"Sir?" Carter paused the gate wide open, the code sent, the relayed message that the irus was open blinking on her forearm. And no colonel. "Colonel, please respond. Over."

Nothing. Fear, adrenaline, and a million questions were making her chest heavy as she looked to the shimmering event horizon then back to the woods the Colonel had dissappeared into. A decision had to be made.

She knew the Colonel would want her to go through the gate, tell Hammond get reinforcements. The military side of her was in full agreement. But somehow she couldn't leave. Not yet. She went to the MALP and brought up the communication and video feed.

"Major Carter, what's going on?" She heard Hammond's bewilderment from thousands of light years away and sighed.

"I don't know, General, sir. The Colonel sent me a transmission ordering me to open the Stargate, and just prior to that he had made a comment about natives, sir. There are no natives on this planet. To be frank, sir, he sounded spooked."

"So what's the problem?"

"Well . . . he's not here sir. I can't raise him on the radio and he's nowhere in sight."

There was silence from the other side. A good long time, long enough that Carter thought the feed had been lost.

"Sit tight Major, I'm going to send reinforcements through within the hour." And the transmission ended as the stargate snapped off.

Leaning her weight against the MALP the blonde Major nodded and quietly thanked the General. He had seen her delimma. She couldn't leave the planet, not without knowing where Jack was or even if he was...anymore. It would have been direct violation of their moral code, never leaving a man behind. She couldn't do that. And she knew somehow that the General wouldn't have asked her to either.

Slowly she stood straight, taking a deep breath and turning in a complete circle. Scanning the rising hills, the setting sun and the complete quiet. She stood for several minutes simply listening, formulating in her mind when the sound reached her ears.

A soft sound, a plop if you will.

Of something round and hard falling into water.

She started towards the lake, her right hand bringing the radio close to her mouth. "Colonel?" There was no response. Just the continued plopping sound.

Scrambling to the sandy beach closest to the stargate Sam searched the area again. Looking for ripples, or splashes or anything that could explain the sound she was hearing. She found what she was searching for in short order. Far off the shore, illuminated brightly by the setting sun she could see a tiny object fly out from a crag in the mountain's face and land in the water with just as tiny a splash. Then there was nothing. A full thirty seconds went by before three stones were flung from the crag together. Plop-plop-plop.

She frowned, stepping closer. Another thirty seconds and another stone. Plop. Five seconds and a second stone. Plop. Five seconds. Plop.

Another minute passed but it didn't have to. She knew what she would here. Plop-plop-plop. Three stones. Three short sounds. It was SOS.

"I'm on my way, Colonel." She shouted, depressing the send button on the comm, though it occurred to her that he would have called for help if he still had his comm. It didn't occur to her that she shouldn't shout. Much less make all haste and noise in finding her way to the Colonel. After all the planet was uninhabited . . . right?

Running up the path and onto the flat, following the slight depressions made by the Colonel's own journey she kept her eyes open. Searching for any sign of struggle, or a fall perhaps.

"Colonel. If you can hear me give me a sign!"

She waited, her eyes on the ground. Going to one edge, then another, then another looking down the sides of the plateau she for any signs of her CO. When she stopped her movement for a moment she heard the soft sounds of stones falling into the water and allowed herself a smile.

"I'm coming, sir." She called more softly, moving closer and closer to the noise. Moving further across the plataue until she reached the verticle wall of stone that cut off easy access to the next platue. The sound of the stones was coming from directly below that wall. She frowned. Walking to the edge overlooking the lake, bracing one hand against the wall she leaned out and over.

Beyond the wall, close to the surface of the water she saw a small rock sail out wards. A strained but audible voice following it. "C'rter?"

Sam frowned, happy to hear his voice, but how the hell had he gotten down there.

"Sir? Are yo-"

Before she could say any more the ground gave way under her feet with a clang and she started to slide down . . . into the mountain, her rate of decent spitting her out violently into a narrow valley covered with rocks, dirt and vegetation. She literally flew through the air and impacted bodily against the opposite wall before crumbling to the ground unconcious.

Blearily, Jack O'Neill glanced to the square opening his 2IC had flown out of as it reasealed itself without a trace. His eyes traveled over to the Major and he sighed, his breath hitching a bit. "Oops."