A/N: I've posted this but I don't think anyone is reading. If no one reviews this I'll not write any more because there's no point. If you do read it please review.
The area immediately on the other side of the Stargate was deserted. Although Jack had known this before he set out on the mission, it left him with a certain uneasiness; the place was eerie, and something didn't seem right. He shook it off and led his team along the sandy path. With the lack of any kind of human activity for so long, vegetation had thrived on the planet, and covered most of the area around the Stargate. Some had been flattened the previous week from SG-9's mission, but was now regaining life and growing straight again.
The planet had a relatively similar atmosphere to that of Earth; currently it was the equivalent of an August day: cloudless sky, humid air, and the heat from two suns – the only obvious difference from Earth - beating down on the sand that rooted most of the plants.
Daniel was presently leading the way; having been on the mission with SG-9 the previous week, he was familiar with the area and knew the way to the ruins. He hadn't had much chance to study the artefact in detail up close, so now he was doubly excited to get there quickly. Sam kept up with Daniel's pace, but Jack dropped back and fell into step with Teal'c. He stood, watching the Jaffa for a moment.
"Teal'c?" he asked, noting the alien's wary features.
"I am uncertain." Teal'c stated simply, scanning the region.
"You feel it, too…? Ghosts?"
"Jaffa do not believe in such things."
"Right. You mentioned that before..." Jack said, following Teal'c's line of sight. "Come on," he continued, starting on the route to catch up with Daniel and Sam.
The same strange feeling stayed with Jack as he reached the ruins; something just wasn't right. Daniel was already at the artefact, tracing the lettering with his fingers, trying to make sense of it. Jack turned to Teal'c, always keeping one eye on Daniel. "Teal'c, I want you to take a look around, see if we're just being paranoid." Teal'c nodded and carried his staff away from Jack, glancing around before setting off to scout the area. "Carter—"
"You want me to check the soil for anything SG-9 may have missed." She smiled.
Jack smiled, "Exactly."
Sam set off to an area East of the ruins, where more ground was bare than anywhere else was, the rest being covered in the green vegetation of the planet.
Satisfied that the rest of his team was busy, Jack walked into the village, at the centre of which was the artefact, where Daniel was.
"It's incredible," Daniel marvelled, without turning around, "the writings aren't just in the one language; each face of the column has been translated into four different dialects."
Thrilling, Jack thought, rolling his eyes. He sighed and kneeled behind Daniel, looking over his shoulder.
"Having fun?" Jack asked, a smile on his face, trying to look interested.
"Hmm?" Daniel asked, not paying attention.
Jack was beginning to get bored. He put a hand on Daniel's shoulder and moved it slowly to the back of his neck; Daniel didn't seem to notice anything, until Jack started running a finger up and down the back of Daniel's neck. That seemed to divert his attention for a moment, and Jack was happy.
"Jack…" Daniel warned, suddenly remembering what he was supposed to be doing, "This is the reason I'm so behind in my work."
Jack rested his chin on Daniel's shoulder and tilted Daniel's head towards him. "Are you complaining?" Jack asked, sad eyes focussed on Daniel's own.
"Yes." Daniel answered coldly, and immediately regretted it. He kept his mouth shut and looked up at Jack as the older man stood up. Daniel bit down on his lip and turned back to the ruin, avoiding the look he knew Jack would be giving him right now. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jack begin to walk away and heard his voice talking to Sam over the radio. Jack's voice faded and Daniel looked up to find himself alone with the ruin. He tried his best to clear the incident from his mind and concentrate on the alien writings. He ran his fingers across a passage; the language seemed familiar to him on this side, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He put his lack of concentration down to Jack – again – and blinked hard; there were times Jack pushed Daniel just that extra bit too hard. Daniel focussed on a single section of the writing and tried his best to translate it.
The writings suddenly altered, changed into a new passage, and Daniel stared in stunned silence. He reached for his radio to tell the others, but his hand fell to his side and he was mesmerised by the constantly shifting lettering. A sudden shock pulsed through his body and the lettering disappeared, replaced by a sudden snapshot of the sky, then by a thick blanket of darkness.
"Find anything?" Jack asked. Teal'c was stood on the path they had made on the way to the ruin.
"I have not." He replied. For a Jaffa, his statement seemed strangely disappointed, though Jack knew that was almost impossible. Teal'c's eyes lifted to the sky. "O'Neill!" Jack joined Teal'c's look. The once clear sky was quickly becoming covered with ominous-looking cloud and it was clear that a major thunderstorm was approaching.
"Right, we're outta here." Jack announced. He turned and spoke into his radio. "Carter, Daniel, we're going back to Earth. I don't like the look of this."
"On my way, sir." Came the reply from Sam.
"Daniel? You coming?" Jack asked sarcastically. He waited but no answer came. Suddenly Jack felt something was wrong. He knew Daniel could be stubborn, but never off-world. "Daniel?" he tried again. He felt his hand clench as all he heard was the silence. "Carter, meet us at the ruin, Daniel's not responding."
Jack cast a glance at the sky. The whole atmosphere seemed darker and cooler now, the cloud cover having blocked out most of the heat and light from both suns. Jack set off running towards the ruin, Teal'c following closely behind him.
As they approached the ruin, a fierce bolt of lightning struck down, sending the housing walls crumbling down to the ground, and blocking off any chance of getting to the ruin. Sam ran up to join them and stared at the pile of rubble, her eyes wide. Jack looked up to the sky again. The storm was getting worse; lightning was striking the ground at random points, as far as they could see. He looked back at the ruins and realised why relationships within the military were against regulations. He swallowed hard, realising there was no way through the rubble without endangering the rest of his team. "Alright, get back to the 'gate," Jack ordered, "We'll have to find a way in once the storm has passed."
