"This is fascinating..."
Jack looked over to where Daniel was sitting on the ground next to one of the main walls that had initially – probably – been a large part of the supports of the building that had crumbled.
"Oh?"
The archeologist nodded. "This place has all the earmarks of having once been a temple." Daniel pointed at the stone floor, which led off into another section of ruins. "This would have been the main worship area – there should be an alter somewhere – and over there would have been where people came to pray or whatever they did..."
"What is there to do at an alter besides pray?" Despite himself Jack asked the question, knowing it was just going to encourage Daniel into telling him more.
"Well... there's all sorts of things, Jack. There's sacrifices, and ritual chanting, and-"
"Sacrifices?"
Daniel shrugged. "There could have been."
"Were there?"
"I've only been here about half an hour, Jack. Give me a little time to get a feel for the dialect of these engravings."
"Take all the time you need, Daniel. Just stay where we can see you. Or hear you."
Of course, he didn't show any sign of wanting to go anywhere but the dirt he was sitting on just then, so that probably wasn't going to be a problem. At least not right now.
Jack wandered off, going over to see what Teal'c and Sam were doing, Jaffer coming up to walk beside him.
They'd decided to set up their camp just on the edge of the clearing. Daniel had been all for camping right in the middle of the ruins, but Jack had overruled him. For one thing, he didn't want to be in the middle of the ruins, and for another thing, he didn't want to sleep on rocks when there was perfectly good dirt and grass available for sleeping on. Now their camp consisted of four one-man tents that could be taken down or put up quickly, all placed around a campfire that was built, but wasn't lit.
"Whatcha doing, Sam?" Jack asked as he came over to where Carter was sitting, propped up against a tree and out of the direct sunlight with her laptop open and resting on her thighs. Jaffer trotted ahead of Jack, going over and snuffling Sam's side, and then her face. With her seated, he was just as tall as she was, and had far more leverage. She smiled and patted him, but then pushed him away when his nose went to her laptop. He'd already chewed one of the corners off, back when he'd been a puppy, and Sam expected it was just a matter of time before he came over and finished the job properly. But not today.
"Keeping a journal of what we're doing."
"A report?" That was supposed to be Jack's job, but if she wanted to do it for him, who was he to say no?
"No. A journal. Janet asked me to. Cassie's supposed to be keeping a journal for her English classes, and she thinks it's stupid, so Janet told her that I would if she would. So I have to, now."
"Hmmm... wonder why she didn't ask me?"
Sam smiled, a completely sarcastic smile.
"Oh, I don't know..."
"So?"
"So, what?"
"Am I in your 'journal'?"
"Not yet. Jaffer is, though."
The big lab sneezed, spraying the screen of Sam's laptop with dog snot, and Jack grinned as Sam sighed and reached for a handkerchief to wipe it off.
"Well... we'll leave you to your... journaling."
"Thanks."
"I'm going to go have a look around. If you need me, just holler."
"Will do."
He rested his hand on her shoulder for just a moment, a gentle touch that was the surrogate for a kiss when the opportunity really called for a little less intimacy – such as being off-world – and Sam touched the back of his hand for an equally short amount of time, smiling up at him.
Jaffer, of course, didn't care about when he could kiss Sam or not. He took full advantage of her distraction to stick his nose in her face and lick her cheek – all the way across to the other cheek.
"Gah."
They made their escape while Sam was still wiping her face, and Jack waved at Teal'c as they passed the Jaffa. Teal'c was testing the water in the stream to see if it was safe for drinking straight. Otherwise they were going to be spending the entire week drinking water purified with little tablets – and that tasted like crap.
"We're going to have a look around, keep an eye on things."
Teal'c nodded, knowing that O'Neill had his weapon with him and would call if he were needed. Not to mention, he had Jaffer with him as well, and the dog could give him plenty of warning if something was getting too close that shouldn't be.
They wandered into the woods, Jaffer ranging out ahead of Jack, flushing the occasional ground mammal, like rabbits and squirrels, but not chasing them – even though he really wanted to. He was working, he knew. Eventually there would be time to play, and then he'd find something to chase and catch.
A noise caught Jaffer's attention, and the big head turned to the right, causing Jack to look that way as well. He didn't see anything. Jaffer obviously did, though, because the dog crouched a little, his tail wagging idly. This told Jack that whatever it was, Jaffer didn't think it was dangerous. Otherwise the hackles would have come up, and the lab's entire body would have tensed, which meant the tail would never be wagging. He tightened his grip on his gun, though, as he walked up behind Jaffer. Just because the dog didn't perceive something as a threat, didn't mean it wasn't. Jaffer was still young, and very inexperienced when it came to alien things, after all.
Jack caught sight of something tawny colored, and heard a rustle in the brush. Just as he was raising his gun, though, the creature came out of the dense brush, and O'Neill could see it was some kind of deer-like creature. About as big as a white tailed deer back home, only with three very small antlers.
Jaffer wagged his tail viciously, but he didn't chase that, either.
"So..." Jack said, lowering his gun, and resuming their look around. "We have birds, and squirrels, and rabbits and some kind of deer..."
Jaffer looked up at him, his brown eyes cheerful.
"Ya just gotta wonder what eats them all..."
Jaffer didn't wonder at all. He didn't care. Whatever it was – if there was anything – it wouldn't come near him. Nothing could hurt him. He sneezed again, and headed off once more into the woods. He wasn't done looking around. And neither was Jack.
