7.
A/N. Apologies for this chapter taking so long, but it was really tough to write, and not the plot line. That's been done for a while. Sam was giving me lots of trouble. The rest of the tale, that is written, will come much faster now that Sam's a bit more.. well, see what you think.
For this chapter, I want to make sure that Nicimac is not only credited as a beta but as second author. I would never have finished it without her beta-ing. Thanks, Nici!
And to readers, thanks for waiting, and for reading!
FYI.. yes, all the research has been done. Cave 7 is real, the Anasazi stuff is as accurate as I know it. There is some license I've taken in locations.
Sam938
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Sam stared thoughtfully out the window of the houseboat, ignoring the rain pouring down around them. She glanced at Teal'c, assured by his sure and steady focus on navigating Powell from the lower command center, took a sip of coffee, and finally looked at Daniel, sitting next to her at the boat's kitchen table across from Teal'c, while he poured through print topos and the data from his laptop, comparing notes.
"When we head back up north, there's a tributary just past Bullfrog called Forgotton Canyon that houses one of the more well-known Anasazi ruins, Defiance House. According to the topo, it's not far in, so it's just a small detour…"
She tuned out what Daniel was saying.
The Colonel had been in the shower for quite a while. He must have been freezing when he got back. At first, she had been amused by Teal'c's payback. But really, the fact was that she'd gone along with the joke because the conversation they'd had on the deck had been ... unusual.
The man was completely confusing; one minute he was irritating, annoying, gruff, irreverent and sarcastic; then could turn on a dime and the next be thoughtful, insightful, amusing, charming, funny, and really good looking… whoah.
Where had that come from? She shut that thought down immediately.
Her was her CO. She had to get a grip. She smiled, even though it was only in her mind.
OK, enough of that. Back to the list. Irritating, had she mentioned that? Yeah, she had. But confusing had to top it.
Just when she thought she was starting to read him correctly, he threw her a curve ball.
She'd completely misunderstood him yesterday. She'd thought he'd been annoyed and was taking it out on her; that he had no plan and was blowing off the mission -the typical irritating, annoying, gruff, irreverent and sarcastic part of the man. Instead, he had had a plan - and part of that had been the thoughtful, insightful piece.
He just hadn't explained what it was.
Had she mentioned exasperating? No. That one was new; she needed to add to the list, although, to be fair, he didn't have to explain anything. He was her CO after all.
But it wasn't like him, CO or otherwise. He usually explained his reasoning when asked, and she had asked. This tine he'd just ignored her, and therein lay the problem. She'd gotten used to his mostly easy-going leadership style when they weren't in threat of imminent death.
Why hadn't he said something earlier?
If he'd explained, she would have understood his reasoning and they could have waited at the SGC for Teal'c and Daniel and then taken the houseboat.
Instead, he'd set it up for them to take a short break together.
Huh. Without Daniel and Teal'c.
OK, that was interesting. Really interesting. She swallowed, a warm glow settling in.
When she considered it, if it had been anyone except her CO, it would be like he wanted to get to know her better, really better. But the Colonel was her CO and she knew him well enough by now to know that he was not one of the machismo jerks that littered the AF.
He was better than that.
And yet, this was the second time he'd done something unusual, unexpected, outside of their regular roles and responsibilities. The first was when he'd asked her to go fishing, just last month before the Replicator messes. Had it only been a month? Yeah. She'd turned him down then, but regretted it now. He'd asked out of the blue and her reaction had been fast, worried about appearances.
She grimaced to herself. She still was worried about appearances. She'd probably do the same thing again. It was unfair, but the way the world, and specifically, the AF worked. If she'd gone, the gossip would have been off the charts. Not fair, because he spent a lot of time with Daniel and Teal'c and no one questioned that.
He never spent time with her outside of work or without the team.
Maybe this was his way of trying, quietly. Nothing more, probably.
She grimaced and turned the thought aside, not quite sure how she felt about it.
Anyway, she'd turned him down on the fishing so it didn't matter.
But…. she'd wanted to go. She almost had. And thinking back on the moment before he was beamed up by Thor, she thought he knew it too.
