The Test

SUMMARY: Jack is put to a test

The briefing was winding up. General Hammond looked around the table at the four faces that constituted his premier SG team. SG1. "So you understand the importance of this planet to us? The Malp has shown us a wealth of mineral deposits and no apparent indigenous life forms. If however, you do come across any inhabitants, our objective has to be the negotiations for trade of those minerals. Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes Sir" Jack replied.

"Alright. SG1, you have a go. And Colonel," he paused as Jack looked back at him curiously "Let Daniel do the talking" he finished with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes Sir" came the reply from the smiling face. It was well known that Jack was not the most diplomatic of people.

The wormhole sprang to life as the team assembled on the bottom of the ramp. The four figures made their way up to the blue opening. Just before crossing, Jack turned and gave a quick thumbs up sign to the General who stood watching in the control room. With that, Jack issued an " OK kids, time to go" then turned back to the gate and walked through with his team members close behind.

As the team emerged on the planet, they automatically began to fan out and search for signs of danger. After a few minutes, they all began to relax. The planet seemed undisturbed by their arrival. They regrouped to discuss their plan.

Carter spoke up first "Colonel, the malp indicated high mineral readings in that direction."

"Then that's the way we'll go Major. Keep on the lookout people. It seems safe enough, but we've felt that before only to be surprised." Saying that, Jack hoisted his pack and proceeded off in the direction Carter had pointed out. Carter, then Daniel followed. Teal'c took a final long look around, then he too started out in their direction.

None of them felt the four sets of eyes upon them.

"The tall one with the gray hair seems to be the leader" the first child indicated to the others.

"Then he is the one we will deal with " said the second. The other two nodded in affirmation. " Let us start the test now. "All four rose up and started to float around the dune they had been observing from.

As they rounded the front, all four started to glow, then shimmer, then fade out.

"Did any of you feel that" Jack asked the others. The air felt prickly to him and a feeling of anxiety was starting to settle in his stomach.

"I felt nothing Colonel O'Neill " Teal'c stated matter of factly, although his eyes watched his commanding officer carefully. His experience told him to listen to Jack's feelings.

" I don't feel anything either Jack. Maybe the lack of gunfire around here has you spooked " quipped Daniel.

"Yeah maybe" Jack replied, not really listening. His nerves were on edge against a feeling he couldn't explain. He was just about to shrug it off when the air in front of him began to shimmer and glow. The light became painfully bright, but continued to intensify until blackness stole in to reclaim Jack's sight. He slumped to the ground wordlessly, not realizing that the same thing was happening to his teammates.

"Whoa! What was that!" Jack groaned to no-one in particular. He pulled himself to a sitting position and looked around only to find himself alone. "What the...." He muttered. Slowly the realization hit him that the scenery had changed. He appeared to be in some sort of low lying maze. He got up to look around but as he approached the opening in the hedge he felt resistance. He tried with more force to enter the passage but the resistance also grew. "Okay, that's not going to work" he muttered. Jack turned back to the center of the maze when the air in front of him shimmered. "Not again!" Jack said. The light flared briefly then died. In its place was a pedestal. It was marked with what appeared to be numbers and shapes. Jack stared at it for a long moment, then approached. "Where's Carter when you need her" he said to no-one in particular.

Carter, Daniel and Teal'c awoke to find themselves in a large, square room. They were strapped to chairs. Each chair face a different wall. In front of each of them, the wall changed to become huge windows they could see out of.

" Daniel, Teal'c, are you all right?" Carter called. After receiving an affirmative from them both, she asked if either of them knew what happened to the Colonel as it was apparent that he was not with them.

"Perhaps I can answer that for you" came an unknown voice. The air in front of the fourth wall shimmered and a small child appeared, hovering. "He is about to undergo the test" the child explained.

"The test, what test ?" Daniel asked hesitantly. "And what are you ?" he added.

"I am one of the guardians of this world. Many come here through the great circle seeking to take that which is not theirs. I am here to ensure that the unworthy do not succeed."

