"Okay people, let's head 'em out," said Colonel O'Neill with a sweep of his arm towards the Stargate.
Daniel couldn't help but be reminded of the tune from the old TV program "Rawhide". As he moved towards the ramp leading up the Stargate, he began singing the theme song under his breath, albeit slightly out of tune. "Keep movin' movin' movin, though they're disapprovin', keep them dogies movin'..."
The Colonel pretended not to hear but couldn't help chuckling to himself as he entered the wormhole. Captain Carter stifled a laugh and promptly followed the Colonel through the Gate. Teal'c merely took note of the archaeologist's impromptu singing, for which he could identify no catalyst, and decided he would inquire as to its significance at a later time.
--------------------------------
SG-1 emerged on the other side of the gate and began inspecting their surroundings. The only sounds were those of birds off in the distance. At least O'Neill thought they were birds. He wasn't sure. He finally decided that the sounds came from whatever passed for birds on this planet and thought no more of the matter.
The Colonel had just completed his first visual sweep of the area surrounding the gate when he noticed Daniel out of the corner of his eye. He followed the younger man's gaze to the treetops at the edge of the field surrounding the Stargate. O'Neill could see the distant outlines of buildings. But even with his binoculars, he was unable to make out any detail on the buildings. Inwardly he sighed. They had a long trek ahead of them. Maybe that "friendly" game of street hockey the other night hadn't been such a good idea.
O'Neill looked back to Daniel. He knew that Daniel was in his element when it came to making first contact with the various cultures the team encountered on their missions. Nothing made Daniel happier than the chance to learn about the "new" cultures they met. Well, he thought somberly, one thing would make Daniel happier . . . but O'Neill decided not to follow that train of thought. Pulling himself out of his brief reverie, O'Neill took a last look around. By this time, Teal'c and Carter had conducted their own sweeps of the area and were heading over to the Colonel.
"Well?" the Colonel asked.
"Seems . . . quiet, sir," replied Carter.
O'Neill looked to Teal'c who nodded his agreement with Captain Carter's assessment. Talk about a man, or rather a Jaffa, of few words.
Looking around once more, Jack said, "Let's get this show on the road." Teal'c furrowed his brow upon hearing the statement. There was clearly no road before them and no show was being performed. He wondered if he would ever understand the idioms the Tau'ri frequently used in their banter.
Daniel noticed his stalwart companion's confusion and offered an explanation. "Jack means 'let's get started.'"
Teal'c made a single downward motion of his head and said, "Thank you, DanielJackson."
Daniel merely smiled in reply.
O'Neill set off in the general direction of the distant buildings, followed by Carter and Teal'c, then Jackson. Daniel couldn't help but wonder why it seemed that he always brought up the rear. Because I always do. He knew it made sense - he was the "least capable" in military terms. He had only minimal training, although Jack was doing his best to remedy that, and he only carried a sidearm. With a wry smile, he realized letting him lead would be like putting a punter up against a center in a football game. Daniel wasn't a fan of football but he knew it would not be a pretty sight.
SG-1 had not traveled more than a hundred yards into the forest when the three in front of Daniel stopped suddenly. Daniel noted the tension in the Colonel's stance and instinctively reached for his sidearm, resting his palm on its handle.
Jack crouched down, signaling for the others to do the same. Leaning forward, Teal'c noted in a low voice that he had heard something as well. In response Jack pointed 45 degrees to his left and then 45 degrees to his right. Teal'c nodded. They had heard the same disturbances.
Sam, noticing the exchange between the Colonel and Teal'c, began to shift her position back and away from the pair in front of her. If there was a threat from multiple directions, now was not the time to be in close proximity to each other. They needed to put a little distance between themselves. She glanced over her shoulder at Daniel and motioned for him to back off as well. Daniel quickly complied.
The Colonel was trying to decide if the sounds he had heard constituted a threat to his team when a sharp hiss passed by his left ear. Although the sound was unfamiliar, he had been in enough firefights to know that he had just been fired upon. He ducked reflexively and scooted for the nearest tree as projectiles began to fly past him. Reaching the security of a huge evergreen, Jack called out with more than just a little sarcasm, "Daniel, would you like to let them know that we come in peace?" He added, "But keep your head down!" before Daniel could begin.
Daniel shouted greetings in various languages, starting with the tried and true 'hi', but the only response was the continued fusillade which had not ceased when Daniel ran out of languages to try.
O'Neill saw little possibility for a peaceful resolution to the standoff. Damn, he hated it when attempts at a peaceful first contact failed. Although it appeared there were only a few hostiles, O'Neill was loathe to subject his team to unnecessary danger. This recon could only get worse if they stayed. If they returned fire, some of the locals would get hurt, perhaps killed, making any potential future relations decidedly difficult. If they remained in their current position without returning fire, members of his team would eventually get hurt or perhaps killed, and that was unacceptable to him.
Withdrawal to the Gate was the only option. His decision made, O'Neill gave his orders. "Teal'c and I'll lay down covering fire. Carter, you and Daniel get back to the gate and dial home for us." As the Colonel and Teal'c began firing, Sam and Daniel took off at a sprint, reaching the DHD within a matter of seconds. Both were grateful they had not traveled far from the Stargate.
Daniel immediately began punching in the symbols that would connect them to Earth while Carter took up a defensive position behind Daniel. He knew that if it became necessary, she would provide a human shield for Daniel while he punched in the gate symbols. The significance of this was not lost on Daniel, but he didn't have time to think about it now.