So. Maybe he'd tried again? In a less obvious way?
Ah, jeez. If that was true, and she'd just relaxed yesterday, it could have been a fun break and a chance to get to know him personally without repercussions and without jeopardizing the mission.
She hadn't because he hadn't explained his plan and she had thought hers had been better. And she still did, but that was gut, not logic. Her plan had them there immediately. His promised safety and security while they got there. There was no immediate threat. Logic dictated the Colonel's approach, careful and steady. She couldn't argue with that, although something was wrong. She just knew it.
She thought back to her conversation with the Colonel. The rest was unclear as well, or maybe not. If she was right that he'd set up the situation to spend some time with her, then the rest became was clear. She'd basically turned him down again, and in the process managed to question his leadership style.
So, he'd reverted back to the Colonel. Thinking about it, she would have done the same if she'd been in his position. What she wasn't sure about was whether he really understood hers. Or she did.
Or she really understood his.
Ah, man. What a mess. But it was a really fine line they were walking. And nothing could be said out loud. It was all interpretation, on both of their parts, except for the CO /subordinate part. There they were on solid ground.
Or maybe not.
She had questioned his leadership. There was no way to get around that. But that had been because she'd gotten used to his easy-going style. She thought he expected it. Apparently, she was wrong.
Her new CO "not being so tolerant?" What had he meant by that? Was it a joke? It must have been, at least in part. But the comment did have some teeth to it.
Thank heavens he'd explained some of it. For a moment, she'd thought that she was going to be reassigned. It was always a possibility. In fact, she was overdue. The whole team was. Tours of duty rotated regularly, especially front lines, not that deep space radar telemetry could be called that officially.
But, she'd thought this assignment was safe, different; unique. But what if it wasn't in the eyes of the AF? General Hammond and the Joint Chiefs knew the score, knew that they were dealing with tough front line duty. What if Kinsey and his crowd had come out of the woodwork and convinced them to follow procedure and make some changes to front line teams? Kinsey would give his left arm to get rid of the Colonel.
She swallowed. And then there was the Colonel. What was that comment about anyway? Her next CO…She didn't want another CO. And sure, maybe some days, to be honest, she wanted to lead. But for now she at least expected her opinion to be listened to, which he normally did. But she did not want another CO. Unless… maybe there was something there? Something that was-
She ran her hand over her face, deciding that the whole mess was best left alone.
Bottom line, whatever else, the Colonel was an admirable man and a great leader, in her opinion. She doubted anyone else could have pulled together a team like theirs, and kept them all alive. But he didn't seem to think so. Why was that? He'd made some comments about not running the team by the regs, and when she considered it, that was true. But, the regs wouldn't work all the time, not in their situation. Jeez, as SG1, they were writing the regs and procedure for off-world teams.
In her opinion, he balanced it all with style.
Except when he turned "Colonel" on her out of the blue, and then did a 180 and relaxed.
She wasn't any better. She had been a hard ass Major for all of this trip, although out of line, really. All and all, he'd been pretty tolerant, given their ranks and her attitude.
And then she'd let him freeze alone, pulling up the anchors. He'd been in the shower for what seemed like forever. He must be really -
"Oh for gods sakes." Daniel interrupted her thoughts, staring at her, clearly exasperated.
"He's perfectly fine, Sam. A little rain isn't going to affect his thick hide. He's probably just using up all the hot water as a payback to Teal'c's payback. In fact, he even said so."
She started, pulled out of her thoughts. "I know that, Daniel. That's not what…"
"Then what?" Daniel shook his head, clearing it. "Never mind." He sighed, mumbling to himself. "If this is going to go on all week, I'm turning in my union card."
"Daniel Jackson, you will cease."
Daniel looked over at Teal'c, startled. "What?" He caught Teal'c's eye. " Oh. Did I say that aloud? Uh… OK. Sure. Ceased here. Totally ceased."
"That is acceptable."
Sam admitted to herself that she was relieved at Teal'c's intervention. Daniel's accusation had been completely unfair. Just because she was concerned about the Colonel, didn't mean she was concerned. Daniel had it all wrong.
