Monday came, and Sam walked through the doors of the SGC. Her dad had gone to spend the week with Mark and the kids. Sam had gone directly to Daniel's office even before her own, getting the blackest coffee anywhere in the SGC directly from Daniel's coffee pot.
"How was your weekend?" Daniel asked.
"Not bad, spent some time with dad, showed Steven around the neighborhood, did you know he lives 2 streets down from Jack?" Sam asked.
Daniel shook his head no as he had his hand over a scroll he was trying to translate.
"So briefing at 1000, I'll see you then?" Sam asks.
Daniel nods and waves his hand as Sam heads to her lab.
The briefing is quite usual, one where Sam and Daniel both take part explaining the whys of the mission. The MALP had shown a breathable atmosphere with a slightly high oxygen level than earth. The land similar to the planes flat, with small trees, mainly grasslands. The thing that got them interested was a structure not far from the gate that looked similar but not quite the same as some ancient buildings seen on other planets. There were no signs of intelligent life near the gate or expanded outwards after sending the drone out.
Steven looked at the building, and although he enjoyed the mission briefing itself, he wasn't sure when his flying expertise would ever come in handy on missions like these. He secretly wondered if he was sent here because they no longer wanted him flying. He closed his eyes from the thought and listened as Daniel described what was going on.
"Your mission to PX-7165 will embark Wednesday at 0700. You're dismissed." General Hammond claimed.
As the briefing concluded, Jack was the first to call "lunch," and the group of 5 walked the now well-known route to get their meal.
Jack looked slightly annoyed that Steven came with them and even hinted at the fact it was "SG-3's turn with him."
Sam was getting a little angry with Jack and how he was so rude to Steven.
"Sir, he's just finished his first briefing, and he is going with us through the gate. He's not the enemy," Sam claimed.
Steven hated that Sam was the one who had to stick up for him. He was surprised that Sam would talk to Jack like that, considering he was the higher officer, but Jack wasn't surprised by Sam's words nor the rest of SG-1. Steven just sat awkwardly until Jack spoke again.
"I'm sorry, Westbrooke, just a bad habit of mine. I'm sure the mission will be fine," Jack claimed.
Sam wasn't exactly thrilled with the apology but let it go and started telling the group about Sunday and the fact she had shown Steven around town. Jack seemed totally tuned out, but Teal'c and Daniel were listing places, wondering if Sam had informed Steven of all they could think of.
As the meal concluded, Jack set his tray on the return and left without a goodbye.
Tuesday came, and Steven had worked with SG-3. Monday after lunch, he had met all day with them and got to know them. Luckily for him, they all welcomed him. They were hesitant, he could tell, but unlike Jack, they weren't purposely rude. He had made friends with them, quickly getting to know them and really hoping that he and his new team would get along. They all spoke highly of Sam, Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel. He wasn't going to make it known to SG-3 the blatant disrespect he had been getting, and since everyone was saying how great Jack was, he thought maybe he should just go talk to him, himself.
Steven had tried multiple times to track Jack down the rest of the day, but every time he got a lead on where he was, Jack had already left by the time he got there. It was around 4 pm when someone told him Jack went home for the evening. Steven shook his head and thought maybe it was for the best, and after this mission, his first "real mission," things would get better.
As Steven looked up at the wormhole, he was about to go through, and he couldn't help but say a prayer as he entered through it and appeared on the other side. Sam looked over to make sure he was okay, but everyone else was already walking towards the building that was a four-hour walk from the gate. Steven quickly caught up, and everyone was looking around. The area did seem rather quiet. Sam had done some readings. Nothing was concerning, according to her. Steven trusted her, but he just felt in his gut something was off.
The walk wasn't bad, the weather dry, the grass dry as well. Sam's biggest concern was brush fire at the moment. As they walked more closely to the temple, they spotted various birds. There had been no visible intelligent life on their footage, but it really didn't mean much of anything. The group knew that this unknown planet could be a trap or accident waiting to happen at any time.
