Ch. 5 Welcome to Sunny P3R-358

SG-1, Jack, Jacob, and General Landry stood at the base of the gate ramp. The event horizon rippled before them.

"It's going to take a while for me to get used to that, isn't it?" Landry chuckled.

Jack shook his head in agreement. "They're all yours," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. This was, for lack of a better word, weird. His former team watched him quickly school his features.

"I think you should have the honors, one last time," Landry proposed, stepping back.

Jack turned to him, surprised. Landry shooed him forward. This was an opportunity Jack wouldn't pass up. "SG-1, you have a go." As the words left his mouth, he almost regretted leaving. But then he saw the beautiful smile his former 2IC gave him, and those thoughts vanished. It wasn't a provocative smile; it was simply her eagerness to do her job shining through. Jack knew he was doing what he was for her...for all of them.

"Yes, sir," she said. "Let's go!" she commanded, clanking up the ramp. Jack looked on as the trio disappeared from sight. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed to the commissary. He needed pie, and maybe some jello.

Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c squinted as they stepped out onto sunny P3R-358. Putting her sunglasses on, Sam grinned. "Nice."

Daniel hid a smile. She was becoming more like Jack than she would ever admit.

"The ruins are that way," Sam said, motioning towards the left of the gate. "Let's get this done."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "ColonelCarter, do you have an engagement this evening?"

"You could say that," Daniel snickered.

Sam glared at him. "No… Oh, come on," she said, exasperation evident in her voice. She started off at a brisk pace, and the men hurried to catch up.

As they neared the remains of what appeared to be a temple, Daniel's excitement grew. He loved exploring new places. Well, old places. He had an insatiable desire to see and learn about different cultures. SG-1 had provided him with experiences he never dreamed possible.

Sam stood at the entrance to the building. "Teal'c? Want to secure the perimeter? Daniel and I will check out the interior."

The Jaffa nodded. There did not seem to be any immediate threat. "Very well."

The light attached to Sam's P-90 shone brightly in the darkened area. Even though the Goa'uld and Replicators were all but defeated, she still wanted to find technology that would further benefit Earth. Something substantial.

"Daniel," she warned. "Don't get too far ahead." Despite her best efforts, she couldn't be angry. She was guilty of the same eagerness at times.

"Look," he breathed, running his fingers across an inscription on the wall.

"Familiar?"

"Uh, a bit. It's somewhat similar to the writings we found on P4X-357 last year."

"Can you translate it?" Sam wondered, standing next to the archaeologist.

"I'm not sure…" Daniel muttered. "There's bound to be more." He shined his flashlight across the room, making a passageway visible. He looked hopefully at Sam.

Sam nodded, raising Teal'c on the radio.

"ColonelCarter?" he responded.

"How are things looking out there?"

"This is a very tranquil planet, ColonelCarter."

"Good. Daniel has found some inscriptions on the walls here. We're going to explore a little further, but not too far." Sam paused as she waited for Teal'c's response.

"Very well. I will keep in radio contact."

Sam looked to Daniel. "Ok, let's check it out."

They moved cautiously down the corridor. The path gradually descended until it opened into a large room.

"Wow!" Daniel said in awe. He drifted towards the center of the room while Sam secured the perimeter. She looked for other passageways or signs of life. She concluded the place obviously hadn't been visited in years. She turned quickly as a different light brightened the area. In the back of the room, Daniel stood by some sort of device.

"Daniel!" Sam exclaimed.

"I swear I didn't touch it!" he cried in his defense. The machine had apparently sensed his arrival. It had opened, almost like a blossoming flower, when he'd walked up. It looked to be some kind of projector. If he could figure it out, he thought it might be some kind of repository, a whole race's history. That kind of find would definitely make his day.

As Sam walked up beside him, the device immediately closed up. Sam frowned, glancing at Daniel.

"I promise I didn't touch a thing," he reassured her.

"Good. Rule number one. Don't touch anything."

Daniel rolled his eyes and grinned. "I know, Sam. I think it's a repository of sorts. If I could start trans- hey…"

The duo looked down at the now blinking contraption.

"Uh, Sam?" Daniel said nervously.

Sam watched the device continue to blink more rapidly. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she grasped Daniel's arm.

No words needed to be exchanged. They turned and sprinted back the way they had come.

Finding nothing out of the ordinary, Teal'c went to find his teammates. As he neared the entrance, an explosion rocked the building.

Teal'c ran the rest of the way, not panicking, but not exactly calm either. However, you would never be able to tell by his demeanor.

"ColonelCarter? DanielJackson?" he yelled through his radio. No response.

He warily approached the temple. He wasn't sure how stable it was. He could see where some had caved in, and where more threatened. However, the front entrance way seemed sturdy, and Teal'c went inside.

Finding the passage he believed his friends and gone down, Teal'c shined his flashlight into it. He could only see a short distance before rubble blocked the way.

Attempting to contact his teammates again, Teal'c grabbed his radio.

Daniel coughed as the dust began clearing. "Ah," he muttered, looking down at his legs. His right leg was trapped under a large stone. There was no doubt it was broken. His glasses were amazingly still perched on his nose, though they were cracked. Giving his body the once over, he found he'd made it out relatively unscathed. Besides his leg, he only had cuts and bruises, and nothing was bleeding too badly.

He spotted his flashlight in the rubble a few feet away. Pushing away the rocks and other debris, he grabbed it and looked around.

"Sam?" he called. They hadn't been fast enough. She'd been right behind him though. She had to be close. "Sam?"

His eyes searched the dim room, finally resting on a leg. The beam of light traveled across her body. He grimaced when he saw the ungodly amount of blood matting her hair and covering the side of her face. He concentrated on her chest, looking for the reassuring rise and fall. Thank God it was there.

"ColonelCarter, DanielJackson!" came Teal'c's voice. Daniel snapped into action, locating his radio.

"Teal'c!" he cried.

"DanielJackson! Is ColonelCarter there? Are you well?"

"Yeah, we're here. Not well, but here."

"What has transpired?"

"Somehow we triggered some sort of bomb. I, uh, think we're trapped."

"Indeed, DanielJackson. What are your present conditions?"

"My leg's caught and Sam's unconscious. She's taken a hit to the head. Looks bad." Daniel glanced around the room. The explosion hadn't completely blown the temple to pieces, however, the building hadn't been in good repair either. Their way out had caved in and some of the first floor roof had fallen in. Daniel could see up to the next level. He saw slivers of sunlight peeking through the fractured roof. The building could go at any moment. This was not good.

"I am unable to reach you, DanielJackson."

"Yeah, this should prove to be interesting, Teal'c. Go back to the SGC and get help. We'll be ok. Just…hurry."

"Very well."

Daniel closed his eyes. They would be fine. A specialized team would come and extract them, and all would be well with the world. He glanced over at Sam's still form. It had to be all right. If not for him, then at least for her.

TBC in 'Finding Help'

A/N: This will be all until at least Friday. I kind of forgot I was going to be out of town when I started posting this! Sorry, but I'll have more at the end of the week.