Title: Road of Wisdom

Summary: Sam Carter has always tried to protect her younger brother Daniel from her work at the SGC, but when he's exposed to the jars of Osiris and Isis she has no choice but to involve him with the Stargate, or risk losing him.

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: Mainly Jack/Daniel, even if it's fairly mild for the moment. Sub pairings of Jack/Sam, Pete/Sam and Daniel/Sarah do show up randomly.

Author's Notes: This story begins in Stargate's fourth season, in the episode The Curse, however I reserve the right to change anything to suit my plot. (Ex: Charlie Kawalski is still alive)

Author's warnings: Not beta'd

Disclaimer: I'd sell my soul for those rights

Chapter Eight: Sand and Rocks

Despite his sister's concerns, warnings and persuasive tactics Daniel jumped at the chance to join SG-1. The words had barely left her mouth before he was up and out of his seat, willing, able and ready. Joining SG-1 was just too good an opportunity, Daniel decided in a mere second. Dangers aside, going through the Stargate was something few people from Earth were allowed to do, and an experience measured infinitely.

Before his exposure to the Goa'uld, Daniel had lived a life of simplicity, and often luxury. When he wasn't off around the world at a dig site, or crammed into his office at the University, Daniel occupied himself in his father's rather large house, reading, cooking or his newest ambition, painting. Before being thrown into mortal danger, Daniel's nightly routine consisted of paying bills, grabbing a quick dinner and relaxing in front of the fireplace, that said, he needed to tie up loose ends before stepping through the 'gate.

He took a trip down to the local bank, having them tie his bills directly to his bank account, assuring that they'd be paid on time. He informed the police department that he'd be out of town for any number of weeks, and his house was to be empty at all times. From that point the bid his closest friends goodbye, and took a direct route towards the University, bent on cleaning out his desk.

He made a brief stop at Doctor Jordan's grave. While the good doctor had been popular at one time, his growing extreme views had made him somewhat of a recluse in the Archeology community. Daniel hadn't exactly expected anyone else to have visited the grave, with Steven in the hospital and Sarah … well, his thoughts were confirmed as he stared at a flowerless grave. The paper said he'd been buried quickly, only a few dedicated students and faculty members attending the impromptu funeral, which was just as well. Daniel had grown to know Doctor Jordan rather well over the years, and he was sure the doctor would have preferred the loyal few, to masses of nonbelievers.

Afterwards he'd packed a bag, climbed in his car and driven to Cheyenne Mountain, where he found himself in a small guest room, awaiting the beginning of a fast paced basic training session. He hadn't been so foolish as to think they'd let him walk right through the gate, but the basic training had been nonnegotiable. It was the training or nothing, according to Hammond, because there were too many things that could go wrong with the training, and even worse things without.

He'd gladly suffer through a couple weeks of basic training in order to visit any of the places Sam described as paradises. He'd been reading up on the SGC's enemies, but also their allies such as the Asguard, Nox and Tok'ra. Sam said he was in for a surprise with the Tok'ra. She assured him there was someone he'd want to see, but Daniel couldn't phantom who it might be, as aside from Teal'c, he'd never met an alien.

Basic training, he learned quickly, was nothing the military took lightly, or for granted. He trained first on base, memorizing and categorizing weapons, bombs, and basic alien technology. Teal'c had been assisting him with O'Neill's strict combat training, and Sam had been an invaluable asset in memorizing supposed beneficial military strategies. All the while he worked and sweated and struggled, Jack O'Neill pierced him with no-nonsense eyes, which grew to be rather unsettling. And maybe he was imagining it, but he had a sinking feeling when O'Neill had loaded him down with seventy pounds of equipment and assured him it was routine, it just wasn't that routine, especially for civilian personnel. Of course, Sam's half-hidden attempt no to smile while the trudged through the mud might have had something to do with it.

He made his first trip through the 'gate nine days into training. He's mistakenly thought things would improve, and had sadly been corrected with mindless exercises, one after the other. Five days of trekking through harsh jungles and other terrains, and suffering in hot and humid conditions greeted his already bone weary body.

Just when he felt he might drop from complete exhaustion, climb into bed and never come out, Jack received a call for a briefing from the General. The break came right after that.

