author's note: in case you didn't notice that Carter was a Captian - this is early Stargate. I LOVE the new seasons, just was in the mood for some early stuff. I debated editing this to the new team, but I like Daniel and Jack's (cannon) interactions so much, I said 'nah' to that. But if Daniel is coming across less confident than he does now, that's because of the earlier timeframe. Don't worry- I like him snarky too, we'll get there. : )

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"Any time, Dr. Jackson"

General George Hammond looked expectantly at the SGC's head archaeologist. And linguist. Oh, and anthropologist. He didn't think he'd ever get used to how young the doctor appeared. George knew the civilian doctor was about thirty, but he certainly didn't look it. He found himself debating whether it was Jackson's physical appearance or the aura of innocence that surrounded him.

"Probably a combination of the two," he thought to himself.

"Ah, yes. Of course, General."

It was clear Jackson was mentally preparing himself, gathering his thoughts while he shuffled his notes a bit. He didn't exactly appear flustered, but as usual it was apparent he was slightly nervous. Hammond eyed the ever-present cup of coffee. He had no idea what number this was. Since it was about eleven AM, he figured at a minimum, this was cup number five. This would certainly explain the civilian's slightly-edgy disposition.

Finally standing, Jackson produced a video tape and popped it into the player at the front of the room. He paused before beginning his presentation, giving the tape time to play.

"Ah, as you can see, this is the MALP playback from PRX-427."

"That'd be planet brown-out, sir."
It seemed Colonel O'Neill couldn't resist jumping in. Hammond silenced him with a look.

Daniel cleared his throat a bit, adjusting his glasses as he did so. "It would appear the 'gate is indoors, ah, although it is impossible to tell how large the construction is, um, what we can see appears to be in stable condition"

He paused again, eyes flashing over to his team's commanding officer, Colonel Jack O'Neill. As expected, the colonel now had a slightly glazed expression and was idly twirling a pen between his fingers. While Daniel may have thought this meant O'Neill wasn't listening to a word he said, Hammond knew better. Jack O'Neill didn't get to be his second in command for nothing. He certainly wasn't as disinterested as he pretended to be, and Hammond had no doubt the former black-ops trained officer knew exactly what was going on around him at all times.

As if to prove Hammond's belief, O'Neill looked up at Jackson, his expression clearly saying "Relax. You can do this." Jackson's returned look was just as clear. "Thank you." And he took a deep breath, shifting to a more relaxed posture before continuing.

"Now, if we pause here, you can see the inscriptions on this column." Jackson paused again. He looked expectantly at the members of his team and Hammond with a look of almost hopeful anticipation. Like he was waiting for the answer to a question.

No one spoke up, although O'Neill did stop twirling his pen. He narrowed his eyes a bit as he regarded the archaeologist. Hammond had a feeling the colonel's thoughts were echoing his own – Jackson didn't seem to understand that others didn't make the same leaps of intuition that he did. That something obvious to the young, multiple PhD wasn't so obvious to those around him. Another sign of both his lack of faith in his own abilities, as well as his naiveté.

"DanielJackson," Speaking with his usual firmness, Teal'c finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had befallen the briefing room. "Those symbols are goa'uld, are they not?"

"Yes," he said, nearly blurting it out in his excitement, his hand reflexively punctuating his statements. "Yes... yes, they are."

"What do they say?" O'Neill questioned slowly and deliberately.

"Uh, it looks like some sort of warning. What I can see from the transmission basically translates to, ah, 'We have forsaken the laws. All gods who return shall perish.' This part was actually in the largest script, I guess to make sure it was seen. Uh, actually, there's some smaller script here as well"

"And?" O'Neill raised his eyebrows.

"And… I can't really make all of it out. As you can see, the, uh, script is impossible to read over the transmission, maybe due to its size. That, or it's been worn away. I could pick out one phrase though"

Hammond watched again as the two seemed engaged in another non-verbal communication. Jackson broke the contact and eyed the monitor again. The image flickered slightly, a ghostly reflection from his glasses flickering at the same time, while his face was caught in the screen's bluish output.

"Clockwork"

"Dr. Jackson." Hammond had finally decided to speak up. "Do you have any idea what that refers to?"

"Well, no sir, not that last phrase, anyway."

"But you have a theory on the rest."

"Ah, yes sir." Turning back to the image on-screen, he pointed to the first line of text. For some reason, it didn't quite register with him that pointing to the text wouldn't help his explanation, only he and Teal'c would be able to read it anyway. "It's clearly a threat to gate travelers, and it's written in goold…so I assume the 'gods' they refer to…well..."

He turned back to his team while still gesturing behind him at the script. He was just in time to see the look of realization flash over Jack O'Neill's features.

"Are goold." He said quietly.

"Right." Jackson replied, with a slightly perplexed look on his face. Hammond was a little amused by the expression. "See," Hammond thought to himself, "Jack pays attention."

"Umm…and…and whoever the inhabitants of PRX-427 are, they've turned against the goold, they've… they've 'forsaken' the laws of their rule." In his excitement, Daniel's speech was gaining speed, and slightly stuttering, a habit he displayed when impassioned by a subject. "Or," he paused, both to take a breath and for emphasis, "Perhaps their protectors have."

"Like the Asgard." Capitan Sam Carter spoke slowly. It was clear she was seeing where Jackson was going, but she was holding back, wanting to make sure.

It was clear O'Neill saw it as well. His eyes locked with Jackson's. When they next spoke, it was in unison.
"Like Cimmeria."

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authors note: the plot thickens. Reviews rock. Next chapter: Dave Dixon? Hey, that's not cannon... well - it could be cannon - you know, suspending disbelief and all... also, yeah, the chapters aren't all that long, but I'm keen on short chapters. Quick reads. Easier to sneak in between what ever duties I'm ignorning... " P