[dinosaur expedition]

[gate_expert]

Sam had been pleasantly surprised by the number of people gathered in New Atlantis to go on the dinosaur-studying expedition. It was a group that was big enough to be interesting, but not big enough to be unwieldy and unmanageable, and in some ways it was like going offworld again even if they were just going through the jungle. Her existence for

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[has_2ls]

Jack hadn't actually been in the jungle in years, back when he was Special Ops and the things he saw on a day to day basis were mundane compared to life after the stargate. He'd given his best instructions to the team going out and had his fingers crossed that nobody would be an idiot; the sheer number of experienced military and field guides eased him a little and he knew that Daniel would be someone to rely on as well. He'd gotten capable.

He grinned a little at Carter; it felt good to be back in the field with his team again.

"So Carter, ready to get the party started?"

[gate_expert]

"It's a good day for it, sir," said Sam, who, now that they were actually en route, was practically bouncing with excitement. "Can you believe we're actually going to see creatures that have been extinct on Earth since the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event sixty-five million years ago?"

[has_2ls]

"So you tell me," Jack said, smile still playing at his lips. "After all we've seen out in the field, I'll believe just about anything these days. If we can keep everyone together, I think it'll be a good trip."

Even with the lightheartedness between he and Carter, Jack was still keeping a keen eye out for stragglers and danger; while they were still close to civilization, it didn't pay to be caught unaware.

[gate_expert]

"We've never seen anything actually extinct before, though. I'm pretty excited about this." Sam was fairly confident that this trip would be pretty uneventful, save for actually seeing the dinosaurs, but not so confident that she wasn't paying attention. She and Keller and McKay had thought that their little field trip to M5V-801 was going to be uneventful, and they'd ended up falling through the roof of a Genii mine.

Sam sincerely hoped there were no hidden mines on this island, and if there were she damned sure wasn't going to climb up any rickety crates to try to get out.

[jill_langston]

After all this time, the fact that Jill hadn't gone to see the dinosaurs just seemed absurd. That was why she'd agreed to go on the expedition. Well, that and she didn't want Rodney heading off to look at dinosaurs alone. Even with people there to protect them all, she was a little worried he'd end up getting himself eaten.

Or worse.

Shouldering her pack, she looked into the jungle and grinned, feeling a sense of adventure she hadn't felt in a long time.

[gate_expert]

"Hey, Jill," Sam said, falling into step with her. She and the general were taking point most of the way, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to hang back and talk a bit to pass the time on the walk. "You doing okay so far?"

[jill_langston]

"You know, I'm not big on physical activity most of the time and two years ago, this walk would have done me in," Jill admitted, giving Sam a faintly embarrassed grin. There had been a time when every day had been spent commuting and in the lab. Nothing more.

"But after having to hike back and forth from where I live every day... I guess I'm not the lab potato I once was."

[gate_expert]

Sam laughed a little. "It's kind of embarrassing," she admitted, "but I'm probably going to be hating life by the time we get back. The Air Force has some pretty tough PT standards, but this last year I've been so far away from active duty that I'm more out of shape than I've been in my life." She intended to remedy that, though, and her morning runs with the general were helping already.

[det_jules]

Juliet was definitely buzzing with something like excitement. And sure, so every once in a while she kind of thought about Jurassic Park and how badly that ended for them, but this was totally different. Really! Even if she wasn't as armed as she'd like and she had never exactly faced down a dinosaur before, it was so different.

She just had to keep repeating to herself that she was not going to get eaten. "You are not Laura Dern," she whispered to herself as they trekked along. "You are not Laura Dern and you do not know Jeff Goldblum."

[has_2ls]

"Good movie though," Jack said with a laugh, keeping pace with the blonde woman. There were plenty of people out here he only knew as faces and some he didn't even know as well as that and while he knew he had a job to do, Jack wanted to get out and meet people too.

"Jack O'Neill, by the way. Are you science or backup?"

[det_jules]

Juliet turned and smiled brightly and anxiously, sticking out her hand. "Detective Juliet O'Hara. Although, not so much of the Detective part here, but I am backup," she confirmed proudly. "I know I'm muttering to myself, but I'm pretty good at casing a situation and thinking on my feet."

[has_2ls]

"I like to operate on the benefit of the doubt," Jack said, shrugging. "Besides, everybody talks to themselves. Ever met Daniel Jackson? It's like watching a movie with only one person in it. Believe me, I'm not holding it against you."

[psych_out]

Shawn wondered if it was still too soon to say It.

It might have taken a grand total of eleven minutes for him to start complaining about the weight of his backpack, bad arches, a pulled hamstring and needing to go to the bathroom. None of it was true -- except for the backpack thing, though nothing and no one would convince him that his artificial campfire wasn't a necessity for the trip -- he just wasn't the type that was at one with nature. He was all for seeing the dinosaurs, it was just the hike there with all that crap on his back that might have killed him.

Still too soon?

He started dragging his feet as they went on, arms sagging by his sides, head thrown back slightly. If someone was going to say It at all, it may as well have been him.

"Are we theeeeeeerrreeeeee yeeeeet?!"

[the_nsa_agent]

Casey had been looking forward to the expedition already, but when he woke up on the morning of to find a case on the floor of his hut, containing an N1-34 minigun, something he'd read about but never had a chance to play with, he was like a kid at Christmas.

He trooped along with the rest of the company, pleased to be on something like official maneuvers that weren't ITF training; the dinosaurs could be unpredictable, and he liked the challenge. And he kind of really hoped he'd get to try out his new toy.

[has_2ls]

Jack had been trying to get to know the other military and paramilitary on the island and the dino expedition had brought a few out of the woodwork. The tall guy just carried himself like military and marine, if Jack had pegged it right. He dropped back to match his stride, nodding toward him.

"Army or Marine?"

[the_nsa_agent]

"Semper fi," said Casey by way of answer. "Reserve, most recently, but then that's the case with everyone once they end up here, right?"

He was pretty glad he had a cover that was close to the truth, and not like poor Walker who had to pretend to be "normal" all the time.

"How about you?"

[has_2ls]

"Air Force. Special Forces," Jack said, nodding a little in appreciation. Marines had gotten him out of tight spots in on this planet and hundreds of others. "Lucky this damn place seems to pull capable people, right?"