A/N: First of all, I'm very sorry for the massive amount of time it took me to write this very short chapter. I promise all of you the next one will be much more in depth and involved. Also, I would like to thank J.Rolande for the MASSIVE amount of help she gave me for this. This chapter was actually a joint venture between she and I. I am grateful to all the patient people wanting to see this, and I promise, the next few chapters will not disappoint.
I don't own Stargate, MGM and Scifi Channel do…but OH THE POSSIBILITIES!!!
I don't own Metroid either…Miyamoto-sama does. Enjoy, all!
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Jack's hand sprung from the sheets and smacked his alarm clock as it buzzed loudly, indicating that the time was 0600 hours and that he would have to get ready for the day's mission. Grudgingly, Jack crawled out of his warm bed. Thankfully, the footy portion of his Harry Potter pajamas kept his feet from feeling the icy coldness that made up most of the floors in the SGC, including the personnel quarters. As soon as Jack stood up, he groaned as he remembered that he had cleaning duty for the Briefing Room that day.
"Oh no…we have an early meeting too…that means Teal'c will bring donuts…jelly filled at that." Jack looked down at the tops of his footies, one of which had a giant snake on it. "I would rather fight a Basilisk," Jack mused to himself as he walked toward the bathroom to do his daily routine. Jack yawned loudly as he looked at his ragged and tired form in the mirror above his sink. As Jack splashed water on his face to wake himself up, he mentally rehearsed what the day would be like. "First thing is the briefing before we go off to P3X-745, then I need to write the report concerning that time loop device…" Jack twitched a little as he remembered that incident. He also made a mental note to not have Fruit Loops. He continued going over his day's schedule as he reached for his tooth brush and put tooth paste on. Just as he began to brush his teeth, his train of thought was interrupted by a flash of disturbingly familiar white light.
"Good morning, O'Neil," the short grey alien said in his usual almost-but-not-quite monotone voice. Jack swallowed his toothpaste in surprise.
"Tohr?" Jack asked, his toothbrush muffling his voice a little. "Sawwy, you caughft meh in da mittle ov bwushin mah teef." Jack stated, before realizing he still had his toothbrush in his mouth. After Thor gave him a quizzical look, Jack realized his mistake and took his toothbrush out of his mouth and holding it at his side.
At first Jack thought he was dreaming because it was so early. Jack gave a look to Thor that was akin to the expression he gave Carter whenever she said something in technical jargin. Thor just calmly stared at Jack and gave a slight nod, as if insinuating Jack should have been expecting this. Of course, he hadn't.
"You are in fact awake, Colonel O'Neil." Thor statedin greeting, as if he knew exactly what Jack was thinking. "I am sorry for summoning you this early in the morning, but we have discovered something of incredible importance to your fight against the Goa'uld. We have reason to believe that there is a device of great power on a planet far out of your galaxy."
"I thought that our network of stargates didn't reach that far," Jack stated, his surprise starting to wear off as Thor launched into his reasons behind this early morning summons.
"You are correct, O'Neil," Thor affirmed.
"Then, how are we supposed to get there? Are you going to give us a lift?" asked O'Neil, in his typical, almost sarcastic fashion.
Thor shook his head. "Sadly, O'Neil, I cannot transport you to the planet. We are busy attending to an enemy of our own galaxy even more dangerous than the Goa'uld. However, we do have an alternative. This planet has a stargate."
"Fine, fine, I get it. ButI thought you said that we couldn't reach gates out of our network." Thor seemed oblivious to Jack's suspicions. He merely said, "That is also correct. However, if you recall, you were able to do so, once. A device similar to the one that you built while under the influence of the Ancient's knowledge has been created for you; however, it is of a more powerful. This device will not shut down after one use, but will shut down after five uses, which in turn should give you enough of a first step beyond your own galaxy."
"That is awfully nice of you, Thor, ol' buddy," Jack said, almost sarcastically, and with a slight skyward roll of his eyes. "So…where is it?"
"The device has been transported to the coordinates from which I took you, O'Neil. When you return, you may attach the device to your power grid and you will be able to draw sufficient power to activate the eight symbol dialing sequence we will send back with you," Thor explained.
But Jack still wasn't convinced. So far all the alien had done was give him instructions for activating a stargate; it hadn't explained precisely why he was supposed to want to activate this gate, or what he would find when he did. He sighed and decided to cut to the chase. "So, Thor, what is on this planet in a galaxy far far away that you think could help us? Laser guns, force fields, perhaps a death star?"
Jack's sarcasm was lost on Thor. The alien fixed him with a stare and explained,"We don't know exactly what type of power is, but we know that the planet is named Tallon III. It was a dwelling place of the Ancients at the peak of their technological age. They left it desolate long ago when their spiritual desires took over and they wanted a new start: to commune with a dwelling place, not just over run it."
