Slight of Hand
By drama, action
Summary: SG-1 steps through the gate, but something is different.
Spoilers for: Thor's Hammer, Singularity, Stargate The Movie, Gamekeeper, Urgo
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, and SG-1 are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters (like Neera), the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
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Author's notes:
This is my first fic, so I apologize if any of ya'll don't like it. Have Fun!
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Colonel Jack O'Neill and his team, Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c, were gearing up in the gate room, getting ready to embark on a routine mission. After strapping on his side arm to his thigh he turned to his 2IC,
"So Carter, what's so special about this planet?" He asked.
"Well, Sir, the UAV picked up evidence of a Naquada deposit."
"Cool." Not really, he thought, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"And Jack, think what we can learn about the locals' culture." Daniel was eager to join in on the conversation. Jack asked,
"I thought the UAV didn't find anyone, not even a small village." In response Daniel shrugged and pointed out the obvious.
"No, but that doesn't mean there isn't anybody there. There were ruins. There is a lot of stuff we can learn from them. Maybe the locals left some cool toys behind." He tried to appeal to the militaristic side of O'Neill.
"Indeed he is correct O'Neill; there were ancient ruins by the stargate." Teal'c flashed his joking grin, and O'Neill knew that he was beat.
"Right." He picked up his signature P90 and slung it over his shoulder. "Lets go kids." He and his team walked up the ramp to the stargate, their boots clanging on the metal surface. " See you on the other side." With his usual before-gate goodbye he walked through the stargate. Once on the other side he asked, "So, which way to the…" He looked around and something was missing, he was alone. "Carter…Daniel…Teal'c?" A wave of panic swept over him, and his stomach did a flip-flop. His body turned to putty. It took all he had to keep from collapsing. His team was missing.
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At a stargate surround by a forest, Carter stepped through the gate and also realized that she was alone. She looked around to see if maybe they were hiding for some weird reason.
"Colonel?" She called out while she walked down the step towards the DHD…
"Daniel? Teal'c?" she jumped the last step a little unnerved that her teammates were missing and looked at the DHD. She walked over to it to dial Earth and return home when she spotted a little girl hiding behind it.
"Hi, did you see anyone else come through here, other than me?" She approached slowly and the little girl backed up and continued trying to hide. "It's all right." Carter tried to comfort the spooked little girl and offered out her hand.
"My name's Samantha Carter, but you can call me Sam." Carter turned away and silently cursed herself for being so stupid. She probably doesn't speak English. Where's Daniel when you need him? The little girl quietly responded. She was so quiet that Carter almost didn't hear her.
"Neera" Carter spun back around, surprised by the response,
"What?" The little girl came out of hiding.
"I am called Neera." Carter, pleased that they were making progress asked,
"Neera, did you see my friends anywhere? They are people like me" When she said that, she pointed to her standard Air Force green fatigues. She was surprised at the answer Neera gave her.
"No, but I know where they are."
"You do? Great, where are they?"
"Through the woods, but I need your help. I cannot make it through the Tregar."
"And my friends are on the other side?"
"I'm afraid so, I will take you there, but I cannot go farther than that."
"Well maybe I can try to help you." They both started walking towards the woods with Neera leading the way.
"Now, what exactly is a Tregar?" When she asked, Carter couldn't help but feel that this 'Tregar' was something horrible. Maybe a giant creature that had two heads or claws like a giant bear. When Neera answered she relaxed a little.
"It is a golden door said to open if you solve the great riddle. However if you do not answer correctly, you will be taken."
Okay a door doesn't sound so bad. It's better than the grizzly from hell. But the part about being taken made her a little nervous.
"Taken?"
"Yes, never to return again."
"Oh." Figures. Why does everything have to be so dramatic with alien doom devices? They kept walking until she stopped suddenly.
"Oh boy!" In front of them was a large golden gate with numbers and symbols inscribed into it in several rows.
