Page 8

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Gen Hammond was in a very good mood as he entered the briefing room where SG-1 was waiting.
It had been difficult to keep his amusement hidden the past two days.
Capt. Carter and Dr. Jackson had been tiptoeing around him and he was enjoying it immensely.
Especially since he now had a perpetually full bowl of chocolates that mysteriously appeared shortly after the edited recording had been shown for the edification of the many scientists at SGC.
Gen. Hammond motioned for Dr. Jackson to start the briefing.
"Okay...if you look here..."
Daniel pointed to the screen where the tape of the light show was playing.
"You see these symbols. We were right. They are words and...well..."
Daniel paused at the look Gen. Hammond and Jack had exchanged.
He realized they'd actually read his report and, naturally, were reacting to what they knew they were about to hear.
Sheesh. Of all the reports he made for them to actually read, they had to read that one.
"Yes?"
Jack's prompting wasn't helping.
His grin wasn't particularly pleasant either.
Daniel took a breath and plunged in.
"What it turned out to be is really interesting. I mean, these people were so technologically advanced that this was nothing to them like it is to us."
Daniel took a quick look around the table as he spoke and inwardly groaned.
If possible, Jack's grin had widened.
"It's a recipe box."
Sam jumped in, trying to take some of the Colonel's amusement off of Daniel's shoulders.
"Sir, it's really quite amazing. Once we figured out what it was saying, it was just a matter of going through the artifacts that hitherfore hadn't done anything and finding the one that fit the interface we found on the bottom of the POS. As soon as we had it connected properly, we were treated to a full theatre experience. It wasn't virtual, but it was impressive. You had sound coming from what seemed every direction and a larger-than-life cooking presentation."
Daniel sent Sam a gratified smile and continued.
"The people of this planet were not human, but from the many things we apparently have in common, were probably influenced by humans at one time or another. As you can see from this later recording-I know you don't really get the full effect, but you at least have an idea of what we mean-they had 3 faces...Dr. Fraiser and Dr. Corvores are theorizing they may have had segmented brains...perhaps three personalities per person or perhaps each face dealt with a different part of their brain. We don't know for sure, because of the robes they're wearing here, whether they had any sexual division or even whether they look like us in any way. They have a number of fingers...some have 3, some 7 and we're not sure if that's normal or if they grow more digits as they age or even if they lose digits as they age."
Daniel knew he probably only had another 5 minutes worth of Jack's attention, so tried to say the things he thought really needed to get across first.
"If you look closely, in the bowl the larger person is...ummm...cooking for lack of a better term...you'll notice one of the lizard-like creatures...well...most of it anyways..."
Jack sat up at that, just like Daniel knew he would.
Daniel suppressed a smile as Jack took an almost sadistic pleasure in watching the lizard get disected and prepared as part of a meal.
"We've learned so much about them just with this image that we'd like to request a second expedition to P4X-75H2 to see if we can find more artifacts like this one."
Gen. Hammond knew from the sudden tension in the room that Dr. Jackson's request hadn't been in the report Col. O'Neill had read, either.
Jack seemed to relax, but everyone in the room knew it was a deceptive stance he'd developed from years of having to fool the enemy.
He was preparing for a small war.
"You are aware that besides the obvious threat of the lizards...no one in this facitily has been able to explain what knocked us unconscious."
Daniel and Sam had been debating that fact most of the night, knowing it would be the first thing the Colonel would bring up.
Sam looked the Colonel in the eye as she replied.
"Yes, sir. However, we were the only ones effected by the light. Lt. Harris was right outside the temple and he wasn't effected in any way."
Daniel knew this was the only defense they had, so they had to play it completely.
"No one else we had on the planet even saw the temple fall apart, much less the light. We probably triggered a trap of some type by entering the temple. If we avoid the places we haven't already been, we should be safe."
Jack leaned forward a bit.
"If someone had died in the temple instead of just being wounded, would you be as eager to go back?"
Daniel didn't breathe for a second.
That was hard ball.
Jack had been unconscious.
Jack hadn't seen how still and pale Sam had been when Daniel had first found her.
None of them had let Sam out of their sight for more than an hour at a time whenever they weren't asleep.
When Daniel had first found her, she hadn't been breathing.
Daniel knew it was the one card Jack would play he didn't have a defense against.
So Sam, fully aware of the emotional undercurrents in the room as well as the cause of them, was the one to speak up.
"Sir, with all due respect, that's not fair. Any one of us could die on any mission we go on. We know two threats on this planet which is more than we know on most we go to. I believe that if we go back to the buildings we originally visited and gather the larger objects we didn't have room for when we were last there, we just might find something to help us either scientifically or militarily. Yes, sir, I believe it's worth the risk."
Gen. Hammond wasn't sure he completely agreed with her, but he truly respected her courage and desire to know every secret the universe possessed.
On the other hand, he didn't see enough of a reason to change the current rotation, either.
"You're scheduled to visit G78-XE2 the day after tommorrow. I intend for you to keep that mission. I will however consider sending two SG teams back to P4X-75H2. Have your reports finished and delivered to me by 1500 hours. I've received an 'all clear' from Dr. Fraiser on each of you, but I expect you to rest until time to leave."
The team knew that as soon as the debriefing was over, the Colonel would privately lamblast them for not warning him before requesting the return trip, so none of them were upset when the general headed him off.
"Col. O'Neill, I'd like you to join me in my office to finish the performance evaluations submitted for the newest additions to SGC. The rest of you are dismissed."

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