Dawn inhaled, taking the air of a new world into her lungs. She felt the breeze against her face, and felt its warmth. She inhaled the scents, a melange of the familiar, and the strange. The smell of forest, tinged with the aroma of unfamiliar flowers.
The sun was shining out of a deep blue sky with white fluffy clouds scattered across it. It was much warmer here than what she was used to, lately. The late autumn weather in Colorado Springs had been cool, and the SGC maintained a comfortable 70 degrees, around the clock. Here the temperature was in the 80s, and it would probably get warmer: it wasn't even noon yet. She could hear the twittering of birds in the trees, and the buzzing of insects.
It had taken nearly a week to talk the General into letting her come to P5C-4562. It had required a mixture of cajoling, begging, and outright bribery before he agreed to let her do this. She'd wound up promising to give the SGC one Key powered connection to Atlantis a week. That and a little blackmail: they really did want to get the inscriptions from this world translated, and she was still the best person for the job.
So now she was standing on a stone platform, with the Stargate behind her. Spread across the valley before her were ruins that reminded her of Chichén Itzá, in the Yucatán Peninsula. She could see at least two stepped pyramids, overgrown by the sub-tropical forest, and more mounds that might be smaller structures.
She didn't know how long she stood mesmerized by the sight, before she noticed that her companions were looking at her, with indulgent smiles on their faces. "This is just…Wow!"
"Pretty much everyone has that reaction, the first time they get to see a new world," said Colonel Carter. "My first trip off-world I was going 'Oh my god! This is so amazing!' every ten minutes for about a day."
"I still do that, at least once a day, when I'm off-world," said Lieutenant Phillips.
Dawn looked at Ry'ac. He shrugged. "I have been going through the Chappa'ai since I was a child. It is…no big deal. Now, automobiles, those are exciting."
Dawn grinned. She had seen Ry'ac drive. He owned a souped up little hot rod that he drove with reckless abandon. He'd passed her a few times on the road that led up to the Mountain. If ever given the choice, she'd rather let a Slayer drive her, than get in a car being driven by him.
"Enough sight seeing," said Colonel Carter. "Ry'ac, take point, Phillips, you have our six. Dr. Summers, you're with me." She, and the rest of SG-2, all drew their machetes, and moved toward the steps that led down to a path that was mostly overgrown by weeds, and young saplings. Ry'ac started to hack a trail for them.
Dawn didn't have a machete. In its place she carried her second best sword, which she also drew. She followed Carter onto the path. It was time to get to work.