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At a stargate in a field with tall grass, Teal'c walked through the stargate like they did on any other mission. He had his trusted staff weapon clutched tightly in his firm grasp. Like the colonel and Major Carter before him, he realized that he was alone. This struck him as odd, seeing that they always went through the gate together and came out together.
"O'Neill…Dr. Jackson…Major Carter?"
Neera came running up the steps towards Teal'c. She begged him,
"Can you please help me!" Confused, Teal'c knows not what else to do so he offered his help.
"How so?"
"He is terrorizing our village!" Neera's face was filled with fear and desperation.
"Who?"
"The one." Those two words brought back a memory of a haunting labyrinth and an evil creature. It terrorized him and he was not about to let that happen to innocent people. He learned that lesson from a loyal friend.
"Take me to your village." Before leaving to help this little girl, he turned around to see if he could find that friend who refused to leave him alone with the evil creature, the friend who risked his life for him. "O'Neill?" He got no response.
Neera, recognizing the searching look on Teal'c's face, asked him if he was a friend.
"Yes, he is my friend. He came through the stargate with me and two others."
"They are safe."
"My friends? Where are they located?" Teal'c lit up with hope. This little girl knows where they are.
"Yes, they are back at my village." The village? Where the creature is? His hopes sank right back down.
"We must not waste more time, we must go to your village immediately!" He said matter-of-factly.
"This way." They ran through the field and shortly arrived at the village. As they neared, they could hear faint screams. The village was partly on fire with people running wildly in every direction. A hideous creature came into Teal'c's view. It was the same creature he had fought in the labyrinth.
"No!" He wished with every ounce in his body that he was wrong, but he wasn't.
"What is it?" Neera asked, the fear ever present in her voice.
"An Unas."
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At a stargate next to an old temple now in ruins Daniel walks through the gate. He flew down the step that led up to the stargate while babbling out about the ruins that lay before him and about how much he could learn from them. His nose was almost touching the nearest column then he stopped in mid sentence when he realized he was alone,
"Sam…Teal'c…Jack? Oh come on Jack, I've put up with your jokes for a long time, but this one isn't funny!" He started walking through the rows of columns hoping to a non-Go' auld god that it was a joke. At the end of one row, he saw Neera pacing back and forth.
"Hah! Jack was wrong." He said to himself as he remembered their chat in the gate room where Jack thought that the planet was as empty as a bottle of beer next to Homer Simpson's couch. He started to walk towards Neera while introducing himself,
"Um, Hi. I'm Daniel Jackson… of the Tauri." Upon hearing his voice, Neera stopped pacing and walked towards him,
"I am Neera of the Rokans." She paused, obviously debating with herself whether or not to ask him for help. She won. "My family was taken by an enemy of my people. I cannot get to them. Can you help?"
Daniel being Daniel, jumping at the chance to help some stranger,
"Sure I'll help. I've got nothing better to do. If they aren't playing a joke on me, Sam has probably made her way to the deposit and Jack and Teal'c are well, doing what Jack and Teal'c always do."
"Friends?"
"Yes, Friends." After this stunt, maybe not, he thought.
"Is one of them Jaffa?" Teal'c! His heart sank, something happened. How else would she know them?
"Yes, you know them?"
"I'm afraid they have also been taken."
"What?" He didn't think it was possible for his heart to sink any lower. Something did happen.
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At a stargate by the tree line of a hilly forest that sort of reminded him of Minnesota, O'Neill sweared under his breath.
"Now what?" He grabbed his radio and barked into it,
"Carter?" No response.
"Daniel" Nada.
"T?" Zip.
His mouth went dry. He tried so hard to fight back the wave of panic that threatened to overtake him. You could torture Jack O'Neill and he wouldn't crack, but take away his team, the people he cared about most in his life, and he fell to pieces. He knew something was wrong. After spending years with black ops, he knew to trust his instincts. He started to walk down the steps, slowly raising his gun to the ready position, when his fine tuned ears heard a strange noise coming from behind him. He recognized it as someone crying. Replacing the harsh black ops instincts were his instincts of being a father. His face softened and he lowered his gun as he turned around. On the other side of the gate was Neera, hugging her knees and crying, looking like a very young child even though she was much older.
