• SPOILERS: The First Ones, takes place after The First Ones
• SUMMARY: A "harmless" planet springs surprises on the members of SG1 both physically and emotionally.
• PG, some violence and gore, cussing from Jack, [A] [Hc] [D] 

Well, as advertised, it's very bright, aridly hot, no trees and lots of sand.

These were Sam's first thoughts after she passed through the rippling membrane of the active wormhole to P4X-380 and took in the vista before her. The dazzling brilliance of the binary suns' early morning reflecting off the expanse of sand was more intense than MALP images had indicated. Of course, the scientist reminded herself as she stepped away from the rumble of the deactivating Stargate, the pictures were filtered before transmission through the wormhole, so there would be some deveations of the planet's actual appearance. However, she thought, instinctively squinting behind her military issue shades, it wasn't difficult to gauge the emotional state of her male teammates as they stood arrayed before her at the edge of the platform.

Colonel O'Neill was relaxed and satisfied with his selection of P4X-380 as SG-1's designation. Teal'c, staff weapon casually cradled in one arm, was surveying the endless panorama of sun reflective sand before them, cautiously alert for threats he didn't expect to encounter. Daniel, however, was annoyed, his posture stiff, hands planted on hips. Sam grinned as she adjusted her sunglasses. She strolled over to the MALP and began opening the compartments to retrieve her soil collecting cases and glass vials. Sam didn't know what was worse, dealing with a bored colonel on 'gate travels or an equally bored Daniel. She decided the colonel's bluntness and abrasive attitude was easier to ignore as opposed to Daniel bopping around needing to be doing something and being just plain irritating and in the way. As she automatically went through the familiar motions of prepping her sampling materials, her memory drifted back to yesterday's pre-departure briefing....

That's it?" This disappointed query came from Daniel.

He was watching the replay of the MALP transmission. All the slowly scrolling image showed was sand, sand and yet, even more sand. Nothing but sand. Sam hid her grin behind one hand as she observed Daniel's dismayed expression.

"So. It's sand. We've been to desert planets before, Daniel," Jack reminded casually.

"But, but," the flustered archeologist stammered, "Jack, there's nothing there."

Sam could swear she heard some whining in the complaint.

"Sure there is, Daniel. There's sand. Lot's of sand," Jack countered. "You're an Egyptologist, and you have a problem with sand?"

"No. But, there's, there's....nothing there," Daniel again stated the obvious.

"Daniel, you're repeating yourself," Jack chided.

"Jack, what is there for me to do on this survey?"

"Well, you can help Carter collect her dirt, er, sand samples," Jack suggested.

"Sure, Daniel," Sam chimed in. "At least you'd actually be digging in the dirt, er, or rather the sand. And the MALP detectors noted an unusually high concentration of naquadah within the vicinity of the gate."

Daniel's disbelieving gaze traveled from Jack to Sam then returned to Jack. "This is retribution, isn't it?" he directed the accusation toward Jack. "I've done something to upset you, and now you're punishing me."

Sam swore Daniel was actually pouting with his head tilted down and his lips pursed. Daniel hadn't done anything wrong, Sam knew, except by no fault of his own, get himself kidnapped by an Unas who had intentions of feasting on archeologist a la Daniel. She was amazed he didn't recognize this for what it was, the team's way of expressing their overprotectivness of their wayward civilian.

"What are you talking about, Daniel? That's nonsense," Jack denied. "I thought you liked helping Carter collect her samples."

"Daniel," Sam leaned forward, her crossed arms resting on the briefing room table. She felt the teasing had gone on long enough. "This is SG-1's first mission since P3X-888." She knew her blue eyes were wide, transmitting the remainder of the unspoken message.

"I know, Sam," Daniel replied, irritated. Five seconds passed, and realization dawned on his face. Eyebrows arched, his own blue eyes widened behind the corrective glasses. "Oooh,...um...okay. First mission out. Nice, easy, simple, non-threatening. Did I leave anything out, Jack?"

"Nope." Jack smiled, patting Daniel's shoulder fondly. "Knew you'd figure it out sooner or later, Doctor Jackson. Nice to see you put those Ph.D's to good use."

"Well, why can't we rejoin the search to find a new planet to resettle the Enkarans?" Daniel asked, not quite ready to surrender.

O'Neill exhaled loudly. "Because," he began, in the tone one would use to lecture an impatient child, "we already have SG-5, 7 and 9 looking. They don't need us. We're going to 380 and look for Carter's motherload of naquadah." At Daniel's disappointed frown, Jack continued. "Okay, I know in the past not much good happened on sand planets. But this survey should be safe, a cakewalk. Besides, we have to investigate those bizarre naquadah readings. Look Daniel," Jack said, resting a hand on Daniel's shoulder, his brown eyed gaze fixed on Daniel, "you're not the only one who needs to ease back into the routine."

Returned to the present, Sam nodded her head in satisfaction as she closed her sample carrying case. Yes, the colonel had been insistent with General Hammond that SG-1's first mission following the disaster on P3X-888 be a nice, easy, non-threatening one. Daniel, although physically recovered from his ordeal as a captive of the Unas, was probably still a bit fragile in the emotional department. She knew she was. Throughout the search and rescue process following the trail of Unas tracks interspersed with scuffed imprints from standard issue military boots, Sam relied on her Air Force training to remain focused. However, the images of what they might find at the end of that trail had haunted her. It was times like these Sam cursed herself for having an overactive imagination. She glanced over to her three male teammates. Nor, Sam suspected, had Daniel fully come to terms with the survivor guilt he must feel over the loss of SG-11 and his colleague, Robert Rothman. He insisted he was fine, that he was recovered, that the kid glove treatment was no longer necessary, that he wanted to get back to work. But after almost four years of working together, Sam knew Daniel's definition of fine often meant he had taken whatever "bad shit", as the colonel would call it, he had experienced and buried it deep within himself. Daniel's solution to dealing with "bad shit" was to pretend it never happened and get on with business as usual.

Sam's gaze moved from Daniel to Colonel O'Neill. His method of dealing with "bad shit" happening to members of his team was to blame himself for failing to protect his team, never forgive himself, drink more beer than usual, then be coddling, overprotective and hovering to the point of annoyance to the wounded team member. But she also knew her CO was wrestling with an additional demon since he was the one who had to kill the Goa'ulded Robert Rothman to protect the members of the rescue team. It didn't matter Daniel had understood the circumstances and forgiven O'Neill. Sam knew the colonel was another one who excelled at hiding the affects of "bad shit" within himself, putting on his tough ass colonel persona and getting on with business as usual.

Her gaze shifted to Teal'c, the last member of SG1. The Jaffa, who considered it his sacred duty to keep Daniel alive, unharmed and whole, would place more guilt on himself as if not keeping Daniel safe was all the more reason to punish himself by self-flagellation. Teal'c tended to hover as well around the archeologist. As to what he actually did to deal with his share of "bad shit", Sam had no clue. Maybe Junior fed off it. Could explain why the Goa'uld possessed such nasty temperaments.

As for herself, well Sam cursed her pencha for drama, and thanked whatever supreme being was Daniel's guardian angel for allowing her one more day with her friend alive and in her life. She had grown very accustomed to interacting with Daniel, especially on an intellectual and scientific level, not to mention he was a terrific friend. One of the absolute best she'd ever been privileged to know. They shared a mutual respect for each other's scientific abilities and as human beings. Sam looked at Daniel's stiff back and grinned. Maybe today he could show her an improved method for collecting samples. Actually, she was looking forward to having him be in her way.

Her group analysis completed and with sample case dangling from one hand, Sam walked over to re-join her teammates.

"Well, kids. Here we are. What better way to spend the afternoon than soaking up the rays and strolling on the beach? Nice, quiet, relaxing, non-threatening."

"Do you really want me to answer that, Jack?" Daniel sarcastically retorted.

Sam arched her eyebrows. Guess Daniel was still not a happy camper. He really disliked being the recipient of what he considered preferential treatment. The colonel only smiled, his gloved hands resting casually on the butt of the rifle strapped to his chest.

"Daniel, why don't you go over and check out the DHD? Then you and Carter can start collecting your samples while Teal'c and I do a recon."

Scowling, Daniel walked over to the DHD, his booted feet leaving well-defined prints in the fine-grained sand. Sam saw them and involuntarily shivered. This was not P3X-888, she reminded herself. She watched Daniel stand before the gate activation device as he turned around to study the glyph panel. Survey completed, he looked up to address his three waiting teammates. He didn't speak. Instead, he continued to gaze, open mouthed in their direction.

"DanielJackson?" Teal'c prompted.

"Wow!! What's that?" Daniel asked excitedly, pointing. He hurried to rejoin his friends, who had also turned to look in the indicated direction.

"Carter," O'Neill began. "I though the MALP was supposed to tell us of surprises like this," he stated annoyed.

"Well, yes sir. But we never turned the MALP's camera around to do a 360 scan," she offered lamely. "Based on what we saw, we just naturally assumed the gate was located in a desert. Um, sir."

"We just assumed, Carter?"

"Like you expect me to believe you didn't know it was here," Daniel chided. "Lucky I ignored you and packed my camcorder, camera and field notebooks." The archeologist smiled and looked at Jack with gratitude. "Thanks, Jack. This will keep me busy while we're here." He stepped forward to jump off the estimated five-foot high rectangular shaped stone platform upon which the Stargate, DHD and MALP sat and momentarily disappeared from view. Then his desert boonie covered head reappeared, and he began to walk toward the nearby object.

"Hold it, hold it!" O'Neill barked. Surprisingly, Daniel paused and looked over his left shoulder. "Just wait for us. How many times have I told you not to go running off?" the colonel scolded, also jumping down from the stone platform.

"Actually, Jack, I don't recall a time when I ever heard you specifically tell me not to go somewhere," Daniel baited as the older man joined him.

"Oh, you don't? So, I need to refresh your memory, do I?" O'Neill countered, easily slipping into this verbal sparring match the two shared.

Smiling, Sam shared a look with Teal'c, which translated everything was back to normal at least for now. The two remaining members of SG-1 leapt off the platform into the sparkling, powdery sand and hurried to rejoin the two bickering men.

The four explorers trudged through the sand towards a stone edifice Sam estimated was located approximately fifty yards from the Stargate. It was a simple structure. Four circular pillars, about eight feet tall situated at each corner supporting a pyramid-like capstone. The temple was erected on what seemed to be an elevated solid stone platform. Both were apparently constructed of the same orange-yellowish stone upon which the Stargate rested. Sam observed an excited Daniel lever himself up onto the temple floor and rise to stand under the capstone. She suddenly felt a jolt of unease rush through her. Somehow this scene appeared threatening or she had the sense of seeing it before. Her brow creased in thought. Where, where? She drew a blank. Shaking her head, she focused on the here and now. Maybe she should take Janet's advice and talk to a counselor. She was probably in more denial than Daniel about what happened to him on P3X- 888 than she would admit even to herself.

"Well," she heard O'Neill huff, drawing her attention. "Daniel will be occupied for the rest of our stay."

"Jack!" Daniel shouted with excitement as he lovingly caressed and brushed away the minute sand power from the interior face of a stone column. "It's...it's..."

Sam smiled. Daniel was so excited he was nearly inarticulate. So much for being fragile.

"What? Meaning of life stuff?" Jack supplied flippantly.

"Yes!! Look, four columns, four different written engravings." Daniel pointed to the first column. "The Ancients." He rushed to the second, quickly brushed away some of the clinging sand particles. "The Asgaard." He moved to stand between the third and forth columns. "The Nox and the Firlings."

Sam was impressed. "Daniel, when did you learn which of the last two was which?" she asked as he slipped off his backpack and knelt.

"What? Oh, I don't know...yet," he answered taking objects from the pack. "I need to find out. Think the Tollan would tell us which is which?" He fluttered his right hand between the two columns. He stood, camcorder in hand. "This is incredible. I'll finally have time to study all four of these columns thoroughly...." He held up the camcorder and began filming the first column, he had indicated was of the Asgaard.

Sam grinned, relieved. Daniel was gone, off into his world of translations and searching for knowledge. They could forget trying to maintain any meaningful conversation with him now until he was finished.

She spied Teal'c, his normally impassive dark face softened with pleasure with this turn of events. It was apparent the overprotective Jaffa thought Daniel was "okay." Teal'c turned away from the temple and moved around it to stand on the far side, scanning the distant horizon. The binary suns were arcing their path across the faint bluish sky but their blend of yellow white light had diffused with the angle of the atmosphere and changed in intensity.

"O'Neill."

Turning his bemused look from Daniel, the colonel moved around the temple to join Teal'c.

The Jaffa pointed. "I believe there may be vegetation in that direction."

Curious, Sam also moved around the temple to join her comrades. She, too, saw the distant spiky tops of something sticking above the nearest sand dune.

O'Neill took out his field glasses and held them to his shade protected eyes. He adjusted the focus then sighed. "Oh, great. Trees." He lowered the binoculars. "Daniel," O'Neill called, turning to address the archeologist's back. They all saw he was now lovingly caressing the exposed Ancients engraved writing. "Yep. He's gone," he muttered. "Teal'c and I are going to check out that herd of purple dinosaurs and pink elephants."