"But we did not come here to take from you" Daniel protested. "We came to see if there were any inhabitants here, and to try to set up a trade that was mutually beneficial if there were any. Which apparently there are."

"What do you mean by unworthy?" Carter asked.

" Only those that are worthy can past the three tests set before them. That of reason, trust and courage. If , and when your leader passes all three, we will talk about a trade." the child said.

"And if he doesn't pass ?" Teal'c queried.

"Then he will cease to be" replied the child. He pointed to the screens that Jack suddenly appeared in. "Watch"

Jack approached the pedestal hesitantly. He ran his fingers over the markings. Obviously he need to do something here, such as deciphering the puzzle for a start. Or rather, what he assumed to be a puzzle. He studied the runes closely. A nagging feeling started to tickle at the edge of his mind. Where had he seen something like this before? Something to do with Carter. Then it came to him. Carter had described something like this when she recounted her encounter with Thor. She and Daniel had to solve the riddle to prove themselves worthy. Was that what was going on here? Did he have to prove his worth to someone, or something? And what of his team? Were they okay? Were they hurt and waiting for him? "Oh, for crying out loud Jack! Obviously you have to do something here. Let's get a move on" Wishing again that Carter was with him, Jack once again set himself to the task at hand. Strange though. He almost felt as though Carter were looking over his shoulder...

Carter leaned forward in her seat to study the runes better. It was almost as though she were there herself. The markings reminded her of those on Thor's planet. The numbers and shapes seemed to make no sense at first, and then it hit her. They were a code. The code for the planet designation that they were on. The shapes represented the letters their computer assigned to each planet. "Sir!" she yelled. "It's a code for this planet!"

"It is no good" the child said behind her. He cannot hear you. This test is for him alone"

Carter couldn't say much as she already knew the Colonel couldn't hear her. Dejectedly, she turned back to the screen.

"It's a code!"

"Now where did that come from?" Jack wondered. It almost sounded like Carter, but in my head? Shaking away the feeling, Jack turned back to his task. Slowly the seemingly random shapes began to make sense to him. Of course it was a code, but what did it mean.

An image started to form in Jack's mind. A planet. What did that mean? The two thoughts started to weave together in his mind until a smile of comprehension formed on his face. The code for this planet! "Now what was the designation for this world?" Jack asked out loud. All of a sudden the runes seemed as plain as if they had been written in English. Jack pushed six of the symbols then stood back to watch. The pedestal faded away. "Well, here goes" and with that Jack turned back to the path. This time he was able to proceed on through.

The child -Reason- watched from above and nodded before fading out.

Jack emerged from the maze to find himself at the edge of a ravine. The drop appeared to be about sixty feet with a dry riverbed at the bottom. Spanning the chasm were two bridges. Each hung about five feet below the edge. The left one had only a few planks at each end with the center portion empty. The right one was the opposite. On the other side of the ravine stood a lone, square building. Jack knew instinctively that his friends would be found there. He just had to cross the bridge to get to them. He walked towards the right-hand bridge. This one had most of the planks in place. Just as he was about to lower himself on to the first plank, Daniel's voice jumped into his head "Don't do it Jack. It's the wrong bridge!"

"What the...Daniel?" Jack looked around to see if Daniel was really there. He was still alone. He shook his head and started to once again lower himself.

Daniel watched the scene from his chair. Jack was heading towards the wrong bridge. Couldn't he see that the bridge had no center. What was going on! "Don't do it Jack. It's the wrong bridge!" Daniel yelled, frustration in his voice. He knew rationally that it was pointless, but he had to try. "Jack! Trust me, it's the wrong bridge. Trust me Jack, please". His whole body shook with the tension he was feeling. Watching his friend plummet to his death was not something he really wanted to do. Tears started to well up in his eyes, and run down his cheeks unheeded.

