Once again I'd like to thank all of you who sent in a review, and all those who read the last chapters too. For all who are interested, this is just over half-way through now, so you know how much more there is to it.

Enjoy – there's some more angst to come later…Oh, fer cryin' out loud...come on, you should know me by now! Jack's got off lightly so far! LOL!

UNITED WE STAND

By Lingren.

Previously:

"Okay everyone, Colonel O'Neill needs to rest," Janet interrupted. Jack was about to protest until the petite medic glared straight back at him with a 'no-nonsense' frown. Jack gave in to her and waved his team away. He was reluctant to admit to it, but he really was more than ready to fall asleep.

Chapter 8

Another two weeks passed so that Jack could fully recover, and now he had another new recruit to try out. He rather liked the confidence exuding from the man as he stood relaxed in front of him. So different from the other two candidates, that maybe, he wondered, it would be third time lucky. Thirty-four year old Captain Stuart Berman, Stu, to all his friends, was 6 feet of sheer muscle, built much like Teal'c. His thinning hair, turning grey at the temple already, which belied his youthful personality with a sense of the ridiculous. A devoted fan of the Simpsons too, Jack soon realised he had found a kindred spirit much to the chagrin of the other members of the SGC. Having one prankster around was bad enough but now having two, especially on the same team, was going to be a living hell.

Jack found his still sore ribs were never going to be healed any time soon if the guy didn't stop his pranks at any time in the near future.

Captain Berman knew that he was pushing his luck, but drew the line at playing tricks on his superiors. Jack was not the kind of man you practiced your jokes on, at least not if you wanted to live, according to those in know at the SGC. Jack ordered him to report to the briefing room in 30 minutes. They were going off-world the next day, and Berman was beyond pleased. He'd expected to be stuck in the mountain, learning the ropes, for at least another week or two. Obviously his new CO had felt confident in his abilities.

OoOoOoOoO

The M.A.L.P trundled its way up the ramp and disappeared into the shimmering flux.

"Receiving telemetry in 5...4...3...2...1. Visual coming through now Sirs," the technician stated, as the first glimpse of the new planet appeared on the screen.

The camera mounted on the front of the mechanical robot swivelled and gave them a wide view of their destination.

Jack studied the area, watching for any sign of hostiles, seeing nothing remotely hazardous to their health in the vicinity he looked up at his CO and quirked an eyebrow.

"Looks okay to me Sir."

"Very well Colonel. You have a go!" General Hammond assented, knowing Jack was more than willing to take on the mission, and wished them, "God speed."

"Yes Sir," he snapped off a sharp reply, saluting his senior officer.

He flew down the steps two at a time and hurried into the gate room.

"Okay kids, we're good to go. Lets' move out!"

He dashed up the ramp and leapt into the event horizon without a care. His team following on more carefully.

Stuart Berman grinned at his CO's enthusiasm.

"Is he always like this?" he asked, pausing in front of the Stargate.

"No!" stated Teal'c, his face as straight as a dye. He continued with his dead-pan voice. "He is usually much worse."

Berman's grin deepened but then the smile died on his lips as he stood facing the shimmering water like matter of the wormhole. Hesitating a little, mainly because he wondered how all his molecules would react to being scrambled like they were about to be, then reintegrated again on the other side. Jonas' hand on his arm reassured him it was perfectly safe. He gulped nervously and took a deep breath, then stepped through.

Stumbling out of the wormhole, Captain Berman bent over, resting his hands on his knees for support and swallowed down the bile. He was frozen stiff and feeling very nauseous. He looked over at his team-mates and straightened when the imminent threat of losing his breakfast dissipated slightly.

"You guys do this all the time?" he gasped, trying to shake off the unwelcome feelings.

"Oh yeah! You'll soon get used to it," Jack assured him.

"Great! Anything else you neglected to tell me about?...Colonel!"

"Nope! Well maybe," he shrugged, "Once in a while you get to fly through and land on your butt. You know, break a bone or two, maybe a concussion, but other than that I think we covered just about everything," Jack informed him with his usual sarcastic smirk.

