Drowning.

By Sealie

I’d like to dedicate this to Celeste who beta’d it stringently.

Rating: PG15

Daniel absently polished his glasses, buffing them on the edge of his t-shirt as Jack O’Neill ran through his pre-mission warm up of jokes, insults and diatribes. Daniel was fairly sure that he had the colonel pegged in the few weeks they had been teamed; Jack O’Neill hid a soft centre behind a clownish façade. But protecting the soft centre was a bulkhead that you needed grappling hooks to get over. The thought of scaling it gave him a headache sometimes, even if Jack had given him the climbing equipment necessary.

"Contact lenses would be so much easier."

Jack had turned away from tormenting Teal’c and unerringly sought a softer opponent. Daniel withheld a sigh, his allergies were giving him Hell, he wanted to go through the ‘gate to the promised coastal ecosystem where there were no blooming trees or flowers, or whatever it was that was making his sinuses ache.

"Jack, what is the most defining thing about me?" he asked tiredly.

O’Neill leaned closely. "Geek?"

"Apart from that."

"Sneezy geek?"

Daniel nodded as if teaching a rather stupid freshman. "I mean think about it – you’re sneezing, you feel like your head’s been caught in a vice, you’ve got what feels like dry sand in your eyes and your chest feels like you’ve got a bucket of wet sand on top of it. And you want me to stick pieces of plastic in my eyes?"

"You’re no fun." Despite the jocularity of his words, he peered closely at the archaeologist. "You want to sit this one out? It’s just a geological survey."

Daniel blew his nose like a trumpet. "No, the antihistamines will kick in soon. Janet’s given me some new ones – fenox-something or other. I should have grabbed a shower before kitting up; that would have helped."

"Chevrons engaged!" The announcement came over the loudspeaker.

The team automatically stepped back as the wormhole engaged, the event horizon momentarily destabilising and kawooshing out into the embarkation room.

"Here we go, campers." Jack cast an assessing glare at Daniel. The linguist shrugged and set his floppy Boonie hat firmly on his head before trooping up the ramp after Teal’c. Exhaling, he stepped through the horizon. He could have sworn that he felt his body disintegrating into its component particles, even though Sam swore that conscious thought wasn’t possible in the wormhole. If conscious thought was not possible, how was he thinking…?

Hot air hit him in the face as he was spewed out of the event horizon. Flailing his limbs, he twisted, rolling down the Stargate’s rocky pedestal. He was just about to roll off the pedestal when he came up sharply against an immovable object. Teal’c leaned down and picked him up. Amazingly Daniel’s hat had remained on his head. He sneezed resoundingly, feeling as if he was really clearing out his tubes.

"Bless you," Teal’c said as he set himself up to catch the other members of their party as they emerged.

"Whoa." O’Neill was flung out of the wormhole and rolled head over heels down the stony incline. Sam followed with an unladylike squawk. Teal’c caught the captain as Jack rolled off the pedestal and disappeared out of view.

"Jack!" Daniel crawled to the edge and peered over. The colonel lay flat on his back a meter below pillowed on damp sand. "Are you all right?"

"For crying out loud! Why didn’t you say that his damn thing was on its side?"

"Sorry, sir. It must have subsided since the MALP came through."

The MALP sat peacefully on top of a rock that was now several body lengths away from the Stargate.

"Jack, are you all right?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," he snapped and rose deftly to his feet, his weapon ready.

Relieved, Daniel finally took stock. The Stargate sat on an off kilter pedestal that overlooked a golden, sandy cove. The DHD was on another rocky outcrop separated from the Stargate by a rift filled with sand. Judging by the seaweeds and jellyfish growing near the edge, when the tide came in it brushed the channel. But it was the stretch of sand that drew the eye. A natural rock pier projecting into warm blue waters, bracketed the sandy cove.

"Wow." Jack turned in a circle. The sky, arching overhead was a pure blue and low on the horizon binary moons beckoned. "No trees."

Daniel craned his neck, looking at the bluffs overhead. The narrow ribbon of beach met sheer cliffs, which rose thousands of metres above their heads "I bet you that there’s trees up there."