Yeah, sure he did.
She was relieved when Teal'c turned the subject, glad to get away from her personal thoughts.
"Major Carter, what is this place? The landscape is unique. I have seen nothing equivalent. While I have been on many desert worlds that have cliffs similar to these, they were not this immense."
She looked up from the topo that Daniel was scribbling on, locating ruins he'd identified from the laptop. "It's called the Colorado Plateau, Teal'c. Or Red Rock country."
"That is understandable given the colors of the bare cliffs around us."
Daniel looked up. "Actually, more orange than red here, really."
She continued, ignoring the interruptions. "The cliffs are sandstone, Daniel. This area was once all ocean bed. The plateau uplifted about 65 million years ago. Then, as the Rocky Mountains to the east rose as well, the Colorado, Escalante and San Juan Rivers and others drilled downthrough the sandstone creating the deep canyons we can see here as they washed away the surface layers."
She paused, trying to summarize why the area was so important, beyond its beauty. "It's one of the major geological formations on Earth, because you can actually see layers of time."
She shrugged, thinking. "This isn't the steepest area, seeing as the cliffs here are only two hundred feet above us and the bottom of Glen Canyon is probably about 500 feet below the Lake's surface. Down river in what we call the Grand Canyon, the bottom is nearly 6000 feet, over a mile, below the Plateau."
Teal'c broke in. "If rivers formed these canyons, I do not understand why there is a still body of water, a lake, of such magnitude. It is desert. There are no trees, of which O'Neill speaks often as being an irritant and yet essential to your world, and little vegetation."
She looked up at that. "Ah. Well, the water's here because the Colorado River and everything flowing into it was dammed about 30 years ago to supply cities further west; it's a … humongous reservoir, as the Colonel would say." She calculated quickly. "Probably about…four trillion gallons. And even though it's not really a lake, it is called Lake Powell, after John Wesley Powell, who was the first Anglo-American to navigate the Colorado River and explore this area successfully."
"I have read the narrative of the expeditions of Major John Wesley Powell."
Daniel looked up, surprised. "You have? I mean you did?"
"Indeed. I have researched many of your explorers. There are many great warriors who have explored this world; but those of most interest have led expeditions such as O'Neill leads now; those who would not leave a man behind. It is different from the Jaffa tradition; one that we need to understand if we are to move forward. "
Daniel interrupted. "Who have you researched?"
"Edmond Mallory is most well-known for climbing the tallest of your mountains and dying there in the attempt. It was impossible odds, yet he still tried. This is admirable from a Jaffa perspective, but he was not truly part of a team, although he had comrades. Sir Ernest Shackleton and Major John Wesley Powell are those who reflect earlier successes of what O'Neill attempts to accomplish. They both fought, against impossible odds, to save their colleagues and yet to accomplish their missions."
Teal'c continued. "It is ironic. Major Powell completed his mission but only after three of his subordinates broke rank and then died in their own attempt to find a way back to their homes. They did not trust him and so they failed. Sir Earnest Shackleton did not complete his mission, but the men that followed him believed in him, and so they all lived. In the end, his mission was also accomplished, although by others."
Daniel shook his head, confused, but clearly intrigued. " Why are you so interested in their stories? They were just men, leaders of expeditions."
"Indeed. That is the point. They did not pretend to be gods. They were men, leaders who chose different paths for themselves and their men. Perhaps the different outcomes due to their situations were merely circumstance, but I do not believe so. I have yet to reconcile the stories.
"Major Powell was a one armed man who led an expedition into the unknown with nine other men in four wooden boats for 10 months as he navigated one of your great rivers for the first time. He succeeded; yet three men left the expedition, which he allowed. As a leader, he let others choose their own path when they chose not to follow, even if it led to their deaths.
"Sir Earnest Shackleton's tale is another; he failed in his goal but all twenty four of his men survived what should have been impossible because of his steadfast determination to leave no man behind.
"Which is better? To succeed and allow others to leave or to fail and keep all safe?"
Daniel stared at the Jaffa. "I don't know. But I do know that if I was one of the participants, I'd like to live."