Berman frowned and sighed with resignation, then realised he was standing on another planet and the sheer wonder of it hit him. He gazed around at the scenery, taking in the deserted landscape. A warm sun penetrated a layer of high cloud, making the temperature feel comfortable. Without the cloud cover it would have been fairly hot. There were trees, grass, hills, and in the distance he could make out the silver reflection of a river winding its way across the countryside. Not so different from home, he pondered.

"Captain? You with us?"

"Uh?...Sorry Sir, it's just...I didn't know what to expect here. It's...like home."

"That it is, but don't let that fool ya. You never know what's out there," Jack sighed with a wide sweep of his arm, indicating the countryside.

"Yes Sir."

"Okay! I'll take point. Teal'c, watch our sixes. Let's move it kids."

Jack led them off in a northerly direction once he'd got his bearings, muttering to himself about, 'why it was that everywhere they went it involved heading into a whole forest of trees.'

He set a cracking pace and Berman wondered how his CO could keep it up. It wasn't that he thought his commanding officer old, but he never really imagined him being so fit for his age. By the time Jack called for a break, the Captain was sweating profusely.

Jack looked him over, noticing the rivers of exertion trickling down the younger man's face.

"Am I going too fast for you Captain?" he asked, sarcasm in full flow.

"No Sir. It's hot here," he answered, hoping that maybe O'Neill would agree.

"This is hot?" Jack queried, turning to Teal'c and grinning. "Maybe we shoulda taken him to Abydos eh Teal'c? Now that's hot!"

Captain Berman groaned softly.

"Indeed. This world has but one sun and is much like your Earth. There are many planets which have more than one sun. It is they that are hot!"

Jack grinned, watching Berman trying not to think about the prospect of anything hotter than this. The kid was right though, the cloud had cleared and the sun was strong and it was getting hotter, but he wasn't about to concede the point.

With a slight nod to Teal'c, Jack stood up and dusted off his pants. Without a word they all followed his lead, and Berman realised they were off again. He hurried after them before they'd gone ten metres. He'd heard the rumours that this team was the best the SGC had to offer and it was beginning to dawn on him just why. These guys didn't need to say anything; each instinctively knew O'Neill's requirements without him needing to utter a word of command. They were a team in the literal sense of the word. As one they moved, thought and breathed. He wondered if he could ever find his place inside this close knit unity. Even Jonas, who hadn't been with them that long, had seemed to understand every nuance of their CO's mannerisms. Maybe with time, he could, but he knew one thing, he could trust them with his life, that was a given fact. He had faith in their abilities as a team.

OoOoOoOoO

They'd walked for miles now. The temperature cooling significantly in the darkness of the forest, making it easier on them, but the route was overgrown and the going was tougher. Tree roots tripped them constantly, and lianas hung like cobwebs from the high branches. A few scrabbling noises drew their attention until they realised it was a family of small raccoon like creatures foraging for their food on the forest floor. They trudged on, until they came to the other side of the trees, where the landscape opened up to rolling hills, and fields of tall grasses swaying in the gentle breeze. There was no sign of any other movement or habitation. Jack scanned the area with his binoculars, but saw nothing untoward.

"Coast looks clear folks, let's set up camp here. It's gonna get dark pretty soon."

Berman sighed with relief. If the truth were known he was bushed. His admiration for his CO had climbed with every passing mile. The man was a walking enigma. His outlook belied his inner strength and stamina. The Captain wondered what sort of warrior he would turn into if they were confronted by the enemy, and thanked god he was on the same side, when the thought struck him, that O'Neill would probably prove to be quite ruthless.

"Captain, Jonas, you wanna gather some firewood while I set up camp?" It was phrased as a question, but Berman knew it was an order, and he and Jonas left immediately to gather some dead wood.

Teal'c helped Jack set up the tents and found some rocks with which to make a safe place for the fire. A chance glance at one of the rocks made Jack's heart lurch. There was something written on one of the stones that Teal'c had dropped by the fire pit he was creating. Jack immediately thought of Daniel, and one of their constant arguments over rocks filtered through his mind...

"It's just a rock Daniel!"

"No it's not. It's an artefact Jack."

"Tis not!"

"It is!"

"Not!"

"Yes it is! See it's got…."

"It's a rock, fer cryin' out loud!"

"Jack!"

Jack sighed. He missed Daniel. For five years they had been best buddies, and now it was all over. Daniel was gone. Gone off to play with the glowy guys instead of the rocks.

TBC