Chapter 4

Jack glanced at the report in front of him, scanning the document for the salient points. It was a recommendation for a return mission to P3C-428. He hadn't had time to read it beforehand and at the moment Daniel's slides were giving him a headache.

Previously visited by SG-6, this planet was deemed interesting enough to warrant another look. There were two main objectives of this proposed mission: first was to give Daniel an opportunity to document a group of very old stele whose photographs he had drooled over and the other was to reaffirm a relationship with a population of very docile farmers and herdsmen who thought the old monuments were sacred but had no idea what they said. A side objective of this field trip for Jack was to get Carter back into the swing of things after the Alpha site disaster. Both the docs, Frasier and MacKenzie, had signed off on her return to active duty.

The best things about this planet were it's location at the far flung edge of the galaxy and only a very distant memory of the Goa'uld. Because of these factors it could be considered as a possible evacuation site should disaster strike and needed to be evaluated for that purpose. The people worshiped nature and gloried in the bounty of their land. It reminded Jack of Eudora although slightly more primitive and a bit more arid.

Daniel pressed the button to advance the next slide, the 15th slide, the 15th very blurry totally incomprehensible slide.

Jack turned his head to the side squinted and glanced over to Sam Carter with a questioning look. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. He tossed a glance in Teal'c's direction, who had either slipped into a deep state of kel-no-reem or lapsed into a coma.

The general was losing all patience with the endless shots of fuzzy rocks with the exception of one photograph of a very distinct thumb.

"What is that?" demanded General Hammond.

"And this is why, General Hammond, and I'm not faulting SG-6, but I think it is imperative that at least one person from each SG team receive some training in the basics of photography or at the very least be provided with a self focusing camera."

"Point taken, Dr. Jackson, but we have no budget for..."

Daniel gulped a breath and continued as if the general hadn't spoken. "However, from the shots and the captain's report there appears to be at least three different types of script. One is most likely Asgard, these others I'm not sure about. However one seems reminiscent of the Furling script from Ernest Littlefield's planet. And this is why we have to go back."

"How do we know they say anything important?" Jack asked. He just threw the question out but winced not really wanting to rain on Daniel's parade. He hadn't seen him this excited over a mission in a long time.

"Doesn't matter."

"And why not, Dr. Jackson?" the general asked. It was a pretty expensive proposition to gate travel just for clearer pictures.

"It would be better if they all said the same thing and something simple."

Carter, the sharpest of the group, got it in one. "A Rosetta Stone."

Daniel smiled, cocked a finger at her and said "Exactly! It would be incredibly helpful in aiding translations. Who knows what treasures of the grand alliance of the Asgard and Furlings and Ancients remain there. Now, ah, we do know the Goa'uld have been there in the past."

Shuffling through his papers he read "'The locals reported a raid by Jaffa for slaves or hosts in their grandfather's grandfathers time, roughly estimated at about one hundred to one hundred twenty five of our years ago. The tattoo was not recognized or recorded and they have not seen any Jaffa since. In fact we were the first through their gate since then."

"Sir" O'Neill addressed Hammond "I think we should inform the Asgard of our mission and ask them if and why they abandoned these people."

"I agree Colonel, although I doubt we will receive an answer before you leave." He left it at that since all of them were well aware that the Asgard had not been seen or heard from since the cloning incident.

Since the native population was friendly and the planet seemed reasonably safe, the mission to return to P3C-428 was approved for the following day. The general retreated to his office to prepare for his next meeting.

Considering it was Samantha Carter's first mission after the disastrous run in with the Kull Warrior on the Alpha Site, Jack thought that he and Sam would mingle with the villagers and reinforce the burgeoning friendly relationship between their two worlds, a pleasant mission to ease her back into the field. They could keep watch on the Stargate while Daniel and Teal'c hiked off to the pile of rocks and take very sharp photos. And if any information vital to the war against the Goa'uld turned up it would be the icing on the cake.


Barely had most of SG-1 cleared out of the conference room when all the team leaders who were on base crowded in. They were there for their monthly conference with General Hammond.

A whole range of items were to be discussed from new technologies to employ, to new places to avoid. Strategies for the future were usually assessed and the wider skill set for the training of recruits explored. No stone was left unturned if it would help improve the effectiveness of the SGC and thus the safety of the men under Hammond's command. All of this added up to the protection of planet Earth. These were military men and the safety of their home was paramount.

That of course didn't mean they didn't have fun when they could.

While waiting for the general to come out of his office the officers agreed to have their monthly get together that night at O'Malley's. Then the conversation veered off to the total reorganization of the SG teams mission deployment.

"I'm just saying it would make more sense." Pierce said expounding on his theories.

"Well, Jack, what do you suggest?" asked Major Griff.

Dixon jumped in before Jack could open his mouth. "Griff gets all the sandies, Reynolds gets the swampies, Castleman gets all the icies and Jack and I will divvy up all the temperate one."

"I was hoping for the tropical ones with beaches that go on forever." said O'Neill.

"I have a better idea." said Griff . "What if we divvy them up a different way. I get the friendlies, O'Neill gets the Gouldies and Dixon gets the randy ones. He's got 4 kids, he'll understand them better."

Reynolds finally chimed in "No, Dave should get the abandoned ones. He needs the peace and quite."

With that General Hammond entered the room, all the men snapped to attention and the meeting began.