When they finally make it to the structure, Daniel has the biggest grin on his face, causing Sam to smile. This caused Steven to smile, leaving Jack with a frown and Teal'c stoic as ever.
The building had writing on the outside that Daniel immediately starts to decipher. Jack, Teal'c, and Steven all look around, watching for any danger as Sam and Daniel get to work.
No one speaks much, and the hours wear on, Sam making a comment and Daniel furthering along with the symbols. After 5 hours, Sam has declared that there isn't anything of interest in the soil, the air, or the nearby grasslands. Daniel believes the building to be used for some type of ritual, but he isn't sure. The building looks undisturbed. It looks brand new, which all had them weary.
It was getting dark, and it was time to set up camp. The temperature fell but barely and was warm enough to leave the flaps wide open and no signs of rain. They built a fire and ate MREs.
"So Steven, your first real mission, how does it feel?" Daniel asks.
"Sounds crazy but reminds me of the short time I spent in Africa. I was on a classified mission, flying in some aid." Steven claims.
"You know foreign aid isn't exactly classified," Jack mentioned.
"This was," Steven claims.
Jack took the hint that it was weapons to a country that the United States doesn't "officially back" and nodded his head.
"We had to land 125 miles from its final destination, and they had us stay in the area 3 days before heading out. We were in a little bit more cover in some trees, but it was almost exactly like this." Steven claimed.
Everyone nodded.
"You'll see you think Earth is a small place, but everywhere we go, I feel like the universe is smaller and smaller," Daniel claimed.
Steven nodded.
"Well, when it's easier to access than some countries, I would say it is," Steven stated.
The group enjoyed their meal, and Jack pulled out a deck of cards, playing poker for fun, simply keeping score by the hands won.
Sam and Steven were still the only ones in, and Steven beat Sam's 3 Aces with 4 3's. She wasn't mad.
"Of course you would," Sam spouted.
"What you think I'm cheating?"Steven asked.
"I never said that," Sam said.
"I'm not the one who counts cards, Samantha Carter," Steven said.
Everyone looks at Steven for calling Sam by her full name.
"I'm not counting Steven Westbrooke!" Sam stated, she says, laughing.
"Okay, just like the time in…" Steven started.
"That was different, and you know, that Jerk McClinton was cheating there was no way. Besides, I taught him a very valuable lesson that day." Sam smiled.
Steven laughed "you sure did."
Daniel was looking at her questionably and Teal'c. Jack turned around as If he wasn't hanging onto every word.
"Long story short, this guy ended up winning everyone's money. No one could figure it out. We knew he was cheating but didn't know-how. Guy sowed pockets for cards in his jacket. Figured it out, after a long night involving a lot of money." Sam said. She silently hoped that Steven wouldn't go into any more detail, but before she could express the need to keep the rest of the details private, Steven blurted out.
"And a lot of stripping too, it wasn't the money you won. It was the number of clothes everyone had taken off," Steven claimed.
Sam instantly blushed. Knowing the guys were all imagining Sam in underwear, which she never got down to, well, at least not in that game.
"We had to get the jacket off him to make sure our theory was right," Sam stated.
Steven realized he's said too much but didn't say anything at the moment.
"Alright, I think we should call it a night. Sunrises in how many hours Carter?" Jack asks.
"Well, it seems like a day here is shorter, not a lot of night hours, the sun will be up in about 6 hours.
"Okay, good, Westbrooke, you and I will take the first shift, Teal'c, 2nd Danny 3rd, Sam, you have the night off." Sam didn't say anything. After all, it was her turn for the break. She nodded her head and went into the tent, choosing to close the flap, laying on top of the sleeping bag, and laying her jacket over her like a blanket.