"Uh, hello little girl." He was a little unsure of what to do. He wanted her to stop crying because each sob tore at his heart. He wanted to run over and comfort her, but someone might be watching. He settled for slowly walking over and hiding his gun behind his back. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her.
Neera, trying desperately to stop crying, sniffled and looked up at O'Neill. She tried to wipe her tears away from her eyes. O'Neill, still walking towards her, looked around for SG1. Still worried because he couldn't find them, he tried to focus on the little girl in front of him.
"What's the matter?"
"They killed my brother. He's the only family I had left." She barely managed to answer because she broke out sobbing again. O'Neill had a feeling that this might somehow have to do something with the disappearance of SG-1.
"Who?" As if to answer question, he heard Jaffa's armored footsteps approaching. His heart sank. What else could possibly go wrong?
"Great! Uh, never mind…. What's your name?"
"Sniff…Neera...sniff"
"Well, Neera, I'm Jack. Why don't we go talk over there? Come on." He pointed to the tree line and grabbed Neera's hand. In a sort of rushed manner, he led, almost dragged, her over to the woods. As soon as they got there, they hid behind a large bush.
"What?" Neera asked, confused about why they had to abandon their spot by the stargate.
"Just… trust me." He quickly looked around, studying the area for cover. He looked at Neera and put his finger to his lips. "Shhh. You have to stay very quiet. Can you do that for me?"
Neera nodded her head in compliance. He stepped out from behind the bush and took cover behind the tree next to it. He peered out around it and spotted Serpent guard Jaffa come out of the opposite tree line and surround stargate. He cursed under his breath, careful to not let Neera hear.
Curious as to what made Jack appear so angry she looked around the bush and gasped.
"They…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Jack swooped down from his position behind the tree to comfort her. She started crying loudly.
O'Neill saw the expression of pain on her face and recognized it instantly. The pain of loss was all too familiar. He hugged her comfortingly and came up with an excuse for his action other than seeing a child in need and him rushing to help. She was crying and if the Jaffa heard, their position would be made.
"It's okay. Shhh. Stop crying. It's okay. I'm here." A minute later, Neera had stopped crying. She felt safe with Jack. His mind, desperate to not focus on a lost child he once knew, was going over a need-to-do checklist. He looked around and saw a small, but steep hill were he could get a look at what and who was in their way.
"Stay here. I'll be right back." Neera wasn't about to let him leave her alone. She wanted to feel safe. She wanted him to protect her,
"But…"
"I'll be right back. I promise." He waited for her nod of approval then he left.
He went to the top of hill for about ten seconds, looked around, and then came back to Neera.
"We gotta get out of here."
"My village isn't far." Neera offered to take him there. O'Neill, glad to have a stronghold to defend, asked,
"Good, how many of those guys are there?"
"Only a few" A few? He could work with that.
"Lets go." They headed off to the village careful not to run into any patrols. Once they arrived, Jack scanned the area for the conspicuous Jaffa.
"I count six of them. Shouldn't be too hard." Just as the words left his mouth, a large patrol of Jaffa comes into the village.
"Or maybe not." Was his casual, sarcastic response.
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Carter walked up to the Tregar and pressed one of the symbols, hoping it would reveal the great riddle that they were supposed to solve.
"I have no idea what this is supposed to represent. Do you Neera?"
"No." Was her simple response.
All of a sudden one of the symbols on the door slides into its slot, then out to its original position. Carter and Neera exchange glances, neither knowing what that meant or what to do. Carter pushed in the symbol that moved, with hopes that something would happen. The same symbol moved in again and when it came back out to its original position, another one, elsewhere on the door, moved in then out in the same manner. Having an epiphany, Carter pushed them both in, in the same order that they moved.
"It's a memory game!" She exclaimed.
"A what?" Sam thought a second on how to explain what the childish game was.
