Chapter 8 – A Discovery

Breakfast was a pleasant affair. They could almost kid themselves that they were at home and all they had to worry about were trivial things such as the food and each other. The morning was bright but chilly so getting dressed was a quick affair. That didn't stop the looks they gave each other and the big smiles that neither of them could wipe off of their faces. It had been quite some night.

"We should see where that last path leads," Jack said, finally getting down to business.

Although this planet had given them personal space they had needed, from work, they didn't underestimate the importance of getting home as soon as possible. Time, for many reasons, was of the essence.

"Hopefully no more traps," Sam replied, agreement noted in her tone.

"We'll have to be careful. Traps are meant for something. We don't know what is still out there," Jack spoke with the most serious tone he'd used since they'd awoke. He looked at Sam with concern but none more than he'd ever looked at her before. He was determined that their new found intimacies wouldn't get in the way of their safety.

Sam smiled softly at the concern she saw. Leaning over, she pressed one last kiss to Jack's lips – savouring the final moment of their night together – before packing up her pack. It didn't take long, it had laid mostly untouched all night while they'd had other things on their minds.

Cleaning up, once again, any sign of their having stayed in the hut, the pair were soon making their way back down the path. The light breeze through the trees and errant beams of sunlight made their environment appear a lot friendlier than it had the day before. Almost welcoming as the warmth of the sun brushed their skin and the light danced over leaves and droplets of dew.

A comfortable silence and steadiness accompanied them, interrupted only occasionally with a hand signal or two. Lulled into a false sense of security, perhaps, but Sam couldn't help but be happy that day. It all felt so perfect. So meant to be. As long as they had each other, they could face anything.

That thought would come to be reality far too soon.

As the hours wore on, the further they walked – barely stopping for breaks. Taking the turn onto the unexplored path, the grips on their guns tightened even though the forest stayed as seemingly inviting, as it had all day. Walking on, the forest started to thin and they became increasingly aware of the growing lack of cover that they had been so dependent on before.

Jack beckoned Sam to stop as the path started to disappear into a dirt track – one created by nature and animals than by the purposeful building of humans.

Standing close to her, he looked around before whispering into her ear, "I vote for getting off this path. Too many chances to be seen otherwise."

"Yes, sir," Sam replied even as she tried to stifle the smile that threatened to distract her from their current situation. "We need as much cover as possible until we know more about the layout of this land."

Jack thought the attempt to not smile was cute but kept quiet about it for now. Making a mental note to tell Sam later, he thought it best not to distract either of them any further.

Crouching down, he looked off the path and into the trees. If there were any traps on the outskirts of the forest and village, they would be basic. Made of the land, and natural. No lasers here. His eye sight wasn't perfect, he knew, but the ground seemed clear. Perhaps, he thought, they had walked beyond the scope of any defence mechanisms that existed.

Sam also crouched by Jack to take a look. Picking up a stone, she gestured to Jack in order to get his approval for her idea. With his nod, Sam threw the stone into the undergrowth and stayed alert for any mechanisms that would be triggered by the flying rock.

Nothing happened.

Letting out a collective sigh, they both slowly stood up and as one took a step off of the path. Once it was clear that they were, for now, safe, they started to walk. Their progress was slower now as they were being much more careful about their foot placement and what was around them.

Trees started to become smaller and thinner, younger than those in the centre of the forest. More and more sunlight forced its way through the canopy until they soon had to wear sunglasses to see through the gleam of the strange planet's daylight. The sound of the breeze diminished as there were less leaves for it to brush by, which left them serenaded only by the crunching of their footsteps on the young flora that blanketed the floor.

At any other time, it would have seemed like a beautiful retreat. Some quiet time that they both needed. Sam thought it could be the perfect vacation destination – once they'd proven it safe.

Finally they came to the edge of the forest. They were struck by the sight that came before them. The world seemed to stretch out forever and it was sights, such as these, that made Sam think about how easy it used to be to believe that planets were flat. There seemed to be no end. Once they stopped looking up, and looked at the ground, Jack let out a soft, "Oh."

Five metres, or so, in front of them, the land came to a quick end. Turning his head to the side, Jack followed the ridge that ran several miles around what was a massive crater. Ahead of them, they had been staring at the far side that matched both the terrain and altitude of their position. There seemed no way down, only around.

Stepping up towards the edge of the crater, Jack backed up suddenly and held an arm out to stop Sam. Putting a finger to his lips, he crouched, took off his pack, and then laid on the ground. Waiting for Sam to follow suit, he retrieved a pair of binoculars from a side pocket of his pack and then signalled for them both to crawl to the edge. Adrenaline kept them both focused as they made their way to the edge to look over into the deep valley of the crater.

At first, Sam wasn't sure what Jack had seen that had startled him. Giving him a confused look, she went back to staring at the green pastures, and the scattered trees and bushes. Suddenly she gasped. Having previously missed it, now she had seen it – she couldn't un-see it.

Piles of rocks and chopped up wood seemed to be moving themselves. Blinking, Sam couldn't believe her eyes. Rocks couldn't move themselves, but something was. Something they couldn't see. In the far right hand curve of the crater there seemed to be the beginnings of a mine and Sam had to borrow the binoculars to see it properly. There, more rocks and movement were clear but not the source of the movement.

There was something there that Sam recognised though. With both relief and some dread, Sam pointed over to the mine and gave Jack the binoculars back. Looking through them, Jack saw what Sam had seen.

The stargate.

Crawling back, they went back behind the treeline before they discussed what they had just seen. There was only one conclusion they could both come to.

The stargate was surrounded by the Hidden.


N.B.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my story so far. Again, I'm sorry for the length of time between updates. Work is exhausting but I will finish this story. Right now I'm predicting about 12 chapters in total, possibly more.

Hope everyone enjoys the update and plot development. Thanks again.