Teal'c nodded. "So would we all, but to live free means there is a choice. Major Powell may not have had the loyalty of his group, but he did let them choose."
Teal'c looked out at the lake, making a slight adjustment to their course. "The Jaffa have learned to lead by force through power given them by the Goa'uld. If we are to be free, we must learn to lead by other methods. Such as those O'Neill applies. "
Daniel looked up startled. "You're comparing Jack to Powell and Shackleton?" Daniel's tone couldn't have been more incredulous if he tried.
"There are parallels, Daniel Jackson. To lead into the unknown requires an understanding of those who must, who can, and who will not follow and how to balance these divergent concerns effectively."
Teal'c changed the subject. "I did not understand until seeing this country how difficult Major Powell's journey must have been. This landscape is extremely forbidding and desolate. I am also surprised by the isolation. Your media presents a different perspective on the populous nature of your country."
Daniel broke in, clearly relieved to change the topic. "Actually, although Powell was the first to explore this area as an Anglo- American in the 1860s, there were some earlier Anglos here - the Mormons. And there have been other cultures that survived here.
"The first documented in any detail were the Anasazi. This was the heart of their civilization - well, not exactly here, but the Colorado Plateau and the Four Corners region - for nearly 1000 years from 300 – 1300 A.D."
"Teal'c broke in. "Major Powell's writings claim that no one of significance lived in this area prior to his discovery. I have found that troubling."
Daniel shook his head. "Yeah. He was wrong about that."
Teal'c glanced at him. "You believe he was incorrect."
"Oh, he was very seriously wrong. The Anasazi were an amazing civilization. The first evidence we have of them is that they were cave dwellers – the Basketmakers. They made dense, beautifully detailed utilitarian wares – baskets - out of yucca- a plant that grows well here. That changed when they discovered clay - the Anasazi are known for incredible designs on their pottery. In fact, we trace most of their history from the pottery - orange and red, black and white – all different time periods."
Sam suddenly felt some sympathy for the Colonel's irritation when listening to Daniel. He could get quite detailed.
"Daniel?"
"Ah yeah. So, the Anasazi were originally small farmers making the most out of the land here - corn, squash, and finally domesticated turkey. And then-"
"Then what?"
Daniel looked up at her from the topo. "I don't know, Sam. No one does. But by 900, something changed. They started building cities, huge centers for the masses. Chaco Canyon is the most famous - Pueblo Bonito has five stories and 800 rooms, for example, and it's just one of many 'great houses' in that area. There are hundreds though out the Four Corners. There are 400 miles of roads to Chaco, even though the Anasazi never discovered the wheel. Chaco was abandoned for the most part in 1150 and then new sites, like Mesa Verde, huge cliff dwelling cities, were established. They literally built cities into rock. Theirs was an incredibly rich culture."
Daniel paused. " The Anasazi built cliff dwellings and ruins here as well that, if we took just a few detours, we could see."
He looked at her accusingly.
"Daniel, the Colonel wants us to keep on track to Davis Gulch."
"He also said I could look at the ruins."
"I did not." The Colonel rambled in from his shower, looking ruffled. She smiled at him.
She had a weird feeling of warmth, which she squashed immediately, when he smiled back.
"You did, Jack."
"You did indeed, O'Neill."
Sam stared at them, amused. Teal'c as a weapon for diffusing arguments between the Colonel and Daniel was amazingly effective.
The Colonel cocked his head at Teal'c and then sighed. "OK, maybe I did. But we can do that on the way back if there's nothing at Carter's site. Her work has priority."
Daniel looked thoughtfully at the Colonel. "Fair enough."
The Colonel stared at Daniel suspiciously, but refused to take the bait. He changed the subject. "What were you kids talking about anyway? Things look kind of … involved." He sat down next to Teal'c, playing with the radio transponder.
Sam explained. "Teal'c asked for a general introduction and analysis of the geology of the area, sir, which I provided. Daniel briefly explained the archaeological history. He was getting into more detail when you came in."
"Ack. OK, fine. Glad I was in the shower."