"Uh, you press the same symbols it shows you in sequential order and after every rotation, it adds another." Finishing her explanation, she took a marker out of one of her many vest pockets and marked the order of the symbols.
"What are you doing to the door?"
"I'm marking the symbols so we don't forget the order. 'Cause apparently what happens when you forget isn't very good." She continued pressing the symbols. The last symbol in that round moved in, then out. A look of horror appeared on both Carter and Neera's faces.
"Uh oh." The last symbol was on the top row on the door, several feet above Carter's head. An idea popped into her head, and she started looking on the ground.
"Find a large stick quickly!" She advised Neera. She went off to find one big enough while Carter continued pressing the symbols. Within a few seconds Neera came back with a large stick in her hands.
"Here's one. Are you sure it's long enough?"
"It should reach it, thanks." The turn for the last symbol came up and Carter lifted the stick to press it, but it wouldn't go in.
"Oh, come on." She struggled with the stick, trying to push it in. Then, another idea came to her.
"Maybe… Get a big rock. Hurry." She searched her pockets for rope and found some, while Neera handed her a large rock. Carter grabbed the rock that Neera gave her and started to tie it to the end of the stick.
A strange, deep voice emanated from the Tregar. Sam's body froze and she knew that time has run out.
"You have failed. You may not pass." an exhausted Carter and Neera looked at each other, knowing that they weren't going to see their friends again. A bright beam of blue light descended on Neera.
"You will be taken." Neera looked at Carter pleadingly.
"Sam!"
Carter looked back at Neera and instead of seeing her, she traveled back in time and saw another frightened little girl begging for her, sitting in the basement of the abandoned weapons test facility. Her maternal instincts kicked in full gear.
"No! It was me, I failed." Sam pushed Neera out of the way and closed her eyes to prepare for a fate unknown.
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"Unas?" Neera asked, clearly never having heard the name before.
"Yes, I must kill him to save your village and my friends." Teal'c stated. Had O'Neill been there, he would have called him blunt. Whatever that means.
"I will go get your friends."
Teal'c with his staff weapon in a death grip ran down the hill into the small village and stood to face the Unas.
"Unas! You will leave or die."
The Unas, hearing a challenge, turned around to face Teal'c. A shiver ran down Teal'c's spine, but he would never show his fear.
"I will not, you will." He aimed his weapon at Teal'c, but he fired his staff weapon first and hit Unas. He fired back at Teal'c and knocked his staff out of his hand. Teal'c, now unarmed, ducked behind a nearby house, and went around it. Coming around it right behind him, he lunged at Unas. The force knocked Unas's weapon away and they both, unarmed, engaged in hand-to-hand combat. After struggling for a while, Unas struck Teal'c against the head and sent him spinning to the ground. His staff weapon was an arm's length away to the right. Unas, thinking he has Teal'c in the palm of his hand, or paw, approached for the final blow.
Teal'c rolled to his right, picked up the staff weapon, knelt on one knee, and fired once at Unas. Unas, injured, took a step back because of the force of the blow. His anger rekindled, he then started running at Teal'c. Teal'c fired again and again and Unas fell down, dead. Muddy and bloody because of the fight, Teal'c stood up triumphantly. His battle wounds would soon be fully healed thanks to Jr.
Neera came running up to him jubilantly.
"You did it!"
Teal'c, only concerned about one thing, asked,
"My friends?"
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"Are you sure this is where they were taken? Usually the Go'auld build the biggest thing possible where everyone can see it." Daniel was skeptical. He remembered the great pyramids at Giza and Ra's spaceship at Abydos.
"Their numbers are depleted. They are few. They are hiding behind the Shena Ala so they are not disturbed."
"Shena Ala?"
"Yes, it is the only way to get around the patrols. They cannot go through themselves, so they think that no one can."
"Now that sounds more like the Go' auld." Those arrogant SOB. They came up to a narrow doorway that looked like the entrance to a cave. On each side was a large, rock wall that went on as far as the eye could see.
"Is this the Shena Ala?"