Daniel had only entered the fourth symbol when he heard Jack and Teal'c approach from the forest at a full run. Daniel realized they must have withdrawn from their positions almost immediately after he and Sam had left. That couldn't be good.
"Daniel!"
"I'm hurrying, Jack, but this gate's sluggish. I don't think it's been used in a while."
Jack let out a grunt of frustration. He looked back at the forest they had just exited, thinking that it wouldn't be long before the welcome wagon caught up to them. He was surprised to hear the sound of birds again. No, he corrected himself as realization dawned on him, not birds, but re-enforcements. Damn. The locals were signaling their friends. Before he could utter a sarcastic remark about the sluggishness of the gate, he heard the familiar whizzing of alien projectiles.
"Take cover, now!"
Unfortunately, there wasn't much cover to take. The twenty five yards surrounding the Gate and the DHD had little to offer in the way of protection. The slight depression in the ground immediately in front of the DHD was their only option. Making the best of a bad situation, Jack, Sam and Teal'c dropped to their stomachs and took up positions within the depression about four feet apart.
Daniel was the last to react. He had just entered the fifth symbol when the hail of projectiles convinced him of the wisdom of the Colonel's command to take cover. He ducked behind the DHD and waited for a break in the native's attack to continue dialing home.
When O'Neill, Carter, and Teal'c issued return fire, Daniel reached over the front of the DHD from his crouched position and punched in the second to the last symbol. His hand was moving to the last symbol when he felt a concentrated impact against his helmet, snapping his head back. Dazed, he fell from his half-kneeling position onto his rear end. O'Neill looked back in time to see Daniel fall backwards, away from the DHD.
"Daniel?!?"
"I'm okay," came Daniel's shaken reply.
"Then dial!"
The urgency in O'Neill's voice helped Daniel pull himself out of his momentary daze. He climbed back onto his knees and reaching over the lip of the DHD, pressed the final symbol. He was rewarded with the welcome sound of the seventh chevron locking and the formation of the iridescent event horizon. Daniel wasted no time in transmitting the GDO code.
"It's up!" he called out.
"Go, Daniel!"
Daniel hesitated for a second. He hated to be the first one to withdraw while his friends remained in harm's way, but he knew the Colonel's order made sense. Daniel only had a sidearm and couldn't provide as much protective fire as the others. With one last look at his friends, Daniel scurried to the gate and dove through head first.
Daniel's momentum carried him a few feet beyond the other side of the gate before he fell to the ground, landing on his stomach. He grimaced. That was going to hurt tomorrow. Before he could catch his breath, projectiles came flying out of the Stargate's event horizon. The soldiers in the embarkation room dove for cover while Daniel rolled to the side of the platform and scrambled over the edge, falling two feet to the concrete floor with a thud.
Carter was the next person to come through the gate. She had also dived through the gate head first, but she was able to preserve a measure of her dignity. Rather than landing with an ungraceful flop like Daniel, she tucked herself into a roll as she landed and used her momentum to come to her feet in one smooth motion. She then moved out of the line of fire with more than a moderate amount of haste.
Teal'c was next. He came through on his feet and quickly stepped to the side of the gate. The Colonel came through almost literally on Teal'c's heels. He had also opted for the head first approach but his tuck and roll lacked the grace exhibited by Carter. He had barely regained his feet when he yelled, "Shut it down!"
The iris closed, restoring a measure of normalcy to the gateroom. The Colonel surveyed his team, assuring himself they were all in one piece. Remembering that Daniel had appeared to take a hit, he started towards the archaeologist. Daniel had pulled himself up to a sitting position, his helmet tipped back on his head, and was rubbing his forehead with his right hand.
The Colonel's purposeful stride towards Daniel drew the attention of everyone in the embarkation room, especially that of Sam and Teal'c. Jack knelt down in front of Daniel and removed the younger man's helmet. Jack pulled Daniel's hand away from his forehead, fearing the worst. Relief washed over the Colonel's features. There were no new holes in his favorite archaeologist.
Jack was about to return to his feet when a dent in the front of Daniel's helmet caught his eye. The relief that had just graced the Colonel's face was replaced by the realization of just how close this close call had been. Sam noticed the change in her CO's demeanor and questioned, "Sir?"
The Colonel handed the helmet to her by way of explanation.
Sam took it in her hands and looked at it for a second before noticing the dent where an alien projectile had impacted the front of the helmet. Teal'c, who was now standing at Sam's side, noticed the dent as well. Sam could see that the helmet had done its job and deflected the projectile but she wanted to hear Daniel affirm what her eyes already told her.
"Daniel, are you okay?"
"Yeah, but my head really, really hurts."
Satisfied that Daniel had suffered no serious injury, O'Neill couldn't help his reply, "Does it really?"
Fortunately for Jack, looks didn't kill. Otherwise the glare he received from Daniel would have been fatal.
Empathizing with the headache Daniel must have, Jack gently pulled Daniel to his feet and began to steer him towards the infirmary. Dr. Fraiser would want to be sure that none of the bats had been knocked out of Daniel's belfry.
The soldiers remaining in the embarkation room couldn't help but laugh out loud when they heard the Colonel innocently ask, "Daniel, how many times do I have to remind you to duck?"
fin
© June 25, 2000 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.