Finally, after a large deal of grumbling on Colonel O'Neill's part, General Hammond was granting the new SG-1 their first mission on a previously unvisited planet. They were to explore it, assign it a danger level, collect local samples, meet with locals, forge alliances, and dozens of other things Daniel was far too excited to remember. Sam assured him he'd get used to the feeling in no time, but he wasn't so sure.

He sought out Lou a day before leaving, catching the man before his own team departed. Lou gave him a few words of wisdom, and Daniel was certain to take them into strong consideration.

P3X-991 was just as the MAPL and UAV had confirmed. Two high suns beat down on the relatively small planet, elevating the temperature to a highly unarguable level. As far as the eye could see, sand littered around, building into dunes and making it uncomfortable to walk. The planet was an obvious wasteland, as far as Daniel was concerned. Nothing of interest caught the eye in any direction. Still, there had been faint detections of power, and they were obligated to check it out.

Daniel brought his binoculars up, and gazed across the desert plains. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of civilizations. I wonder where the readings came from. Any chance the UAV was wrong?"

Sam stepped to his side, her own binoculars at her eyes. "Little to none. The reading was faint, though, so I'm betting if there is life on this planet, it's pretty far away. A couple miles at least."

Daniel extended a finger. "The reading came from somewhere of there, right?" At Sam's nod the adventurer in him flew to the surface. "It would be prudent for us to investigate signal, wouldn't it, Jack?"

Jack shared a disinterested look with Sam and readjusted his sun goggles. "Sure, Jackson."

Daniel frowned at the name, to which Jack called, "Two Carters is just too confusing."

And they were off, trekking through the scotching desert, the silent Stargate growing smaller behind them.

It was a long and tiring walk, more so that Daniel had expected, even with the time he had spent doing the same during his training. He was sweating profusely twenty minutes into their walk, and was seriously rethinking his suggestion to go traipsing off into the desert. If the murderous looks from his sister and Jack meant anything they'd be turning back if they didn't find anything soon. At least Teal'c, bless his heart, was walking next to him, able to lend his support when he stumbled on the uneven sand.

When they reached the top of the ridge they were climbing Daniel was heartbroken to see a vast nothingness. Miles of desert stretched on seemingly endlessly. Their uncomfortable journey was for nothing, and hours had been wasted.

"Wow," Jack allowed next to him, seething with sarcasm. "Just what I always wanted. More sand! Santa never brought me anything this cool."

Daniel could only shrug helplessly. "Maybe the UAV really is malfunctioning." His hands settled on his hips. "I don't suppose the SGC had a device that uses sand as a power source."

"Not even this special sand." Jack clapped him on the back, dust and sand flying off desert fatigues.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "It is a lot of sand." She tried to lighten the mood, sensing her brother's disappointment. "But it is a nice view."

"For sand," Daniel interjected.

Jack kicked at the sand. "A bunch of nothingness."

"I am inclined to agree with you, O'Neill," Teal'c remarked. "I have seen many planets of this nature. They are extremely uninhabitable."

Sam wiped the sweat off her brow. "Don't get too upset, Daniel. We run into these types of worlds often enough. We can't outright avoid them and they have to be explored before they can be classified as wastelands." She gave a final look to the desert and turned away, prepared to head back to the Stargate with the rest of SG-1.

They sprung up so suddenly there was no time for warning. In an instance the sand seemed to come alive, figures emerging from it, spear type weapons in their hands. Simultaneously the hum of Teal'c's staff weapon sounded in his ear, along with the cocking of Sam and Jack's guns. Caught in-between the natives and SG-1 Daniel froze, knowing one wrong move could spell disaster.

Daniel had to hand it to the natives. He hadn't an idea how long they had been laying in wait, dressed in clothing the color of the sand, but it must have been a long wait. They'd set a trap, and must have seen SG-1 coming in the distance. But he had to wonder where they had come from, as he could see nothing but more sand dunes in the distance.

Daniel raised his hands, hoping the silent men understood the action of surrender. "We mean you no harm, we're explorers from another world." The native nearest Daniel took a step forward, his weapon poised for attack.

"Daniel." Daniel could hear Jack's voice from behind him. "Stay clam. No sudden moves." That was a given, but Daniel was still comforted by his teammate's voice.

