"Teal'c," O'Neill called, "any sign yet?"
"None, O'Neill," Teal'c replied. "It is as if they simply disappeared. The only visible signs that SG-8 were here are the tracks they left walking away from the Stargate and those left when they ran back to it."
"What about the Jaffa?" O'Neill asked getting even more frustrated than he had been before. They had been searching the forest surrounding the temple to the gate for almost two hours and had nothing to show for it.
"That is the strange thing, O'Neill," Teal'c said, clearly puzzled about what he was about to reveal. "There are clear traces of SG-8's passing that show that they were being pursed. However, there are so signs of those that pursed them."
"What are you getting at, Teal'c?" O'Neill watched as his friend looked back at the trail. Teal'c was the most skilled tracker among them and to hear him draw a blank was disheartening to say the least.
"Even a very skilled Jaffa will leave traces of a pursuit, yet there are none here," Teal'c raised his eyebrow as he turned back to O'Neill. "I do not understand this, O'Neill. There are not even signs of the Jaffa in the area where the ambush would have come from."
O'Neill clicked the button on the walkie talkie attached to his vest and turned his head to speak into it. "Lawrence."
"Yes, Colonel," Came the Majors reply.
"Anything?"
"We've been up and down the tree line and around the temple twice, Colonel," Major Lawrence said, frustrated himself. "There's not one damn sign of anything that may have come through here today or yesterday."
"What about you, Carter? You or Jonas come up with anything in the temple?"
"No, sir," came Sam's voice through the radio. "There's absolutely no sign of a ring assembly or any other kind of technology other than the DHD or the Stargate."
************
back in the temple....
"Sam," Jonas called. "Take a look at this." He was crouched on the right side of the dias that the Stargate rested on examining it closely. "Hang on, sir," Sam said into the walkie talkie. She walked over and kneeled down by Jonas. "What do you got."
"Take a look at this," Jonas said as he pointed to some pictographs etched into the dias. They were barely legible and would have been missed if someone weren't looking close enough.
"What is it, Jonas?" Sam asked looking at the etchings.
"These marking depict travelers coming through the Stargate being attacked and in each instance the travelers are repelled by a different line of defense."
"What are you getting at?" Sam asked.
"Well, it doesn't make any sense," Jonas said as he gestured to the pictographs then looked up at Sam. "Why would they be different? Why would the inhabitance of this planet have used different species of defenders each time someone has traversed the wormhole onto this world?"
"Good question," Sam said meeting Jonas's eyes. They both understood now that there was more to this than just the Goa'uld. Sam contacted O'Neill and briefed him on what Jonas had just said.
"Okay, Carter," O'Neill replied when she was done, "contact the General and inform him of Jonas's findings, then meet us out here pronto. We're going to head to the settlement and get some answers."
"Yes, sir," Sam replied and headed to the DHD to relay the message.
**********
30 minutes later....
SG-1 and 3 stopped in their tracks at the sound of a noise up ahead of them on the path they were on. O'Neill signaled Lawrence to take his men into the brush on the right and watched them fade into the scenery. He took his team and faded to the left and thought about how amazed he always was when he saw the Marines do that. He considered himself very good at blending into the scenery but it seemed that SG-3 had made it an art form.
The two teams crouched in silence and waited as the sound grew closer. It sounded off, as if someone was stumbling along. Teal'c was the first to see her and note that she was alone. He signaled to O'Neill his intentions before braking cover and quickly, but cautiously, coming onto the path.
Jenna stumbled forward and fell into Teal'c's arms. Blood trickled down the side of her forehead and her arm was covered in it.
"Jenna," Jonas called as he quickly broke cover to come to the side of his friend. Teal'c was slowly guiding her down to the ground when Jonas reached their side and O'Neill and Carter had come out of cover.
"Jenna," Jonas said, his hand hovering above her face as if afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her more.
"Jonas," she replied weakly, "is it really you?"
"Yes," he said reassuringly. "You're going to be alright. We're going to take you home."
"Jenna," O'Neill crouched down by her as Teal'c tried to steady her shaking so that Sam could bandage her arm. "Where's Col. Wilcox? Is he still alive?"