"Okay, Jack," came the distracted reply.

Shaking his head, O'Neill addressed his 2IC. "Change in plans. Carter, stay here, and collect your dirt. Keep an eye on Daniel. Keep your radio on. Oh, and when we get back to the SGC, remind me to discuss with Hammond the need for all future MALP transmissions to cover a 360 arc around the Stargate."

"Yes, sir," Sam acknowledged, but she sensed the colonel wasn't bothered by this unexpected discovery of the small temple. Still, the recommendation was a sound one.

"Teal'c, feel up to a little hike?"

"O'Neill." The Jaffa bowed his head in acceptance and hefted his staff weapon.

"Have fun, sir."

"Oh, yeah, sure you betcha," O'Neill replied, moving forward with Teal'c at his side.

Sam watched them walk away then turned, sparing a glance for Daniel, who was now busy writing in his notebook. Stridding away from the temple toward the second rocky platform holding the Stargate, she kept part of her mind focused on their immediate surroundings. She didn't expect trouble, but their 'gate travels had established, more than once, that even the most innocent of situations could prove dangerous. The other part of her mind was busy formulating questions. Such as, why was the temple with its four inscribed languages here in the first place? Or, why was it the only two constructed objects within view were elevated above the shifting sand on engineered rock platforms? Unless, Sam theorized, there was an entire temple complex beneath the dunes and all that remained exposed over the millennia were the tops of these two structures. Selecting her first sample location, Sam knelt in the warm sand and opened her collection case. She grinned. If Daniel developed the same theory, they would have to physically pick him up and haul his butt back through the Stargate. He would beg to be allowed an extended visit to excavate and either prove, or disprove, his theory. Losing her grin, Sam knew, to Daniel's bitter disappointment, any extended planetary stays for him were not in the archeologist's immediate future. Not with the events of P3X-888 still so raw and fresh in everyone's memories.

Taking out her metal trowel, Sam began to dig in the soft sand. After two jabs she suddenly paused, feeling a shiver run up and down her spine. Then she cocked her head, listening. Her brow furrowed with the concentrated effort. Had she heard a hissing sound? Hands moving to her gun, she became alert and scanned their location, seeing nothing unusual. Frowning, she looked back to the temple. She could see Daniel was standing beside the Asgaard column, looking up, notebook cradled in one hand. Sam shivered again. Something about this scene scared her. She straightened and activated her radio.

"Daniel?"

She saw him turn his head in her direction and lift his left hand to his shoulder. "Sam? You okay?" came from her radio speaker.

"Yes. I just, well, I thought I heard a hissing sound. Did you hear anything?"

"No. It's very quiet. Very peaceful. Very hot. No wind."

"Carter?" This came from O'Neill. "Got a problem?"

Sam shifted her gaze from the temple to the two distant dark specks she knew to be her CO and Teal'c, stark against the bleached sand dune they were climbing. "No, sir. Just not accustomed to all this quiet I guess," she lamely offered, now embarrassed she was imagining things.

There was a short pause before O'Neill's voice issued from the radio. "Okay. Teal'c and I are about half way to the dune top. We'll check in when we see what's on the other side."

"I thought you said it was purple dinosaurs and pink elephants?" Daniel sarcastically noted.

Sam didn't hear the colonel reply but could guess Teal'c was getting an earful right now. One more glance at Daniel, who seemed to be talking to himself, another quick visual survey of her surroundings, and Sam shrugged her shoulders. Shaking her head, she resumed her work.

****

"Can you believe it?" Jack grumbled as he plodded along, side stepping upward on the gentle sloping face of the sand dune.

His casual appearance would appear reckless to those who did not understand O'Neill as Teal'c did. The Jaffa knew the Tau'ri commander was well aware of their surroundings, his own warrior senses alert for any anomaly. So Teal'c was certain O'Neill had heard it--the sibilant hissing. It was there, behind them, then gone. He frowned, thinking perhaps, like Major Carter, he found this planet too quiet. He shrugged it aside and returned his attention to listening to the human's good-natured ranting.

"I spent hours searching for the perfect planet for our first off world mission. Something simple, non-threatening. A planet where you and I can be bored, Carter could collect her dirt with Daniel helping and staying out of harm's way cos there's no harm to come. Just," O'Neill slid his hand forward, "easing back into what we do. Fer cryin' out loud. The man does not change. He finds a freakin' temple. Here," his arms opened wide to encompass the vast dessert, "in the middle of freakin' nowhere."

"I do not understand, O'Neill. You are disappointed DanielJackson has found an ancient temple to study? One which contains writing of the four cultures found on Ernest's planet?"

"No, Teal'c, of course not. I'm happy to see Daniel happy. I just didn't want him to dive right into it, you know?"

Teal'c was confused. "I do not, O'Neill. I believe water is not present on this planet in sufficient amounts for DanielJackson to dive into."

O'Neill chuckled. "No, I meant I didn't want Daniel to overwork himself. It's only been four weeks since 888."

This time when he heard the faint hissing sound, Teal'c did stop, head cocked, listening, his ebony face marred by a worried frown.

"I mean, you know Daniel as well as I do. Bad shit happens to him. He pulls all the hurt inside himself and buries it real deep. Then he parades around saying 'I'm fine, you're fine, everyone is fine. Can we just get on with it?'"

O'Neill stopped his side stepping climb when he realized the Jaffa was no longer trudging along beside him. They were nearly to the top of the dune and the first row of the once distant spiky treetops was clearly visible. Except up close these whatevers appeared more rounded in form and suspiciously untreelike. Jack ignored this revelation for the moment and turned to his companion. "Teal'c? Problem?"

"Did you not hear it, O'Neill?"

"Hear what?"

"I believe it to be the same hissing sound Major Carter reported."

Jack pursed his lips, concentrating. "Nope. Don't hear a thing." He took out his field glasses and looked through them. The small opensided temple came into view. He spied Daniel kneeling by the fourth pillar scribbling in his field notebook. "Probably worshiping it," he muttered. He moved his head and found Carter kneeling next to the stone platform of the Stargate, digging away with her trowel. Satisfied, he lowered the binoculars and looked at Teal'c. "Everything looks okay. Can you give me something more?"

"I can not. The sound is no more. I am no longer experiencing wild fowl bumps, O'Neill."

The colonel's face scrunched up in confusion. Then, it smoothed. "Ah. Goose bumps, Teal'c." He studied the shimmering desert vista surrounding them. "Think we should bag the tree search and go back?"

Teal'c did not answer immediately. Being a Jaffa, he was trained to not frighten easily. Yet the worry he felt was for the safety of his friends, in particular DanielJackson. He glanced back to the temple, his enhanced eyesight easily seeing the archeologist tracing the engraved writing before scribbling notes in his field book. He turned to look at the waiting O'Neill. "I believe we should proceed with our reconnaissance."

"Then lead on, McDuff."

"Who is McDuff?"

"McDuff," Jack began to explain the reference as they both resumed their climb. "Well, he's, ah, that is... Okay, I have no idea. It's some human cultural cliche, Teal'c. Ask Daniel about it. I'm sure he'll know and be happy to explain it to you in long, boring, detail."

"I shall do so," Teal'c conceded. He continued his climb using his staff weapon for added support while favoring his friend with several glances. "O'Neill. May I be permitted to ask you a question of a deeply personal nature?"

"Yeah, Teal'c. Sure."

"It concerns DanielJackson."

"What about Daniel?"

"I believe he is not the only member of SG-1 pretending 'everything is fine'".

O'Neill did not respond at once, confirming Teal'c's suspicions. The Jaffa marched on, waiting for the human to speak.

"So, is there something you want to tell me, Teal'c?" the colonel asked, deflecting the inquiry away from himself to return it to the Jaffa.

"I have meditated long hours in Kel-nor-reem. I can not dissipate my fear we would not find DanielJackson alive on P3X-888." With this confession, Teal'c became silent hoping his Tau'ri friend would not avoid this revelation and speak truthfully of his own inner feelings.

O'Neill blew out some breath. The deceptively gentle sloping dune was beginning to require additional physical effort. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I had to rely on my military training more than ever to keep focused. It just killed me inside to have to call that rest break. All I could think of while we sat on our asses, was how Daniel was being dragged closer and closer to his...." He did not finish the sentence. "I was relying on Daniel to keep himself alive until we found him. I shouldn't do that. You want to know why?"

"I do, O'Neill."

"Because if we were too late, and he was, well, you know. I would be so pissed at him. And I'd never forgive him for not holding on long enough for us to rescue him. And that's not right."

"I, too, harbored fears we would not find DanielJackson alive," Teal'c confessed. "My fears however, were due to the discovery of the Goa'uld symbionts in the planet's waters."

"Ah," Jack sighed. "You were afraid Daniel might have become a host."

"Yes. As with you, I chaffed against our delay. However, it was necessary to determine who amongst us had become hosts. Even so, it placed the fate of DanielJackson in greater jeopardy. If DanielJackson had become a host, I would not have hesitated to kill him for I know he would desire it. It is that image which haunts my Kel-nor-reem."

"Great. Now I'm going to have the same nightmares," O'Neill mumbled. Even so, Teal'c clearly heard the complaint. The human glanced toward the Jaffa. "You're right, Teal'c. I really need for us to get back to business as usual, to get back to the routine. I really, really need to be bored on this trip. I really need to stand around watching Daniel go into ecstasy over that temple. I really need to give him a hard time about everything. That's normal. He expects it or he'll just worry about us worrying about him. Understand?"

"I understand, O'Neill."

"Good." The colonel slapped Teal'c's back in a companionable gesture. "Glad we had this talk. You or Junior ever have the need to talk again, I'm here for you."

"I am grateful, O'Neill," Teal'c offered bowing his head.

The Jaffa realized this conversation was now ended. Still, his suspicions were confirmed. Like DanielJackson, O'Neill was pretending everything was fine. Teal'c didn't doubt Major Carter was doing the same. As was he. He did not believe this to be wise. Unless one confronted one's fears, they would slowly devour you until you could no longer function. Yet Teal'c realized each of his Tau'ri companions were stubborn in their own unique manners. He fervently desired this denial of their collective fears would not damage the interworking dynamics of SG-1 and destroy the team. Unfortunately, Teal'c did not know how to alter this situation. Not even Kel-nor-reem was providing the guidance he sought.

"Well, looks like we're nearly there."

O'Neill's declaration beckoned Teal'c to focus his attention to their current mission.

"Hmm," the colonel said, slowing his pace, "how about that."

****

Daniel completed writing his translation of the message engraved in the Asgaard pillar. He sat cross-legged on the solid, sand dusted floor of the small open-sided temple, open notebook cradled in his lap, his pen tapping against his right cheek as he studiously re-read his translation.

"Beware the trembled awakening of the swallowers of life when the eye covers the sky. Beware the consumers, or eaters of, or in, the dark."

His forehead creased in thought. This was odd. His past experiences with translating Thor's written language had not been, well, quite this flowery. Usually the Asgaard writings were direct and to the point. He wondered if he had completely mis-translated. The archeologist leaned backward, bracing himself on his hands and arms which allowed him an unimpeded view upward of the inscribed pillar. His curious gaze traveled down the column face to rest at the bottom where a familiar shaped Asgaard stone was embedded.

Daniel was so engrossed in his mental translations, a few seconds passed before he realized his fingers were feeling carved indentations in the stone floor. Curious, the archeologist set aside his notebook and turned to kneel. Taking his fine haired brush from his vest, he began to flick away the thick layer of overlying sand. His cautious ministrations revealed the indentations were a carved representation of a solar system. It consisted of four planets. The third planet from the trinary suns was a huge four ringed gas giant around which at least nine moons orbited. That was odd, he thought. Nothing like the system they were in now. Still, maybe he should tell Jack, or ask Sam....

Daniel glanced over his shoulder toward the elevated Stargate and saw Sam. She was walking alongside the raised platform then turned the corner and disappeared from view. Daniel swiveled his head so he could search the direction in which Jack and Teal'c had traveled. He saw the two distinct figures of his teammates disappear over the top of the sand dune. An involuntary shiver ran up and down his spine. He suddenly felt afraid, alone and isolated from his friends as he had been on P3X-888.

"No, I'm not alone," Daniel whispered through clenched teeth. "Jack, Sam and Teal'c are nearby."

Mentally repeating that mantra, Daniel stood and walked over to the second column, the one in which the blocky asymmetrical writing of the Ancients was engraved. He wanted to move on from the terror his abduction on P3X-888 had created within himself, the inner fear he was still unable to banish four weeks later. Daniel had been nervous, on edge, jumping at shadows and odd noises when alone in his lab and even in his own apartment, the two places he should feel the most secure and safe. Of course, he had told no one about his jitters. He knew the moment anyone knew he was experiencing these symptoms, he'd be hauled off to talk to a counselor about his ordeal. He didn't want to talk about what had happened on P3X-888. Talking would solve nothing, would not revive the members of SG-11 nor allow Robert to be alive once more. Daniel just wanted to get on with his work, submerge himself in the solace it offered and justify why he was still alive while other good men were not. Besides, Sam, Jack and Teal'c were nearly smothering him with their hovering overprotectiveness. Only by proving he could function on his own and do his job could he escape this well-meaning suffocation. If Daniel even hinted to his three friends he was experiencing these post traumatic stress symptoms, and a secret even more disturbing, they would cocoon him so tightly he'd not be allowed to do anything for himself.