"I wasn't thinking about it." He turned his head slightly, just catching Jack out of the corner of his eye.

It was a substantial number of natives that had surrounded them. Daniel estimated the group to be just under a dozen, and while SG-1 had far superior weapons, they could easily be overrun if a battle was to commence.

"My name is Daniel," he tried again, catching the attention of the man who appeared to be the leader. He pressed a hand to his chest. "Daniel."

Finally the native opened his mouth, a string of sounds coming forth in apparent patterns. Daniel leaned in closely, listening carefully.

"What's he saying?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure--"

By now the native was gesturing wildly, a worried expression upon his face.

Jack moved slowly as not to alarm, and slithered his way up to Daniel's position. "Maybe you could try a little harder to understand? You are on SG-1 as a linguist."

"This is an alien world, Jack, and the natives are speaking their native tongue." His brows furrowed, then perked. "Wait a minute." His eyes grew wide. "They're speaking in a Germanic language. Oh, wow, this is astounding." Spears were nearly forgotten as he turned excitedly to Jack. "It's the first form of English, first used by the Angles in the 5th century AD."

Indeed, Jack listened closely and his ears recognized bits of words, but they were far and few between, and for that Jack was glad they had Daniel. "Great, listen and translate."

Daniel wished the native would slow down. He found it increasingly difficult to understand the mixture of Danish, Norse and Latin, at such a rate.

When the native stopped talking, Jack felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. A stand off developed that sent Jack's fingers inching towards the trigger of his P-90. Years in the field had him planning ahead, estimating the time and effort it would take to raise his weapon, situate himself in front of Daniel and fire.

Only Jack's self control and assessment of the situation kept them alive, especially when the natives closed in, weapons jerking back and forth.

"I believe it would be prudent to do as they ask." Teal'c relinquished his weapon, along with his other standard gear when the point of a spear make contact with the small of his back. Similarly, the natives seemed to understand what Jack pressed close to his chest, and were prepared to take the P-90s away from SG-1.

When weapons were given up, half the native party broke off and Sam felt a nudge from the flat side of the spear nearest her. "I think they want us to follow."

Jack felt a similar poke at his side, not quite receiving the full flat side. "I think want is the key word here."

Daniel needed no encouragement from a spear as he started off after the leader of the group, Jack sticking close to his side.

"First version of English?" Jack asked.

They were scaling another dune, walking further out into the desert. Jack grew slightly worried at the vast wasteland, their water supply low, and the natives seemingly had none.

"Yes, it's amazing. I studied this form many, many years."

"Why don't you, you know," Jack gestured to the leader, "Jackson, talk a little and get us out from under their pointy sticks. I doubt you want to be impaled on your first actual mission."

Daniel stumbled a bit at the top of the dune, his feet slipping on the steep decent down. He refused Jack's help, looking briefly over his shoulder to make sure Sam and Teal'c were fine.

"We should talk about you calling me Jackson."

"What's there to talk about?"

Jack had no problem irking the rookie on while they moved through the hot desert, now that it seemed the natives wanted them alive far more than dead. He wasn't assured they weren't being led to death, but something told him the natives wanted to know more about them before giving such a harsh sentence. If they had been interested in killing, they'd surly have already done so.

"My last name is Jackson-Carter, Colonel O'Neill. Now I know you aren't exactly keen on respecting a person's wishes, but as my sister's last name is my own, you might do to remember it." He tried to pull away from Jack, but the older man met his strides easily.

"And I told you," Jack retorted, not at all put off by Daniel's words or their tone. "I already have a Carter, I don't need another one. Your sister is my 2IC, therefore she has sonority to the name, and you're flat out of luck. Plus, I thought you kept Jackson around for a reason."

"In honor of my biological parents."

Behind Jack and Daniel, Sam winced, walking alongside Teal'c. She'd known Jack and Daniel's personalities would clash, but she held out hope that they'd become friends eventually. They'd compliment each other, Sam was sure, if they'd only learn to get along instead of mercilessly teasing and jabbing at each other.

"My last name is Jackson-Carter," Daniel continued, "because I am both a Jackson and a Carter. I ask your respect in recognizing my place in both families. I am just as much a Carter as Sam is, and you undermine that every time you disregard the name."

