For the first time in Stargate Command's 6-year history, Jack O'Neill was the first person to arrive at an 0800 briefing.
He was, in fact, almost two hours early. Having exhausted all other means of distraction since he woke up three hours earlier, Jack had made his way to the briefing room to wait it out. Not even Hammond had arrived yet. Jack paced, and drank his way solidly through two pots of coffee. By the time Hammond and the rest of SG1 arrived, the surprise evident on their faces, Jack had memorised the mission dossier, including Carter's scientific report. This time, he only interrupted his teammates to finish their sentences.
As Hammond explained, they were being sent to P3J-718 for a routine first-contact meeting. The natives seemed to be at a similar level of technological development to Earth, but they had gone down a different path. Instead of their own planet's research into power production, self-preservation, and dominance, the inhabitants of 'Pastoria' had put their efforts into preserving their world. Instead of mining and slowly eating away at their planet's natural resources, they built lightning rods to make use of the frequent seasonal storms they experienced.
They had uncovered the gate a decade previously, and after several years burning the midnight oil, scientists figured out its use and managed to find a connecting address. However, they had assumed that it merely went to a different area of their own world, one which was uninhabited.
This much they had discovered through many conversations via the MALP. The Pastorian Governor had eventually agreed to meet a contingent in person. Carter was particularly interested in their methods of trapping the lightning in crystals for long-term storage (or so Jack had read in her report), and Jonas could barely contain his excitement about such an interesting weather phenomenon.
Jack practically fled the room when they were done, the sheer volume of coffee he had consumed catching up with him. Carter bit her bottom lip to keep from sniggering.
0930 rolled around and SG1 assembled in the gate room, ready for departure. Jack threw Walter a mock salute in thanks as the seventh chevron locked, and they stepped through the event horizon towards P3J-718.
The MALP was sending back images to Hammond and Walter of rolling green countryside, with a smooth but well-travelled road leading to a city less than a mile away. It was grey and overcast, with light drizzle that hinted at an oncoming storm. There was a party of ten men and women waiting to great their visitors, the Governor at the centre, flanked by dignitaries. There were no military leaders; all efforts were devoted to furthering their civilisation, not destroying it.
It should have been simple. SG1 step through the gate, and the MALP would report back the image of them emerging and greeting the Pastorians. But after waiting the standard five seconds when they stepped through, they had still not appeared in the MALP's transmission. The image stayed the same, with the dignitaries looking nervous yet excited.
"Where the hell are they?" General Hammond said into the shocked silence.
"I—I don't know, sir, maybe there's a problem with the MALP, or—" Walter stuttered, frantically pressing buttons.
"Well find out!"
SG1 stepped through the gate, Jack's hand already raised. He was ready to greet the hell out of these people.
After a few steps, they stopped, and looked around cautiously. Teal'c raised his staff weapon and began scanning the surrounding countryside through narrowed eyes. The others drew their P90s and put their backs together, trying to cover themselves as much as possible.
"What's going on, SGC?" Jack barked into his radio, but as he spoke, the wormhole disconnected. For several minutes, no one moved or spoke. The air was quiet, expectant. "Dial us out, Carter," he muttered. "We'll head back and regroup. See if Hammond knows where the welcome party got to."
"Yessir."
As Carter dialled the DHD, Jack took a couple of steps forward.
"Hello?" He called. "We come in peace!"
Carter pressed the centre button to dial the gate and looked expectantly up at it, but no wormhole established. She pushed it again, harder this time, but still no ka-whoosh.
"Uh, sir?" Carter called.
"What?"
She pushed the button a few more times for him to see.
"If the Pastorians thought they were being threatened, would they have tried to escape through the gate?" Jonas offered, his face turned skywards. "I think there's a storm coming, and it looks like a big one. Maybe they didn't think they'd be safe…" A large raindrop hit him square in the forehead, bursting into small droplets. He rubbed them out of his eyes.
"Okay, let's head towards the city. See what we can see." Jack began striding towards the city, trying to pull the brim of his cap as far over his face as possible. Carter reluctantly stopped fiddling with the DHD and followed him. "I spy with my little eye…"
AN: Just a little update, I know, but don't worry! I've pre-written the next, like, four chapters and just had to join them up. Regular updates are back!