Jack processed this and fixed Thor with a stare of his own. "So, what you're saying is that they just abandoned a planet full of technology that we could use against the Goa'uld, and they won't have a problem with this?" The concept was asinine... ridiculous even. To have that caliber of technology at his disposal would certainly give him the long-sought-after upper hand in his battles, and possibly finally bring an end to the fighting. And maybe even peace to the galaxy. Galactic peace, and these new means to achieve them, seemed far too good to be true; which could only mean that they weren't true.
Thor didn't share Jack's cynicism, and in fact, the human's over thinking was beginning to grow irritating. He spoke very slowly. "Yes, O'Neil, that is what I am saying." He awaited confirmation that O'Neil had comprehended this statement before continuing. "However, they did not leave their secrets unguarded. They left a series of tests, to make sure that only someone who was worthy of such great power would be able to access it."
Knew it, Jack thought. Of course it was too good to be true. "What kind of tests?" he asked suspiciously, wondering quickly if he had the fortitude to pass these tests, or how quickly he could gain the fortitude; a chance to defeat the Goa'uld once and for all was too good to pass up, even if it was too good to be true.
Thor shrugged, his expression serious and even slightly pensive. "That I do not know," he replied. "And, it is why I ask that you exercise discretion when going to this world. The planet was called Tallon III by the Ancients."
Jack fixed Thor with a slightly puzzled look. "What happened to Tallon I and II?" Jack wondered. Thor saw the look on Jack's face and responded, almost as if he could read his mind... or he'd heard the question too many times before. He explained, "Tallon I and II, though both in the same solar system as Tallon III, are uninhabitable, which is why the Ancients did not build anything on either world. Talon III has an environment much like Earth: varying climates, four seasons, and it is 60% covered by water; it is very conducive to sustaining life."
Jack didn'tseem to hear the explanation; hewas still alittle taken aback by Thor's seeming ability to read his mind. "How did you know what I was thinking?" he asked, a little nervous about the possibility that the Asgard have telepathy.
Thor blinked, slightly amused by the human's reaction. "That is simple, O'Neil. After having quite a few conversations with you, I have become able to sense what you are thinking depending on context and your facial expressions. In short, O'Neil, you are very predictable."
Jack grimaced at this realization of his very readable nature. Then, he was struck by the reality of his outfit in front of Thor. "I wonder if they have good fantasy novels on Thor's planet…" Jack wondered, hoping Thor didn't realize exactly what he was thinking. His affinity for Harry Potter was something he would rather keep quiet, especially among other races, not to mention his teammates.
But if Thor could have read and interpreted his facial expression, he did not let on. There were more pressing matters at hand other than O'Neil's footy pajamas. He cleared his throat a bit, snapping the human out of his reverie. He said, "O'Neil, I must take my leave of this galaxy now, to fight the menace plaguing my own world. However, I have two things I must say. First of all, Earth eveningwear is very…strange."
O'Neil sneezed suddenly. "And the other thing you had to say?"
"More of a question, actually. What is a 'death star'?"
"Well, that is a long story, you see, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away…" he quipped, trying to get the attention off of his incongruous pajamas.
"I see..." Thor said, but did not seem convinced. Rather than entertain O'Neil with a reply, Thor waved his hand over a small crystalline opal and O'Neil was transported back to his quarters in the middle of his explanation of Star Wars.
"I am sorry, O'Neil, but I do not have time for a long story," Thor said importantly. "You know your mission, and what you must do to accomplish it. And now, I take my leave."
Back in hisquarters, Jack was left wondering what exactly had just happened. Then he remembered that he had an early morning briefing and that if he didn't move quickly, he would be late. He set about stripping off his Harry Potter footy pajamas, wincing at the bite of cold air that bit at him, and reminded him that the morning encounter with Thor was indeed reality. Jack then showered and got ready for the meeting, preparing what he would tell the General about his morning excursion, and hoping nothing would come up about his choice in sleepwear. "First things first, however..." Jack said to himself as he picked up his coffee mug. "Now, I'm ready to go." Jack stated triumphantly. He looked at his watch "Blast, you would think Thor could at least be a little faster with these announcements of his. I am already 30 minutes late!"
As he exited his quarters, Jack tripped over something large just inside his doorway. Hey, I remember you! Jack mused to himself as he looked at the foot high object with recognition in his eyes. Jack kneeled down to pick up the device and take it with him to the briefing room. Boy will Carter be surprised. She always wanted to get a look at this thing. Remembering how heavy it was last time he'd seen one, Jack used a lot of force to break gravity's hold on the power amplifier. As he lifted it to his chest quickly, he discovered that he was losing balance due to overexertion of force. This is lighter than I remember. Guess the Asgard have better materials for this kind of thing. Jack walked briskly to his goal of the morning meeting, but more importantly, the briefing room's coffee machine. Mmmmm, Viennese cinnamon. Jack thought to himself as he remembered the flavor schedule. Jack picked up his pace a little.
END CHAPTER.
Hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks also to SSJ-Alhazred for pre-reading help!