Chapter 31 – A Nice Little Jaunt

Sam shifted restlessly from foot to foot. It was now 0845 Friday morning and she was anxious to be off. She was standing in front of the Stargate, gazing at its massive structure. It sure looked a lot bigger now than the last time she had gone through, she thought to herself. Sam turned her head when she heard others enter the room. Teal'c smiled slightly and nodded to her. Jack grinned as he took in her over-eager state.

"Anxious to be off Major?" he teased.

"Yes Sir," she smiled back.

"You've got everything you need? Weapons, extra clothing, teddy bear?" he quipped.

"Must have left the bear at your house sir. Otherwise I'm all set. They wouldn't approve a P-90 for me," she said with a smile, "Guess, they think I'm too small to carry one, but I do have a semi-automatic handgun. And of course, my trusty knife." She patted the implement strapped to her thigh.

He nodded approvingly, then turned as the medical personnel who were to accompany them came into the gate room. Janet couldn't leave as she had several critical patients to attend to, but she had sent two of her most experienced medical staff. She had also brought Sam a gift early that morning; a small pair of hiking boots that she had picked up at the local sporting goods store the previous evening. Sam had been thrilled with the gift; she wasn't sure if her tennis shoes would hold up to the rigors of the planet. And since she and the rest of SG-1 had stayed on base last night, she hadn't been able to go out shopping for herself.

Sam's pack was intentionally light. There were enough of them going on this mission that she didn't need to carry too much. She had some extra clothes for her current size and some of her "grown-up" clothing. Hopefully she would need the latter set for the trip home. She carried her own water containers, some food, and a few emergency supplies. Jack had no intention of letting her out of his sight, but one had to always be prepared with their own supplies for emergencies.

Jack looked at his watch. "5 minutes till kick-off and of course, Daniel is still not here."

They all turned as Daniel came scurrying into the room. "Sorry about that Jack. I had to make sure I had all the translations with me. And of course, the Triplexus." He held up the device that had caused all their trouble. It was encased in a plastic carrying case to keep it protected, as well as to keep it from causing any more harm.

"OK, Danny. Everyone all set? I don't need to remind all of you that the goal of this mission is to find the Hall of Transformation and hopefully a way to change Major Carter back to her normal self. No side trips, no souvenirs. Got it?"

At their nods of understanding, he turned and nodded up at General Hammond in the gate room. Hammond gave Sgt. Davis the go ahead to begin the dialing sequence to P5X-771. As the gate whooshed to life, General Hammond gave them the go ahead, sending them off with his customary, "Godspeed."

Teal'c and Daniel led the way up the ramp, followed by Lieutenant Marcie Jones and Sergeant Timothy Sunderson, the two medical officers. They in turn were followed by Jack and Sam. Sam stopped in front of the wormhole and gazed thoughtfully into the event horizon. She would either come back like this, or as her normal self. Could she continue the same course of her life if she didn't change back? She didn't honestly know.

"You Ok, Carter?" Jack asked quietly at her side.

"Yes, Sir. Just thinking," she responded.

"You gonna think for a while here, or go on through?" he asked with a smile.

"Going through, Sir," she said with a smile, then she stepped through the open wormhole to whatever fate had in store for her on the other side.

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"Anything Daniel?" Jack asked the archeologist. They had been circling the ruins for an hour now, trying to determine the best direction to head in search of the Hall of Transformation. Sam had also been wandering around the ruins, ever mindful of the close eye Colonel O'Neill kept on her. It rather frustrated her, but she understood his reasoning. She would act much the same way were their situations reversed.

"I think so Jack," came the response to his question. "Our earlier translations indicated that the Hall of Transformation resided some distance to the East of the ruins. This crude drawing under the stone shelf where we found the Triplexus seems to back that assumption."

"Seems too?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'd really like something more definite that seems too, Daniel."

"Sorry Jack," Daniel said, standing and stretching out his back muscles. "It's the best I've got."

"Any indication how far it is Daniel?" Sam asked as she walked up next to him. She was as eager as anyone to be moving, but didn't want to be led on a wild goose chase.

"Adjusting for the discrepancies in distance measurement, I'd say it's at least 8 clicks to the East. It looks like we'll be traversing some pretty rocky terrain," he said worriedly, looking at Jack. He wasn't sure how hard it would be for Sam to walk that far if their path was difficult. "Someone could always carry you Sam, if things get too rough. You know, piggy back style."

Sam looked at him and frowned. "I don't think so, Daniel. Now stop worrying about me, all of you. I'll be just fine. If we have to stop and rest a bit more often, so be it!" She stated resolutely.

"You heard the lady," Jack said, coming over to the group. "We'll take it easy on our little trek. That Hall has been here for centuries; it's not like it will be going anywhere!"

"Indeed," added Teal'c as he came to rejoin the group. He had been keeping an eye on the perimeter of the ruins. He was more than willing to transport Major Carter if need be, but kept his thoughts to himself. He knew she valued her independence and he respected her for it.