"Yes. Once inside, you may never come back. The only way out is to pass the three challenges. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"No, let's go." He looked at Neera then stepped inside with her following close behind. The passageway became dark very quickly so Daniel took out a flashlight from his vest. They came up to a wall with an ancient writing on it. Daniel ran his hand over the writing while translating.
"It's Nebatian. It's a language that later formed into Arabic. My Arabic however isn't so good, but loosely translated this is the story of Ali Baba and the forty thieves." Daniel turned away from the wall to tell Neera the story.
"He stumbled upon their secret hideaway and heard the thieves use their password. He walked up to their hideaway and said 'Open sesame', which was the password, and the door opens." After saying that, the wall opens up and reveals two passages, one leading left, and the other leading right. On both, there is writing that Daniel recognized immediately as Ancient.
"This must be the origin of the story. I can't believe it worked." Remembering the reason why he's doing this he said,
"Oh gosh. Jack is going to have a field day with this."
"Which way do we go?"
"Uh… I'm working on it." Daniel went up to the symbols on the left passage then ran to the other symbols on the right side.
"Here. This way Neera."
Neera, a confused look on her face, asked,
"Huh? How did you figure that out?"
Daniel's mind was obviously in another place and he distractedly threw her the answer.
"Uh…oh it said 'This Way'."
"Oh, okay." They came up to a ledge on one side of a deep canyon. A rope was hanging straight in the middle, between the two sides. Daniel leaned over the edge to see how far down it went. He couldn't see the bottom so he dropped a stone and waited for the thud. It seemed like forever until they heard the softest of thuds. It was a long way down.
"Why does it always have to be with heights?"
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O'Neill was laying C4 down in strategic places around a path surrounded by two hills on either side and arming them. When his task was complete he went back to Neera.
"Maybe we can persuade a couple of our friends here to leave." With that, he checked his P90 to make sure he had enough ammo for the upcoming event.
"Now, whatever happens, stay here!" Giving a no-buts-about-it look at Neera, he stood up to leave. As he turned around, she grabbed his arm. She didn't want him to leave. She was scared.
"Don't…" Jack turned around to face the frightened girl and said,
"I'll be back."
"You promise?"
"I promise. Now, stay low and be quiet. Don't let anyone know you're here." He didn't want to leave her alone like that, but he had to. To protect her and get his team back to safety. He went off to the top of another hill. The regrouped Jaffa patrol left the village and headed towards the C4 laden path. When in range, O'Neill detonated the explosives and ran in, shooting those unharmed by the blast. More Jaffa came running to help when one blew his horn, revealing their position and that they were under attack. O'Neill was caught off guard as more Jaffa appeared and ran up the hill backwards to retreat, while continuing to shoot at them. Many Jaffa were dead, but several were still alive.
One nailed O'Neill in the thigh with his staff weapon. A searing heat raced through his body and his eyes started to glaze over from the pain. He lost his balance, fell and started to roll down the hill. Refusing to give in to the pain he fought for consciousness. He tried to get up, but was soon surrounded by the remaining three Jaffa. The pain was unbearable and he cried out,
"God!" One Jaffa walked up to O'Neill and took out his hand to reveal a ribbon device. He was going to do one of two things, interrogate or kill. O'Neill thought probably both.
"Why are you here?" He barked at Jack. He waved a finger at the Jaffa while answering,
"You know, that's a personal question." He had endured torture before and knew what to do. He wouldn't give them anything except for his sarcastic quips.
"Enough! You will tell me what matter concerns your presence." He raised his hand and turned on the ribbon device. An orange glow surrounded O'Neill's forehead. His head snapped back in a reflex action to the device. He bit down on his lip to keep from crying out in pain. His head felt like a little monkey with a sledgehammer was pounding his brain to mush. The Jaffa grinned at the pain apparent on O'Neill's face. He gave in,
"Fine…. I missed seeing my lovely snake friends." Not! The Jaffa, annoyed at his response, increased the pain with the ribbon device.