Teal'c interrupted. "We also reviewed the similarities and differences between Major Powell's expedition in this area and Sir Earnest Schakleton's experiences in the Antarctic."
The Colonel looked up at that and stared at Teal'c. "Leave no man behind."
"Indeed."
The Colonel sighed. "Never understood myself why Shackleton wanted to spend all that time in the Antarctic. It's damned cold." He glanced at her, smiling.
She cocked her head, acknowledging his point. "And yet, it has its moments, sir."
He stared at her. "Yeah, I guess it does."
She held his gaze for a moment, surprised and intrigued by his reply.
The Colonel broke eye contact as Teal'c glanced at him impatiently, well, as much as Sam thought Teal'c could glance at anyone impatiently.
"O'Neill."
"Ah, yeah. Different circumstances, Teal'c. Comparing Shackleton to Powell is like comparing apples and oranges."
"I do not understand."
Daniel interrupted, staring at the Colonel. "You've read about Shackleton and Powell?"
The Colonel stared back, annoyed. "Well, every now and then you do have to take a break from the Simpsons."
"O'Neill."
Teal'c's tone was much firmer this time.
The Colonel turned back to Teal'c. "Yeah, sorry, T. Anyway, both expeditions were civilian, so there was no official chain of command. It's true that Powell was former military, but he served during a period where desertion was fairly common. And when three men left his expedition, he could assume they might survive and so he could in good conscious let them take their chances. Shackleton's men had no choice but to follow, although they did disagree with him, often. There was no way - uhh.. - no where to walk out. And in the end, Shackleton used his men's expertise to bring everyone home, no matter how much they disagreed."
"This does not answer my question, O'Neill."
"Ah. And what is that?"
"What are the leadership characteristics that make men choose to follow, and also make men choose to leave?"
The Colonel looked flummoxed. "I think maybe I didn't spend enough time in the shower."
He glanced, slightly panicked, at Daniel, who was clearly enjoying the conversation way too much. Daniel just shrugged, grinned and refused to say anything.
The Colonel grimaced. Denied any support from Daniel, he turned to her. "Have an opinion, Major?"
"No, sir."
He stared her down. "You're lying."
She grinned. "Of course, sir."
He sighed. "Okay, we'll discuss that later."
He turned back towards Teal'c, seriously considering the man's question. "Both Powell and Shackleton believed in their expeditions, and by all accounts were calm men even in desperate circumstances. They listened to recommendations and then chose to implement them or not. Then they held firm, after making a decision, no matter differing views. Beyond that, T, I don't know. Except that, in Shackleton's case, he was willing to die in order assure others survived. Powell didn't have to face that question. He thought the men who left had a good chance of survival. And he did follow up on a later expedition to learn what happened."
"This is interesting. Thank you, O'Neill."
"Yeah. Sure."
The Colonel stared at Daniel, clearly annoyed at the man's defection in the conversation. He changed the subject. "Where was it that you said these ruins are that you want to visit after Carter's site?"
Sam watched, amused. The Colonel must be really desperate if he was willing to discuss the location of ruins. Of course, maybe he was just baiting Daniel to complain yet again about the man's choice. She sat back and waited to see the show.
Daniel looked at the Colonel suspiciously. "Just north of Bullfrog Marina. When we head back we look can at Forgotten Canyon and the Defiance House ruins. There are some great petroglyphs there of anthromorphs fighting with clubs and shields."
The Colonel started in. "If you already know what's there, why are you interested? And how do you know what's there?"
"Read up on this area last night. Rothman sent me some files. It's really not my area of expertise, although I did follow the research into the Anasazi in the late 70s when a lot of the work was being conducted, but that was further east. I know what's here because archaeologists documented the area before the canyon was dammed. Before they flooded the canyon, they'd identified over 2000 sites. And they never had the chance to finish."
The Colonel broke in, grumbling. "So... couldn't we look at something… if we have to…" he glanced again at Teal'c and sighed, "and we clearly have to… that's got another name besides forgotten, defiance, whatever, and doesn't have general destruction and fighting figures associated with it? We're on a mission. If we do take a break, it should be … fun. The destruction stuff is just … business as usual."
