DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
"Dammit, Daniel, how long are we... Oh!" Jack's words died on his lips as he followed the young archaeologist around one more bend in the dry river bed. They'd long since passed the point of being able to see their surroundings ... the banks of the long dead river stretched a good fifty feet above their heads. Daniel had stopped dead in his tracks as he rounded a bend a good twenty paces ahead of the disgruntled, and grumbling, Colonel. Jack's eyes widened as he moved to stand beside Daniel.
The canyon ended abruptly, opening onto a valley which stretched as far as the eye could see. But it was not the low rolling hills, or the mass of green vegetation running toward a pale blue horizon that held the attention of both men. The area in front of them was positively crawling with ruins. Massive ruins. Kinda reminded him of ... what had Daniel called it ... oh, yeah, the Valley of the Kings back home ... somewhere. "I take it, we're there?"
Daniel's smile threatened to crack his face, and his eyes glowed so brightly that Jack could almost have suspected a Goa'uld infestation. Almost. As the Colonel watched the younger man, an unusual array of emotions sped across his face. Ecstasy, confusion, and sorrow were the ones Jack could easily name, the latter causing him the most concern. "Daniel?"
"I...I won't get to finish this, will I, Jack?" Daniel's voice was low and sad. His feet appeared glued to the ground, as if for once, he was afraid to take the first step.
Oh. So that was it. Jack put a hand on his young comrade's shoulder. For once there was no sarcasm in the older man's response. "Not and stay a part of SG-1, Daniel."
Daniel sighed heavily. "I know, but this..." He waved his hand around the array of ancient structures before them. "... this rivals the V..."
"...Valley of the Kings back home." Jack interjected quickly. The response caused Daniel to stare at him in amazement. "Okay. I admit it. I really do listen. Part time. Uh, why are we still standing here? You may not be able to finish the job, but by God, you can start it." Grinning the younger man bolted forward, his mind already on the ancient buildings, leaving the stunned, but not quite unprepared Colonel in the proverbial dust. Jack just shook his head as Daniel raced, undeterred, toward the closest ruins. "A short rope. Next time. A short rope."
Sam used the binoculars to study the destroyed temple and its surroundings. "No sign of the UAV, Teal'c. Are we still getting the signal?"
"Yes, Major Carter. It is emitting its flash more frequently than before."
"What? Let me see." The binoculars dropped unnoticed to her chest as she reached for the remote. "That's odd. It's close. Close enough that we should be able to see it."
"Perhaps it is in the trees." Teal'c suggested.
"Nooo." Sam responded hesitantly. "The signal's strongest straight ahead, toward the temple, and there are no trees there. This is really strange."
"Then perhaps it is in the temple itself."
Sam frowned. "The last images show it was in the clear when it went down."
"Major Carter, could not the UAV have flown for a while after the transmission ceased at the SGC?"
"You're absolutely right, Teal'c. But something still bothers me. I just can't put a finger on it."
"Then we will be unceasingly vigilant in our search."
"Right. Let's pay our respects at the temple."
"What will we use for payment?"
"What? Oh, no. Figure of speech. It means let's head for the temple."
Jack O'Neill leaned idly against an over-large pillar, watching protectively as Daniel scurried from one building of the ancient complex to the next. Jack strongly suspected his young friend was trying to memorize as much of the ancient layout as possible. The archaeologist's enthusiasm for rusty relics never ceased to amaze the Colonel, whose own interest in 'ancient' artifacts was limited to the Early American desk his great-grandfather had built a hundred years before. Jack shook his head at his own stupidity. Of course Daniel loved this, this stuff. Hadn't that been proven time and time again, through multiple 'chase the archaeologist' jaunts on other worlds. Speaking of chases ... just where had Daniel gotten to? A familiar voice drew the Colonel's attention across a wide expanse to a distant figure. How the heck had the man gotten all the way over there?
"Jack, you gotta see this! It's...well, you just gotta take a look." Daniel's excitement floated across the courtyard, almost infecting the older man.
"Okay, Daniel. Keep your shirt on. I'm coming." Jack shouted as he pushed away from the pillar and headed directly for his friend.
"There it is." Sam breathed a sigh of relief as she caught sight of the UAV with its one crushed wing, sitting lopsided in the center of the temple. She peered for a brief moment at the large opening in the roof. "Of all the places for it to land, it manages to fall inside the only building we've seen." She started forward only to find herself restrained by the Jaffa. "What..."
"I do not believe it fell in here, Major Carter." Teal'c's voice held an odd lilt.
"Of course it did, Teal'c. How else would it have gotten here? You said yourself that the Goa'uld attack would have wiped out the local populat..." Her eyes widened. "Holy Hannah."
The Jaffa nodded. "I apologize, Major Carter. I was obviously mistaken. We are not alone."
A quiet "ya think", precisely imitating the SG-1 commander's tone, emerged from Sam's lips as she turned to find that she and Teal'c were completely surrounded ... by something.
"Come oooon, Jack!" Daniel's voice was, as usual, impatient as he urged Jack to join him.
"Daniel, that door you're standing in has been there a very long time. I don't have to have a degree in rusty relics to know that. It's not going anywhere in the next few minutes." Jack grinned broadly as he picked his way across the debris in the courtyard.
"Okay, but I'd have thought you'd be interested in a sarcophagus." Daniel commented nonchalantly.
Jack's features hardened as he increased his speed. "A what? Dammit, Daniel, you stay away from that th..."
From his position in the ancient doorway, Daniel watched in helpless horror as the ground opened wide to swallow his friend.