SG1-25 Hostile Ground(28)

“Looks like there are some caves down there,” Jack said, as he got close enough to talk. “We saw Teal’c’s guys head inside.”

“How steep’s the descent?” Sam asked, her tone excruciatingly cool.

Jack matched it exactly. “Not bad if we go around the side.” He’d found his sunglasses, despite the dour weather, and Daniel couldn’t see much more than his straight, uncompromising mouth.

“I will assist Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c offered. “It is not far to the cave entrance. With luck, you will be able to rest there.”

Jack frowned behind his sunglasses and said, “I’ll take point. Carter, cover our six.”

“Yes sir.”

With Teal’c helping him walk, Daniel moved faster. Which was good, because Jack looked like he was in a hurry. He loped downhill with his loose-limbed stride, weapon held casually in both hands — if you could ever hold a semiautomatic machine gun casually.

Behind him Daniel could hear Sam’s careful footsteps, but whatever she was thinking she kept her thoughts to herself.

Ahead, the trees started to thin as they descended into a shallow valley. The air was dank and misty, but despite that he could still make out the caves, a natural formation of blocky rocks that rose out of the scrubby grass in a low, elliptical lump.

Jack slowed as he drew near, casting a glance over his shoulder and waiting for the rest of them to catch up. “Okay Daniel,” he said, “let’s take this nice and easy. We don’t want to surprise anyone.”

“Yeah just… give me a moment…” He was feeling decidedly woozy, a slow and steady thumping building inside his skull. Not that he was going to admit it, but he was starting to feel a lot worse.

“Daniel?” Sam touched his forehead. “You’re hot.”

“I’m fine.”

Jack just said, “Let’s do this.”

With O’Neill up front and the others ranged behind him, they cautiously approached the shadowed entrance to the cave. Daniel had been in enough dark, damp caves in his life to be expecting a familiar fusty aroma, but there was none beyond the muddy, grassy scent of the ground. He peered into the gloom, past Jack’s head, and realized at once that they were looking at —

“A door,” Jack said, stopping dead. “It’s a goddamn door.” Moving closer, he pressed his hand against it. “Iron.”

“That’s… interesting,” Daniel said. “So now what?”

For a moment they all looked at each other. Then Jack said, “I guess we knock?”

It felt a bit silly, them standing there in front of the door and knocking like trick-or-treaters in search of candy — or a way home. With a ‘what-the-hell?’ shrug, Jack lifted his hand and rapped on the door. It rang like a bell.

But as the echo faded Sam said, “Colonel?” Her weapon was raised, trained on the top of the rocks. A man stood there, a silhouette against the white sky.

“Oh… hello…” Daniel began.

But then another man joined the first, and then a second. Jack lifted his gun, taking a step back, covering his team as Teal’c’s staff sprang open.

“O’Neill,” he said, turning slowly. “We are surrounded.”

“Yup,” Jack said.

From all sides, men and women emerged from the misty valley. Dressed in a mishmash of clothing — animal skins and heavy woolen fabrics — they regarded SG-1 with wary curiosity. But the most remarkable thing about these people, as far as Daniel was concerned, wasn’t their clothing or their long, braided hair. It was the smattering of sophisticated weapons they were holding, all of which were aimed firmly at him and his team.

“Teal’c?” Jack said, not lowering his weapon. “I distinctly remember you saying ‘bows and arrows’…”





CHAPTER NINE




Standing on the ramp, Dr. Fraiser at his side, Hammond could see the open wormhole behind him reflected in the window of the control room. It stayed there, shimmering and beautiful, for a second or two more before it dissipated and left the gate room a darker, more somber place.

“I don’t know about you, sir,” Fraiser said, “but I’m glad to be home.”

“You’re not alone, doctor.”

“I’ve been in warmer morgues than that place,” she said as they started to walk down the ramp. “Metaphorically speaking.”

“The Tollan have never been known for their warmth and hospitality,” he said, although in truth it was the Asgard’s attitude that really troubled him. But this was neither the time nor the place for that discussion.