CHAPTER 2

 The giant roll of paper would be attached to the bare concrete walls by several large bolts and a metal rod. Daniel only glanced over his shoulder sporadically but, usually when Sergeant Siler grunted as he attempted to tighten down a bolt. Siler had been up here all day, mostly just drilling the holes, even if Daniel had figured the guy would be finished in a few minutes.
 

The situation left Daniel with only one option. He had to just do as much work as he could manage without his big sheets of paper.

 The problem with that plan was that Daniel needed the stuff and the huge roll was too heavy for him to lift. Even with his present help, a young girl that was all of five feet tall and ninety pounds, he doubted he could manage. The artifact that he needed the contact paper for was sitting right in front of him and it had already been sitting in his lab two days longer than it should have.

 Daniel looked away from it for a moment and asked his unofficial assistant, “tell me Lieutenant Satterfield, you think we can get some of that paper? I really need a rubbing so that I can get this thing off to the lab.”

 Siler took the question, not directed at him, as an insult, “I’m going as fast as I can Doctor Jackson.”

 Always doing his best to be polite, Daniel simply replied, “I know you are Sergeant. I really should have ordered that a couple of days ago.”

 The look that came from the Sergeant was one of, “no duh.”  Daniel winced and got back to treating the inscriptions on the stone with a cleaning solution, “well we can at least try and take some pictures.” 

 He gave a forced smile to his assistant. Her smile was anything but, and she was beaming at him like a new born sun. Her eyes only drifted to the artifact on occasion. That naturally begged a question, “so what was your interest in archeology again, um… Sharon was it?”

 “I was a history major in college.”

 Daniel winced questioningly, “majored? You didn’t get your degree?”

 “Oh of course,” she was still beaming, “in Business.”

 “Uh-huh,” Daniel dipped his brush in the solution and got back to cleaning the inscriptions.  “I suppose that really helps out in the Air Force.”

 It would seem that Daniel was never going to finish. He normally preferred the solitude of his lab but today that one advantage was just not here. Now, even Jack came strolling in. In his casual way he nodded to Siler, “Sparky.” 
 The sergeant understood the subtle order and vanished. The young Lieutenant did not. Jack had to be more specific, “Lieutenant, whenever a superior officer clears his throat in the Air Force it means he wants you to leave the room so he can talk about you behind your back.” Suddenly the radiation from her eyes stopped. The painful looking grin turned into a blank face and she excused herself quickly from the lab. With that accomplished Jack nodded, “Daniel.”
 

Jackson was already busy cleaning the inscription once again, carefully stroking his brush along the indentations in his artifact, “I suppose that means you want me to leave too?”

 Rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels, Jack responded, “no I couldn’t bare to take you away from playing with your rocks. I just wanted to let you know that I just got back from Hammond’s office.”

 That stopped Daniel in mid stroke. He gave Jack a side glance, “and I am just guessing this had to do with…”

 “Correct,” Jack responded. “I was just wondering who might have accidentally ratted out Teal’c.”

 Daniel rolled his eyes and got back to work, “oh come on Jack you don’t think I’d do that to Teal’c do you? You know General Hammond does have ears. You’d think with all the big dishes and things the Air Force has that just maybe somebody might hear? I mean he has that little radio right down there in his office.”

 That got Jack to thinking again, “and that’s another good question.  How does he get reception on that thing way down there?”
 Ignoring the tangent Daniel went on as he cleaned, “you know Jack. I just said it might not be a good idea, that’s all.”

 With an accusing tone Jack shot back, “you were the one who introduced him to that girl.”

 Daniel stopped and became defensive, “how was I supposed to know she was going to offer him a job? Come on Jack, that wasn’t exactly the point.” 

 Yet another visitor stopped at Daniel’s door. Samantha Carter rapped lightly on the door jam as she entered. She walked right up to her teammates and dropped a stack of papers on the table next to Daniel, “those just got back on some of the other artifacts SG-16 brought back.  Thought you might want…” Sam began to sense the slight tension in the room, “and I interrupting something?”

 Jack only shrugged, “oh no Major. Just the usual things going on.  Saving the world, playing with rocks, and trying to keep Jaffa aliens from invading the worlds radio markets. The usual stuff.”

 “Oh no,” Sam suddenly became horrified, “that really is Teal’c on the radio isn’t it?”

 This came as something of a surprise to O’Neill, “you actually listen to that station, Carter?”

 Now Sam became defensive. She took a step back and began stumbling with her words, “hey they got a good fix it show.”

 Jack grumbled, “am I the only one who never heard of it till now? I got to really start reading my memo’s.”

 “Apparently Jack,” mumbled Daniel as he thumbed through his new reports. Daniel silently mouthed out the words as he read. Suddenly he looked back hurriedly at Sam, “did you read this yet?”

 “Some of it on the way down, why?”

 Daniel pointed to the stone tablet on his table, “those artifacts came in with this tablet.”

 Once again rocking forward on his feet, hands in pocket, Jack raised his nose in the air and asked, “is there something more rocky about this rock, Daniel?”

 “Well… well I mean this tablet is written in Goa’uld.”

 Jack waited, and waited, till Daniel finally completed his thought, “well Jack. This predates the time we know the goa’uld left their home world.”

 With a shrug Jack replied, “some left a little early maybe? Trying to get a jump on the Christmas rush?”

 For the first time in a long time Sam found herself agreeing with her commander on a scientific issue, “I don’t believe I’m saying this but I have to go with the Colonel on this one Daniel.”

 No one was more shocked than O’Neill, “you do?”

 Samantha went on addressing Daniel, “so now we can push that date back just a little bit further is all.”

 Meaning no offense, Daniel countered, “I wish it were that simple Sam, but you see, when we were doing those digs on their home world we confirmed with almost absolute certainty that they didn’t incorporate naquada in their blood till a certain point.”

 Jack groaned, “is there a point Daniel?”

 “Well yeah,” he finally stood up off his stool, “I mean one, relatively intelligent, but poorly armed Unas isn’t exactly going to be able to take on any advanced race.”  The archeologist could see that his point was not getting through, “you see I’m thinking we’ve had it wrong.  The goa’uld didn’t go through the gate first, somebody else came there.”

 While the colonel attempted to digest this and spit it back out to Daniel, in terms that even he could understand, Carter had already assembled the puzzle.  She took a stab at it, “you mean the ancients went to their home world and…”

 “No, no, no,” Daniel shot back real fast as he pointed down at the tablet, “goa’uld language obviously developed independently of the ancients.  This tablet, well if it’s as old as I think it is, is the first evidence that we’ve had of that.”

 Silence followed. All three team mates stood their exchanging glances.  Finally Jack spoke out, “so what are we going to tell Teal’c?”

 Carter shrugged, “what did Hammond say?”

 As Daniel sat back down he followed her statement with, “what do you think?”

 Jack was still unconvinced, “oh come on we can’t, in good conscience, tell Teal’c he’s got to give up his second job.”

 Already back to his cleaning job Daniel responded, “you mean you don’t want to tell a Jaffa bad news.”

 “There’s that too but,” Jack became dignified, “there is the principle involved here.”  When it was obvious the other two members of SG-1 were not so convinced Jack added, “oh come on you guys.  Who’s going to hear Teal’c, of any consequence anyway?  Right?”