Author's Note: Sorry for the length between updates, we went camping and I didn't get this finished before. I want to thank those that took the time to review, you don't know how much feedback is appreciated!! As for being longer, this story was never meant to be that big, just a small and sweet little thing. I've got a really big one but that's Enterprise. I'll probably work on a larger SG-1 story in the future. I find Stargate more of a challenge to write than Enterprise, though I love both equally.

Chapter 7

The Unbelievable End

"It's a toy." Carter announced.

Shocked faces regarded her in disbelief. SG-1 was seated around the briefing table, accompanied by General Hammond.

"Carter?" Jack questioned, wanting further explanation, his voice a low rumbling growl.

Carter was sitting across from O'Neill; papers stacked in front, a pen held in one hand. "Sir, all the information I've gathered indicates that it's nothing more than a child's plaything. It doesn't appear to do anything...that I can see." She finished lamely.

"I thought you said it wasn't a toy?" Jack said irritably. He had been released from the infirmary earlier that morning after spending a restless night, plagued with guilt over Stevens's death and the events in general since retrieving the object.

Carter frowned, "I know. The thing is, I don't even know for certain that it is a toy, but if I had to take an educated guess...which is all we have at this time, then I would say that's all this device is."

Hammond leaned back in his chair, "Major, your educated guesses are usually right."

Carter smiled wanly at the compliment, "Thank you Sir."

Hammond turned his commanding look on Daniel, "Dr. Jackson, were you able to make further progress on the inscriptions."

Daniel shook his head, "Not really. It's probably easier to tell you what we do know." He opened the file in front of him, "I compared the inscriptions to previous data and though I found specific letters that coincide, they seem to be in a random order on the object's surface, amounting to nothing intelligible."

"So it doesn't say anything?" Jack simplified.

"Uh, yeah, basically. It's like taking our alphabet and writing letters in no particular order. Its just letters, not words."

"What would be the reason for such a device as this?" Teal'c asked.

"A rubiks cube." Jack answered.

"Jack?" Daniel looked like Jack had maybe been shocked one time to many.

"A rubiks cube." He enunciated clearly, "A puzzle. You do it wrong and it shocks you, like training a rat in a maze...do it right..."

"...And you get rewarded with the flashing lights and opening of the ball." Carter finished, surprised at O'Neill's insight.

"That doesn't explain why it keeps bringing power down." Hammond seemed mildly flummoxed by the recent turn of the briefing.

"I think that's more of an issue with the Ancient technology being so different from our own. I don't believe it's meant to do that. More of a..."

"...Side effect?" Daniel interrupted.

Sam nodded. "Exactly."

"Is there any way of containing this device without suffering from these...side effects?"

"I don't think so General. And further, if we try to remove it from the base and ship it elsewhere it could cause widespread havoc with communications and civilian systems." Sam hated the thought of what she was going to say next, "I recommend we return the object to PX7-388."

Hammond considered her recommendation then observed those sitting around the table, each seemed resolved for his decision, "Very well. SG-1, be ready to ship out in two hours. The sooner we get this device out of here the better." The groaning of the mechanical systems dropping everywhere further brought his words home.

"Yes Sir." Jack agreed.

The wormhole snapped shut behind Teal'c, the last member of SG-1 to gate onto PX7-388. Jack, Daniel and Sam had all ready spread out, observing their surroundings with practiced care.

"Shouldn't we send this to one of the System Lords, a present from the Tauri?" O'Neill cracked, thinking of the power fluctuations wreaking havoc aboard a mother ship.

"What if we're wrong?" Daniel grimaced, pulling a barbed blade of grass out of his leg.

Jack was watching him, "True." He said, then turned towards Carter and Teal'c who were conversing quietly behind them, "Ready kids?"

"Always." Carter moved into position, and the team headed towards the pole, Carter leading, followed by Daniel and Jack with Teal'c guarding the rear.

They had walked in companionable silence for a while, the tip of the pole peeking above the horizon, a compass beckoning them ahead. Daniel had spent the time studying Jack, seeing the signs that he was partaking in the usual self-recriminations over recent events.

Making up his mind, he slowed his pace, letting the gap between him and Jack shorten. "It wasn't your fault." He said low, to keep their conversation private. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Sam had naturally quickened hers and Teal'c slowed his, leaving them with some form of privacy.

Jack speared Daniel with a hard gaze, "Why isn't it?"

"Because you can't see the future. Because you aren't all-knowing and you aren't responsible for everything that goes wrong."

"Daniel, I treated the object like it was harmless."

"It was...essentially."

"Then why is Stevens dead?"

Daniel stopped, causing Jack to as well, "Because it was a miserable chain of events that led to him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You didn't gate to PX6-284 and cause Stevens to get ambushed by a group of Jaffa. You didn't power down the base. You are the only reason why Sam was able to figure anything out!" He finished angrily.

Jack opened his mouth to reply then snapped it shut. He knew Daniel was right. He wasn't any more to blame than anything else but that was almost as hard to accept as responsibility. It scared him, not being able to find fault with anyone or anything for losing a person. It did boil down to a series of random unfortunate events. Fate, bad luck, or whatever you wanted to call it.

"I wish I could blame someone." He finally replied quietly.

"I know."

Jack looked ahead, at Carter fidgeting uncomfortably ahead, having caught most of the conversation, at the pole and the waving grass. It wasn't anyone's fault...he had to accept that. Life would go on...probably more people would die, more people he couldn't save. It was hard accepting the limited resources they had at hand to prevent tragedies.

He turned back to face Daniel, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being here. For making a difference."

Daniel was surprised to see the rare vulnerability of his friend, "We all make a difference Jack, you're to busy beating yourself up to see it."

"Probably." Jack straightened his pack on his shoulders; realigning the burden both physically and mentally, "Let's get this over with."

THE END