*~*~*~*
The hike from the stargate to the temple was as uneventful as it was silent. The three members of SG-1 were each lost in their own thoughts as they plodded across the uneven, verdant terrain.
Colonel O'Neill was concentrating on his number one rule: No one gets left behind. He didn't blame Carter for leaving Daniel. He knew it wasn't her choice and, given the opportunity, she would have fought tooth and nail to keep the archaeologist at her side.
O'Neill adjusted his sunglasses in an attempt to disguise a brief sideways glance at his 2IC. Thanks to his own experience of having no choice but to leave a gravely wounded Daniel behind on Klorel's ship, the Colonel could imagine the tangle of emotions that was surely running through Carter's head.
Major Carter's analytical mind repeatedly dissected every aspect of the situation. She had seen only three adversaries but the leader, Ochsner, was a highly intelligent man. He had, after all, invented the devices that currently resided in her and Daniel's necks. The other two men could be lacking the good sense God gave driftwood, but their physical stature and strength more than made up for any intellectual deficiency.
Another problem facing the team was the fact that they had no clue where Daniel was being held and, at best, they had only a rough estimate for a deadline. The decision to head for the temple was based on the fact that there was little else they could do. They had no idea if it was the correct course of action.
Sam took a moment to study Teal'c's stoic features. She envied his ability to remain calm in situations such as this.
Teal'c observed his teammates. He could easily see what the casual observer could not. Both of his companions were filled with anxiety. They had every right to the emotion. They were walking into an obviously hostile situation with a severe deficit of knowledge. His larval Goa'uld squirmed in its pouch at the thought.
He looked to his commanding officer. For this mission to succeed, they would need a leader who was cunning, able to think on his feet, and fiercely devoted to the cause. He was confident that O'Neill was such a man.
*~*~*~*
After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually less than two hours, the team finally reached the temple.
Using a series of well-rehearsed hand signals, O'Neill ordered his team to take cover in the brush that surrounded the perimeter of the temple. Instantly, Carter and Teal'c concealed themselves and scanned the area for any signs of danger. Finding none, O'Neill signaled for them to move in.
The team converged on the temple with weapons drawn and ready. A thorough investigation revealed nothing. There was absolutely no evidence that anyone had visited the structure since Sam and Daniel had been there nearly three days before.
"There's nothing here." The Colonel needlessly pointed out the obvious. His posture relaxed only marginally. "You were attacked and captured at your campsite, correct, Major?"
"Yes, sir."
"So, am I safe in assuming that you were able to drag Daniel away from his rocks and squiggly lines or did he convince you to camp right here in the temple?"
The corner of Sam's lips tugged slightly upwards. The Colonel's dry humor, the reference to even a slight bit of normalcy, temporarily eased her own angst. "We made camp in a small clearing about 50 yards to the East." She jerked her chin in the general direction and, after receiving approval from her CO, began to lead the way to the clearing.
As they had done with the temple, each of the team members approached the clearing from a different direction but, once again, no threat was detected.
The clearing was an eerie sight to behold. It appeared as if nothing had been removed or disturbed in any way. The only evidence of foul play were some scuffling footprints in the dirt, an overturned coffee pot, and a darkened patch on the ground from where the campfire had apparently escaped the pit before burning itself out.
"Everything seems to be just as we left it, sir."
The Colonel didn't need Carter's confirmation. He was frozen to the spot. For a moment, the only thought that entered his mind was how he and Sara had left Charlie's room untouched after he died. It was almost as if they had a silent agreement. Altering anything in the room, even removing the dirty baseball uniform that lay across the foot of the bed, meant accepting the unacceptable. Their son would not be coming back.
With great effort, Jack pulled himself away from his morbid thoughts. 'This is not Charlie, this is Daniel,' he mentally scolded himself. 'And this is not a bedroom, this is a campsite on an alien world, for crying out loud.' He knew that Daniel was alive. Carter had confirmed the fact repeatedly over the last two days.
O'Neill inhaled deeply and forced himself to loosen his white-knuckled grip on his weapon. "Teal'c, check out these footprints. See if you can tell where they come from or where they lead. Carter, you and I will sort through this," he swept an arm out to indicate Carter and Daniel's supplies. "Pack up all the weapons and anything essential or even remotely classified. I don't want to leave anything on this planet that could prove the least bit useful to OshKosh."
Wordlessly, Sam assisted Teal'c off with his pack, which was laden with the naquadah covered lead bars. She lugged the canvas bag to a log near the edge of the clearing where the other bags, containing the video equipment and archaeological tools, lay.