"You will pay greatly for your insolence!" He set the ribbon device to kill mode. His only regret was that he wouldn't be able to make sure his team got back home safely. The next thing he knew, O'Neill heard the sound of a staff weapon. For a second, he thought he was dead, and then the pain rushed back to him to say 'No you're not'. Jack collapsed forward and saw the three dead Jaffa joining him on the ground. He pushed himself up in time to see Neera holding a smoking staff weapon. Taking a moment to catch his breath he said,
"I told you to stay there, but…thanks." She went down to O'Neill and supported him while he tried to stand up.
"To Oz!" He feigned a smile to reassure her, and they both headed off towards the now Jaffa-free village.
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The beam of blue light disappeared with Carter still standing there. A strange, deep voice called,
"You are willing to sacrifice yourself for one you barely know. You have passed and may enter." With that, the Tregar's doors slowly opened, revealing a path. Carter breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Wow. That gets the adrenaline pumping. Lets go Neera. We need to get to the village." They went through the doorway and once again headed for the village.
"How did my friends get there anyhow? They walked through the stargate at the same time I did, and I didn't see them on the other side?"
"It is complicated." Carter stopped and looked at Neera, waiting for an explanation. It felt a little awkward. She was usually the one to say that it was complicated and then run into a long and, well, complicated explanation.
"Shoot." Neera missed the expression,
"I do not have a weapon."
"What? Oh, I mean go ahead and tell me. It's an expression where I come from."
"All right. It is a defense mechanism for my planet…."
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Daniel was tying shoelaces and some rope together to make one longer rope.
"Lets hope this works. Do you have any other rope?"
"No, that is all I have."
"Okay then. Lets try it." He got up and walked to the edge once again. He tied a small rock that he found in the cave to the end of his makeshift rope. He swung it out to the rope dangling from the roof of the cave. As he did so, the image of a cowboy lassoing a steer popped into his mind and a large grinned spread across his face. Daniel's rope touched the other one and moves the rope just a little bit, then fell. He pulled his rope back in and tried again. He tried again and again and again, and then became exasperated. It wasn't working and he doubted it ever would.
"Here, let me try." Neera offered.
"Sure." And he handed her the rope.
"I think I know what you're trying to do now." She went out to the edge and relieved Daniel. She swung out their makeshift rope. It wrapped around the other rope and stayed without falling. Daniel, watching her accomplish what he had been trying to do on her first try, jumped up astounded.
"Yes!" Neera pulled in the rope and held on.
"Okay, I'm going to push you to the other side and when you get there, swing it back to me. Be careful." Daniel said.
"Okay. See you on the other side." She jumped and swung to the other side. Daniel remembered that O'Neill had said that same phrase just before they were separated.
"What?" He was starting to get suspicious. They wouldn't just happen to say Jack's phrase on an alien planet? Did she have to do something with his friends' disappearance?
"Okay, your turn." She tossed the rope back to Daniel. At the top of the rope, a few rocks loosened, unused to the use of the rope. It started to detach.
Daniel grabbed the rope unaware of the danger and started to swing across. The rope came loose and fell off the roof. Daniel was almost across and threw out his hands to grab the ledge. He hung off the side of the cliff and slowly pulled himself up, with Neera helping to drag him on solid ground.
"Oof! God that hurt. Remind me never to do that again." He got up slowly and brushed off the dirt from his jacket. "Lets go. We need to save our friends." He and Neera walked out of the cave and into the open. He squinted when the bright daylight blinded him.
"Back in the cave, you said something to me just before you swung. Do you remember what it was?"
"Yah, I said see you on the other…" She caught her mistake. "What about it?"
"One of my friends said that just before we were separated. Do you know anything about what happened to them?" Her reaction made him even more suspicious.
"Uh…….uh……..uh……." Neera didn't know what she could say to that, but she did know that she could do one thing and one thing only that wouldn't reveal anything.