"Carter, check the DHD, if this thing’s shifted we may have lost a connection or two or three."

"Yes, sir." Sam was already picking her way down the jaggy rocks to the DHD. The rocks were covered in green algae and a small crustacean scurried out from under a rock. "Yuck."

Daniel jumped down beside her. "What’s the matter?"

"Ugh, I hate sea things." She pushed it aside with the toe of her boot.

Daniel crouched down to peer at it as Sam continued picking her way over to the DHD, climbing up the other side of the channel.

"It looks like a crab, but it’s bright blue." He picked it up by its shell and held it up for Teal’c to see.

The Jaffa stood sentinel on the pedestal looking over the cove. He glanced sideways at Daniel and his eyebrow rose.

Daniel showed the crab to Jack, who was inscrutable behind his sunglasses. "Daniel, put it down; it might be poisonous. The most poisonous things are found in the sea." By the cant of his hip and the way he held his gun, Daniel could see that Jack was serious. He set the crab on the sand it scurried sideways into the rocks.

"Sir, the DHD isn’t working," Sam reported as she depressed the first symbol.

"Damn." O’Neill clambered up to join her. "What’s wrong?"

"Must have happened when the Stargate shifted."

"That’s helpful," Jack said laconically, "…but you can fix it, right?"

"Yes, sir." Already she was levering out the centre crystal.

Jack scanned the area taking into consideration the off kilter Stargate, which only the day before had rested on a flat pedestal. "Must be a lot of earthquakes around here."

"Many coastlines are characterised by fault lines. If you factor in erosion, that’s one of the reasons why you don’t generally find evidence of habitations or civilisations on the coast, even though, in general, humans gravitate to large water bodies ...uhm," Daniel trailed off.

"Thanks, Daniel."

"I concur, Colonel O’Neill. We are in great danger here. The activity of the two moons will also exacerbate the tides of this planet."

"Captain?"

"Sorry, sir," Carter said from the depths of the DHD. "It will take time – I’ll have to figure out what’s wrong."

"Okay, when we don’t report in they’ll open the ‘gate and we’ll use the MALP to contact the SGC. Can they send through a power source strong enough to power the ‘gate?"

"No, sir," Carter said decisively. "I’ve been working on plans for a portable reactor which we could take to ‘gate without DHDs but we need a supply of the ‘gate element, naquadah. And I’ll have to figure out how to make one. Perhaps General Hammond can send a large generator through the ‘gate. It may take awhile."

"Or we fix the Stargate on this side or we need another lightning blast," Jack summarised.

"Yes, sir."

"Sweet." Jack stood tall. "Okay, Daniel, Teal’c, find us a place to set up a base camp. We want to be above the tidal water line. If we are going to experience earthquakes, we want to be out in the open but we don’t want to be on the sand."

"Why?" Daniel asked, his natural curiosity aroused.

"Sand can go thixotrophic; act like liquid when it vibrates," Carter lectured. "During earthquakes it can turn into quicksand."

"Oh." Daniel looked at the sand underfoot. "I think we need to find a rocky plateau."

Teal’c stepped off the pedestal and dropped onto the beach. "We will go this way." He started walking towards the natural pier.

"I’ll go this way." Jack jerked his thumb over his shoulder, to where the sand continued to the edge of the horizon. "Check in every 15 minutes."

"I’ll stay here." Sam bent over the DHD.

Daniel caught up with Teal’c, slipping and sliding across the sand. He kept up with the Jaffa for a few steps and then was distracted by a flat shell. It was about the size of a silver dollar and intricately wrought with scroll-like patterns. Checking that there was no creature living inside the shell, he pocketed it. He jogged back to Teal’c’s side and was promptly distracted by another bright shiny object. Teal’c waited patiently for him on the rocky outcrop. Daniel pocketed his new treasures and ran to his side.

"You told us once that the Goa’uld terraformed planets for human use."

"Indeed."

"No trees."

"Trees do not grow on sand," Teal’c pointed out.

"True," Daniel nodded and bent down to poke in a rock pool. Little minnows swam to hide in the shadows. Using his staff, Teal’c picked his way sure-footedly over the rocks. Daniel plucked a handful of green seaweed that looked like tissue paper. A seahorse darted behind another clump of seaweed.