Daniel took his brush and swished away the sand from the Ancient letters. This was why Jack had spent an unusual amount of time going through the backlog of as yet unexplored planets with preliminary MALP survey data. Planets in the gate network which offered the most tranquil, yet most promising of potential resources to be exploited by the SGC. Writing cleared away, Daniel smiled as his finger traced the familiar chiseled outline of the Ancient's language. He had suspected, contrary to Jack's bellowing denial and disbelief, the older man knew this temple was here. Why else had time been set to allow him ample time to fully study the artifact, a luxury he was rarely privileged to undertake? So study it he would. No need to contact Jack or Sam...yet.

The archeologist retrieved his camcorder and filmed the second column, then the third and the fourth. Filming completed, he took up some sheets of onion paper and did his rubbings. This way if the videotape was faulty, Daniel always had hardcopy backup to work from in his lab. Carefully folding the flimsy paper to prevent smudging the tracings, he picked up his notebook and inserted the folded pages. If this message was the same, or similar, to that of the Asgaard, he would contact Jack. Maybe this planet wasn't as safe and non-threatening as they had convinced themselves it to be.

****

"Well, this is interesting." Jack stared at what stood before him. "Not trees," he declared.

"They are not, O'Neill," Teal'c confirmed.

Hefting his staff weapon, the Jaffa cautiously led the way down the sloping dune to the level area below. O'Neill followed in his wake. Once on the floor of the depression, Teal'c approached the first row of the towering conical objects. The tops of these constructs appeared to be huge anthills to Jack's way of thinking. The cone shapes were widest at the base and narrowed as they rose to tapered, but rounded tops. They seemed to be comprised of the planet's orange-yellowish sand with one major difference. Jack leaned toward the closest cone and tapped its rough textured side with the tip of his rifle. It was solid.

"Teal'c, have you seen anything like this before?"

"I have not, O'Neill," the Jaffa replied, dwarfed amongst five more of the clustered towers.

"Great," Jack huffed walking over to Teal'c. "First, this supposed uninhabited desert planet offers up a temple and now signs of big honking ants. Have I ever told you I hate bugs?"

"We have yet to see any true indication of life on this planet, O'Neill. Whatever constructed these forms may have died thousands of years ago. Or they may be geologic formations."

"We couldn't be that lucky. So much for this planet being dull and non-threatening."

"We as yet do not have cause for concern," Teal'c opinioned.

"Yeah, maybe. Call it my suspicious nature. C'mon, let's go this way," Jack indicated the chosen direction by pointing his rifle. "We still haven't seen what those other spiky things are. Could still be trees."

The two explorers walked along the level ground between the towering forms. The path curved to their right, following the sand swept contour of the dune. Teal'c held his staff weapon with both hands, pointing it forward. He noticed O'Neill had also leveled his rifle in the same fashion. It never hurt to be cautious, the human wording forming in the Jaffa's mind. They continued on, observing, and silent. O'Neill's quiet only proved to Teal'c he, too, was beginning to sense something might not be right with this planet after all.

The conical towers seemed to cluster in numbers then began to thin out. Increased illumination ahead indicated they might be approaching a clearing. Turning the final curve, the cone towers V'ed outward around a huge bowl shaped depression in the sand dunes. Both explorers stopped.

"Oh, my," O'Neill breathed in awe.

"They also are not trees, O'Neill."

"Ya think?"

Teal'c walked forward to the nearest sun bleached curved object. "They are indeed bones, the skeletal remains of gigantic creatures. I am unfamiliar with this species," he added anticipating the human's next question. Teal'c continued with his investigation, freeing one hand to closer inspect what appeared to be gouges in the bony surface. "I believe these are teeth marks. These creatures may not have died a natural death."

"Oh, absolutely freakin' wonderful. You mean there may be some huge honking something on this planet capable of eating, whatever these were?"

"There is such a possibility, O'Neill." Teal'c's dark eyes surveyed the bone yard scattered before them, filling the sandy depression and extending to the far dune. More spiky tops of the huge skeletal remains could be seen cresting the dune and possibly extending further beyond. He saw nothing moving, however. Teal'c turned and looked to O'Neill. "There is also the possibility the huge honking something no longer exits and these bones may have been here for many years."

As Teal'c waited, he saw O'Neill remove his cap and rub his fingers through his silvered hair. The Jaffa had long ago recognized this gesture as one indicating the human was thinking, trying to decide what to do. The cap was replaced. O'Neill looked at Teal'c.

"Okay. We should head back to the Stargate and rejoin Carter and Daniel. I want to give Daniel all the time he needs to study that temple and Carter to collect her samples. I want us all together. But, I don't want to cause a panic. We're just being cautious."

Teal'c arched one eyebrow. "Should we not inform them of our discovery?"

"Yeah, we'll do that on the way."

"I believe the Stargate lies in that direction." Teal'c pointed the way.

"Okay. Let's go."

****

The hissing was faint, but as he listened, the high pitched intensity increased. Daniel looked away from the stone like object embedded in the bottom of the pillar of the Ancient's writing and peered over his left shoulder to where he thought the noise was emanating from. He saw nothing but the heat-waved desert vista stretching to the horizon. Then the hissing echoed from his right, and he spun around. Still nothing. Right hand resting on his holstered gun, Daniel's left hand inched upward to activate his radio. The sound was gone. All as still. All was quiet except for the rapid thudding of his heart in his chest.

This was eerie. This wasn't his imagination, or remnant jitters from P3X-888. Sam had said she heard a hissing noise not long after their arrival. Daniel stood and walked to the edge of the squared temple platform, surveying the larger flat edifice upon which the Stargate stood. Sam was nowhere in sight.

"Sam?" Daniel called into the radio succeeding in keeping the unease from his voice. Of course, the hissing could just be the release of volcanic gases, just like on Onnanes, another desert planet Daniel did not have fond memories of. Except, where were the volcanoes or the smaller, cone shaped gas vents?

"I hear you Daniel," Sam responded her voice issuing from the radio.

"Where are you?" Daniel inquired, consciously omitting the relief from his tone.

"On the opposite side of the gate platform in a small ravine collecting samples. Something wrong?"

Daniel shook his head at his own foolishness. "No. I, um, just thought I'd check in. How's the sampling?"

"I almost have all my sample vials filled. It's amazing how this sand is comprised of nearly one-third naquadah. You can easily see the black grains when you hold the vial up. Strange how the natural deposition of the sand on the surface doesn't reflect this."

Daniel was physically relieved to allow his curiosity override his unease. "Naquadah in granular form? We've never encountered it like this before, have we?"

"No. That's part of the justification we used to send a team to explore this planet. I think the sand is the mother load of naquadah the colonel referred to in the briefing. I mean, it's an unlimited source just lying here for us to harvest. I wonder how this will affect its capacitor properties to hold and discharge energy, or its tensile strength, or if we can even melt it to liquid form for molding or refining---"

"Carter, cut that out!" The reprimand shouted over the open radio frequency. "Teal'c and I did not go on this hike to listen to the two of you babble on about....stuff, or whatever."

Daniel smiled despite his unease. Jack was certainly making an obvious effort to establish that everything on this planet was okay. Nothing to worry about.

"Yes, sir," Sam apologized. Daniel, however, clearly heard the amusement in her response.

"So, Daniel, how's the translation coming?" Jack's singsong voice asked.

"Oh, good. I've finished the Asgaard and the Ancients' columns."

"Anything interesting?"

Daniel hesitated. Should he say something or not? "Ahh, well, ...maybe."

"Ahh, well...maybe?" Jack parroted.

Daniel returned to stand before the Asgaard pillar and knelt, focused on the embedded stone. "Let me try something here," he said, reaching forward and touching the smooth surface.

Nothing happened. He pushed. The stone did not move, but he felt it become warmer under his fingers, and it began to glow. With a humming sound, something within the temple floor activated. Daniel turned around to see a color enhanced holographic projection of the same planetary system carved on the floor in the temple's center. The image was almost as tall as himself and filled most of the open space of the tiny temple. The planets and their companion moons in this representation were moving, displaying their respective orbits around the trinary suns. The entire representation was very similar to what they had seen on Ernest's planet three years ago.

Daniel watched, fascinated but remembered to speak into his radio. "How about you and Teal'c? See any purple dinosaurs?"

"Not exactly. But those trees we thought were trees? They're not. The first set were tall cone shaped somethings, reminded me of giant anthills and these last..." There was a pause. "Well, they're bones. Big honking bones. Teal'c says there are gnaw marks all over 'em meaning something striped them clean."

Enraptured, Daniel continued to watch the virtual display unfold before him. It appeared to be a fast-forwarded projection of the rotation of the solar system. His brow furrowed when he saw the orbital bodies begin to rotate into a straight alignment. The alignment seemed to stay that way frozen in time. This was significant and therefore, probably not a good thing. Maybe he should say something. The thought intensified in importance when Daniel glanced over his right shoulder toward the elevated Stargate and saw the third blue white sun creeping over the horizon. He returned his attention to the now stilled holographic planetary system.

"So, sir, it's possible this planet is not all desert and devoid of life," Sam's theory emitted from Daniel's radio.

The sound of her voice roused Daniel from his own theorizing. "Ah, Sam, what do we know of this planetary system?"

"Well..."

"It's got two suns." This helpful, but flippant, observation came from Jack.

"Ahh, noo," Daniel disagreed seeing the full orb of the third sun elevated over the horizon. "It has three suns," he corrected, leaning beyond the protection of the capstone cover to see the first two suns nearly overhead. Decision made, he returned to stand before the holographic projection. "Jack, I've completed my translation of the Asgaard and Ancients columns."

"And..."

"Well, I think we may be on the fourth, and farthest, planet of a trinary sun system. I found an embedded stone device at the bottom of each pillar. The Asgaard device is very similar to what we've seen in the Hammer and the Hall of Might on Cimmeria. I'm assuming the embedded device at the bottom of each column is that races' version of the start button."

"Daniel, is this going to take all day?" Jack interrupted. "Readers Digest version please. The start button for what?"

"Right. Well, I just pushed it."

"Daniel, damnit!! How many times have I told you not to touch things!!" Jack yelled from the radio.

"And it activated a holographic image apparently projected from the temple floor," Daniel continued on, ignoring Jack's reprimand. "Unbelievable as it seems, every certain number of years, however that's measured here, this planet is totally eclipsed by a gigantic ringed planet." Daniel glanced toward the horizon behind him at right angle to the suns' position. He saw four distinctive black linear features inching above the sandy horizon. "Maybe by that one creeping up into the horizon behind where I'm located. If I read the translation correctly, when the eye covers the sky, the swallowers of life are aroused."

"Come again?"

"Right. Well, ..." Daniel never completed his sentence. He was looking at the camcorder sitting on the temple floor beside his backpack, canteens and open paged notebook. It was vibrating. As Daniel watched, he could feel the slight tremors through his booted feet traveling into his legs. And they were growing in intensity.

"Sam!" He yelled into his radio. "Do you feel that?"

From her hidden position in the ravine, Sam stood and looked around. Small bits of clumped sand were trickling down the two opposite faces of the crooked gash in the planet's surface. The shaking was becoming more intense. She could feel the unmistakable vibrations radiating into her own feet and legs beneath her feet. "Yes," was all she could say. She was at once fascinated and concerned with what was happening. Quake, her mind informed her. Get to higher ground.

"Sam, get to the Stargate! Get to it now!! Hurry! Watch out behind you!"

Daniel's shouted warnings echoed in the tiny ravine as Sam's instincts for survival encouraged her to abandon her sample case and begin a frantic scramble up the ravine face nearest the Stargate location. The ground was shifting and rumbling, making the climb difficult, but she persevered and reached the top, crawling over the lip and trying to stand on the wobbling ground. Behind her, on the other side of the ravine, the sand was moving. A huge wall of sand, a wave, was roiling in her direction. Daniel was right. Get to higher ground. Turning she began to run through the miasma of sand, seeing the uplifted platform in the near distance and knowing it was her only hope of salvation.

****

"SAM! Run, run!!" Daniel's terrified warning blasted out of Teal'c's and O'Neill's radios in stereo.

"What the hell's going on?!!" Jack shouted into this own radio. Suddenly, he was very alert and aware part of his team was in serious trouble. He looked at Teal'c. The Jaffa's dark-skinned face was etched with concern and urgency.

"We should return to the Stargate at once, O'Neill."

"Ya think?" Jack responded, already starting to jog up the sloping dune face.