As Teal'c studied the footprints, Jack's first course of action was to gather the discarded weapons. He was more than a little surprised to find them still at the site. While Kolean energy weapons were more advanced than Daniel's Beretta or even Carter's P-90, they were still very lethal items.
A slight movement drew the Colonel's attention to something on the fire-blackened earth. As he drew closer, Jack realized it was Daniel's journal. A couple of the pages were lazily swaying in the light breeze. Though it had been caught in the fire and few of the pages were burnt beyond recognition, it was essentially intact.
Jack picked up the journal and ran a reverent hand across the worn leather cover. He toyed with the idea of reopening it to read the last entry, but he quickly vetoed the thought. Not only would it be a violation of his friend's privacy, but nothing could possibly be gained from the action. Even Daniel wouldn't take the time to put pen to paper in the middle of the night, on an alien planet, while being attacked by an unknown enemy.
'Well,' O'Neill amended his thoughts, 'perhaps in the middle of the night and on an alien planet, but he certainly wouldn't make a journal entry while being attacked. Would he?'
"O'Neill."
Jack tucked the journal in his pack and joined Teal'c. "What do you have, Teal'c?"
"I regret that I have nothing, O'Neill," the Jaffa responded without lifting his eyes from the prints. "The disturbances in the soil support Major Carter's statement of a struggle but I can find no tracks leaving the vicinity nor can I determine the number of attackers."
"Damn. Well, I guess our only option is still to wait for OshKosh to make the first move."
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed with a slight bow of his head, ignoring O'Neill's continual mispronunciation of the name.
"Carter, how long do we have until the estimated deadline?"
When several moments passed without an answer, the Colonel and Teal'c both turned to the Major's last known location. She wasn't there, nor was she anywhere within the clearing.
The men split up to search the surrounding area including the temple. The search revealed nothing.
"Major Carter is nowhere to be found, O'Neill," Teal'c commented upon returning to the clearing.
"Tell me something I don't know." O'Neill's patience was wearing thin.
"My pack containing the disguised lead bars is missing as well."
The Colonel turned a full 360-degree circle to survey the area and confirm Teal'c statement. It was true. Both the bag and the Major were MIA.
"Aw, crap."
*~*~*~*
The hike from the stargate to the temple was as uneventful as it was silent. The three members of SG-1 were each lost in their own thoughts as they plodded across the uneven, verdant terrain.
Colonel O'Neill was concentrating on his number one rule: No one gets left behind. He didn't blame Carter for leaving Daniel. He knew it wasn't her choice and, given the opportunity, she would have fought tooth and nail to keep the archaeologist at her side.
O'Neill adjusted his sunglasses in an attempt to disguise a brief sideways glance at his 2IC. Thanks to his own experience of having no choice but to leave a gravely wounded Daniel behind on Klorel's ship, the Colonel could imagine the tangle of emotions that was surely running through Carter's head.
Major Carter's analytical mind repeatedly dissected every aspect of the situation. She had seen only three adversaries but the leader, Ochsner, was a highly intelligent man. He had, after all, invented the devices that currently resided in her and Daniel's necks. The other two men could be lacking the good sense God gave driftwood, but their physical stature and strength more than made up for any intellectual deficiency.
Another problem facing the team was the fact that they had no clue where Daniel was being held and, at best, they had only a rough estimate for a deadline. The decision to head for the temple was based on the fact that there was little else they could do. They had no idea if it was the correct course of action.
Sam took a moment to study Teal'c's stoic features. She envied his ability to remain calm in situations such as this.
Teal'c observed his teammates. He could easily see what the casual observer could not. Both of his companions were filled with anxiety. They had every right to the emotion. They were walking into an obviously hostile situation with a severe deficit of knowledge. His larval Goa'uld squirmed in its pouch at the thought.
He looked to his commanding officer. For this mission to succeed, they would need a leader who was cunning, able to think on his feet, and fiercely devoted to the cause. He was confident that O'Neill was such a man.
*~*~*~*
After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually less than two hours, the team finally reached the temple.
Using a series of well-rehearsed hand signals, O'Neill ordered his team to take cover in the brush that surrounded the perimeter of the temple. Instantly, Carter and Teal'c concealed themselves and scanned the area for any signs of danger. Finding none, O'Neill signaled for them to move in.
The team converged on the temple with weapons drawn and ready. A thorough investigation revealed nothing. There was absolutely no evidence that anyone had visited the structure since Sam and Daniel had been there nearly three days before.