Jack looked over to where Daniel was sitting on the ground next to one of the main walls that had initially – probably – been a large part of the supports of the building that had crumbled.
"Oh?"
The archeologist nodded. "This place has all the earmarks of having once been a temple." Daniel pointed at the stone floor, which led off into another section of ruins. "This would have been the main worship area – there should be an alter somewhere – and over there would have been where people came to pray or whatever they did..."
"What is there to do at an alter besides pray?" Despite himself Jack asked the question, knowing it was just going to encourage Daniel into telling him more.
"Well... there's all sorts of things, Jack. There's sacrifices, and ritual chanting, and-"
"Sacrifices?"
Daniel shrugged. "There could have been."
"Were there?"
"I've only been here about half an hour, Jack. Give me a little time to get a feel for the dialect of these engravings."
"Take all the time you need, Daniel. Just stay where we can see you. Or hear you."
Of course, he didn't show any sign of wanting to go anywhere but the dirt he was sitting on just then, so that probably wasn't going to be a problem. At least not right now.
Jack wandered off, going over to see what Teal'c and Sam were doing, Jaffer coming up to walk beside him.
They'd decided to set up their camp just on the edge of the clearing. Daniel had been all for camping right in the middle of the ruins, but Jack had overruled him. For one thing, he didn't want to be in the middle of the ruins, and for another thing, he didn't want to sleep on rocks when there was perfectly good dirt and grass available for sleeping on. Now their camp consisted of four one-man tents that could be taken down or put up quickly, all placed around a campfire that was built, but wasn't lit.
"Whatcha doing, Sam?" Jack asked as he came over to where Carter was sitting, propped up against a tree and out of the direct sunlight with her laptop open and resting on her thighs. Jaffer trotted ahead of Jack, going over and snuffling Sam's side, and then her face. With her seated, he was just as tall as she was, and had far more leverage. She smiled and patted him, but then pushed him away when his nose went to her laptop. He'd already chewed one of the corners off, back when he'd been a puppy, and Sam expected it was just a matter of time before he came over and finished the job properly. But not today.
"Keeping a journal of what we're doing."
"A report?" That was supposed to be Jack's job, but if she wanted to do it for him, who was he to say no?
"No. A journal. Janet asked me to. Cassie's supposed to be keeping a journal for her English classes, and she thinks it's stupid, so Janet told her that I would if she would. So I have to, now."
"Hmmm... wonder why she didn't ask me?"
Sam smiled, a completely sarcastic smile.
"Oh, I don't know..."
"So?"
"So, what?"
"Am I in your 'journal'?"
"Not yet. Jaffer is, though."
The big lab sneezed, spraying the screen of Sam's laptop with dog snot, and Jack grinned as Sam sighed and reached for a handkerchief to wipe it off.
"Well... we'll leave you to your... journaling."
"Thanks."
"I'm going to go have a look around. If you need me, just holler."
"Will do."
He rested his hand on her shoulder for just a moment, a gentle touch that was the surrogate for a kiss when the opportunity really called for a little less intimacy – such as being off-world – and Sam touched the back of his hand for an equally short amount of time, smiling up at him.
Jaffer, of course, didn't care about when he could kiss Sam or not. He took full advantage of her distraction to stick his nose in her face and lick her cheek – all the way across to the other cheek.
"Gah."
They made their escape while Sam was still wiping her face, and Jack waved at Teal'c as they passed the Jaffa. Teal'c was testing the water in the stream to see if it was safe for drinking straight. Otherwise they were going to be spending the entire week drinking water purified with little tablets – and that tasted like crap.
"We're going to have a look around, keep an eye on things."
Teal'c nodded, knowing that O'Neill had his weapon with him and would call if he were needed. Not to mention, he had Jaffer with him as well, and the dog could give him plenty of warning if something was getting too close that shouldn't be.
They wandered into the woods, Jaffer ranging out ahead of Jack, flushing the occasional ground mammal, like rabbits and squirrels, but not chasing them – even though he really wanted to. He was working, he knew. Eventually there would be time to play, and then he'd find something to chase and catch.
A noise caught Jaffer's attention, and the big head turned to the right, causing Jack to look that way as well. He didn't see anything. Jaffer obviously did, though, because the dog crouched a little, his tail wagging idly. This told Jack that whatever it was, Jaffer didn't think it was dangerous. Otherwise the hackles would have come up, and the lab's entire body would have tensed, which meant the tail would never be wagging. He tightened his grip on his gun, though, as he walked up behind Jaffer. Just because the dog didn't perceive something as a threat, didn't mean it wasn't. Jaffer was still young, and very inexperienced when it came to alien things, after all.
Jack caught sight of something tawny colored, and heard a rustle in the brush. Just as he was raising his gun, though, the creature came out of the dense brush, and O'Neill could see it was some kind of deer-like creature. About as big as a white tailed deer back home, only with three very small antlers.
Jaffer wagged his tail viciously, but he didn't chase that, either.
"So..." Jack said, lowering his gun, and resuming their look around. "We have birds, and squirrels, and rabbits and some kind of deer..."
Jaffer looked up at him, his brown eyes cheerful.
"Ya just gotta wonder what eats them all..."
Jaffer didn't wonder at all. He didn't care. Whatever it was – if there was anything – it wouldn't come near him. Nothing could hurt him. He sneezed again, and headed off once more into the woods. He wasn't done looking around. And neither was Jack.