It was a relief to step into the cool shadows of the low brick building into which Adonis led them. Much to his annoyance, Jack had not been warned about just how hot this planet would be, and he was still not convinced that they weren't going to end up climbing that mountain after all.
Once his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, he realised they were in a completely bare, circular room with a dirt floor, in the centre of which sat two men and two women, all with close-cropped hair, arranged in a semicircle. It looked as though they were posing, and Jack had the admittedly narcissistic feeling that the pose was for the benefit of SG-1.
"Please." Adonis gestured expansively to the floor. Jack nodded, and his team formed a semicircle opposite the poseurs, mimicking their cross-legged positions.
"Greetings," said a woman, who was seated opposite Jack.
Because he knew it would irritate Daniel, Jack tapped the brim of his cap and said, "Yo." He suppressed a grin at the glare Daniel sent his way.
"We are the Elders," said the woman.
"We're SG-1, from Earth."
"How can we be of service?" This from the man opposite Daniel, who looked suspiciously like the woman who had first spoken. Jack blinked, checked the other two Elders, nodded to himself. Yup – quadruplets. Non-identical, obviously, but they still looked exactly alike.
"Trade," he said, in response to the second Elder's question.
"Trade," Elder number three repeated.
This was no good; he would have to name them, at least in his head. "Yeah," he said aloud. "See, that mountain of yours might have this mineral in it that we'd like to get our hands on. So, you let us mine your mountain – we'll put everything back the way we found it, once we're done – and in return, we give you medical supplies, food, technology, whatever."
"Technology?" Elder #4 – or Binky, as Jack decided to think of him – sounded nonplussed.
Jack pointed at his P-90. "Technology."
"We have no need of weapons."
"That's not all we have." Jack looked around. Backpack: medical kit, EVAs, change of clothes, lots and lots of weapons. Nothing interesting.
"We can bring through agricultural tools to make farming easier," Daniel offered. The Elders exchanged unenthusiastic glances.
"Of course we wish to please the friends of the gods, but..."
"Here." Jack slid his watch off and handed it to Elder #1, mentally dubbed Skippy. "This is another, um, example." He was acutely aware of Carter, Teal'c and Daniel all staring at him, and resolutely ignored them. After all, it wasn't like any of them had come up with a better idea, he thought resentfully.
Binky was smiling. "What is this?"
"It's a digital watch."
"What does it do?"
"It tells time."
A collective gasp rose from the group in front of them.
"If we give you permission to mine," said Elder #3, Noddy, in the careless tone of someone trying very hard to pretend they don't want something, "you would give us... digital watches?"
"Absolutely." Jack fought back a grin. Hah! That would show his team why he was in charge. He glances sideways, and was pleased by their dumbstruck expressions. Doubting Thomases, the lot of them. Then, to his horror, Skippy sadly handed back the watch.
"We cannot suffer damage to the mountain. The gods would punish us."
"Your gods wouldn't happen to live in the forest and take the shape of animals, would they?" Daniel asked.
The Elders stared at him. "No."
"Why would they punish you?" Ah, Carter, always with the clever questions.
"The condemned one might get free." Elder #2, Grouchy, shuddered at the very idea. "He has been punished for generations, and must continue to be punished for many more."
"Forgive me," said Daniel, "but it's hard for us to accept that some invisible god-"
"He is not invisible." Now the Elders were regarding Daniel with the worried expression one would use when confronted with an escaped lunatic. Noddy gestured to Adonis. "Show them the Titan."
With that, they seemed to be dismissed. Jack signalled the team, and they followed Adonis outside, squinting in the suddenly bright light until they managed to fumble their sunglasses on.
"Come," Adonis urged.
"Where are we going?" Jack already knew the answer, but he had to ask.
"Up the mountain."
Great. He glared at Carter, convinced that somehow it was her fault. She shrugged sheepishly, as though she half believed it herself. He shook his head to indicate his disappointment in her inability to keep them away from the mountain, heaved a sigh, and turned to their guide. "Let's go, already."