"There's nothing here." The Colonel needlessly pointed out the obvious. His posture relaxed only marginally. "You were attacked and captured at your campsite, correct, Major?"
"Yes, sir."
"So, am I safe in assuming that you were able to drag Daniel away from his rocks and squiggly lines or did he convince you to camp right here in the temple?"
The corner of Sam's lips tugged slightly upwards. The Colonel's dry humor, the reference to even a slight bit of normalcy, temporarily eased her own angst. "We made camp in a small clearing about 50 yards to the East." She jerked her chin in the general direction and, after receiving approval from her CO, began to lead the way to the clearing.
As they had done with the temple, each of the team members approached the clearing from a different direction but, once again, no threat was detected.
The clearing was an eerie sight to behold. It appeared as if nothing had been removed or disturbed in any way. The only evidence of foul play were some scuffling footprints in the dirt, an overturned coffee pot, and a darkened patch on the ground from where the campfire had apparently escaped the pit before burning itself out.
"Everything seems to be just as we left it, sir."
The Colonel didn't need Carter's confirmation. He was frozen to the spot. For a moment, the only thought that entered his mind was how he and Sara had left Charlie's room untouched after he died. It was almost as if they had a silent agreement. Altering anything in the room, even removing the dirty baseball uniform that lay across the foot of the bed, meant accepting the unacceptable. Their son would not be coming back.
With great effort, Jack pulled himself away from his morbid thoughts. 'This is not Charlie, this is Daniel,' he mentally scolded himself. 'And this is not a bedroom, this is a campsite on an alien world, for crying out loud.' He knew that Daniel was alive. Carter had confirmed the fact repeatedly over the last two days.
O'Neill inhaled deeply and forced himself to loosen his white-knuckled grip on his weapon. "Teal'c, check out these footprints. See if you can tell where they come from or where they lead. Carter, you and I will sort through this," he swept an arm out to indicate Carter and Daniel's supplies. "Pack up all the weapons and anything essential or even remotely classified. I don't want to leave anything on this planet that could prove the least bit useful to OshKosh."
Wordlessly, Sam assisted Teal'c off with his pack, which was laden with the naquadah covered lead bars. She lugged the canvas bag to a log near the edge of the clearing where the other bags, containing the video equipment and archaeological tools, lay.
As Teal'c studied the footprints, Jack's first course of action was to gather the discarded weapons. He was more than a little surprised to find them still at the site. While Kolean energy weapons were more advanced than Daniel's Beretta or even Carter's P-90, they were still very lethal items.
A slight movement drew the Colonel's attention to something on the fire-blackened earth. As he drew closer, Jack realized it was Daniel's journal. A couple of the pages were lazily swaying in the light breeze. Though it had been caught in the fire and few of the pages were burnt beyond recognition, it was essentially intact.
Jack picked up the journal and ran a reverent hand across the worn leather cover. He toyed with the idea of reopening it to read the last entry, but he quickly vetoed the thought. Not only would it be a violation of his friend's privacy, but nothing could possibly be gained from the action. Even Daniel wouldn't take the time to put pen to paper in the middle of the night, on an alien planet, while being attacked by an unknown enemy.
'Well,' O'Neill amended his thoughts, 'perhaps in the middle of the night and on an alien planet, but he certainly wouldn't make a journal entry while being attacked. Would he?'
"O'Neill."
Jack tucked the journal in his pack and joined Teal'c. "What do you have, Teal'c?"
"I regret that I have nothing, O'Neill," the Jaffa responded without lifting his eyes from the prints. "The disturbances in the soil support Major Carter's statement of a struggle but I can find no tracks leaving the vicinity nor can I determine the number of attackers."
"Damn. Well, I guess our only option is still to wait for OshKosh to make the first move."
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed with a slight bow of his head, ignoring O'Neill's continual mispronunciation of the name.
"Carter, how long do we have until the estimated deadline?"
When several moments passed without an answer, the Colonel and Teal'c both turned to the Major's last known location. She wasn't there, nor was she anywhere within the clearing.
The men split up to search the surrounding area including the temple. The search revealed nothing.
"Major Carter is nowhere to be found, O'Neill," Teal'c commented upon returning to the clearing.
"Tell me something I don't know." O'Neill's patience was wearing thin.
"My pack containing the disguised lead bars is missing as well."
The Colonel turned a full 360-degree circle to survey the area and confirm Teal'c statement. It was true. Both the bag and the Major were MIA.
"Aw, crap."
*~*~*~*