Title: Not in This Lifetime Part 9
Archive: FITR-site
Previously:
With just seconds left on the penalty countdown, the Kelownan team of Sevann and Noor burst through the gate, and dashed to a sliding stop onto the finish mat. Ba'al and Osiris were eliminated, along with the second Tok'ra team, and the second Qantasian team. The first leg of the race was over, and the teams retired gratefully to their rooms for some much needed rest, before beginning the next leg.
Jack and Daniel waited impatiently on the mat with the instruction envelope clutched tightly in their hands. The clock ticked down the minutes until their departure, which would be only seconds before Bastet and Kali, who had come through the gate almost on their tails, 24 hours before.
As the countdown reached zero, Daniel ripped open the envelope, and read out the instructions.
"Take the provided transport and use the map enclosed to find the Pangar's number 8 archeological dig site. There you will dig in the designated area to find an urn which will contain your next clue."
Glancing around quickly they paused briefly in astonishment, before racing over to the small buggy like contraption that was to be their mode of transport. Daniel pulled out the map as Jack claimed the drivers' seat, and with their usual bickering they headed off down the road.
"OK Jack, there's a turn off just down here a bit, looks like a minor road according to the map… yep, there it is, turn down there." Daniel waved his hand aimlessly off to the left as he studied the map.
"Tell me again Daniel, why are we doing this?" Jack grumped as they rattled down the very bumpy road.
"To promote our general friendliness, gain allies and because General Hammond ordered us too." Daniel replied, as he continued to study the map. "Ok, we should be coming to another cross roads soon, we need to turn right, then there'll be a river or something to cross. Not really sure what that squiggly line is meant to be…"
Jack looked at Daniel suspiciously, who was completely engrossed in the map, turning it this way and that. With one eye on the road, Jack tried to look at the map that Daniel was tormenting, but failed miserably. As Daniel kept muttering to himself, Jack drove on, concentrating on avoiding the worst holes in the worn out road they were following.
"Daniel, how far away is this crossroad?"
"What?" Daniel looked up at last, with a look of confusion on his face. "Haven't we gotten to it yet? He looked back down at the map, turning it round as he did so. "We should have reached that at least 10 minutes ago," he murmured under his breath, "I don't understand…"
Jack slammed on the brakes, and reached over and grabbed map off Daniel. He looked at it, turned it around, looked at it again, then swore.
"For crying out loud Daniel, you had it upside down, we've gone the wrong way!" He then looked at the road, which had narrowed considerable in the last 5 minutes, so much so that it was impossible for Jack to turn the buggy around.
Back at the starting line, Jonas, Lianna, Sam and Teal'c watched the two vehicles disappear around the corner, as they waited for their turn to leave. As they received the signal to go, both teams raced to their buggies and headed down the road. Carefully following the directions on the map, they arrived at their intended destination without any mishaps.
As they climbed out of their vehicle and headed towards the flags that marked their objective, they noticed that there was something odd.
"I can't see Daniel or the Colonel anywhere Teal'c, I wonder what happened to them." Sam noted as they grabbed the specialised digging equipment and started looking for one of the urns that was supposed to be buried there.
"Bastet and Kali are also absent Major Carter." Teal'c observed. "It would appear that they have misplaced themselves."
Sam shovelled a pile of dirt to one side as she searched for the urn. "Well, I hope they find themselves soon, I'd hate for them to be eliminated so early on." Sam laughed softly, "I bet the Colonel let Daniel read the map."
Teal'c smiled with her, and they continued their search for the urn.
Jack and Daniel had finally managed to back up along the track far enough to turn around, when they discovered another obstacle blocking their way. Bastet and Kali had followed them, but realising sooner than Daniel and the Colonel that they were on the wrong road, had also attempted to turn around, but in the process had gotten bogged in a mud hole on one side of the road.
Jack swore when he saw the Goa'ould team blocking their path, "Oh for crying out loud, get out of the way!!" he yelled in frustration as he climbed out of his buggy and strode towards them. The pair of system lords gave him only a sparing glance as they continued trying to turn their vehicle around.
"Hang on Jack!" Daniel called out, as he also clambered out of the buggy and headed towards the obstacle behind them. "Darn pigheaded airforce colonel's." he muttered to himself as he watched Jack start haranguing the two system lords.
It soon became obvious that it would take the cooperation of all four racers to get both vehicles back on the road, and facing the proper direction, a task that quickly seemed to become impossible, as the two teams bickered and squabbled.
Eventually the teams managed to cooperate long enough to place both buggies on the correct path, and after re-consulting their maps, raced off towards the dig site.
Rak'nor and Nev'ak arrived at the dig site just as Sam dug up her jar, and retrieved the clue for the next challenge of the race.
"Teal'c! I've found one!" she cried out delightedly as she jogged back to the buggy. They smashed open the sealed urn, and read the next clue together.
"Drive back to the city of Pangar, and find the National Museum. Inside you will find on display a section of wall taken from an ancient temple. Contained within the text on the wall there is a hidden Stargate address. Translate the wall to find your next destination."
They hopped into their buggy, and headed back towards the city, passing Jacob and Malek, who were just arriving at the dig site.
TBC…