A sudden jarring movement of the soft ground beneath his feet, threw him off balance, and he stumbled to his knees. Teal'c reached down and grabbed his arm to haul him to his feet, never slowing in his own diagonal ascent across the shaking dune face. O'Neill clutched Teal'c's forearm, giving him added leverage and an anchor to keep from sliding downward as the rumbling sand seemed to be doing. His legs churning in desperation, Jack propelled himself closer to the dune summit. His team was in trouble. He had to save them. His military training, however, took control over his own undisciplined fears for Daniel's and Carter's safety. He had to keep calm and focused on the situation, move in a steady rhythm to conserve energy and keep control. Otherwise, his wild flailing would tumble both himself and Teal'c down the dune face, and they would lose precious minutes. Tightening his hold on Teal'c's forearm, Jack looked upward to see they were nearly to the top of the rolling sand.

****

"SAM!! Run faster!!" Daniel screamed into his radio. All he could see beyond the elevated Stargate was the sand tidal wave approaching with increasing speed. And no sign of Sam. Of course he couldn't see her. She was in a ravine, obstructed from his view. "I'm coming!!"

Daniel leapt from the temple platform. The moment he hit the sand, he froze, kneeling. The warm sand beneath his hands and knees was undulating and sliding, as if it were alive. And the hissing sound had returned. It was very loud now, almost as high-pitched as steam whistling from a boiling kettle.

"Oh damn!!" he cursed, mounting fear for Sam's, as well as Jack's and Teal'c's safety, propelling him to his feet. The shifting sand knocked him off balance and he fell onto his back. As Daniel rolled onto his stomach prepared to stand again, he came face to face with a huge, dark maw, lined with shining serrated teeth. The mouth was wide enough to easily swallow a man and it was snaking toward him, the teeth clacking loudly as they snapped together in a chomping action.

"Shit!!"

Daniel spun around and leapt towards the temple. Adrenaline fueled his actions, as he levered himself onto the temple floor and sprawled on his back. He pulled his legs inward from over the edge just as he saw several oblong wormlike shapes elevate from the sand, huge mouths snapping at the empty air where his legs had been dangling only seconds before. Denied their prey, both creatures disappeared below the platform edge.

Stunned, Daniel did not move. A few seconds passed before his brain managed to remind him Sam was in trouble and he needed to go find her. On hands and knees, Daniel cautiously crawled to the edge of the platform. He peered beyond the stone, prepared to scramble away if anything tried to grab him. He saw nothing but the sandy expanse between his location and the Stargate cresting and falling as it moved wavelike past the temple. The entire area was moving. Horrified, Daniel fumbled for his radio.

"Sam!! Sam! Can you hear me!!"

Crackling static was his only reply.

"Sam?" Daniel repeated. Silence answered him. Shit!! he had to do something, but what? How could he get to her? He saw the sand tidal wave reach the far end of the Stargate platform and begin to cleave apart and slide around it.

****

Sam was running as fast as she could. But, as she had once experienced in an earthquake, the ground seemed to move in one direction and throw her equilibrium off in another. It was difficult to maintain her balance. She saw the Stargate ahead, still over one hundred yards away. The sand between her and it was churning, moving in myriad directions.

The major spared a glance behind her and saw the rolling sand tidal wave had steamrolled over the ravine and was not slowing. Suddenly, she lost her footing and fell to the shifting sand. A huge worm like creature, mouth gapping with viscous teeth towered over her sprawled form. Sam froze. She dared not even breathe, watching the worm waving before her. It stilled, then dove down into the sand. So that was what was causing the sand movements, her scientific mind deduced. These sandworms, or, whatever, borrowing the designation from Dune. There must be thousands of them Sam guessed, observing the wild shifting of the sand all around her.

Suddenly realizing she had to get to solid ground, she stood, took a few cautious steps before running as fast as she could, hoping to reach the solidity of the rock platform before one of the creatures found her. With teeth like those, they ate anything unfortunate enough to be within reach of their grasp. This could explain the colonels' stripped bones. God, she prayed as she lost her balance, braced herself with an outstretched hand, righted and resumed running, let her get to the Stargate. Another thought jarred her mind. Please, Daniel, don't get down from that temple she screamed her silent plea to her teammate. Fingers trying to engage the radio as she bounded along, Sam realized she had to warn Daniel to stay where he was and not to come to find her as his last message said he was attempting to do.

The 'gate was nearing, and Sam tried to increase her speed, still fumbling with the radio. Suddenly, she felt herself lifted upward. The dune wave had caught up with her. She rode the crest then suddenly fell, tumbling downward. She abruptly stopped when she found herself rammed against the solid rock wall of the platform. Not even thinking, she scrambled to her feet, grabbed the top edge and hauled herself upward just as the clacking sound of snapping teeth echoed behind her. Rolling on the flat, stone surface, Sam didn't stop until she reached the DHD. Turning, she saw the sand dune had passed her and was sieving around the platform. Some of the sand spilled onto the platform, but the structure was high enough to allow most of it to pass. She was fortunate the foundation was so large and tall an obstacle.

Then she remembered, and her fear grew. The temple platform was tiny and not as elevated. Surely it wasn't large or tall enough to stop the sand nor the creatures beneath it whose herd movement was apparently the cause of the wave in the first place. Daniel! She had to warn Daniel! She reached for her radio, but to her dismay, found it was no longer in her vest pocket.

Scrambling to her feet, Sam ran across the expanse of the platform, praying she wasn't too late.

****

Daniel watched, fascinated, awed and a lot scared as the sand wave approached his location. Too late, he realized, the sand would most likely cover part of the small structure on which he stood. Deciding he had to take his chances and sprint over the moving sand to the safety of the larger Stargate platform, he began to step toward the edge prepared to jump. The entire temple shook with an unexpected impact. Daniel lost his balance and fell hard onto his back, air woofing from his lungs. Stunned, he managed to see the capstone overhead shiver as the Ancients' and the third pillar began to wobble. They fell with the repeated impact of something, the sand creatures, ramming into the stone platform beneath the sand. Daniel tried to roll onto his side to move to the edge of the temple, but was too slow to react. The pillars crashed down beside his location, followed by the now unsupported end of the capstone roof. He thought he heard Jack call his name as he screamed in response to the crushing weight of stone on top of him. A second passed before shearing pain radiated from his left thigh and right shoulder. As the sand wave moved past the destroyed temple, more flaming intense pain caused by the shifting weight crushing him overwhelmed Daniel's senses and blackness swallowed him.

****

"DANIEL!!!"

O'Neill screamed into his radio. He and Teal'c had just crested the undulating sand dune directly opposite the Stargate, arriving to observe the temple collapsing from the forced impact of the sand wave. Panicked, O'Neill began a desperate scramble in that direction only to be hauled backward by a huge yank from Teal'c pulling on his vest. As he fell onto the Jaffa and prepared to vent his displeasure, a worm-like creature emerged from the sand and towered over them.

"Don't move, sir!!! They can't find you if you don't move!!"

This shouted advice came from Carter who, O'Neill saw, was standing on the Stargate platform facing them, her hands cupped to her mouth. He trusted Carter implicitly. O'Neill froze. He felt the bulk that was Teal'c behind him do the same. The eyeless worm hovered, huge mouth rowed with teeth snapping open and shut. Finding no food, it wavered toward the direction of Carter's voice. It swayed once more before diving into the sand, disappearing to continue its sojourn in the direction of the conical towers and the bone graveyard.

"O'Neill, we must reach the Stargate!" Teal'c shouted. He put actions to words and began to move, dragging a reluctant O'Neill behind him.

"No, damn it!! We have to get to Daniel!!" Jack countered, struggling to free himself. But the Jaffa was too strong physically and continued to pull him toward the apparent safety of the nearer Stargate platform and the waiting Carter. "Damn it, Teal'c! Let go of me!!" Jack yelled but was ignored.

"Hurry, sir!! Behind you!!"

This frantic warning shout from Carter caused both men to pause and instinctively peer behind them. Another huge worm had exploded from the sand and was rapidly glidding toward the teammates. They had no choice but to flee to the Stargate, the platform nearest their location. With renewed vigor, Teal'c and O'Neill ran.

The two men arrived at the nearly six foot high platform face. Carter knelt down offering a hand. Jack, no longer protesting, grabbed it and allowed her to haul him to safety. She reached down to assist Teal'c.

The three stunned members of SG-1 stood on the elevated Stargate platform. Teal'c and Jack, winded from their frantic trek, were both gasping loudly, filling their lungs with precious air to replace that expended in their ordeal. Sam, sweaty, dusty and disheveled, her cap and sunglasses gone along with her radio, watched the on-going migration of the sand worms, as she'd christened the creatures. Her blue eyes were huge with a mixture of disbelief and worry. Disbelief at how a seemingly peaceful and dull planet had morphed into a hell fraught with dangers. This was combined with her overwhelming worry at the unknown status of their missing teammate.

Sam looked at Teal'c. The Jaffa was now recovered from his escape from the sandworms, standing ramrod straight and rigid, his glistened and dusty face reflecting her own dread, his dark eyes fixed in the direction of the small temple. Sam shifted her silent survey to the equally disheveled colonel, his breathing steady as he, too, straightened from his hunched position. His brown eyes were dark with fear, fear for Daniel, and his jaw muscles rippled as he clenched and unclenched his teeth, regaining his aura of command and control. Sam forced herself to turn and look at the temple.

"Oh, God," she muttered in total disbelief.

All that remained of the tiny structure were the two most distant of the original four pillars. The capstone had collapsed at its unsupported end. Portions of the fallen roof had broken apart into several huge chunks. The opposite end was leaning precariously against the two remaining upright pillars. Sand churned by the passage of the herd of sandworms had heaped onto portions of the temple floor covering part of the collapsed stonework. Sam's gut clenched as she quickly registered what she knew her two silent companions realized. There was no visible sign of Daniel.

"Damn it, Daniel!" Jack swore as he rushed forward to the end of the Stargate platform closest to the temple. He was followed closely by Teal'c and Sam. Teal'c extended one strong arm and hand to clasp O'Neill on the shoulder preventing the CO from jumping from the edge. "Damnit, Teal'c!" he shouted twisting to free himself. "Let go of me!!" he spat, his brown eyes now blazing.

"No, sir! You can't!" Sam shouted and hated saying the words. "You'll never reach the temple. The er, ah, sand worms, would..." She swallowed and couldn't speak the gory reality. She saw, however, her meaning was clearly understood.

"I believe Major Carter is correct, O'Neill," Teal'c seconded. Sam flashed him a look of gratitude for supporting her. O'Neill's angered eyes, however, cut from Carter to the Jaffa. Unfazed, Teal'c resumed speaking. "We were fortunate to elude these creatures and gain the safety of this platform. Until we learn otherwise, is it not wise to assume DanielJackson is there," Teal'c pointed to the ruined temple with his free hand, "and in need of our assistance."

O'Neill clutched his head with both of his hands, turning to stare at the decimated temple. He lowered his hands and straightened his posture. "You're right, Teal'c," he admitted, his voice raw with the fear of the unknown status of their fourth team member. "You're both right," he added in apology. He took out his field glasses. "They're just freakin' worms, damnit. Freakin' bugs. No way am I going to let some damn..bugs.. There has to be a way..."

"Yes, sir," Carter agreed enthusiastically. "And we'll find it and save Daniel."

"Right," Jack concurred, trembling hands holding the binoculars to his face. "Carter, try to contact Daniel on your radio."

"I lost mine, sir."

"Take mine, Major Carter." Teal'c quickly removed his radio from its secure vest pocket and handed the device to Sam.

She held it to her mouth determined to emulate the colonel and rely on her military training to keep her focused on the problem and find a resolution. "Daniel. Daniel, can you hear me?" Sam spoke calmly into the radio, pausing to await a reply.

She cocked her head, intently listening for a familiar voice to issue from the speaker. But her mind wailed with whys. Why was this happening? This was supposed to have been a safe planet, posing no danger or threat to any of them. They had come here hoping to regain the balance, familiarity and cohesiveness the team had developed over nearly four years of working together. To return to business as usual. To convince themselves everything was okay, and they were all fine again after the scare on P3X-888. Daniel had to be alive, he had to be...

Sam desperately held onto that silent mantra. But her imagination would not cooperate, and vivid images of Daniel's torn and bloodied body flashed before her. She squeezed her eyes shut to chase away the gory sight of Daniel being shredded apart by the rapier like teeth of the sandworms. No, damnit! She jerked her head, opening her eyes. He...wss....alive....and whole, just as he was when they found him on P3X-888.

Taking a deep breath, Sam regained her self-control. Giving into her fears was not helping their missing teammate. She opened her eyes, face set with grim determination. Her last radio contact with Daniel was his message saying he was coming to help her. Now she would return the gesture and help him. She glanced upward, saw the three suns of this trinary, not binary, system inching across the pale blue sky. Gaze shifting to her left, towards the horizon right angled to the ruined temple, Sam saw the first glimpse of the maroon curved orb of the gas giant with its four black rings Daniel informed them about, slowly creeping upward, blotting out more and more of the blue white sky with each passing second.