"Teal’c."

"Yes?" Teal’c immediately stopped and turned.

"I’m an Egyptologist, an archaeologist-cum-linguist, not a marine biologist… but I’ve pottered around on a lot of beaches all over the earth—and *that* was a seahorse, and *this* is a sand dollar," he came to a stop as if his point had been made. Teal’c raised one eyebrow, indicating that it had not. "…I’m trying to say that, okay, there are no terra-formed trees here, but this is just like being on the equatorial coast on Earth. Like, around Florida, or even Puerto Rico."

"You believe that the Goa’uld have been here."

Daniel shrugged. "Maybe… yeah."

He watched as the Jaffa stood taller and scrutinised their surroundings more closely. "We should continue looking."

Daniel scrambled to his feet. "If we can get up onto the cliff, maybe we’ll find some signs up there."

"We do not have climbing equipment."

"When General Hammond dials us up, we’ll get him to send us some ropes and stuff." He blanched at the thought. The bluffs were very high and sheer.

They rounded the edge of the cliff face to be greeted by the next cove. There was another half moon stretch of golden sand.

"I think we’re going to be camping on the sand, even if it does turn into quicksand."

"Perhaps the next cove."

Daniel shifted his heavy backpack, it was difficult walking on the shifting sand. "I don’t think Jack will want us to wander too far from the ‘gate."

"There." Teal’c pointed with his staff.

Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose to better focus on whatever Teal’c was indicating. A splash of water cascaded down the cliff face, falling into another swath of rocks. The waterfall gushed from a crevice half way up the bluff face.

"It’s a waterfall." Daniel said, stating the obvious, but failing to make any connections.

"The water will be filtered by the rocks, it will be pure."

"Ah, Jack will be interested."

Daniel jumped off the natural pier onto the sand. Again slithering and sliding, he scrambled up the shore to the plunge pool. A natural bowl of rocks, the lip of the pool was slightly higher than his head. The rocks were pitted and eroded by tides plus grazing limpets, so finding ample foot holes, Daniel climbed up. One large boulder formed a natural pedestal. The incautious would find it hard to resist; it was the perfect diving platform. Daniel scrambled on top as Teal’c started to climb. Water drained at one far end into a natural channel that drained down the sand and fed into the sea.

"Looks good." He crouched at the edge and inhaled. "Smells fresh."

Teal’c stood over him, watching the uninhabited beach. Daniel pulled the requisite water quality tubes from his technical vest and filled the pH test tube. He gave it a thorough shake. The results were positive. Holding the vial up to the sun, he squinted trying to interpret the colours against his calibration cards.

"Well, we can’t look for bacteria and viruses, but it’s neutral pH maybe a little alkaline. I bet it’s fun to swim in." He checked the water for heavy metals with the matching glass vials as he had been taught in basic training 101. "No heavy metals – only trace elements."

"I believe that we have found our base site."

"I think you’re right. Shall we walk a little further along?"

"One moment, DanielJackson." Teal’c switched on his VHF. "Teal’c to Colonel O’Neill – over."

"Yeah, Teal’c – over."

"I am checking in as prearranged. We have found a suitable base camp. There is an adequate supply of fresh water – over."

"You’ll never guess what I found – over," Jack said teasingly.

"I cannot guess – over," Teal’c said with an almost inaudible sigh.

"Ah, you’re no fun. Put on Daniel."

Daniel was at the Jaffa’s elbow, already eager to find out what the colonel had found. He plucked the VHF from Teal’c’s large hands. "Yeah, Jack what have you got?"

There was no answer.

"He is waiting for you to say ‘over’ and release the send button." Teal indicated to the offending button, which Daniel still held down.

"Oh, I forgot; it’s only the second time I’ve used it." He released the button. "Over!"

"They’re either chicken scratches or someone’s left a letter."

"I’m on my way." Daniel jumped down onto the sand and skidded over the sand to the pier. He clambered back over the rocks and down the other side, no longer distracted by the marine life.