"He's further up the path, sir. Hidden in the brush," Jenna gasped as Sam inadvertently brushed her ribs. "He told me to head to the gate and radio for assistance." Jenna grabbed for O'Neill's hand before he could stand up. "Donnelly...Andrews...are they alright?"
"They made it, Jenna, and so will you. Alright," O'Neill stood and turned to Jonas, "Stay with her. Teal'c, you're with me."
Jonas took Jenna's free hand as he kneeled by her side. He felt how cold it was and looked into her eyes. Cold wasn't the only thing he felt. Something about the feel of her was different. "Colonel," he called and watched as her eyes shifted to a hard clarity, replacing any semblance of pain that was reflected before.
Before he could say anything further, Jonas felt the hand he was holding become a vice like grip on his own as Jenna sat up and shoved him eight meters away in one fluid motion. Sam, caught completely unprepared, found herself being picked up and flung into both O'Neill and Teal'c.
Jonas cradled his left hand against his chest as he fought to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. Before him he saw the woman they had mistaken for Jenna standing between him and the rest of SG- 1. Everything about her resembled Jenna, from the way she held herself down to the way her hair was plaited down her back. But somehow he had known that it wasn't her the moment they touched.
He watched this thing as she charged Teal'c who had just recovered from the impact caused when Sam had been flung into him and O'Neill. Teal'c brought his staff up in a two handed grip and swung one end at his attacker. 'Jenna' quickly sidestepped and grabbed the staff from his hand and in one fluid motion, brought it around aiming for Teal'c's head. He quickly brought his arms up and blocked the attack and just as quickly brought his arms back so that he could hit her with both fists, sending 'Jenna' back as he made a grab to take back his staff, yanking it from her grasp.
O'Neill was just pulling a stunned Sam back from the fight when the blast from Penhall's p-90 sounded from the brush and 'Jenna' stumbled back when the bullet struck her shoulder. It wasn't enough to stop her, however, as she again came after Teal'c. Two more shots took her in the other shoulder and her leg and she came down on one knee.
"Oh for cryin' out loud," O'Neill said pulling out his zat. She was about to stand up when he shot her once, finally bringing her down.
"None, O'Neill," Teal'c replied. "It is as if they simply disappeared. The only visible signs that SG-8 were here are the tracks they left walking away from the Stargate and those left when they ran back to it."
"What about the Jaffa?" O'Neill asked getting even more frustrated than he had been before. They had been searching the forest surrounding the temple to the gate for almost two hours and had nothing to show for it.
"That is the strange thing, O'Neill," Teal'c said, clearly puzzled about what he was about to reveal. "There are clear traces of SG-8's passing that show that they were being pursed. However, there are so signs of those that pursed them."
"What are you getting at, Teal'c?" O'Neill watched as his friend looked back at the trail. Teal'c was the most skilled tracker among them and to hear him draw a blank was disheartening to say the least.
"Even a very skilled Jaffa will leave traces of a pursuit, yet there are none here," Teal'c raised his eyebrow as he turned back to O'Neill. "I do not understand this, O'Neill. There are not even signs of the Jaffa in the area where the ambush would have come from."
O'Neill clicked the button on the walkie talkie attached to his vest and turned his head to speak into it. "Lawrence."
"Yes, Colonel," Came the Majors reply.
"Anything?"
"We've been up and down the tree line and around the temple twice, Colonel," Major Lawrence said, frustrated himself. "There's not one damn sign of anything that may have come through here today or yesterday."
"What about you, Carter? You or Jonas come up with anything in the temple?"
"No, sir," came Sam's voice through the radio. "There's absolutely no sign of a ring assembly or any other kind of technology other than the DHD or the Stargate."
************
back in the temple....
"Sam," Jonas called. "Take a look at this." He was crouched on the right side of the dias that the Stargate rested on examining it closely. "Hang on, sir," Sam said into the walkie talkie. She walked over and kneeled down by Jonas. "What do you got."
"Take a look at this," Jonas said as he pointed to some pictographs etched into the dias. They were barely legible and would have been missed if someone weren't looking close enough.
"What is it, Jonas?" Sam asked looking at the etchings.
"These marking depict travelers coming through the Stargate being attacked and in each instance the travelers are repelled by a different line of defense."