"Then let's head out. Daniel, you lead the way. Carter, follow Daniel. Teal'c you take our six and Jones and Sunderson, fill in the middle." Jack took his own place behind Sam and the group took off, walking slowly and quietly away from the ruins and into the forest beyond.

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They had traveled roughly 2 clicks through the deep, quiet forest. Sam was breathing hard and a sheen of sweat had formed over her brow. Even so, she was unwilling to be the one who called for a rest; at least this first time. She didn't want to be seen as a liability this soon into the mission.

Jack however was not unaware of his Major's struggles. Being right behind her, he could hear her labored breathing. As soon as they found a clearing, he called for a rest. Jack took Sam's arm and propelled her to a fallen log away from the others. He sat her down rather abruptly and gazed sternly at her. "Just what are you trying to prove Major?" he asked gruffly.

Sam was puzzled by his behavior. "Sir?"

"Don't Sir me. You're all out of breath and you're sweating. You were the one who said that we'd take it slow and rest more often. Why didn't you say that you were having a hard time keeping up?"

Sam looked down at her shoes before replying quietly, "We haven't been walking very long yet. I didn't want to be the one to call for a rest already."

Jack hunkered down on his knees in front of her and took both of her small hands in his. "Listen, Sam. I can't read your mind, much as I'd like to sometimes! You have got to tell me when you're tired and need a break. Your legs are half the size of anyone else's. We all understand that. If you wear yourself out on the walk over, how are you ever going to have the strength to get through what else might lie ahead?"

Sam sighed. He was right, of course. Instead of trying to downplay the trouble she was having keeping up, she needed to be sensible. Sometimes her pride got the better of her.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I guess I was just worried that you might send me back with someone if I couldn't keep up."

Jack snorted as he released her hands and stood up. "Now why would I send you back? This little excursion is solely for your benefit Carter!" he replied with a smile. "Now drink some water. We'll be leaving in 10." He began to walk toward Daniel but quickly turned back, the smile wiped from his face. "And Carter, if you don't speak up next time, I will carry you. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded. Somehow, she knew he wasn't kidding.

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The next portion of their walk was taken at a slower pace. Jack had gone to talk to Daniel, telling him to shorten his strides a bit. Daniel had glanced over at Sam sitting on the log and nodded his understanding. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Sam was in a little girl's body.

They walked along for another click or so when they came to the edge of the forest. Daniel stopped and waited for the others to catch up to him. They stood side to side as they surveyed the next part of their trek.

"Well, this looks interesting," Jack quipped. "I don't remember boulders being mentioned for this part of the tour."

"I did say the terrain was rocky, Jack," Daniel answered.

"So you did, Danny. So you did." Jack perused the scene before him. A vast sea of boulders spread out from the edge of the forest to the base of the mountain some 3 clicks away. The rocks ranged from the size of basketballs to a few that appeared to be a big as a Volkswagon Beetle. This was certainly going to slow them down!

"Do you know what direction to head Daniel?" Sam asked.

"According to the map, we continue to head due East. The cavern that houses the Hall of Transformation is most likely located somewhere within those mountains ahead," Daniel answered.

"Well campers. It looks like there is no way around this mess; we just travel as carefully as possible over the rocks. We're going to take this slow. I don't want anyone spraining an ankle in here."

"Should we not stop and take sustenance O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired. They had been on the planet for almost 3 hours now and he worried that Major Carter would run out of energy much more quickly than she usually did.

"Yeah T, good idea. OK, let's break here for a rest and a quick meal. We'll try crossing the rocky range here in 30 minutes," Jack ordered.

Everyone found a spot to sit at the edge of the forest and pulled out various energy bars and dried foods to eat. Lt. Jones made her way over to Sam and took her pulse and temperature. This was one of the concessions that Sam had to accept in order to be allowed to come on the mission and so she resignedly allowed the Lt. to complete her task. Jack didn't sit back and relax until Lt. Jones nodded her head to indicate that Major Carter was fine. Sam, not missing his scrutiny of her, gave him a hint of a smile, then continued eating her meal.

After their 30 minute rest, Jack called everyone to their feet and they began the arduous trek across the rocky terrain. Teal'c assisted Lt. Jones over some of the more difficult areas while Jack stayed close behind Sam. He needn't have worried however, as the Major was quite nimble on her feet and wove in and out of the boulders with ease. They came to one area where the boulders were quite large, so Jack decided they should climb on the tops of them for a while instead of trying to go around so many.

Daniel clambered his way to the top of the first one, then turned and reached a hand down to Sam. Jack gave her a boost from behind and she was quickly on top of the boulder with Daniel. Once they were all on top of the largest two rocks, the group made their way across the rocky plain. After 40 minutes of more strenuous hiking, Jack called a halt and they all sat on top of the boulders they were presently on and took a water break.

"How much longer do you think Danny?" Jack asked once he had quenched his thirst.

"I think we're about halfway across this part Jack. Once we get over the boulders, the cavern we're looking for should be relatively close," he replied.

