing the door behind him, he nodded to the guard standing next to it. The guard nodded back. And moved directly in front of it, barring access. His feet pounded along the corridors as he made his way through the base.


He breathed deeply, concentrating, relaxing. Thinking, not thinking. Feet marched outside the room, but he ignored them. They always marched. Forwards, backwards. Left, right. Always in pairs. The Tok'ra were helpful, willing to allow him to be among them during this time of problem for the Tau'ri.

He sensed a presence in the room, and opened his eyes. Slowly climbing to his feet, Teal'c turned to see who it was. To his surprise, he saw the father of his friend, Samantha Carter. Inclining his head, he waited for the man to speak.

"We have received word from Earth." The deep voice of the Tok'ra symbiote came through the host. "They are locked down. No-one can enter the base. No one can leave. They suspect it may be an intruder, though if it is, they will have the use of a stealth technology. We have been requested to help out. We could use your help on a reconnaissance mission."

Teal'c inclined his head, accepting the request.


The temperature was slightly too warm for his liking. Too warm and too dry. It felt like Iraq. Too warm, too dry, and far too uncomfortable for his taste. Though, all off world planets had the last aspect. It was something he had to get used to. Sadly, it was the one thing he never couldm ad probably never would. Looking around them, he settled his cap more securely on his head. It was a habit he had developed over time. He didn't know why he did it; it was just something that he did.

The team were behind him, walking along, trying to find 'something' that would make this mission worth while. More than just another meeting with some ancient people that would make Daniel drool and go all gaga over. He hated scientists, had stated it emphatically, actually.

"O'NEILL!"

Jack turned at the bellow, dropping to one knee, ignoring the all too common pain, searching for a tactical threat. What he saw instead chilled him to the bone.