Daniel cocked his head, actually considering the Colonel's request. It had to be a first as far as ruins were concerned. Daniel was actually considering revising his plan. It was kind of amazing. She waited for the punch line.
He finally commented, mildly, "It's true that Defiance House has been well documented. And it's just a small cliff dwelling that housed maybe two, three families. I thought it was interesting only because it's a prototype for what's in the area that hasn't been discovered. So, yes, I can see your point. There's no reason to go to that particular site."
The Colonel grinned, clearly unable to believe that he'd won the point so easily. "So… we're forgetting Forgotten, right?"
Daniel looked up, pausing from this review of other sites on his laptop. "Absolutely. Moqui Canyon is probably the better choice. That's not far off. In fact, it's between Bullfrog and Davis Gulch. There're over 70 sites in the canyon, many of them from the Basketmaker period, around 500 A.D, identified but unexplored."
"Daniel."
Sam watched the show as Daniel ignored the Colonel's interruption and then said, deadpan, "There's supposed to be good fishing in Moqui Canyon. It has a lot of "– he looked down at his laptop, researching- "uhh, bass, I think. Sam, Teal'c and I could explore the ruins while you're watching … the boat."
The Colonel chirked up. "Ah, well, now that sounds like a plan. This weather can't last forever. And at least 'Moqui' sounds more friendly than 'defiance' and 'forgotten'."
Daniel smirked. "Actually, Moqui in the Hopi language means 'dead'."
"Oh, that's just peachy."
Sam wasn't sure who'd won that round, but it looked like Daniel, given the man's smirk, and the Colonel's irritation. The Colonel sat down next to Teal'c, ignoring Daniel, discussing the attributes of the boat.
Daniel finally broke the silence that settled as the rain poured down, the sky black as Teal'c carefully headed toward Davis Gulch.
"So, Sam, about your interest in the area. What was the time when you said these signatures you identified occurred? You never mentioned that."
"September 22 at moonrise; in fact exactly at the fall equinox."
"Really. That's interesting."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's probably nothing, but early societies used astronomical events as a calendar, and the fall equinox was an important date for most of them, especially the Anasazi. "
"You started to describe the Anasazi earlier, Daniel. What happened to them?"
"They disappeared."
The Colonel broke in, protesting. "Oh, c'mon Daniel."
"I'm serious, Jack. The entire population just up and walked away, leaving cliff dwellings, great houses, pottery, food stuffs intact. The Hopi, Zuni and Acoma Pueblo Peoples claim some of them as ancestors, but there were many tens of thousands of people throughout the Colorado Plateau at the height of the Anasazi civilization. Some estimates claim as high as 250,000. They all disappeared by approximately 1300. There are theories as to why - ecological degradation, warfare, drought - but none have ever been completely confirmed."
"There must be graves, bodies, something."
"Well, yes. There are burials from earlier periods in middens – their version of garbage dumps – and bodies have been found carefully preserved inside their pueblos and cliff dwellings, but nothing that would account for a population of that size. There are some theories that are now becoming more accepted, that there was cannibalization and murder towards the end of the society, and some evidence to that effect, but nothing has ever definitively explained the mass exodus of the population or where they went."
The Colonel sighed. "Terrific."
Teal'c broke in. "If the translation of Moqui is the 'dead', what is the translation of 'Anasazi'?"
"Uhh… oh boy. It means Ancients or Ancient Enemy." He hurried on quickly. "But that was a name coined by the Navajo. They refused to go into the canyons because they thought they were haunted. Still don't, till this day."
Teal'c broke in. "Navajo?"
"Another indigenous peoples here, Teal'c. They are formally documented arriving here around the 1300s."
"So, perhaps the enemy of the Anasazi."
"No. Most research says there is little to no connection. And most of Navajo agree, although not all. There are myths and legends that claim there was a connection between the Navajo and Anasazi. Some Navajo even believe that the Anasazi joined with the People after the fall of their civilization.
"Most of the People live on a huge tract of land called the Navajo Nation. Actually, it abuts this area. And as I said, their history does not recognize the Anasazi as enemies; just as … well, basically… frightening. And dead."