"Do you?" She did it. She ran off ahead of Daniel, easily dodging trees and bushes. Daniel yelled after her, but she didn't stop. He started to run after her. She did have something to do with his friends' disappearance and he wanted to know. He soon lost sight of her and had to guess where she was going.
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"You must take me to my friends immediately." She had promised to get his friends, but she came back alone. Teal'c was worried.
"They are over in the town square." She pointed Teal'c in the direction and he walked away eager to see that they were all right. When he got there, he looked around and was angry at being tricked by a little girl.
"There is no one here." He said to no one in particular. Just then he heard someone running behind him. He grabbed his staff, and got ready to fire, thinking it was an enemy ambush. As the sound got louder, Daniel emerged from a thick wall of smoke that was surrounding the village.
"Daniel Jackson." Daniel stood stiff at the mention of his name. Clearly not expecting to hear a familiar voice.
"Teal'c? How, I mean where, I mean. Where are Jack and Sam?" He was confused.
"I am not sure. Are you all right?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. How did you get here?"
"A young girl seeked my help and brought me here."
"A young girl? What did she look like?" Teal'c described her to the tee. It was the same girl. "Neera."
" I am unsure of what she is called." Daniel paused to think. He was sure it was the same girl, but how?
Someone off in the distance called,
"Neera, Neera, where'd you go?" The bushes shook and Carter stepped through.
"Sam!"
"Daniel? Teal'c?" Sam walked towards the two. Confused, but extremely happy to see the two of them.
"Major Carter, are you unharmed?" If anything happened to SG-1, Teal'c knew that Colonel O'Neill would never forgive himself, wherever he was.
"Yeah I'm fine."
"Where were you?" Daniel asked.
"I came through the gate when you guys did, but you weren't there. Where's the colonel?" The concern was apparent in her voice. He was the only one still missing.
"I don't know. How did you get here?" He had a feeling that it too had to do with a mysterious little girl.
"I made a little friend and she brought me here." Yep.
"Neera?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Well, for one thing, you were yelling out her name. And two, she's the one who brought me here."
"I believe she has also accompanied me in my search for you." Teal'c interjected.
"How could that be? She was with me the whole time… except for just now."
"Perhaps she is a clone or a human version of a replicator." Teal'c was doubtful of his statement, she seemed human enough to him.
"Oh god I hope not." Daniel got even more worried.
"Hope what?" O'Neill had come up behind Daniel. Neera was helping him stand.
"Jack!"
"Sir!"
"O'Neill."
"Hey kids."
"Sir, what happened?" Carter saw the bloody burn wound on his thigh and her face paled. She started to feel guilty because each of them had come back untouched and he needed help just to stand.
"I ran into our good snake friends…and look at the greeting I got."
"I commenced battle with an Unas." Teal'c tried to show that O'Neill was not alone in having to battle someone or something.
"Unas, here? Are there any more?" Jack was worried about the safety of his team.
"I do not believe so."
"Good!" In a concerned tone he asked, "Are you all okay?" He looked at his team and inspected them for injuries like a mother hen. Satisfied by finding nothing wrong and no one hurt, he continued,
"Guys, this is-"
"Neera." Daniel and Carter had answered together. O'Neill silently asked for more details with the confused look on his face.
"We met her already." Daniel confessed.
"How?"
"Well, I… don't know." Daniel looked at Neera "Why don't you tell us?
Jack looked at Daniel with a surprised expression.
"You don't know something? Carter?" But she just shook her head and said,
"Sorry sir." Jack looked at Neera in disbelief and said,
"Okay, lets hear it Ms. Houdini." Neera, with a confused look on her face, turned to O'Neill. And he murmured to himself,
"Never mind."
"As I told Sam, it is a defense mechanism for my planet. As strangers come through the Great Ring or 'Stargate', they are immediately transported into a fake reality where they are given a test."
"A 'fake reality'?" O'Neill asked.
"Well Sir, It's sort of like our virtual reality games back home." Carter explained, trying to make an easy connection to something on Earth.
"Cool." Jack knew what it was, but he had to keep up the dumb pilot routine.
