Chapter 5:

Riddle me this…

"As I was saying," Daniel continued, shooting Jack a dark look, "I was studying a tablet that SG-6 found on P3X-411, and I ran across some references to an Ancient named Janice." Daniel's excitement was nearly palpable, and he had to stop a moment to catch his breath. "The tablet referred to an Ancient who defied the will of the Ancient council and helped to hide the greatest threat to the universe." Daniel's gaze took in both Jack and Sam. "The tablet refers to the threat as 'All Knowledge."

Jack interrupted, "This is starting to sound a bit familiar…"

"Did the tablet say anything else, Daniel?" Sam asked. She knew he could get worked up about archeology, but she thought his excitement warranted more than a simple mention.

Daniel was nodding even before Sam finished her sentence. "Yes, there is a reference to a mystery surrounding the disappearance of this Ancient." Daniel smiled; he always felt like Indiana Jones in moments like this. "His name was Janice." Daniel knew that he needn't explain who Janice was; they had all heard the hologram give his name.

"That's all great, fine and dandy Daniel… but how does more of a mystery help us?" Jack frowned. "I thought you said you knew what came next." Jack knew Daniel had more to say, but he couldn't help prodding him a little. Daniel could deliver information slower than molasses in a Minnesota January, if he didn't get a little encouragement.

"There is a gate address to Janice's last known location." Daniel smiled triumphantly, "I think we need to go there!" He look into Jack's skeptical face, "I know it doesn't seem like much, but you have to trust me on this one. I know this is what we have to do next. I don't know how I'm so certain, I just know!" Daniel concluded his mini-speech, hoping Jack would back him up on this one.

Jack gave Daniel a hard look then turned to Sam, "What do you think, Carter?"

Sam once again became "Soldier Sam," stepping into her role as the Colonels 2IC, "Well Sir, as long as we take the usual precautions, I don't see why we shouldn't explore this lead." Her eyebrows drew together thoughtfully. "I agree with Daniel. We should check it out."

Daniel shot Sam a grateful look.

There was a long moment of silence before Jack answered. "All right, let's take what we have to Hammond." He looked at Daniel. "But I swear, Daniel, if this is another one of your archeological goose-chase's . . . I'm going to make you watch The Simpsons with me every day for a month!"

Daniel's smile lit up the room in spite of Jack's threat. "Sure, Jack. But this is it! I can feel it!"

***

SG-1 and General Hammond sat around the table in the conference room overlooking the gate room. The purpose of the meeting was to brief Hammond on Daniel's findings, and obtain his approval for a mission to the planet now designated P45-001. Teal also needed to be brought up to speed, as he had been performing Kel-Nor-eem during the revelation of Daniel's discovery.

"Basically, what Daniel is trying to say, Sir, is that this is a place to start looking for answers." Sam interrupted Daniels long explanation of why it was necessary that they go to this planet. She suppressed a smile at Daniel's obvious irritation at being interrupted. "The hologram did say that our questions would be answered at the right time. This could be one way to get some answers, Sir." Daniel looked grateful that Sam had backed him up.

"I have to agree with, Carter," Jack put in his two cents. "This is important, and doing this is better than waiting around for the Gou'uld to find this 'Well' first."

General Hammond nodded his head and turned to Teal'c. "Do you have an opinion on the matter, Teal'c?" It was well known that the general respected Teal'c and held his opinion in high regard. Teal'c only weighed in on something if he wholeheartedly believed it.

"I do believe that Doctor Jackson has found our next step, General Hammond." Teal'c slowly raised his eyebrow in the way that only he could. "But caution is in order; there is no telling what information the Gou'uld have regarding this 'Well of Understanding.'" Teal'c looked directly at Sam. "We may not be so blessed as we were in our last encounter." Everyone knew that he was referring to Sam's narrow and miraculous escape from death.

Hammond nodded. "All right then, providing that the MALP shows no signs of immediate enemy activity, you have a go for 0800 tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

***

Walter Harriman, as usual, was manning the Stargate controls, and his standard refrain had become a comforting routine for SG-1. "Chevron six, engaged; chevron seven, locked. Sending the MALP through." Walters's hands moved confidently over the controls. "MALP is away." It took a few moments for the MALP to arrive on the other side of the wormhole, but when it did, Walter announced, "Receiving telemetry now." SG-1 and Hammond gathered around the screen to see their first glimpse of the next planet they would visit.

Sam was the first to speak, "It looks clear, Sir." She paused and looked at the readout on the computer screen. "The atmosphere is similar to Earth's, so we shouldn't encounter any problems in that respect."

Daniel was—of course—the first to notice the ruins. "Those pillars are similar to the architecture we found on Earnest's Planet. The ruins there were primarily Ancient. I think we are on to something here, guys!" Daniel's expression took on that of a puppy following after a bone.

Jack looked at Daniel's excitement and gave his nod of approval. "It's your call, Sir," he said to Hammond, "but I think we should go."

Hammond paused moment, then nodded his assent, "SG-1, you have a go. Good luck and be careful." His words sent the control room into a flurry of activity. SG-1 withdrew to grab their gear, and the rest of the SGC personnel prepped for their departure. It didn't take long before SG-1 stood at the base of the ramp leading to the Stargate, ready for yet another adventure.

Hammond stood in the control room, clearly hoping for the safety of his flag ship team. "SG-1, Godspeed and comeback in one piece!"

Jack turned with a loose salute and a crooked grin, "Don't we always, Sir?" Then he turned and followed the rest of his team through the gate.