The Colonel stared at Daniel, his expression suddenly serious and intense. "Oh, that's just peachy. So, Carter's itchy about the possibility of alien technology on Earth in a place where potentially thousands of people disappeared without a trace nearly 800 years ago -"
"Jack, it really doesn't mean -"
"I'm not done, Daniel."
Daniel grimaced and waved his hand for the Colonel to continue.
" - a place that is now emitting weird signals and one the local population, the Navajos, think is haunted, have refused to enter for hundreds of years, and who call the last inhabitants the "Ancients". And it's all happening in an isolated, unpopulated, in fact, one of the least populated places in the country…possibly on the continent.
"That's just great."
"In Navajo, Anasazi is 'Ancient Ones or Ancestor Enemy', Jack. And it doesn't necessarily mean anything anyway. The Navajo just thought the canyons were haunted. Still do. And yes, the country's wild, but that doesn't mean-"
Daniel stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute. Where did you say the other site of the emissions was, Sam?"
"Butler Wash. It's an isolated canyon in southeastern Utah about 100 miles from here. Why?"
"I knew that sounded familiar. Butler Wash was excavated as part of the Hyde Expedition led by Wetherill in 1894; it was the first major expedition into the ruins. "
The Colonel broke in. "Daniel – the point?"
"He was a cowboy turned archaeologist."
"And….so…?"
Daniel stayed silent.
The Colonel tried again. "And…. Daniel, so what? What did they find at Butler Wash?"
Daniel sat up, raising his glasses to rub his eyes. " A lot of artifacts, bodies of what had to be senior chieftains, and… "
"*What*, Daniel? Even you wouldn't get this … weirdly… inarticulate over artifacts and graves."
Daniel cocked his head, staring at the Colonel. "It was a massacre. They found lots and lots of bodies and bones." He paused. "What makes it even weirder is that no one has ever been able to relocate cave 7; the site of the massacre. It's just… disappeared."
"Oh c'mon. The Expedition must have kept records."
"The data was wrong. People have been searching for cave 7 for over 100 years."
Jack sighed. "Sweet."
He got out of his chair and rubbed his hands through his hair. "Okay, fun's over, kids. The Major, as usual, is right. We need to get to the site asap." He gestured to Teal'c. "You keep the boat on heading to Davis Gulch."
"I will, O'Neill."
"Carter, check out the gear. We need wet suits, tanks, cameras and whatever else you need. You and I will head down under. Unfortunately, the weapons we do have won't work in the water so you'll need to watch your back."
"Understood, sir."
"Daniel…"
"I'll keep researching."
"Thank you." He sighed. "At least this one's named Davis Gulch, not Death or whatever."
"Uhhh.. Jack?"
"Yeah? What?"
"There were some unusual incidents in Davis Gulch in the 1930s. Nothing important as far as I can see but—"
"Leave it, Daniel. Just….go … research everything earlier. If there is someone out there who's messed with this area, it happened along time ago. And now they might be trying again. The history of this area is what you need to focus on, not recent stuff."
"But –" Daniel stopped and sighed. "You're right, of course. Nothing we know of significant import has happened here in documented history. I'll just -" He gestured towards where Sam had set up the computers.
"Yeah. Do that."
Jack turned back to Teal'c. "T – the navigation-"
Teal'c broke in. "I am aware of the challenge. In order to arrive at Davis Gulch, one must first navigate Lake Powell for another twenty miles. We will then arrive at the mouth of the Escalante River drainage. This vessel will need to be docked there, as the canyon narrows. The maps Daniel Jackson has provided suggest that the cliff walls in the Escalante are 500 feet high, but the channel is only thirty feet across. We will not be able to navigate a vessel of this size easily in those waters.
"You and Major Carter will then take the speedboat up river twenty miles to reach Davis Gulch and then another ten within that tributary to the site of the emissions.
"Daniel Jackson and I will remain at the mouth of the river with this boat anchored on Powell and await your return."
"Uhh.. yeah. Thanks."
"You are welcome, O'Neill."