"A test? Was that what the maze and canyon were, a test?" Daniel asked disbelievingly.
"Maze and canyon? What are you talking about Daniel?" He hadn't told him about that. Now he was worried. The whole 'test' bit didn't help.
"Yes Daniel, it was your test. Carter's was the Tregar, Teal'c yours was the Unas. O'Neill yours was the Jaffa. You were judged on how you treated a stranger, and what you risked to help them out of the goodness of your hearts." Jack had never thought of it that way before. Getting uncomfortable with the topic, he changed it by saying,
"If that was a fake reality or whatever, then how is this real?" He pointed to the staff blast wound. "It sure feels real."
"Sorry about that, but what happens there happens in reality." Neera looked truly apologetic, so he forgave her. Plus, she was just a little girl; there was nothing she could have done.
"Sort of like the belief that if you die in a dream you die in real life." Daniel went off trying to connect some alien happening to an Earth belief.
"Oh."
"The tests are designed from your memories and some of your greatest obstacles and new challenges. I was duplicated in each of your tests as a judge and a guide to your obstacles." If she was just supposed to watch and be an unbiased judge, then she broke the rules to help me, Jack thought. He was truly grateful.
"Before, you said that strangers were transported. How does it know whether you are a stranger or not, and how does it work? I mean it must work before you are re materialized be cause I don't remember a different place after I stepped through and before my 'fake reality'. If-"
"Whoa Danny boy. Slow down." O'Neill chided.
"Well you are right, it is similar to our iris by working before the gate has a chance to finish the reconstruction phase, except that it transports you instead of killing you." Carter answered. She had gone through this before when Neera confessed about the program.
"In answer to your other question, our signature is programmed into it so we can step through the Great Ring without being transported." Neera finished the answer.
"Duh." Jack couldn't help but throw in a joke at Daniel's expense. Daniel leered back at Jack. And despite the pain emanating from his wound, O'Neill grinned back boyishly. He was just happy he had his team back unharmed.
"We must surely not continue to exist in the virtual reality?" Teal'c had a question of his own. O'Neill frowned at the thought that they might be trapped in the fake reality like they were in those machines on the other planet.
"No, you are back in reality. The stranger must go through alone, without anyone they would know, other than the obstacle." Teal'c bowed his head in understanding. "Since you have all proven to be worthy, you shall be programmed to be immune to the fake reality. You will be able to return unharmed." Neera was proud of her new found friends, not many people passed the tests.
"That would be great. We would like to trade with you and your people. We could become great friends." Carter smiled genuinely.
"We already are." Neera smiled back.
"And we would love to learn more about you and your culture and history." Daniel just couldn't help it.
"As would we."
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O'Neill, despite protests that he could walk on his own, was supported by Teal'c and Daniel. Daniel had complained about Jack fussing like a little child who didn't want to go to bed.
"Thank you Neera for the interesting little adventure you've given each of us, but it is time for us to go."
"I will miss you greatly." She responded with a slight frown as her eyes started to tear. O'Neill, seeing this, decided that he could let his softer side surface for a short while.
"I'll miss you too."
Daniel, realizing that the confession must be embarrassing Jack, butted in on their intimate goodbye.
"Me too."
"As will I." Said Teal'c joining in. Sam, not wanting to be left out added,
"Me also." O'Neill, worried that his soft side would get the better of him, he started to move out. More like he tried to move out. If Teal'c and Daniel weren't there to catch him he would have fallen flat on his face.
"Whoa. Thanks. Let's move out."
Daniel wanted to reassure Neera that they would return, so he said,
"We'll see you soon. We will come back." They started to move towards the Stargate. Jack was really happy to have his team, his family back. He would never let on how scared he'd been while his team was missing, although he knew each was more than capable of holding his and her own.
"Well, Campers, this is going to be an interesting debriefing." But he was going to hate the paperwork. "By the way Carter, what's a Tree gaurd?"
"It's Tregar Sir, and a long story.
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Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.