"C'mon, Danny. You be alive, you hear me. You...be..alive."

Hearing her CO's whispered plea, Sam focused on the ruined temple. "Daniel, can you hear me? It's Sam. Please respond. Daniel--"

"Carter," O'Neill cut in. "Hold it a sec." He lowered his binoculars and took the two remaining steps forward to balance on the edge of their sanctuary.

"O'Neill," Teal'c rumbled in warning, and Sam saw him again reach toward the older man.

"No, Teal'c, I think I see...." O'Neill's fingers adjusted the focus and stilled once again, tightly wrapped around the field glasses.

Sam felt her heartbeat increasing, pounding with mixed dread and anticipation.

"I do!" the colonel suddenly shouted and despite herself Sam jumped. "I see a hand and an arm," he paused in his recitation. "I see Daniel's left hand and arm and the top of his head. He's not moving."

"Daniel! Please respond!" Sam spoke into the radio, panic causing her voice to rise.

"Keep calling him, Carter. We have to find out..."

"Daniel!! It's Sam. Please respond! Daniel, we can see you!! Please respond."

****

The loud, guttural roaring of the Unas echoed loudly around him in the dim, dank and stench filled cavern. Daniel stood rooted to the floor, paralyzed with fear, staring, gaping at the huge shape lumbering toward him. He knew he should run, but couldn't command his legs to cooperate. It would be hopeless, anyway. He was too tired, had finally expended all of his physical energy. Daniel knew he was going to die and his death was to be meted out in the form of the slavering primordial giant of the Unas advancing toward him, huge clawed fingers flexing in anticipation of tearing the wearied archeologist apart limb by limb. Even if he begged the creature not to kill him, Daniel knew it would be useless. His last vestiges of hope vanished. His friends would be too late. There would be no rescue. This was it. Daniel accepted his fate. He was afraid, yet prepared to die, to cross the Nile River to the other side, to the land of the dead, to enter the house of the god and fall into the embrace of Sha're, who would be waiting to greet him. They would be together again, for eternity.

The Unas male towered over him, saliva dripping from its snapping mouth, rapier pointed teeth clacking with the movement. With one swipe of his powerful, muscular arm, the Unas hit Daniel. The archeologist fell heavily to the floor and was covered with the crushing weight of the Unas pouncing on top of him.

"Daniel. Daniel can you hear me? Please respond. It's Sam."

Sam? Was that Sam? Are they going to rescue me after all?

In desperation, Daniel mentally clutched for the salvation Sam's calling offered to the tiny part of himself not yet willing to surrender and die. There was still something he had to do, but what? Sam's scared voice sounded tinny, fuzzy, as if it was coming from a great distance. The land of the living perhaps? Daniel found it difficult to focus on her words. Something was distracting him. The roaring Unas...that was it. And the sharp, crushing pain radiating from his left thigh and right shoulder, and the heavy, oppressive weight of the Unas pressing on his chest. Wait, something's not right here..... Daniel's awareness slid away into the darkness...

"Daniel! Please respond!!"

The urgency in Sam's voice rang in his conscious as Daniel struggled free of the cloying darkness and tried to focus on her words, her voice.

Wait...wait... Sam....Sam's in trouble. Have to help her...

"Daniel!! It's Sam. Please respond!!"

Sam's alive!! Thank God! I'm sorry, Sam. I tried to come to you. I tried...

Despite his desperate efforts, Daniel felt himself drifting away, lulled into acceptance as the papyrus boat gently floated across the Nile nearing the shoreline of the land of the dead. He wanted to let go...to fall into the numbness, to end the pain, to end all of his suffering. But....Sam!!!

"Daniel, we can see you. Please respond!!"

We? Wait, ..can't go yet. Have to...have to...have to...Jack....Teal'c. No, can't leave without warning them...warn them...

He had to warn his friends of the danger lurking nearby. With great effort and strength of will, Daniel focused on Sam's voice. It was oddly enough coming from his left shoulder. Wasn't it? He tried to concentrate on listening, but there was only silence and the pain, the crushing, piercing, burning pain...

"Daniel, it's Sam,....please..."

The tremor in her voice focused Daniel. Radio...find the radio...left shoulder... Ignoring his physical agony, Daniel became aware his left arm and hand were flung out away from his body. It felt okay, no pain coming from the appendage. Had to see....had to see... Daniel fought back the horror of the last sight his eyes had observed, of a huge maw of teeth chomping toward him...Sam was calling to him. He had to warn his friends.

Daniel forced his eyelids to move, and they slit open, feeling gritty and scratchy. His mouth was gritty too, as if fine-grained particles were inside as well as covering his face. He tried to swallow and coughed as the foreign grit trickled down his throat. The reflex produced a flare of agony and reminded him of the crushing weight splayed across his chest. Ignoring the discomfort, he refocused, reminding himself he was looking for his left hand. Eyes opened again, wider this time. Everything was bright but blurry. Apparently his glasses were gone. His head slowly rolled to his left. He blinked a few more times and thought he saw his fingers flexing and unflexing. Teeth clenched, he silently commanded his left arm to move. Slowly, his hand lifted, arm bending at the elbow, rising then falling, the fingers of his hand tapping his shoulder. Fingers crawled, searching for the radio. Successful, they touched the on switch and pushed.

"....am...." Daniel croaked, coughing as more grit tickled down his throat. This was followed by two more waves of pain radiating through his body.

****

"Daniel?" Sam called into her radio, hand raised for silence. "Daniel? If that was you, try again. Try again."

"...s....Sam..."

"Daniel!"

Daniel realized this was a new voice talking to him from his radio. It sounded like...

"It's Jack. You listen to me carefully. We're coming to get you. Do you hear me? You just hang in there. That's an order, Jackson. Don't you even think of disobeying, you hear me!?"

"...ack...warn...you..."

"No, Daniel don't talk unless we tell you to. Save your strength."

"...ack....sooorry...."

"Daniel, what did I just tell you?"

Daniel heard the irritation in Jack's voice and drew comfort from it. He also knew he had to disregard Jack's order as usual. "...have...to ...tell..."

"No, it can wait. Tell me when we have you home safe. Conserve your strength."

"...no...dead..."

"No, you're not going to die. I won't let you, you hear me, Daniel?"

"...leave..."

"No, we're not leaving. We're coming to get you."

"...kay..." Daniel surrendered, feeling his fingers slip off the radio and himself slipping into unconsciousness.

I have to go back, for just a minute. I have to tell Jack, warn him. Daniel knelt in the papyrus boat, now floating, motionless in the middle of the Nile River. Somehow he had to steer it away from the land of the dead and toward the shore where his friends stood waiting to receive the news he had to deliever.

****

O'Neill clicked off his radio and turned to face Carter and Teal'c. "Okay. What do we have and what do we need and how the hell do we get him home alive?" he added, now in full-blown command mode. A member of his team was down, injured, and needed rescue. The fact the distressed teamember was Daniel, his friend, was ruthlessly shoved into a tiny recess by the command voice speaking in Jack's mind.

"We need to rescue DanielJackson. We as yet do not have the means to do so."

Jack cocked one silver eyebrow at Teal'c.

"Sir, we have to develop a plan which will allow us to reach Daniel's position without being attacked or..."

"Eaten," Jack supplied.

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, Major, how do we go about doing that? In fact, how do we know the worms are still here?" He turned around to look at the remains of the temple. "I don't see the sand moving or hear that whistling sound."

"They are here, O'Neill," Teal'c intoned, his gaze focused laser-like on the partially visible form of the archeologist.

"Sir, I have a theory," Sam offered.

"Theory? Let's hear it, Carter."

"Yes, sir. I believe the, er, well, sand worms, sense their prey by sound, or rather, the vibrations of the sound waves caused by noise or movement. The sand amplifies and conducts the vibration. It's comprised of nearly one-third naquadah. We know the mineral is an exceptional conductor of electricity. Why can't the same be said of conduction of sound waves or vibrations? Living in the sand, the worms don't need eyes to see or ears to hear. They rely on vibrations. That's why I told you and Teal'c to stop moving when you encountered them. They could no longer hear, or sense, your movements so they moved on."

"How will this help Daniel?"

"Well, sir we may be able to clear a secure path between our current position and the temple. We can use it to rescue Daniel. I doubt we could rig a pulley system. I don't think those last two pillars are sturdy enough to anchor our weight."

"Okay," Jack said, nodding his head. "That sounds like a plan. What do you need?"

"Well, first, a moment to test my theory."

Sam walked over to the MALP and hurriedly opened several of the probe's cargo containers. She pulled out miscellaneous objects including another sample case, several plastic water bottles and several smaller carrying cases. Arms loaded, she returned to where the two men stood waiting at the platform edge. Bending over she set her objects on the smooth stone surface and straightened, one hand holding one of the empty hard plastic carrying cases. Hefting the case once in her hand, she pitched it as far as she could. The case plopped onto the sand. Almost instantaneously, a sandworm emerged from the sand, mouth open and pointed teeth glistening in the triple sun light. The case vanished into the serrated maw. Both case and worm disappeared beneath the sand.

"Okay. I'd say that proves your theory. Now what?"

"Well, sir, I think I can rig some sonic devices. We shoot them to outline a path between our location and the temple. The high intensity and frequency of the sound should frighten or confuse the worms and keep them away." O'Neill's face creased with confusion. "Um, think of those wireless fences advertised on TV for your pets?" Sam offered as a simplified explanation.

"Oh. Got it. But, its just a theory, right?" His worried glance drifted to the ruined temple.

"Yes, sir. But for now it's all I can think of."

"That's good enough for me."

"Can we construct these devices from materials on the MALP?" Teal'c asked, his gaze never wavering from their trapped team member.

"No. That's the one flaw in my plan. I'm assuming the Stargate or DHD wasn't damaged in the worm migration. We can contact the SGC, via the MALP, and get the supplies and tools I need to build the devices."

O'Neill nodded before addressing Teal'c. "Let's find out if the 'gate works. Teal'c," he returned the radio to the Jaffa. "Stay here. Watch Daniel. Try to contact him every thirty minutes or so. Keep him talking just long enough to ensure he's still alive. Remind him we're here, he'll be rescued and he's not alone." His voiced cracked when speaking his final command.

Teal'c's head bowed in acceptance of the orders as he took possession of his radio. "I request being among those who will attempt the rescue of DanielJackson."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that was a no brainer." At Carter's unasked question, O'Neill nodded. "All three of us plus a few other volunteers. Okay, Carter, let's contact Hammond."

****

"We have an off-world activation, General."

The familiar rumbling indicative of an incoming wormhole quickly followed this announcement from Sergeant Davis, the on-duty gate technician.

General Hammond turned away from the kitted members of SG-2 and 7, who were gathered in the control room undergoing final instructions before their departure to investigate another potential planet suitable for the Inkarans to colonize. Frowning, the base commander came to stand behind the technician. It was always a concern when off world activation's occurred even when they were done at pre-scheduled times from SG teams exploring other planets. However, there was always the chance such an activation was initiated by unknown cultures or by the Goa'uld.

"Are you receiving an IDC code, Sergeant?"

"No, sir, not....." Sergeant Davis paused, then "yes sir." He intently watched the computer monitor, waiting confirmation of the signal. "It's SG-1."

Hammond straightened. "I suppose it's wishful thinking to believe they're finished with their survey of P4X-380 and are ready to come home. Open the iris."

Sergeant Davis activated the computer program which opened the protective titanium covering. It dilated, revealing the wavering silver blue event horizon of the active incoming wormhole. Everyone expectantly waited and watched. The seconds passed, but no one emerged from the rippling gateway.

"Receiving a MALP transmission, sir."

"Put it through," Hammond ordered moving to stand before a blank monitor. It flickered and rolled for a few seconds then the image stabilized. A very concerned and grim faced Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter peered from the screen.

"Colonel, Major," Hammond greeted keeping his voice calm. His hands, however, were clenched into fists at his side indicative of his anxiety. His instincts told him this was not a social call. "Report your status."

"Sir, we have a situation," O'Neill began, tension evident in his tone.

Hammond's fists squeezed tighter. He suspected he was not going to like what the colonel was about to relay to him.

"Daniel is trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed temple."

With this declaration, concern for the archeologist's well being flared within Hammond. He clenched his jaws to maintain his composure.

"We'll need some field and medical support, and some specialized equipment Major Carter will relay to Sergeant Siler," O'Neill continued. "We'll need all of this ASAP."

"Understood, Colonel." Hammond turned to the attentive Sergeant Davis. "Have Sergeant Siler report to the control room and notify Doctor Fraiser to assemble what is needed for a medical field evacuation." Orders given, he refocused his attention to the two waiting officers keeping his own growing dread at bay.

"Ahh, General," O'Neill continued. "This planet sprung a few surprises on us in the way of bizarre, huge honkin' and hungry worms with very sharp teeth. Apparently, they live within the sand. They attack anything that moves. Whoever comes here should be told that before embarkation."

"General," Major Griff addressed the senior officer, "as we're already here and geared up for gate travel, SG-2 would like to volunteer."