"Seesh," Jack's features took on a childish face. "Touchy much, Danny?" That name didn't go over well either.

Thankfully Teal'c saved the moment, his loud voice carrying. "Why have you not attempted to communicated with them in their own language, Doctor Jackson-Carter?"

Jack nearly snorted at the full name.

Daniel turned in his steps to address Teal'c properly.

"As I am handing diplomacy at the given time, and I haven't spoken the earliest form of English in a lot of years," he trailed off, biting down on his lip. "You should understand, the version we speak and the version the people of this planet speak are radically different. Our speech has been effected by a multitude of other languages and cultures, while there's has not."

"Is there a point?" Jack's voice cut through Daniel's.

"Yes, Jack, the point is, we take our interpretation of the language for granted. We have a universal understanding of what one word means, and they don't share this understanding. What certain words means to us, does not necessarily mean it will translate to the same for them. I think we're already in enough trouble as it is, and a language barrier of this type will only make things worse."

"Worse?" Jack laughed. "When we're captured by the Gou'ald, we'll talk about things getting worse."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I want to observe the language a bit more, see if there are any significant variances I should be aware of, and then I'll negotiate for our release."

"Hey!" Sam's face lit, her arm extended. "Take a look!"

From their vantage point at the top of the dune, something other than mere sand invaded their eyesight. Instead of pure sand, the sloping land in front of them nestled large formations of white rocks. They ranged in sizes, the smallest equivalent to Jack's height, the largest shooting up nearly a story. They were clustered together in groups of half a dozen or more, and the group was headed for one of the larger formations.

When they were nearly upon the formation, Daniel stopped dead in his tracks, the rest of SG-1 just slightly behind him. He peered ahead to the front of the group, and shook his head in disbelief, watching as one by one the men disappeared, seemingly right into the rocks. A nudge by a spear had Daniel moving forwards, climbing up onto the rocks.

It took Daniel a moment to realize the men hadn't simply disappeared into the rocks, but instead had slipped in-between a narrow, hidden passageway, and descended down a set of steep, dark stairs.

It was substantially cooler once out of the sun, and after the first hundred feet, the narrow passageway became a tad wider. A further hundred feet reviled torches of light, which illuminated an elaborate maze of stairs and passageways.

They walked for what seemed like an hour, but what couldn't have been more than twenty minutes, and after passing through a heavily guarded archway, they were awarded a brief, but wondrous glance into a monstrous cavern. The city resting in the cavern hidden under a desert, glittered and gleamed, beautiful in all it's glory. But they were spared no more than a second before herded off down a hallway away from the city and into a prison type area, complete with holding rooms and cells.

Daniel made to step forward into the appointed cell, just behind the rest of his team when he felt a jerk on his collar, keeping him outside as the cell door shut.

"Hey!" Jack made a desperate grab for Daniel, hearing Sam call his name out in worry. "Take me, you lousy bastard!"

Daniel's hands flew to his throat as he was choked for resisting. "It's okay," He managed, finding his feet enough to move. "I'll be fine."

"We don't split up in hostile situations!" Jack's arms protruded from the bars, waving frantically.

"I don't have much of a choice," Daniel called over his shoulder, almost out of eye sight. "I'll be okay, don't worry!"

With Daniel's departure the remaining members of SG-1 fell silent, watching the rest of the natives depart silently.

Jack turned his back on the bars, leaning back with his arms crossed. "He'll be okay. They don't want us dead."

There were no benches in the cell, so instead Sam settled herself on the cold, rocky ground. "I don't know, sir. Daniel's never been in this situation. He's had a few close calls with governments in Asia and the Middle East, but he's never been through this."

Teal'c stood adjacent to Jack. " I believe they are fascinated with him, and will not hurt him. Should he remain calm, I foresee him returning to us in the manner he was taken. They have expressed no intent to harm us."

"Aside form being poked by large, pointy spears?" Jack quirked an eyebrow.

"I just don't know," Sam said, pausing briefly. "Something just feels wrong. Sir, why would they take us to their hidden city if they plan on letting us go? It doesn't make sense."

"Yeah," Jack huffed, worry crinkling the edges of his eyes. "I know, Carter, I know."