Stargate SG-1: Trial by Fire: SG1-1 Read Online Free Page B

doing?"
    "Wait and see."
    The inner ring continued to turn. Chevrons locked and glowed
the color of old sherry. Then, with the abruptness of great power, the
event horizon leaped forward, arrested halfway into the room, and
contracted to a shimmering cobalt membrane across the Stargate.
    Bag firmly tucked under one arm, Professor Kelly climbed the
metal steps and proceeded toward that membrane until her right
hand touched its surface. "How quaint. A vertical fishpond."
    The next moment she'd stepped through and disappeared.
    "Oh crap!"
    The expletive just hung there for a stunned second while nobody
moved. Then Jack O'Neill unfroze and started sprinting up the
ramp, Major Carter on his heels. Dr. Jackson and Teal'c followed
at a more leisurely pace.
    "This is a novel approach..." observed Dr. Jackson, a small but
worrying trace of admiration in his tone.
    "I concur."
    Left behind in the `gate room, George Hammond contemplated
the event horizon until it collapsed. "SG-1, you have a `Go'," he
said, mostly because he always said it.
    Jack shot from the wormhole at twice the legal speed. The
problem was exacerbated by Kelly having parked herself smack in
his trajectory. They got up close and personal and tumbled down
the stone steps in front of the `gate, a tangle of limbs, tweed skirts,
Gladstone bag, and one P90. Once the planet had stopped revolving
around him, he risked opening his eyes. The sun was shining -
correction: both suns were shining - the birds were tweeting, a
gentle breeze fanned the tops of some enormous trees, and lined
up atop the stairs stood his team, staring at him in a kind of radiant
disbelief

    "I caught her!"
    "Uhm... We noticed. You okay, Jack?" Daniel was trying to
sound solicitous. It needed work.
    Beneath him, Kelly started to buck.
    Oh yeah, you're clearly on top of this situation, O'Neill.
Now, when you rise, eventually, make sure you don't mix up the
accessories. Yours was the gun, not the bag.
    He pushed himself up, which was rewarded by a loud groan
from below. Getting from a static push-up to an upright position
proved slightly more of a challenge. The way his left knee felt, it
must have knocked a dent into one of those steps. Nothing a tenmile hike wouldn't cure. Guessing that he still held center stage, he
suppressed a grimace.
    Carter had sauntered down the stairs and was handing him his
cap. It didn't distract from that stifled giggle and made him feel
vindictive. How come she hadn't taken flight, anyway? She'd been
right behind him.
    "Carter, help the Professor. And while you're at it, lay down a
few ground rules. Starting with Get the hell away from the `gate!"
    "Yessir!" Eyes narrow, the giggle throttled.
    Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Colonel.
    Minor accidents thus taken care of, he picked up his P90 and
gimped along a broad stone-paved path, putting some distance
between himself and Kelly, just in case. The path extended rulerstraight, from the Stargate at one end to a large building about three
hundred meters away. It was surrounded by a sparse forest of tall
cedars with very little undergrowth. Dry, fallen needles carpeted
sun-dappled ground, muffling footfalls and scenting the air. More
birds, with crickets doing something contrapuntal in chirp flat
minor. Otherwise not a sound, and there wasn't a soul in sight. To
the north the foothills rose to a mountain range, craggy and barren,
shivering in the heat. No sign of human - or alien - up there either.
No surprises. No Ancient Enemy.
    So far P2X 159 seemed perfectly normal - excepting the surplus
sun - and it matched the MALP footage. Nothing to indicate why it
should have been omitted from the Abydos Cartouche. Nothing to
twang his antennae, and that was a rarity.

    Staff weapon loosely clasped in one hand, Teal'c came circling
towards him through the trees. Going by the Jaffa's relaxed jog,
he also thought they'd found the perfect vacation spot. Maybe that
was it: exclusive summer