Steven and Jack sat in silence for the 2 hours of their shift. Not a word was spoken. There was hardly any noise at all other than the crackling of the fire. When Teal'c came out to greet the men, he told them to sleep well, Jack nodded, and Steven said thanks before going to the tent Teal'c just came out of. Jack had popped into the tent Sam was occupying, watching as she slept. He knew when he put his step in. He had woken her up. He always did. Her breathing pattern faltered. Although they both knew she was a light sleeper, Jack always felt the need to apologize and wondered how much sleep the woman got in a given week.
When morning came, Jack found Sam in her sleeping bag bundled up, despite the heat.
The light was just enough for Jack to make out her outline, and he wondered how Sam wasn't sick, laying the heat of the sleeping bag.
Sam stretched and smiled over at Jack. He couldn't help but smile back at her.
"I hope Daniel figures out what this place is soon," Jack told her.
"You know we'll find out one way or another," Sam claimed.
Jack nodded, and both came out of the tent. Daniel smiled, pouring coffee and handing it to them. The heat was already enough that Jack had pulled his jacket off, and Daniel had snuffed out the fire.
"So, Danny, what's the plan?" Jack asks.
"Well, the translation's I gather say it's a temple to hone your skill to ascend," Daniel claimed
"Like Kheb?" Sam asked.
"Possibly, although the architecture is different, and we haven't seen any ascended beings." Daniel pointed out.
"Well, it must mean that there were a lot of people near here at one point," Sam claimed.
"Yes, who knows, maybe they got wiped out," Daniel claimed.
"But this looks like someone polishes it daily," Steven said, stepping out of the tent.
"I don't think it's because it's cared for. I think it's the material. It looks like polished granite, but after running my hands over it, it feels different," Daniel claimed.
Sam looked at Daniel, well-doing soil samples. I found there is a large amount of quartz, almost 20times more than the earth, and it could describe the shiny new appearance it would be a lot stronger than what's back home." Sam stated.
Daniel nodded. Steven shook his head, knowing that, of course, Sam would answer that question.
"So are we going in?" Steven asked.
Jack, Sam, and Teal'c all play the memories in their mind about Kheb and wonder if it was the right thing to do.
Daniel is ready once again, always so trusting of everything all this time, and it's a great relief to Sam to see after so many years that Daniel isn't jaded. If Sam thought about it, he was one of the most fearless men she'd ever met. Teal'c maybe had the slight edge, but that's because of who he was, what he had to be. Daniel didn't need to be fearless, at least in the ways he was. That's what Sam loved about the man. She closed her eyes, knowing she shouldn't even use those thoughts. If Sam was honest, though, she loved every single person she was with at the moment.
She loved Daniel for his mental strength, his kindness, his empathy he so easily showed. She loved how he would voice his opinion, damn the consequences, and she loved the fact that he left his own world to fall in love. She wouldn't have been brave enough to ever take that chance. Daniel had lost his love, but here he was still moving on, battling avenging her death the best way he knew how.
She loved Teal'c for his bravery, his ability to see the bigger picture. He was never selfish except when it came to the double Chocolate milkshake from Dairy World, but that was beside the point. Teal'c was always full steam ahead, always listening, learning, and adjusting. He was able to pick up on others' feelings and always knew the exact words to say in his own way.
Steven, he had literally been her lifeline on her first tour of duty, she had never imagined that she would have some happy memories of the Hell they'd walked into, but a lot of those memories were due to Steven. He had helped her hold on to hope when it seemed like it was lost. He grounded her, let her know that there was more to life than science and the games the military liked to play with human lives. He grounded her when no one else could.
Then, of course, that left Jack O'Neill. He was strong, caring, courageous. He cared more about her than he did himself. There were so many times she wanted to tell him how she felt but the fear of going out of the gate without him. She always felt safe and comforted just in his presence. He was annoying in the most charming of ways. They played this game with each other like it was their secret, and they were each other's secret keeper to the biggest secret of all, and she could never thank him for that. He was able to do what Steven couldn't. Jack respected Sam a lot, and that is what sent her over the edge of no return. The tiny moments when the lines blur, and they hold each other close, or he tells her things that he shouldn't. Sam literally lives for that, even though the only times they happen is when one of them is fearing the worst. She wishes there was more, but there couldn't be and wouldn't be. She shakes her head of the thoughts and walks through the temple with the four guys hoping today wasn't the day they were all going die.