Sam looked up from the innards of the DHD as he rushed by the pedestal. "Where are you going, Daniel?"

"Jack’s found some runes," he called out as he sailed past.

"Have fun." She smiled at the Jaffa who was following Daniel, with easy deliberate steps, making as much progress on the slipping sand as the running archaeologist.

There was no sign of the Colonel on the southern beach.

"Jack!" Daniel continued along the shore. "Jack?"

"Here." As if by magic, Jack suddenly appeared.

"Oh." Daniel came to a complete halt. Jack had stepped out of a neatly camouflaged crevice. It was only visible head on, from an angle the crevice seemed to meld seamlessly with the cliff face.

"They’re written on the wall." Jack stepped aside.

Venturing in, Daniel was inexplicably reminded of the crashing rocks braved by Odysseus. One tiny little earthquake and you might resemble strawberry jam. The opposing faces of the rock face were about arms width apart and it was as black as the darkest night.

Daniel fumbled for the flashlight in one of the many pockets of his vest. The illumination from his flashlight picked up smoothed walls and a patina of old flaking paint. Large portions of the mural were missing, the quartz stone beneath had been polished until it shone like a black mirror. Fossilised creature swum timelessly in the stone. But it was the writings that drew Daniel’s eye. He had never before see their like. Turning on the spot, he aimed his flashlight upwards. The writings reached as far as the light shone. They went as far back into the crevice as he could see.

Already engrossed, he pulled out his notebook and started to work. "The swirling lines are repeated in stanzas of three. If the pattern was culminate, it might mean that…"

~*~

Jack stretched. "Well, the kids are happy." He looked over his shoulder at the crevice and then to the captain who had her head stuck in the DHD.

"Indeed."

"How far do you think that the tide rises?"

Teal’c set his staff in the sand. "The debris half way up the beach may indicate the highest point." Flotsam and jetsam formed a pale line along the length of the beach. "But close to the edge of the cliffs there is evidence of erosion – whether or not this is a sign of high tides or tidal waves from the earthquakes, I do not know."

"You found fresh water?"

"In the second cove there is a potable water. It is both defensible and the highest point we have found."

"Hopefully General Hammond will send through sufficient supplies, but it’s good to have a back up plan."

Teal’c raised a deliberate eyebrow, implying that Jack was attempting to teach him to suck eggs. The colonel waved his hand in absent acknowledgement and then wandered down to the edge of the water.

"I wonder if there’s any good fishing?"

"I do not know."

"We’ll have to get Uncle George to send us some tackle." He chanced a glimpse at the Jaffa, but Teal’c was ignoring him, as was his wont when he said something argumentative or humorous.

"I will go and see if I can assist Captain Carter in repairing the DHD."

"Knock yourself out."

Teal’c’s brow furrowed in question, but he did not ask.

"Help Captain Carter," Jack finally translated.

Teal’c bowed and left to pad through the sand to Carter’s side.

‘Boring,’ Jack thought. ‘Boring.’

Carter might get the DHD fixed in the next ten minutes or maybe in the next ten years. It was a picturesque sort of place, but he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life sitting on a beach, trying to avoid earthquakes. The surf washed over his feet; the tide was coming in.

"Teal’c!" he called.

The Jaffa’s head came up as if shot. "Yes, O’Neill?"

"I’m going to check on Daniel."

"I will keep watch."

Jack saluted, and then wiggled through the gap into the crevice. He could see a flashlight bobbing ahead. His own light showed Daniel’s backpack abandoned on the floor. He stepped over it, shaking his head as he did so; the man should know better than to leave his kit lying around. The walls closed in on him. Jack didn’t think that he was subject to claustrophobia, but there was something very oppressing about the weight of the rocks on either side of them coupled with the threat of an earthquake. Ducking under an outcropping of rock, he brushed against a flake of paint – it came off in his hand.

"Be careful."

"I’m all right."

"Not you; the images. Try not to breathe on them."

Jack raised his eyes heavenward. Daniel was peering at the picture, face screwed up in concentration. The kid’s glasses kept slipping down his nose.