"Good. Everyone holding up all right?" he asked the group. Lt. Jones looked a bit more weary that the rest of them, but she nodded her head at his query. If Major Carter, in the body of an eight year old, could keep up this pace, then so could she!

"Carter?" Jack inquired, just to be sure.

"I'm fine Sir. Told I you I was good at climbing things!" she said with an impish grin.

"Yeah, I've seen that many times over the last few days Major. I guess that particular skill did come in handy!" he teased her. Then he stood up, pulled her to her feet and got the group moving once more.

Another 45 minutes of hiking brought them to the edge of the vast rocky area they had crossed. The boulders had gotten smaller as they crossed, so they had resumed climbing around the base of the larger ones. By now, everyone was tired and sweaty and ready to see the last of the rocks for a while.

Upon reaching the end of the rocks, the group flopped down on some fallen logs and let out a collective sigh of relief. They drank thirstily from their water bottles as they surveyed the next area they were to cross.

There were some scraggily trees here, as well as much loose rock and shale at the base of what had once been a great mountain. Now it was more like a large, rocky hill that seemed to be losing more of its structure every day.

"Do you think the cavern is still visible Daniel?" Sam asked as she looked around. "It looks as if this area has eroded over the years. The cavern might be buried under meters of rock by now."

"Indeed," Teal'c answered. "I too have my doubts about our ability to find this cavern Daniel Jackson."

"Hey you two, enough of the negative talk already. We just got here, for crying out loud! I for one didn't just cross an ocean of mammoth pebbles just to give up once we got here!" Jack admonished.

"We weren't giving up Sir, just questioning..."

"Well, knock it off," he interrupted. He turned to Daniel. "So, which way from here Danny?"

Daniel frowned at the nickname before he looked at his notebook, then perused the area some more. He pointed off to the left at a rather large group of boulders that formed a triangular shape. "That looks like the landmark given in the translations. The cavern should be somewhere under that outcropping of rocks."

"Okay then, let's head over there. Keep your eyes open for a cave of some sort everyone. And for falling rocks. This place doesn't exactly look like it meets OSHA requirements!" Jack stated as he made his way in the direction that Daniel pointed out. Sam hid a grin at his quip as she followed him and Daniel. The two medical personnel got to their feet, followed by Teal'c, who kept a sharp eye out for both intruders and falling rocks.

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They had been walking and searching for 20 minutes when Daniel's eyes lit up with excitement. "This has to be it!" he exclaimed as he pointed out a tall, thin opening in the side of the once tall mountain. "The engravings on the side of the opening match those from the inscriptions at the ruins! And look here," he pointed out a faint carving next to the words. "It looks like a crude rendition of the Triplexus itself!"

Sam walked between Daniel and Jack to peer at the engraving. Standing on her tiptoes, she leaned closer and traced her fingers over the carving. She turned to Daniel with a smile. "You've found it Daniel! I can't believe that you actually found it!"

"Yeah, well, we still need to figure out our next step here," Daniel replied. He was as excited as she was by the find, but knew they had a long way to go yet as far as figuring out how to change her back.

"Carter, check and see if you get any energy readings coming from the cavern," Jack said. "Jacob said this device worked off of some energy that was most likely located inside the mountain didn't he?"

"Yes Sir," Sam responded as she took out the small device she carried to pick up energy waves of various sorts. She walked around the area of the cave's opening, holding the device in front of her. "I'm picking up some faint readings Sir. Most likely, they are deep within the cave and the rock is blocking the waves. I'm going to go inside the mouth of the cave a bit," she stated as she made her way closer to the opening.

"Hold it Carter, don't go too close," Jack remarked, following behind her. "We don't know what might happen here if this place has sensors or some kind of a trap set up. I don't want you to disappear in a puff of smoke or anything."

Sam turned away from him and rolled her eyes, then she continued to move cautiously forward. As she stepped within the entrance to the cave, the device in her hands began to give off stronger signals. "There's definitely something here Sir," she said with a hint of excitement in her voice. Her steps forward became less hesitant as she went deeper into the entrance. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were also within the entrance to the cave, none of them willing to let her get too far ahead.

She had gone no more that 15 steps inside the entrance of the cave when Sam was thrown back by an invisible force field that blocked the narrowing corridor in the cave. Sam slammed breathlessly into Jack's legs. Jack, who had been following closely behind her, reached out instinctively and grabbed her under her arms, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" he asked as he held her up and gazed ahead of him. Before anyone had time to answer, a rumbling could be heard within the cavern and rocks began to slide from the walls, clattering to the floor around them. "Everyone out!" he shouted and turned quickly, pushing Sam ahead of him and into Teal'c outstretched arms. Teal'c grabbed Sam and, ignoring her protests at being carried, hurried out of the cavern, the other two men fast on his heels.

A/N: And so the adventure begins to wind down, but with a few more cliffhangers thrown in for good measure! Thanks so much to those of you who have stuck around to read this little story of mine. Within a chapter or 2, we will have some sort of resolution to Sam's 'little' problem.