***

Immediately upon exiting the other side, Jack began assessing his surroundings. "Trees. Why is it always trees?"

His slightly disgruntled look amused Sam. "At least it's not sand, Sir," she said, biting back a smile, "The reason most planets have trees very similar to Earth, is that the environment needed to sustain humanoid life is—"

"Ach… Carter!" Jack waggled his finger at Sam. "Enough! There are some things I just don't need to know."

"Yes, sir." Sam held back a chuckle. She wondered if he knew that the most enjoyable reason that she fell into "tecno-babble" was for that very reaction.

While Teal'c took in the bantering between his friends, Daniel had moved to explore the ruins about a hundred feet away. "Doctor Jackson," he called out, loudly enough for all to hear, "I believe that in light of your previous experience on the last planet we visited, you should endeavor to not touch anything!"

Daniel scowled at Teal'c. It was unusual for Teal'c to rat on him, yet Teal'c seemed to be attempting humor. Daniel did not respond. Instead of rejoining the group, he continued studying the ruins.

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c joined him moments later, and he spoke his thoughts out loud, "These pillars seem to a have something written on them. It appears to be the same language as the cover stone on P3X-673."

Daniel went quiet as he began his translations of the text.

"That's good news." Sam smiled at Daniel. "We must be on the right track."

Daniel looked up. "Huh? Oh . . . yes . . . yes. I do think we're on the right track."

Jack rolled his eyes at Daniel's "absent-minded professor" routine and thought about how far Daniel had come in the last few years. When they had met, Daniel was the epitome of the bumbling academic; now he was a capable soldier, even if he did drag SG-1 into trouble on a frequent basis. "How long do you need with the translations, Daniel?" Jack asked with slightly more patience than normal.

Daniel looked happy, "Believe it or not, Jack, this won't take long to translate." He nodded toward the other pillars. "If the others are like this one, there will only be a line or two to translate."

His answer put a silly grin on Jack's face. "So, home before dinner, huh?" The duration of silence before Daniel answered Jack's question had him prompting, "Daniel?" The caution was clear in Jack's voice, and the smiled had slipped from his face.

"Jack, I have to finish the translation before I can really tell you anything." Daniel hoped Jack would give him the time he needed before demanding answers that he simply didn't have. So far the words he had translated didn't make sense. "Give me an hour, and I'll be able to give you something." His voice ended on a note that was almost pleading.

Jack looked at Daniel momentarily before turning to Sam and Teal'c, "So… What's for lunch?"

Daniel turned back to his work with relief.

Forty-five minutes later, Daniel joined the rest of SG-1. "It's a riddle." As he sat down, his shoulders sagged a little. The team knew it wouldn't be easy, but Daniel didn't think Jack would like this turn of events. He was right.

"A riddle? As in 'Riddle me this, Batman'? That kind of riddle?" Jack's frustration showed in his tone. "What good does a riddle do? I thought they wanted us to protect this thing?" He looked at Daniel as if he should have all the answers. "How can we protect it if we can't find it?"

Sam could see Daniel winding up; he always took Jack's frustration as directed at him. So she interrupted Jack's rant. "What does the riddle say, Daniel?"

Sam could see that Daniel was grateful for her intervention. "The riddle is spread out between the four pillars. Each one contains one line, and when read together it says: Center, two steps forward, one step back, only the persistent will pass." Daniel looked at Jack, "Please don't ask me what it means yet, because I don't know."

Teal'c sat quietly and listened to the conversation, puzzling over the riddle. A thought occurred to him and he chose to share it with the rest of SG-1, "Persistence is a virtue. This could be a test to determine our worthiness."

Daniel looked up. "I suppose that's possible, but wasn't that the purpose of the device on P3X-673?" He thought for a moment. "The hologram said that we were 'deemed worthy to protect and defend the Well of Understanding.' Now, why more tests?"

"This is a very valuable possession, Doctor Jackson," Teal'c replied quietly, "If I were trying to protect an object such as this, I would undoubtedly put a number of safeguards in place. One would not be sufficient."

While Daniel agreed with Teal'c's assessment, he wasn't sure what more could be gained by further tests. The first test had accessed his memories, his entire life. What more could they wish to learn?

Sam's words broke into his thoughts. "I think we should try to solve the riddle. It can't hurt, and we might find more answers."

Jack sighed, "Ahh, it can't hurt. Famous last words!" Despite his sarcasm, Jack knew they had no choice but to push forward and "follow the yellow brick road." "Let's get to it then kids; daylights a-wastin'." All of SG-1 looked to Daniel, and he felt the pressure of needing answers.

"There are a few other words that place the pillars in an order, so I would think that the first pillar would be the place to begin," Daniel said.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, begin at the beginning then . . ."

Jack, Sam, and Teal'c followed Daniel to the first of the four pillars. From there they walked the square made by the pillars, reading the inscriptions, hoping that something might occur to them. Teal'c was the first to come up with an idea, "I believe that it may be a simple set of instructions . . ."

Before he could finish, Daniel caught his meaning. "Yes, yes, I don't know how I could be so stupid!" He slapped his forehead—hard, "Follow me!" SG-1 made their way to the center of the figure made by the pillars. When Jack reached the middle, he said, "Now what, Danny?" Daniel said nothing, so Jack prompted, "Center, two steps forward, one step back, only the persistent will pass." The moment the words left his mouth, the tops of the pillars began to turn white.

SG-1 disappeared in a flash of bright light.