A/N: Apologies for the massive delay in updating. My muse and I haven't been on speaking terms lately.
Just a reminder, this story takes place in an AU Middle Earth.
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Adjusting her binoculars, Carter trained them on the advancing figures. "I see weapons, sir," she reported. "Nothing fancy, though. Bows and arrows, a sword, an axe."
O'Neill nodded and relaxed his grip on the P-90. "All right, kids, let's get out of this stuff. I think I'm getting a rash." Standing, he grimaced and pulled a handful of leaves out from under his shirt. Daniel followed suit, stepping over a fallen branch and into the open.
"Hi, I'm Daniel--" the archaeologist began, but stopped short when he found an arrow aimed right between his eyes.
"Jackson," he finished, slowly raising his hands. "We're peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth."
A quick look passed between the dark-haired and blond strangers, then the former turned to Daniel.
"What is your purpose in Fangorn Forest?"
Daniel cleared his throat and eyed the blond's bow and arrows, which, although no longer aimed directly at him, were still tense. He had no doubt the blond knew exactly what to do with them. "Like I said, we're explorers. We came here through the Stargate."
The dark-haired man frowned suspiciously. "Stargate?"
"Uh, it's also called a 'Chaapa'ai,' in some places," Daniel offered, but there was still no recognition in the man's eyes.
Getting impatient, O'Neill stepped forward. "It's a big ring thingy, it's made of--"
"Ring?" the man interrupted, a startled look crossing his face.
O'Neill raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, it's ring-shaped. You press the symbols on the dialer, it spins, there's a big 'whoosh,' and then we just walk through it to get to other planets." Waiting for a response, he got three blank looks for his trouble.
"It appears these people have not heard of the Stargate, O'Neill," Teal'c stated the obvious.
"That's not too surprising, sir, considering the amount of plant life we found on the Stargate," Carter spoke up.
"All right, let's try this again," Daniel suggested. "I'm Daniel Jackson, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, that's Major Samantha Carter, and that's Teal'c."
The dark-haired man nodded smoothly. "Aragorn, son of Arathorn is my name, and my companions are Gimli son of Gloin," he indicated the bushy-bearded dwarf, "and Legolas son of Thranduil." The blond archer bowed slightly.
"We are searching for two of our friends," Legolas spoke up. "Perhaps you saw them in the forest?"
"No, I'm afraid not--" Daniel began, when O'Neill cut in.
"If you'll excuse us for a moment?" he addressed Aragorn. Beckoning to Daniel, he led his team a short distance away, out of hearing range of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.
"Jack, I think we should help them look for their friends!" Daniel said quickly. "It'll give me an opportunity to learn about their customs, their culture, their history. We can find out if they've ever heard about the Goa'uld before."
"Daniel, they've never heard of the Stargate, I doubt they're familiar with the Goa'uld," O'Neill said skeptically.
"But we won't know for sure until we ask them," Daniel pointed out stubbornly.
O'Neill sighed. "First, let's see if they even want any help in finding their friends. They look like a pretty wary bunch."
"Well, sir, if a bunch of people had just walked up to you saying they were explorers from a different planet, wouldn't you be suspicious too?" Carter asked.
O'Neill was about to come up with a sarcastic retort, but Daniel didn't give him a chance. The scientist was already making his way back towards the trio.
"If you don't mind, we'd like to help you look for your friends," he said.
Aragorn narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the young stranger in front of him. He couldn't detect any deceit in this Daniel Jackson's voice, but decided to keep his sword close at hand, just in case. The spies of Sauron were many, after all.
"Our friends are two young hobbits by the names of Merry and Pippin," he explained. "We were just tracking their footprints, leading into Fangorn Forest."
"Good luck finding 'em in there," O'Neill muttered under his breath, casting a glance over his shoulder into the murky forest.
"How is it that your friends became separated from you?" Teal'c inquired.
Aragorn's expression turned grim as he remembered. "They were captured."
Teal'c arched an eyebrow and O'Neill looked up sharply. "Captured? By what?"
The answer came from Legolas. "Orcs," he said, a slight undercurrent of tension in his voice. Jackson noticed the elf fingering one of his arrows. "Uruk-hai, to be precise."
"Warriors of Saruman," growled Gimli, hoisting his axe.
"All right, wait a second here," O'Neill spoke up. "Saruman? Uruk-whats?"
Aragorn frowned. "Have you not heard of the White Wizard and his army?"
Daniel jumped in before O'Neill could reply. "Uh, first things first, here. What exactly is an Uruk-hai?"
"Cruel monsters, created by Saruman, to be used in his onslaught against Middle Earth," answered Aragorn.
"And your friends were captured by these...Uruk-hai?" asked Carter. "How do you know they're still alive?"
"This particular band of Uruks was destroyed in the night by Riders of Rohan," Aragorn replied, pointing to a large cloud of smoke rising towards the sky. "The riders burned the carcasses."
"So that's what that smell was," O'Neill mumbled.
"We found Merry and Pippin's footprints leading away from the battle scene," Aragorn continued. "They must have slipped away during the chaos of the slaughter."
As Aragorn finished speaking, O'Neill straightened and shifted his P-90. "Okay, Daniel, Teal'c, stay with these fine people and see what else you can find out. Carter, with me."
"Wait--where are you going?" Daniel asked.
O'Neill paused. "I want to see these 'Uruk-hai' for myself." He glanced over at Carter. "Major?"
Turning, he strode across the plain towards the smoke, Carter following.
As they reached the pile of bodies, they were greeted by the sight of an Uruk's severed head, impaled on a spear that had been jammed into the ground. "Very cute," O'Neill commented dryly.
Carter wrinkled her nose in distaste, then approached the heap. "Well, sir, I'm not sure what all you can tell from here. These bodies are--"
On the other side of the pile, O'Neill frowned, perplexed at her abrupt stop. "Are what, Carter?"
There was a second of silence, then Carter spoke up again.
"Sir, you'd better take a look at this."
O'Neill made his way around the pile to where his second-in-command knelt, gun in hand.
"What is it?" he asked, his knees protesting as he squatted next to her.
"Look."
He squinted, the smoke obscuring his vision. Then his eyes widened.
"Oh, for crying out loud. Is that what I think it is?"
"I'm afraid so, sir."
There in the pile, among the Uruk-hai remains, lay the charred but still recognizable corpse of a Goa'uld larva.
Carter straightened and backed away. "Sir, these are...were...Jaffa."