"This is fascinating. I wish it was outside so I could see the whole thing, but if it was outside I wouldn’t be able to see the whole thing because it would be washed away. It’s like looking at the Bayeux Tapestry through a pinhole camera. Come back here."

Daniel caught his shirt cuff and began to drag him further back into the recess. As his backpack caught on another rock, Jack realised why Daniel had dumped his supplies. He released the straps on his backpack, dropping it to the sandy floor.

"See where the quartz gives way to granite – the images change. These are less sophisticated, I believe older."

"What does it say."

"I don’t know. C’mere … Bend down and cup your hands together… Give me a boost up. I need to see that pictogram."

Mentally cursing bossy archaeologists, Jack braced himself and offered Daniel his body as a ladder. Daniel had already removed his boots. He resisted the temptation to tickle the bare foot in his hands. "One, two, three."

Daniel launched himself upwards, his other foot came down on Jack’s shoulder. Wobbling, Daniel balanced on his shoulders, one hand resting on the rock face. Their balance was precarious, Daniel didn’t seem capable of keeping still when faced with such an interesting artefact.

In addition to the fishing rod, Jack added a ladder to his list of ‘much needed’ items. "What are you doing?"

"Flashlight – I put it in my pocket. Keep still, Jack, I’m trying to memorise this glyph."

"Keep still, Jack," O’Neill mimicked. "Stop moving around, damn it."

"I’m not too heavy for you, am I?" Daniel asked suddenly.

"Just stop moving around."

Of course, Daniel promptly disobeyed him, twisting to see the other side of the rock face. "The drawings and the mural are only on one wall."

"So?"

"I don’t know. We really need to date these images. And I wish I could see the mural all at once," he moaned, frustrated.

"Daniel?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Have you seen what you wanted to see?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to get down then!"

"Sorry." Daniel suddenly realised his predicament. "How?"

"Jump."

Daniel inexpertly jumped off his shoulders to sprawl on the sand in the bottom of the crevice. Jack hauled him to his feet and brushed him off. "So, Daniel, what have you found out?"

"Well, I’m not entirely sure, it would just be conjecture on my part."

"Spit it out."

Daniel caught his cuff again and dragged him back to the mural. His light picked up one image. A massive figure stretched up the wall his head far out of reach of the poor illumination of the flashlight. Only fragments of the image remained. The circle of light unerringly showed the details of sumptuous fabrics and swirling jewellery with interlinked motifs. Daniel finally brought the light to rest on the figure’s right hand – it was dressed in silver.

"It doesn’t look like a ribbon device. It looks more like a glove," Jack noted, following Daniel’s train of thought.

"The glow around the hand looks very familiar to me," Daniel contradicted. "I’ve been on the receiving end."

"What about the one-eyed critters?" Jack’s flashlight picked up scaly monsters dripping in slime. Those with one eye glared balefully from the montage. Some only had one foot and others only had a clawed talon. Smaller figures, pot-bellied and pale white creeplets, danced around the one-legged fiends. "I’m getting a Chthulu vibe here."

"Oh, my… God." Daniel drifted closer to peer at the figures.

Used to his ways, Jack let Daniel mutter to himself as he scrutinised the smallest monsters, his nose a mere hairsbreadth from the scene. "Look, a bag!" Daniel’s finger jerked at a midget carrying a sack.

"And what does that mean?"

"They’re firbolg."

"Oh, I’ve heard of those." Jack rubbed his face. "Something that my grandma told me. Fairy tales?"

"Yes, they’re mythological characters. The first inhabitants of Ireland."

"The Wee Folk?" Jack had vague recollections of his great-grandmother, hauling him onto to her lap and telling him old tales of the old world.

"No," Daniel said quite absently, his fingers traced the images. "The wee folk were the Sidhe, the inheritors or perhaps the lower court of the Tuatha De Danann."

"Really? That’s clear as mud."

Daniel continued, ignoring the baiting. "The large figure is, I believe, Nuada Airgetlamh." Daniel turned his bright gaze on Jack. "Nuada of the Silver Hand, do you see where I’m going?"

"Goa’uld?"