They walk into the serene place. It's calm and inviting, cooler than the heat outside but not cold.
"So, wheres the monk?" Jack asks.
"I never said this was Kheb, it's like it, maybe this is similar but more of an "on your own type of deal," Daniel claimed.
"So what are we supposed to be doing exactly?" Steven asks.
"Clearing your mind opening yourself up that there are things out there you can't understand, but that there is an order to to the universe," Daniel claims.
Steven just nods.
"If I remember correctly, Daniel, you weren't doing any of the mumbo jumbo you claimed to be last time," Jack claims.
"No, I wasn't Jack, that's exactly the point, to realize you're not the center of the universe, that you're not always in control," Daniel claims.
Jack huffed, not sure if he was willing to accept anything Daniel had to say.
Daniel started going on about what he knew of ascended beings which wasn't much on the scale of things. They knew they were real. The group tries to relax, and Teal'c is the first to meditate. Followed by Daniel, then Steven, Sam, and finally Jack gave in focusing on, well he couldn't' exactly say. He hated how quiet it was. It made him nervous. He found it easier to focus among the chaos if he was honest, but somehow his mind had calmed and felt relaxed, suddenly almost euphoric feeling.
Suddenly as if no time had passed, Sam felt a presence and opened her eyes, her gun drawn, pointing it at a man she had never seen before. The noise caused everyone to come out of their meditation.
"I am sorry to disturb you; most humans don't feel my presence." The man claimed.
"You're an ascended being," Daniel said suddenly.
"You're correct, and I have been watching you here for several of your days." The man said.
"We haven't been here several of our days, Jack claimed.
"Oh, but you have, 4 of them since you've walked into this building," The man claimed.
Jack looks at his watch with a date 4 days later than he last remembered.
"Son of a bitch." Jack stated.
Daniel shot him a look.
"So why did you come now?" Daniel asks.
"All 5 of you know so much more than most of the people on Earth. Not a lot on you're planet understand the ways. Although it all took you different amounts of time, you have all sought what you have come to seek." The man claimed.
"I don't understand, we've been here for what seems like 45 minutes, and I don't even remember the last 4 days of my life," Steven claimed.
"It will come with time, your memories will come to you, your brain just isn't able to catch up quite yet, but it will." The man claimed.
"Your people are worried. Please go to them before it too late. There is no reason for this temple to be destroyed. There is still time for others to find ascension. There is more for you to do."
"I thought you couldn't interfere," Daniel claimed.
"I'm not really, I am here, and that is all. If you want to proceed to stay, so be it." The man said and quickly vanished before their eyes.
Everyone looked around.
Jack blinked a few times looked around; everyone was getting up slowly.
"That guy was here, wasn't some dream I only saw?" Jack asked.
"If so, we all had the same one," Sam claimed.
"Alright, let's pack up head out. This is on the no-go list." Jack claimed.
Steven nodded his head.
As they walked back to the gate, Steven finally asks the question he has been wondering.
"Does it always end up being this weird?"
Sam smiled, and Daniel grinned.
"Not exactly, actually this was pretty nice," Daniel claimed.
"Yeah, it kind of was, wasn't it," Jack claims.
The group of 5 make it to the gate, dialing home Teal'c putting in the IDC code.
They step through, and General Hammond is there to greet them.
"You had us damn worried. We couldn't find you guys anywhere on the Malp. The building you were supposed to be in disappeared. What the hell happened." General Hammond asked.
"Short story, sir." Jack started.
General Hammond gave him an odd look.
"Alright, infirmary first, and then to the briefing room." General Hammond stated before the group walked away.