"I heard that, General," O'Neill's voice issued from the speaker. "Thank you, Major."

The Marine commander moved to stand beside Hammond. "The Marines are not afraid of a few worms, Colonel. We just got Doctor Jackson back. Maybe our luck will hold again. You tell him to wait for us."

"I will, Major."

"What is Doctor Jackson's condition?" Hammond asked. He realized O'Neill had perhaps deliberately skimmed over this fact. Not wanting to believe the worse, he awaited an answer.

"Well, he's alive for now," Jack said.

Even with the transmission distortion, O'Neill's fear for the well being of his teammate telegraphed to the waiting general.

"No idea how long that will last or what the extent of his injuries are," the colonel continued. "We can't reach him right now. Regardless, General, I don't leave members of my team behind."

"I'm not suggesting you would, Colonel." So it was bad. Murmurs sounded behind Hammond. He turned to see what was causing the commotion. He nodded in satisfaction, turning to speak again into the microphone. "Sergeant Siler is here. Sergeant," he waved the maintenance chief to the mike. "Major Carter will be relaying a list of materials she needs to be gated to P4X-380 ASAP."

"Understood, sir," Siler acknowledged moving toward the mike. Hammond stepped out of the way to allow SG-2 to file to the stairs leading down to the gate room. He had put the rescue into motion. All he could do was anxiously wait, let his people do their jobs and pray Doctor Jackson would once again defy the angel of death.

****

Daniel felt the oppressive weight of the Unas body pressing down on his chest, slowly compressing his lungs. It was getting harder to draw breath. With one last effort of bravado, he decided to open his eyes and face the instrument of his death. Slowly, he pried his eyelids open. He saw the huge clawed hand inches from his face. In slow motion, Daniel fixated on the claws as they lifted, then in a blur came down, talons raking across his right shoulder downward into his chest. The searing pain was unbearable, and Daniel choked on his own gasped scream.

"DanielJackson."

Was that Teal'c? No!!! Not here!! Teal'c get away!!! Daniel knew he had to warn his friend to leave or he'd be eaten as well. Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and rolled his head to the left to avoid seeing the ravenous Unas perched above him.

He blinked to remove the stinging grit from his eyes and saw not the cave of the Unas, nor the watery expanse of the Nile River. Rather Daniel saw pale blue-sky overhead. Wait, where is he? He had to tell Jack something, didn't he? Something.... Daniel blinked his eyes again and saw it. The maroon eye slowly rising, devouring the sky inch by inch. The dark....

"DanielJackson."

With sharp clarity, reality swept over Daniel. He wasn't on P3X-888, but P4X-380, trapped under the collapsed capstone of the temple. Daniel felt a pain stinging his left thigh. His body spasmed causing the pain to lance through his right shoulder. He gasped in response to the agony and jerked his left hand. Radio. He must activate his radio.

".....teal...."

"DanielJackson. I am pleased to hear your voice. I am watching you. You must not struggle. You will only damage yourself further. We are coming."

"...no...leave....warn you...dark...." Daniel gasped, hoping the radio could transmit his weakened voice. He frantically tried, and failed, to draw additional air into his compressed lungs. Instead, blackness clouded his vision and engulfed him. Slowly, his left hand slid away from the radio to lie motionless on the sand covered temple floor.

****

"Teal'c?" Jack asked as he rushed over to stand beside the Jaffa. "Was Daniel trying to tell you something?"

"I believe DanielJackson was attempting to warn me of an unknown danger. He said dark," Teal'c answered, his intense gaze never flickering from the now motionless form of his friend so tantalizingly close and still so far away. "I believe he is no longer aware."

Jack held the binoculars to his face. "Yeah, he's not moving," he confirmed lowering the field glasses. Daniel's just unconscious, is all. Probably better for him right now Jack convinced himself. He has to be hurting. He refused to even consider the alternative that he had stood here within yelling distance and just watched Daniel die.

O'Neill shaded his eyes with his hand and looked skyward. The three suns would soon be covered by the gas giant easing it's way into the sky just as Daniel's translation and the holographic image had predicted.

"Yeah, he must mean the eclipse," Jack clarified Daniel's cryptic warning. "I don't plan on being here to see the full effect." He lowered his hand and looked once more to the collapsed temple. "Hammond's mobilizing the rescue. Help should be here soon."

Jack struggled to keep his voice calm while fighting the urge to leap from the platform and run. For an insane moment, he considered taking his chances with the worms and attempt to go to Daniel. Then his military training reasserted itself and he dismissed wasting mental energy of any additional desperate scenarios.

"I must ask your forgiveness, O'Neill."

"What?" The unexpected statement from Teal'c garnered Jack's full attention.

"Perhaps you were correct," the Jaffa continued regretfully. "Perhaps I should not have prevented you from attempting to reach DanielJackson. If you had been successful, DanielJackson would not now be alone."

"No, Teal'c. You acted correctly," Jack quickly assured. "I should apologize for yelling at you. I lost my composure. Thankfully, one of us was keeping focused on the situation." Jack sighed releasing some of his pent-up frustration. "I don't know what's worse. Not knowing if he's alive or having him in clear view and unable to help him."

"Perhaps I should attempt---"

"No!" O'Neill barked, interrupting Teal'c's suggestion. "No freakin' way!! I'm not going to be the one to tell Daniel you got torn apart by those damn worms while trying to save him! Not even Junior can give you an edge this time." Suddenly aware he was yelling, Jack paused, breathing deeply to calm his jangled nerves and regain his composure. What the hell was wrong with him? He was totally falling apart, losing it just when Daniel needed him to be at his hard ass colonel best. Jack hated losing control. And, damnit, he wasn't going to. "No," Jack resumed speaking, his voice matter of fact, "we keep watch. We wait for the rescue and pray Daniel hangs on long enough for us to get him home. I hate it too, but we have to wait."

Teal'c accepted O'Neill's words with a slight tilt of his head, suspecting the gravity of O'Neill's internal struggles. His eyes, however, never strayed from their trapped comrade. The two teammates waited: Teal'c as stationary as a stone statue and Jack a bundle of nerves just waiting to explode. As the tense seconds passed, the ringed gas giant crept higher and higher into the pale blue sky, stalking its starry prey while the sands of the planet shifted and wavered, the hot air echoing the hissing of the moving worms.

After five minutes, Jack began pacing behind Teal'c. He hated this inactivity. He hated being helpless even less so. Why couldn't he stay focused? If he didn't keep it together, he'd condem Daniel to...whatever. Damnit!! Daniel was not more than fifty yards away, trapped and no doubt in agony, stranded and needing rescue in the worst possible way. Alone. Alone again as Jack merely watched impotent to act. Damnit!! Jack cursed kicking at the dusting of sand on the smooth stone floor. Oh, yeah that was real productive. He glared at Carter as she approached. Then he schooled his emotions and set his command face in place. This was not helping Daniel. What was wrong with him anyway? He had to stay focused or Daniel would be lost to them.

"Carter," he greeted his 2IC as she came to stand before him.

"Sir, the rescue team should be arriving within the next thirty minutes. Sergeant Siler suggested he bring all the equipment we need here, and he could assist me in assembling the sonic devices. It would save time."

O'Neill nodded his head. "Good thinking. He know about our friends?"

"Yes, sir. I informed him but he volunteered to come anyway."

Jack felt a stirring of pride knowing how many people at the SGC, upon hearing of Daniel's current predicament, had stepped forward to offer assistance.

"Okay. All we can do now is wait and hope Daniel does the same."

Jack resumed his pacing.

"Sir?"

"Carter?"

"Sir, there's something I should tell you."

At the sound of the distress in her voice, Jack ceased his pacing and looked at her. "What?"

"This will sound, well, odd, sir, but I had a premonition something might happen to Daniel," Carter reluctantly confessed.

"Come again?" Jack was astonished. He relied on Carter to keep a level head at all times, not to speculate on weird stuff. That was Daniel's forte.

"Well, when I saw Daniel climb into the temple, I had a bad feeling of de ja vu. I dismissed it at the time. Now I know why it frightened me. Seeing Daniel standing in the temple, it reminded me of the death of his parents."

"When the temple stone fell and crushed them?"

"Yes, sir. I should have said something, warned him... At the very least, I should have remained near the temple collecting my samples. You left Daniel in my charge, and I've failed both of you. There was no reason for me to wander so far away. If I was here, I could have..."

Jack was dumbfounded to hear Carter's words tumbling forth, the assumed self-guilt causing some hysteria to raise the pitch of her voice. Okay, Jack thought, he had to quash this fast. First, Teal'c was guilt tripping, now Carter. He was just frigging falling apart. What was it Teal'c had said earlier, not everyone on SG-1 were as fine as they claimed to be? Deep, deep denial here. Apparently. He had to show some leadership. None of this hand wringing would save Daniel.

"Carter!!" Jack snapped, instantly halting her litany. When he saw he had her undivided attention, he continued. "You're letting your imagination get the better of you."

"I know, sir. Still..."

"It's not your fault, Carter," Jack interrupted, instantly garnering her attention. "You were doing your job. Daniel was doing his job. He'll be the first to tell you to stop blaming yourself. I need you to keep focused." Jack glanced down to his dust-covered boots. "I'm the one who wasn't doing his job. I'm the one who ignored the red alert warning when we all heard that hissing sound and did nothing. I ignored it because I was so damned determined to have this survey be a successful one. I just wanted..." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Yes, sir. I understand."

Sam directed her worried gaze to the collapsed temple. O'Neill did the same.

"God, I hate this waiting," he muttered. He resumed his pacing, stamping down a path in the fine-grained sand behind the twin statues of Carter and Teal'c.

****

This situation was most disquieting, Teal'c thought. It was requiring all of his self-control to stand absolutely still, his vision and his concentration focused on the partially hidden unmoving form of DanielJackson. The Jaffa believed if he lost visual contact with the archeologist, the scholar would perish. Teal'c had placed himself in a calming state of Kel-nor-reem so he could remain focused on his injured friend. He recalled when DanielJackson was transported by the Crystal Skull, he could sense his friend's presence even though he could not see him. If he concentrated only on DanielJackson, Teal'c prayed the archeologist would sense him and know he was not alone, know his friends were near and attempting to assist him. To add to his disquiet, Teal'c was witnessing O'Neill and Major Carter panicking, losing their confidence, something he had not witnessed since they all believed DanielJackson dead and lost to them on Onnanes. Both of the Tau'ri officers relied on their military training and discipline, oftentimes appearing to be uncaring, to successfully implement and complete their missions. Yet, their training and discipline was failing them in this crisis. This was not acceptable, but Teal'c did not know how to correct the problem.

He sensed Major Carter standing behind him and O'Neill pacing. DanielJackson must remain alive or SG-1 would be no more.

****

The three members of SG-1stirred from their morbid tableau when they heard the first rumbling of the chevrons engaging the Stargate.

Roused from her vigil, Carter hurried to stand beside the DHD. Jack and Teal'c continued their surveillance perched at the edge of the platform as the remaining chevrons clunked into place. Unexpectedly, instead of the familiar kawoosh of the exploding wormhole, another sound erupted, splitting the air with a chorus of pitched hissing. This disturbance was followed by several sandworms geysering from the sandy expanse separating the two elevated stone platforms. Teal'c lifted his staff weapon, taking aim as one of the worms, serrated toothed mouth gaping open, undulated in their direction. The other two seemed to be cleaving the sand moving toward the temple. One of them hit the temple base and roared it's displeasure. The two remaining upright, temple columns tottered with the impact. The dismantled, broken capstone leaning against the columns shifted. The jarring was enough momentum to tumble the pillars off the platform with the leaning portion of the capstone following, snapping and grinding as it slid to the sand. Despite the cacophony of sound, O'Neill's blood froze in his veins as he heard Daniel's hoarse scream of agony.

"Damnit!!" the soldier shouted, aiming and firing his M90.

The flying bullets shredded one of the worms, yellow orange gooey masses of skin and muscle visibly torn free from the body as it plopped onto the sand, unmoving. Its two companions immediately veered and attacked, devouring their dead companion. Tense moments passed as O'Neill and Teal'c watched in horrified fascination. Feasting completed, the two worms dove beneath the sand leaving two parallel linear rows of whitening bones and a partially eaten worm corpse slow roasting on the scorching sand.

"God, the stench," O'Neill muttered. He covered his face to keep from gagging but could not turn away from the demolished temple. "Teal'c, see about Daniel."

"He is no longer moving, O'Neill," the Jaffa reported tonelessly. "DanielJackson," he spoke into the activated radio. A few seconds of strained silence passed. "He is not responding. I will go," the Jaffa volunteered. He took a step forward, preparing to leap from the Stargate platform.

"No!" Jack shouted, physically blocking the warrior's passage. "No, Teal'c, no," he insisted hands pressed against Teal'c's vest covered chest. "We have to wait for Carter's doohickeys."

The two soldiers shared a fearful, realistic look, each realizing they might have just heard the death scream of their friend. The unforgiving reality of their situation dictated their actions. They reluctantly knew they had no choice but to wait.