"Goa’uld," Daniel confirmed. "Nuada was an important god in the panoply of Celtic Gods. He led the Tuatha De Danann, who invaded Ireland and first defeated the firbolg--" He pointed to the pot-bellied characters, "--at the battle of Magh Tuireadh. Nuada supposedly lost his hand during the battle and gained a silver one. The Tuatha De Danann then fought the formorii," Daniel pointed this time to the slimy warped monsters, "again at Magh Tuireadh. Thus they became the Gods of Ireland – until the Sons of Milesius ousted them and then Christianity took over and they retreated to the Sidhe mounds or Tir Nan Nog."

"Is there a point to this lecture?"

"Only in that if Nuada was a Gou’ald and he retreated to the other world of Tir Nan Nog, we’ve found another incursion by the Gou’ald on our planet. I wonder how the human Sons of Milesius defeated the aliens?"

"With a little bit of imagination your Formory-guys could be Unas."

"So could any ogre," Daniel dismissed his idea. "If the ‘gate was buried 10 000 years ago – and the carbon dating could be off – how come we find evidence of other cultures after the burial of the ‘gate?"

"They occasionally flew by in ships and grabbed people who were dancing around maypoles?"

"So why didn’t they…"

The earth shifted sideways inducing stomach-churning nausea. A rumbling growl of thunder echoed along the crevice.

"Go.go.go.go.go.go.go.go.go.go." O’Neill pushed the younger man before him. They bounced off the shaking walls. Daniel tripped over his discarded backpack and Jack fell over him. Jack’s flashlight went out, and Daniel’s was trapped under his body.

"Shit!" He couldn’t see anything. He pushed off what he knew was the small of Daniel’s back. The kid collapsed beneath him. A stone bounced off his shoulder and an intensifying growl above their heads made the skin on the back of his neck crawl.

Fumbling, half standing on Daniel, Jack found his feet. Staggering forwards, he banged his head on a jaggy rock. For a moment he saw stars.

"Jack!" Daniel hit him from behind propelling him forward. "Go!"

Arm in arm they careened off the rocks, Jack dragging and Daniel pushing. The southern wall grated towards them, forcing them to turn sideways.

"Shit!" Jack burst out onto the beach dragging Daniel after him. They collapsed on the seething sand, riding out the sand waves

The world twisted around them moving like a boat tossed in a rough sea. Jack grabbed Daniel by the collar as a surge of sand washed over them.

Then the sudden absence of shuddering was almost as great a shock as the earthquake itself.

They lay, revelling in the fact that they were still alive. Daniel sat up, spitting out sand as Jack struggled onto his elbows. He was sure that he had sand in his ears. But it was better than being crushed between the rocks.

"You all right, Daniel?"

Daniel was on his hands and knees hacking up sand. Wheezing up a storm, he collapsed on his side. Jack reached out and was sideswiped by a wave of dizziness.

"Sir!" Carter skidded to a halt beside them. "Are you all right?" She dithered between the two of them, unable to decide who required immediate assistance.

Daniel waved her towards Jack, as the colonel grated out, "Check Daniel."

Teal’c came running through the surf to their side. He had ridden out the waves of the earthquake on the pier between the DHD and the waterfall. Sand churned beneath his feet, as he ran up the beach.

"DanielJackson." Deftly, he manoeuvred Daniel into an upright position, supporting him against his side, allowing him to cough and spit and wheeze. In between his gasps for breath, Teal’c unhooked his water bottle. As Daniel’s coughing eased, Teal’c held the bottle to his lips, letting him take tiny sips of water.

"Sir." Carter distracted him from watching Teal’c and Daniel. She winced on his behalf as she examined his forehead. Tentatively, she reached out to touch his eyebrow. "I think you’ll need stitches. This is a deep cut."

"We should get off the sand," Teal’c advised.

"Ya think?" Jack struggled to his feet with Sam’s help as Teal’c drew Daniel upright.

Jack leaned on Carter, while Teal’c slung Daniel’s arm over his shoulder, helping the archaeologist along. Teal’c lifted Daniel bodily onto the DHD’s pedestal. He looked a little disgruntled at the manhandling but was coughing too much to protest. Teal’c looked as if he was going to help O’Neill but decided against it. Sam climbed onto the pedestal, and couldn’t resist giving him a hand. Once she had her patient settled, she hauled out the first aid kit out of her daypack.