"What are you getting at?" Sam asked.
"Well, it doesn't make any sense," Jonas said as he gestured to the pictographs then looked up at Sam. "Why would they be different? Why would the inhabitance of this planet have used different species of defenders each time someone has traversed the wormhole onto this world?"
"Good question," Sam said meeting Jonas's eyes. They both understood now that there was more to this than just the Goa'uld. Sam contacted O'Neill and briefed him on what Jonas had just said.
"Okay, Carter," O'Neill replied when she was done, "contact the General and inform him of Jonas's findings, then meet us out here pronto. We're going to head to the settlement and get some answers."
"Yes, sir," Sam replied and headed to the DHD to relay the message.
**********
30 minutes later....
SG-1 and 3 stopped in their tracks at the sound of a noise up ahead of them on the path they were on. O'Neill signaled Lawrence to take his men into the brush on the right and watched them fade into the scenery. He took his team and faded to the left and thought about how amazed he always was when he saw the Marines do that. He considered himself very good at blending into the scenery but it seemed that SG-3 had made it an art form.
The two teams crouched in silence and waited as the sound grew closer. It sounded off, as if someone was stumbling along. Teal'c was the first to see her and note that she was alone. He signaled to O'Neill his intentions before braking cover and quickly, but cautiously, coming onto the path.
Jenna stumbled forward and fell into Teal'c's arms. Blood trickled down the side of her forehead and her arm was covered in it.
"Jenna," Jonas called as he quickly broke cover to come to the side of his friend. Teal'c was slowly guiding her down to the ground when Jonas reached their side and O'Neill and Carter had come out of cover.
"Jenna," Jonas said, his hand hovering above her face as if afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her more.
"Jonas," she replied weakly, "is it really you?"
"Yes," he said reassuringly. "You're going to be alright. We're going to take you home."
"Jenna," O'Neill crouched down by her as Teal'c tried to steady her shaking so that Sam could bandage her arm. "Where's Col. Wilcox? Is he still alive?"
"He's further up the path, sir. Hidden in the brush," Jenna gasped as Sam inadvertently brushed her ribs. "He told me to head to the gate and radio for assistance." Jenna grabbed for O'Neill's hand before he could stand up. "Donnelly...Andrews...are they alright?"
"They made it, Jenna, and so will you. Alright," O'Neill stood and turned to Jonas, "Stay with her. Teal'c, you're with me."
Jonas took Jenna's free hand as he kneeled by her side. He felt how cold it was and looked into her eyes. Cold wasn't the only thing he felt. Something about the feel of her was different. "Colonel," he called and watched as her eyes shifted to a hard clarity, replacing any semblance of pain that was reflected before.
Before he could say anything further, Jonas felt the hand he was holding become a vice like grip on his own as Jenna sat up and shoved him eight meters away in one fluid motion. Sam, caught completely unprepared, found herself being picked up and flung into both O'Neill and Teal'c.
Jonas cradled his left hand against his chest as he fought to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. Before him he saw the woman they had mistaken for Jenna standing between him and the rest of SG- 1. Everything about her resembled Jenna, from the way she held herself down to the way her hair was plaited down her back. But somehow he had known that it wasn't her the moment they touched.
He watched this thing as she charged Teal'c who had just recovered from the impact caused when Sam had been flung into him and O'Neill. Teal'c brought his staff up in a two handed grip and swung one end at his attacker. 'Jenna' quickly sidestepped and grabbed the staff from his hand and in one fluid motion, brought it around aiming for Teal'c's head. He quickly brought his arms up and blocked the attack and just as quickly brought his arms back so that he could hit her with both fists, sending 'Jenna' back as he made a grab to take back his staff, yanking it from her grasp.
O'Neill was just pulling a stunned Sam back from the fight when the blast from Penhall's p-90 sounded from the brush and 'Jenna' stumbled back when the bullet struck her shoulder. It wasn't enough to stop her, however, as she again came after Teal'c. Two more shots took her in the other shoulder and her leg and she came down on one knee.
"Oh for cryin' out loud," O'Neill said pulling out his zat. She was about to stand up when he shot her once, finally bringing her down.