"Damnit!!" Jack swore moving away from the Jaffa to see the arriving members of the rescue party disembark from the wormhole. "Carter!" From her station at the DHD, Carter turned toward her CO's shouted summons. "We need those whatevers ASAP!!"

"Yes, sir!"

Jack watched Carter and Sergeant Siler cross to the FRED. Opening cases, they selected the equipment they would need. SG-2, accompanying Doc Fraiser, with their rifles aimed protectively before them emerged from the wormhole fanning out before the Stargate.

Jack's fingers squeezed the M90 rifle in his hands. His entire body was vibrating, his panic roiling out of control. Focus, focus!! he berated himself.

"Damnit, this is taking too damn much time!!" he muttered. He swung around and glared at the destroyed remnants of the tiny temple. The platform was outlined against the maroon body of the rising gas giant. "Daniel, you be alive. You be alive," O'Neill whispered his order to his trapped friend.

****

Daniel wanted nothing more than to fall into the inviting black abyss to feel nothing and know nothing, to be consumed by the dark. The pain assaulting and radiating through his body was unbearable. So this is what an animal feels in its death throes when being torn apart and eaten by a carnivore. He could hardly draw breath and when he did, it only caused more suffocating pain. Enough. He just wanted it to end. Please let it end. Daniel began drifting again, feeling the papyrus boat rocking beneath him. He heard a piercing scream echo around him, felt the Unas press down on his already squeezed lungs. Surely his ribs must be breaking by now, unable to withstand such vise like pressure. Fire flared through his left thigh. Daniel could endure no more. He slipped over the abyss, hearing the reports of rifle fire as he fell into blackness. The rescue was here. But, they were too late,...too late,...too late,.. the dark..

****

Sam busied herself assisting Siler unload the FRED. Drawing on her ingrained military training and discipline, she concentrated on the task at hand. She, too, heard the human scream of agony when the worms attacked but refused to dwell on the implications. Daniel is alive. Daniel is alive. Daniel is alive, and I'm going to rescue him, Sam silently repeated to herself.

Noticing a slight tremor in her fingers as she opened the tool kit, Sam willed the physical display of her concern to cease as she selected the required tools. She glanced out of the corner of her eye. The colonel was again pacing behind the cenotaph who was Teal'c. She couldn't look beyond the two men to the demolished temple, nor to the planetary giant now devouring the first of the trinary suns in the darkening sky overhead. She dampened the sound of the echoed hissing of the sandworms movement surrounding their location. She had work to do. The colonel was relying upon her to successfully guide them through this disaster. Daniel's life depended on her putting her theory into practice.

Selecting one of the cylindrical metal devices and with the proper tool in the other hand, Sam began her tinkering. Despite what the colonel had told her, she blamed herself for Daniel's predicament. If she had remained here collecting her samples, both of them could have found refuge from the sandworm threat. Daniel was so distracted with studying the temple he never would have noticed her hovering. They could have all gated home to the SGC, safe and alive and amazed yet again at the unexpected surprises Stargate travel sprang upon them.

First device completed, Sam set it aside and selected a second one. She had never seen her CO lose his command focus as he had here. Reminding the colonel of his job priorities was part of her 2IC duties Sam never believed she would have to enforce. It was eerie how unemotional he had been during their search for Daniel on P3X-888. If she hadn't served with the man for over three years she could easily have determined he didn't care if Daniel was found or not. Jack O'Neill deliberately kept his feelings buried deep within himself or they would hamper his ability to command. She glanced to the pacing man. This time his feelings had surfaced, as had her own, and it was affecting his ability to command. When they returned to the SGC, with Daniel alive--no other outcome was acceptable--she was scheduling an appointment with a stress counselor. She couldn't go on like this, existing in denial. Daniel was always the one chiding her for hiding her feelings behind her military demeanor. Well, she was feeling now.

****

Jack, finally realizing he was pacing when he should be issuing orders to the new arrivials, strode over to SG-2 and Doc Fraiser. Siler and Carter were busy tinkering so he didn't disturb them. He saw Fraiser was unpacking her medical supplies from the FRED. The ever efficient doctor already had the stretcher laid out, prepped and ready to carry Daniel back, whether alive or...No stop thinking that!! Jack scolded himself. Once again under control, he addressed Major Griff.

"Major, thanks for coming," he addressed the gathered members of SG-2. "What did you bring?"

"Colonel, sir. The items Major Carter requested. Plus some high intensity lamps and a portable generator to power them as a precaution in case the eclipse happens before we're done. Some pry bars to remove the slabs and other rocks so we can free Doctor Jackson. How is he, sir?" the major asked, his craggy face expressing genuine concern.

"We don't know. He screamed just as you arrived. Some of our slimy friends banged the temple base. He's not moving and Teal'c can't get him to respond," Jack relayed in a tight voice, feeling his gut wrench and flutter at the possibility Daniel might have just died. With great internal effort, he chased his panicked thoughts away, grasping the hope the trapped archeologist was still alive.

"Understood, Colonel. We'll bring him home," Griff assured. "Doctor Fraiser brought medical supplies and the stretcher. We just need the order to go."

"Yeah, okay. This is the plan," Jack said as he lifted the pry bars and leaned them against the FRED. "Carter and Siler build their thingys. They, hopefully, will clear a path for us to the temple and keep the worms away. We get Daniel and haul our asses back here and gate off this planet." He glanced skyward. The rising gas giant had devoured one sun and over half of the pale blue sky. "Daniel kept warning us about the dark. Must have something to do with the eclipse. I don't plan on staying around to find out what it means."

"I agree, sir," Griff concurred.

"We'll need two volunteers to come with Teal'c and me." Jack pointed over his right shoulder to the worm remains littering the sands. "You see what we're up against. I won't order anyone to volunteer."

"We already discussed this before we departed the SGC, sir. Sergeants Pierce and Colburn will accompany you. They are the fastest runners."

"Okay," Jack nodded his thanks to the two soldiers. "Let's get the stretcher and pry bars near the platform edge. May as well set up the lamps. Check our weapons. When Carter gives the word, we go."

"Yes, sirs," echoed in understanding as orders were put into action.

****

Thirty minutes later, O'Neill wandered over to check on Carter and Siler's progress. The true motive however, was he could no longer stare helplessly at Daniel's partially uncovered and unmoving form. Teal'c seemed to have that duty cornered, his intense gaze never flickering from the trapped body of their teammate. Several worms had made an appearance, but moved on toward the bone graveyard ignoring the destroyed temple. The sands surrounding their location seemed to be in constant motion, wave after wave rippling across the vastness of the alien desert, the hissing marking their passage through the sands now an annoying whistling, rising and falling in intensity. They were still there, on the move, millions of creatures. The maroon ringed gas giant blotted out the second of the three suns casting a dimness to soften the vista. Their time was running out. Daniel's might have already done so.

"Colonel O'Neill, sir," Siler greeted, tightening a metal cover over an oblong object with a screwdriver. "We're nearly done."

"Thanks, Sergeant. Ahh, Carter?"

"Sir?" Sam replied, never slowing her own work on the devices.

"Please tell me Daniel is not responsible for awakening these worms when he futzed with that temple?" Jack asked. This unwelcome thought had been gnawing at his brain ever since the worms hit the temple. How kosher was that, blaming the victim for his current predicament? As unfair as it was, a part of Jack had to have that question answered.

"I don't think so, sir. Remember his translation? I believe this is all caused by the eclipse," she explained concentrating on assembling her sonic device.

"Yeah, okay," Jack accepted her explanation. "But I'm still going to yell at him anyway for touching things."

"Yes, sir," Sam agreed setting her device on top of the FRED. Ten others were already prepped for use.

"Carter, there's been a slight change in plan."

"Sir?" she asked, puzzled.

"You're staying here with Doc Fraiser, Major Griff and Sergeants Siler and Edwards during the rescue."

Carter did not hide her disappointment. "But, Sir," she protested.

Jack held up a hand signaling silence. "Carter, you're the 2IC. If this doesn't work, you either need to come up with a new plan or order a retreat."

"No, sir, we will---"

"Ahh," Jack barked, waving a finger. "Those are my orders, Major, and you will obey them. Understood?"

Carter's lips thinned with displeasure. She was momentarily crestfallen. In an instant, however, her military training asserted itself. Straightening, Sam nodded her understanding.

"I know you don't want to leave anyone behind. Neither do I. But a line has to be drawn as to how many lives will be risked for one man." His face softened. "I know I told you before you were in on the rescue. But I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. I am now, and I'm enforcing command prerogative."

"Yes, sir," she barked in proper military fashion.

O'Neill's face and attitude softened. He patted her shoulder. "Let's just get Daniel on the first try, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"How are we doing here doohickywise?"

"We're done with construction, sir," Siler answered adding his completed device to the others. "We need to run a startup test and we're ready to deploy."

"Let's do it."

****

Daniel was unfettered. Having decided to let go of life, he lay in the papryus boat barely aware of its gentle rolling on the waves as the journey to the land of the dead proceeded. He did briefly wonder why it was taking so long. His previous death experiences had been swift. This one seemed to be dragging on longer than was necessary. He assumed it was because he had regrets on this journey, wondering if the rescuers had been harmed by the Unas in their failed attempt to save him. He hoped they had ascertained the futility of their effort and retreated home to the safety of the SGC. He regretted damaging Jack's faith in him. Daniel never wanted to disapoint Jack, had sought the older man's approval in nearly all things. It couldn't be helped now. Why was the journey taking so long?

 ****

O'Neill knew he was a bundle of barely controlled energy just waiting to burst forth. His fingers rhythmically flexed and unflexed around the stretcher handle. Teal'c was positioned opposite, stoic and unmoving. Pierce and Colburn were stationed at the rear. Major Griff and the two sergeants were lined along the platform, M90's cocked and ready to shoot anything that threatened the rescuers during their dash to the temple. Doc Fraiser stood beside Carter, peering intently through the binoculars toward her trapped patient, her other hand free to activate her radio if special medial instructions had to be relayed during the rescue.

"C'mon, c'mon," O'Neill muttered under his breath. Out the corner of his eye he saw Teal'c tilt his head ever so slightly. They stood poised, awaiting Carter's command.

The familiar poof of the bazooka gun sounded behind the waiting rescuers as the last of the devices arced overhead to plop on the sand within several feet of the temple platform. In the deepening gloom, the third of the three suns was partially hidden by the mass of the gas giant. Two parallel lines of the sonic devices marked a pathway.

"Powering up now, sir," Carter called from behind them.

"C'mon, c'mon," Jack repeated softly.

"We shall be successful, O'Neill," Teal'c intoned.

"Right."

"Devices activated!" Carter shouted.

The four soldiers tensed, ready to go.

Mere seconds after the announcement, the air was rent by a cacophony of agitated, piercing and wailing screams. O'Neill scrunched his face at the offending sound but did nothing to cover his ears. He didn't doubt the other three rescuers did the same, ignoring the commotion and concentrating only on responding when the word was given. The sands around the two elevated platforms erupted in a flurry of activity as furrows created by mass sandworm movement angled away from the sonic devices.

"It's working, Carter!!" O'Neill shouted. "Now?!?

"GO, SIR!!"

With a smooth, coordinated effort, the four soldiers leapt from the Stargate platform and landed on the sand in balanced stride. In unison, they ran carrying the stretcher. In mere seconds they had traversed, unmolested, the marked pathway separating the two platforms. At the temple, O'Neill released his hold on the stretcher and bounded onto the littered temple floor. On bent knees, he took Daniel's outflung and unmoving left hand into both of his. He felt the coldness of the skin. His fingers pressed the carotid artery on Daniel's wrist searching for any sign of life. He heard the others clamber onto the platform to join him, the wire stretcher clanking against the stone floor. Finding no pulse, and still clutching the cool limb to his chest, Jack's free hand reached for Daniel's dust covered head. Brushing the dusty hair the digits felt the cool, clammy forehead before trailing down a dust streaked cheek to hover above Daniel's nose and slightly parted mouth. He didn't feel the hoped for puffs of air on his palm and observed the slight tinge of blue coloring Daniel's full lips. Shaking fingers, matching his quivering insides, caressed and probed the exposed neck, searching again for any sign of life.

"C'mon, Daniel! You be alive, dammit. For once follow orders or I'll kick your sorry butt from here to the SGC," Jack implored, tightening his grip around Daniel's left hand.

Then he felt it. A faint, irregular flicker in the neck. Jack held his breath, hoping, awaiting verification. He felt it again. He lifted his hand away and activated his shoulder radio. "Doc? He's alive but unconscious. I can barely feel a pulse in his neck. I can't see that he's breathing. His skin is cold and clammy."

"Okay, Colonel," Janet's calm tone issued from his radio. "It's possible the covering slab may be slowly crushing his rib cage, compressing his lungs. He's apparently gone into shock. There may be internal or external bleeding you can't see. Your first priority is to remove the slab, open his airway. Be quick but careful."