"Damn, this is nasty, sir."

"Just tape it up. " Blood was clotting in his eyelashes. Ignoring him, Carter pulled out the antiseptic wipes and went to work.

Keeping his bruising eye closed, he squinted at their other team members. Daniel was on his hands and knees coughing raucously as Teal’c gently patted him between the shoulder blades. After a particularly violent bout, Daniel sat back on his heels. There were tears in his eyes. He gratefully accepted Teal’c’s water bottle.

"Word to the wise," he wheezed, "don’t ever try to breathe sand."

"Ya think? Damn it, Carter, what are you doing, digging in there for rocks?" He twisted away from her ministrations.

"Sir." She caught him by the chin. "I have to get the sand out."

"Are you injured, DanielJackson?"

"Just bruises." He rubbed his chest painfully. Exhausted from coughing, he slumped against the DHD.

"That was a ride and a half," Jack noted. "How did you two ride out the ‘quake?"

"The DHD remained stable; I was lucky. And the Stargate only moved a little bit," Sam reported.

"I was on the pier. It too remained stable."

"Right, when Hammond dials us up, we’re putting a seismograph at the top of the list."

"What else is on it?" Daniel wheezed.

"Fishing rod and ladder."

"Order me some chocolate chip cookies."

Jack held up a finger. "Noted."

"Oh, and a new pair of boots." He wiggled his bare toes. "Somehow I kept my glasses on."

"Shit, our daypacks," Jack remembered; they had left them in the crevice.

"Secure yourselves," Teal’c grated out.

Jack followed his line of sight out to the beach. The sea had drawn back beyond the low water mark revealing creatures rarely uncovered and long strands of seaweed and what looked like a giant bulwark spanning the cove. Further out to sea, water was swelling into a veritable wall.

Tidal wave.

"Ring around the DHD," O’Neill ordered. There was nowhere else to secure themselves.

"Rope?" Carter asked.

"No time."

Teal’c caught the coughing Daniel by the scruff of the neck and plonked him on the opposite side of the DHD out of the immediate threat of the incoming water. Carter was already scrambling to Daniel’s left hand side. They joined hands, linking them as if trapeze artists. Jack caught Daniel’s right wrist in the same grip. Daniel’s long fingers encircled his wrist. The Jaffa sat at the front of the DHD reaching round to take both Carter and Jack’s hand.

"Incoming!"

Teal’c took the brunt of the blow. Water buffeted them like a giant hammer. They rode out the storm, holding onto each other. The air was crushed from Jack’s lungs. He opened his eyes but could only see a wash of bubbles. The curtain parted and he saw Daniel, cheeks puffed out as he held his breath, holding on for all his worth. His glasses had long since gone.

The sea subsided, dropping them back to earth. Water drained away, gushing back into the bay, down the rocky cove. The sea swelled again but this time only reached their chests, battering them against the DHD. The next wave only reached the top of the pedestal, swirling around their legs.

Jack released his grip. "Report," he grated out.

"That…~cough~ could have ~cough~ been ~cough~ so much ~cough~ worse," Carter grated out.

"Injuries?" Jack demanded.

"I’m fine." Daniel rolled over onto his back, coughing heavily. He managed to eventually gasp, "You?"

Jack’s eyebrow was bleeding anew, and he knew that he had a nice crop of bruises developing on his chest.

"Fine. Teal’c?"

"I am merely bruised, Colonel O’Neill. "My symbiote will heal me most efficiently."

"More info than I really needed there, Teal’c. Carter?"

"I’m fine. We were very lucky, sir. Did you see in the water?"

"Did I see what?" Jack blotted the blood with his shirtsleeve, but knew that he was merely spreading it around.

"When the water drew back, I saw buildings – more like constructions on the bottom of the cove. They were like bulwarks, paralleling back – one after another – as far as I could see. I think they were what cut down the force of the incoming wave. We should have been dashed to death."

"Instead of just feeling like we’ve been dashed to death," Jack said sarcastically. "I hate this planet."