During the initial survey, Teal'c had passed the kneeling O'Neill and clambered over some of the broken, shattered temple debris to the opposite end of the platform. He spied Daniel's open notebook and undamaged camcorder. He snagged both objects and shoved them into vest pockets while assessing the situation from his vantagepoint.

"O'Neill, DanielJackson's right leg and foot are free of debris and appear undamaged. His left leg, however, is hidden under the broken rubble." His report given, Teal'c knelt near Daniel's right hip.

"Appears these slabs are in two separate pieces, sir," Pierce observed, pointing to the observable crack zagging across the smooth planed surface. "Maybe we can lift each piece off separately," he suggested.

"Right," Jack agreed. Reluctantly, he released his hold on Daniel's left hand and slipped his fingers under the jagged edge of the piece crushing Daniel's rib cage. "This one first," he ordered. The other three rescuers followed his lead, wedging their fingers and hands under the broken slab.

"On three," O'Neill ordered as muscles tensed. Braced, they were ready to lift. "One, two, three."

Grunting with the effort, the four soldiers lifted, shifting the heavy slab off the trapped man. They edged and maneuvered it to their right, tumbling it off the platform to crash onto the sand. A labored intake of air rattled in Daniel's throat. The tan cammo colored uniform cloth on Daniel's right shoulder and upper arm was stained red with blood. Pierce carefully lifted the jacket flap away to see the tan T-shirt underneath was also soaked with blood fanning outward from Daniel's right shoulder across his chest. Taking his field knife and gently slicing the cloth at the neck, he tore and peeled the T-shirt away. They saw the jagged edge of the broken collarbone jutting through the skin accompanied by numerous bloody lacerations streaked across the clammy skin. With practiced movements, Pierce ran his fingers and hands over Daniel's chest and rib cage.

"I don't feel any broken ribs, Colonel," Pierce said as he pulled out a large square gauze bandage and placed it over the broken collarbone. He expertly felt Daniel's upper arm and frowned. Feeling the forearm and elbow and finding no broken bones he carefully bent the arm at the elbow to lay the appendage across Daniel's chest and secured it. In the cooling and darkening of the eclipse-enhanced stillness, they all heard the tiny exhaled moan of pain.

Jack clutched Daniel's left hand and leaned down to speak directly into his ear. "You stay alive, Danny, you hear me? We're taking you home."

****

Even in the cloying blackness of the cave, Daniel was aware the Unas had, for some reason, shifted off his chest. Through his pain, he no longer felt the oppressive suffocating weight on his ribs but the expected inhalation of air only enhanced the agony flaring through his torso. Through barley slitted eyes, Daniel saw the Unas had grabbed his injured right arm and was jerking it. He wanted to keep silent but the movement elicited an exhalation of pain. Terrified, he saw the Unas had heard him. Its slavering fanged face filled his limited vision. Too scared to watch, Daniel slipped away, his vision clouding into nothingness. He didn't want to be aware of the Unas tearing his limb from his body. Please, just let me die!! he begged the blackness. Then, he remembere. He hadn't warned Jack about the dark...but it was too late. He'd given up on himself and in so doing had condemned his friends.

"You stay alive, Danny. We're taking you home."

No, its too late...too late...the dark....

****

Pierce spoke into his radio. "Right collar bone and upper arm appear to be broken, ma'am, and punctured the skin. We covered them with bandages and secured his right arm. There do not appear to be any broken ribs."

"Excellent. You're doing fine," Janet encouraged.

Jack looked heavenward. It was nearly pitch black. Only a sliver of the third sun remained uncovered by the planetary eclipse, its rays illuminating the myriad rocks comprising the orbiting rings. He activated his radio. "Carter, how are our worm friends doing?" he asked as Pierce and Colburn shifted their positions and moved in preparation to lift the second slab.

"They're still avoiding the area."

"Okay, better crank up those lamps. Seems we're about to lose our light."

"Sergeant Siler is on it, sir."

"One more block to move and Daniel's free," Jack continued. "Be ready to dial the DHD and activate the GDO when we start back! We will so be outta here."

"Yes, sir." A brilliant, stark white light immediately illuminated the area.

The rescuers removed all the smaller chunks of the collapsed temple in preparation of levering up the final slab pinning Daniel to the floor. The dark silence was rent by an unearthly howling. The noise wavered in pitch, undulating around their location. It affected each of the rescuers, their skin involuntarily prickling, adrenaline fed fear surging within. The latent primal instinct for survival had activated.

"What the hell is that?" O'Neill asked for all of them.

"Those worms, Colonel?" Colburn suggested.

"No," Teal'c answered. He was peering over his shoulder where he and O'Neill had discovered the bone yard earlier in the day. "I believe it is the danger DanielJackson warned of. The eaters of the dark."

"As in the eaters of those worms, maybe?" Jack added. He shifted his position alongside the slab edge covering Daniel's left thigh and leg. "We're outta time. Let's move it!"

As before, the four soldiers shuffled and adjusted their positions, wedging their fingers under the ragged edge of the broken piece of the temple capstone. At O'Neill's voiced signal, they heaved, grunting with the physical effort needed to slowly lift the slab. It seemed to be snagged, but with a renewed concerted effort, it moved. O'Neill released his hold as the slab was guided away from him towards the temple edge to be dumped by its companion.

Unexpectedly, Jack's chest was splattered with a shower of red. He quickly averted his face, his eyes avoided blindness by the geyser of spraying blood.

"Oh shit!!" he exclaimed.

Through slitted eyes, Jack maneuvered both of his hands and all of his fingers around Daniel's thigh, pressing with the palm of his right hand over the gushing shower of redness. The archeologist's BDUs were soaked in his own blood. It trickled down and spread slowly across the stone floor. The covering slab had concealed the piercing wound in the thigh. Removing it had withdrawn the pressure, which was keeping Daniel from bleeding to death. Now they knew why he was going into shock, Jack thought as he clenched his teeth concentrating on maintaining a squeezing pressure over the gaping hole in Daniel's thigh.

"I need a pressure bandage!! NOW!!" he snapped through clenched teeth.

Pierce located the needed bandage and slid it over the wound when O'Neill released his hold, tying it securely into place. Within seconds the white cloth was dyed dark red.

"Damnit!!" Jack swore and again wrapped his hands around Daniel's thigh, palm once again reapplying pressure. "I'll have to maintain the pressure or he'll bleed to death. Let's get him rolled onto the stretcher!!"

The three remaining rescuers put action to words, efficiently positing the wire-meshed device along Daniel's right side. Colburn centered it while Teal'c knelt at Daniel's legs, and Piece knelt at his head. Together they effortlessly rolled the unconscious man onto his left side. Colburn positioned the stretcher, and the body rolled onto the carrier. Jack maintained his grip, his face grimaced with the effort, as the motionless archeologist was securely strapped in.

****

The papyrus boat in which Daniel lay, suddenly began violently rocking to and fro. He levered himself upward and peered over the rim. With some dismay, Daniel realized the boat was now moving away from the shore to the land of the dead. The prow was turning and pointing toward the land of the living. Confused, he saw the huge reptilian form of Hapi emerge from the churning Nile waters then submerge. The resultant waves lifted and guided the papyrus boat ever closer to the shore. Daniel suddenly realized he was being denied passage across the river. Dismayed, he crawled to his knees and heard Jack's shouting voice. Turning toward the sound he could see Jack, Sam and Teal'c standing on the shore. Their hands were outstretched waiting to grab him. Jack was shouting again. Daniel tried to concentrate on the words. Something about kicking his butt back to the SGC?

Daniel tightened his grip on the edge of the violently rocking boat. Okay, it wasn't his time to die he guessed. Just as well, he decided. He still had something to tell Jack and to warn him about the dark as he watched the boat approach the shore and his waiting friends.

****

 "Sir!! You have to hurry!!" Carter's shouted warning issued simultaneously from the four radios. "Something airborne, millions of them, are flying in this direction!!"

"Colburn, order Carter to dial up the DHD and send the GDO signal!" O'Neill ordered. While Colburn complied, the sergeant took a handhold at the stretcher's head, Piece opposite him and Teal'c at the foot.

"O'Neill," the Jaffa rumbled in warning. The air was now full of alien screeching, increasing in volume and becoming more terrifying with each passing moment.

"I know, Teal'c I hear 'em."

"Orders relayed, sir!!"

"On three, we run like hell, and we don't stop until we hit the Infirmary!!" O'Neill shouted.

"Yes, sir!!!" sounded in stereo.

"One, two, three!! Go, go, go!!"

The stretcher holding its precious cargo was smoothly heaved upward. Once again, in synchronized stride, the rescuers leapt off the temple platform onto the sandy pathway, their movement fueled by desperation and the need to arrive at the illuminated platform holding the active Stargate.

O'Neill concentrated on running, keeping pace with the others and not lessening his life saving grip around Daniel's wounded thigh. All that blood loss, O'Neill's mind rationalized. Must have severed the femoral artery. The weight of the broken capstone prevented Daniel from bleeding to death while they stood around with their thumbs up their asses. Damnit!! This was too close and becoming too much like business as usual for SG-1. It had to stop, O'Neill told himself. Somehow this had to stop. The screeching overhead grew in volume. Jack ignored it, concentrated on running and saving Daniel's life.

The rescuers skidded to a halt at the Stargate platform. Helping hands reached down to take hold of the stretcher.

"I shall relieve you, O'Neill, while you climb," Teal'c volunteered,

Jack didn't argue, releasing his grip, letting Griff haul him up. He turned, traded places with Teal'c's now blood covered hands. The Jaffa effortlessly leapt upward onto the stone platform.

The sound of automatic gunfire tore through the eclipsed darkness and the terrifying wailing over head.

"Sir!!" Carter shouted. "Get to the 'gate, now!! We'll cover you!!!"

"You'd better be fast on our butts, Carter!"" O'Neill barked as they rushed past her defensive position while she and Griff fired their M90s skyward.

The stretcher-bearers raced to the active cerenallian blue ripples of the wormhole. They never slowed their pace when Doc Fraiser joined them. Entering the event horizon they were spit out on the other side into the safe confines of the SGC. Clambering down the metal ramp, they maintained their balance and cradled their human cargo.

"Clear the way!!" O'Neill shouted. "Get the elevator!!" he shouted as they turned away from the ramp.

He saw the Marines snap to the orders, clearing a path for them to run from the gate room into the corridor.

"Close the iris!!"

Jack was vaguely aware of hearing Carter's shouted command behind him as the rescuers carrying the unconscious archeologist bounded down the hallway leading away from the Embarkation Room. Several distinctive thunks reberverated indicating some of those flying creatures had pursued the soldiers into the wormhole on P4X-380 and had impacted on the closed barrier. Jack spared a quick thank you to the fates for, hopefully, allowing all the rescurer's a safe return to the SGC. One of the Marines had bolted ahead of them, signaling and holding the elevator doors open for easy access.

Jack did not realize they had arrived at the infirmary until he heard the Doc's authoritative voice at his side.

"Okay, Colonel, you can let go now," she encouraged, her Latex gloved hands hovering within his field of vision.

"No. He'll bleed to death if I do."

"Colonel," Janet emphasized the rank, placing her gloved hands on his forearms. Startled, Jack's worried brown eyes focused on her dedicated dark eyes. "Colonel, you did your job. You got Daniel to the Infirmary, alive. Now let me and my staff do our job. You can let go now."

"Danny...."

"We'll do everything we can," the doctor repeated, her hands sliding down to his wrists. "Let go," she gently encouraged.

Looking at the dirt streaked ashen face of the younger man, Jack suddenly realized he was delaying the treatment process, placing Daniel's life in greater danger. He loosened his grip. It was immediately replaced by a corpsman as the medical staff rolled the gurney through the swinging doors of the surgery.

"I'll keep you informed, " Janet assured as she, too, disappeared through the doors.

Jack stood motionless, starring, his bloodied hands hanging limp at his side.

"Colonel?"

"It was supposed to be a safe planet," Jack declared in a monotone, his face slack, his brown eyes void of any emotion.

"Colonel," the voice repeated, command timbre evident. Ingrained discipline allowed Jack to respond to the tone as he turned away from the closed doors. General Hammond was standing behind him. Unable to obtain a cursory account of what had happened, the concerned base commander had followed the harried rescuers from the gate room to their final destination.

"Colonel, well done," Hammond praised. "Well done, everyone," the general added, directing his voice to the gathered members of SG-1 and 2, who stood clustered behind the motionless Jack. "Debriefing in one hour." This order was directed to O'Neill.

"Sir--" Jack began in protest, roused from wherever his mind had gone to seek solace. He needed to wait here; he needed to be close to Daniel.

"One hour, Colonel," Hammond repeated sternly. It was evident he expected his summons to be obeyed. "Shower first. Those are my orders."

"Yes, sir," Jack complied in a monotone.

As a group, SG-2 walked past the motionless O'Neill following in the general's wake. For a few moments the remaining members of SG-1 stood unmoving in the corridor. Finally, Teal'c stepped between his two human friends and placed his large hands on their shoulders.

"Let us do as the general has ord