"Jack! Trust me, it's the wrong bridge. Trust me Jack, please" came Daniel's voice again.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment and the image of two blue eyes with a pleading look popped into his head. How many times had he seen that look in his friend's eyes only to dismiss it. How many times had he ignored Daniel's pleas, only to cause his friend pain, both physical and emotional. Daniel asked only for his trust, and repeatedly Jack had let him down. Heaving a great sigh, and telling himself that he was nuts he started for the other bridge. Jack lowered himself gingerly to the first plank. He tested his weight and started out cautiously. Two planks later and he reached the area with nothing more than a lovely view of the drop off below. Telling himself once again that he was nuts and trembling with tension, he slowly lowered his booted foot onto the empty space. The worry on his face abruptly turned into a grin as his foot met with something solid. Still cautious, Jack made his way across the invisible steps to the other side. Once he was on the other side, he turned back and caught his breath at the sight of both bridges shimmering, only to reveal their true natures. The colonel would have fallen right away on his bridge of choice as it did not exist. It has been an illusion while the bridge he did cross was the only real one.

Trust, floating above him, smiled briefly before fading out.

Jack turned away from the sight of the bridge with wonder in his face. He oriented his sights on the building that waited, then made his decision to go there. Just as he lifted his foot to step in that direction, the ground underneath him gave way to drop him in the ravine. Jack flailed his arms to try to balance, but the earth was gone beneath him.

The three watching friends shouted in disbelief at what they were witnessing. Their commanding officer, and good friend was falling to his death and they were powerless to stop it. The child with them watched their reactions with interest.

Jack grabbed for branches, rocks or anything to slow his fall. He managed to grab some roots, but they stretched under his weight and broke, slowing his momentum only slightly. Jack tumbled to the bottom and landed with a thud. He lay there for long moments unmoving. Slowly he regained his senses and tried to move. Pain flared throughout his body. Jack gasped then lay still while trying to determine from where the pain originated. Moving a shaky hand to his head, he winced as his fingers encountered a bleeding gash on his forehead. Moving his hand to his leg, Jack realized that his right ankle was broken, badly by the feel of it. The right knee was blown. A couple of ribs were broken and by the was he was struggling to breathe, the right lung was punctured. Numerous bruises and scrapes (including one particularly bad one across his back) rounded out the list. "Damn it" Jack yelled to no-one in particular. "Not a smart move Jack" he muttered to himself as he struggles to regain his breath. Jack knew he had suffered through worse, and lived to tell the tale -barely, but not when he had a sixty foot climb ahead of him if he wanted to get to his team. He also knew he couldn't wait for rescue. Whoever was running this show had some pretty impressive power, and could at this point be doing anything to his team. His friends. He knew they needed him and he wasn't going to disappoint even if it meant he had to die trying.

Teal'c caught his breath at the sight of Jack falling. He knew from the way Jack was lying that he was badly hurt. That in itself was a relief though. At least he hadn't died from the impact. Teal'c could see Jack trying to move and realized that the Colonel was taking stock of his injuries and deciding what to do about them. There was no-one Teal'c trusted more that the Colonel, and no-one he admired more. He knew that the warrior within Jack would not let the Colonel give up. As he watched, Jack managed to get to his feet. While he was obviously in pain, and unsteady on his one foot, he started to move to the wall of the ravine. Teal'c realized that Jack was trying to find a way to scale the wall with the greatest chance of success. All he could do was watch and try to direct his thoughts to Jack in such a way as to help him.

With that he began to meditate. He let his thoughts focus on Jack while tracking the progress on the screen. His concentration was such that he was not aware of being observed himself by the child.

Jack analyzed the wall in front of him. He was sure it had grown during the course of his fall. He realized that that was just his imagination talking. Taking as deep a breath as he could muster, Jack took the first step up. Moving slowly and carefully, he began to climb. Feeling for handholds, his eyesight began to waver. The blood from the head wound seeped into one eye, and the concussion blurred the other. Jack began to rely on his other senses. His back protested every move, but still he climbed. Trying to place all his weight on his good leg was all but impossible. The broken ankle was an unending agony, and useless to help him, but still Jack forced himself to go on. About half way up, Jack began to falter. While his progress had been somewhat steady before, his strength and willpower were starting to give out. He began to concentrate on nothing but the faces of his friends in an effort to block the pain. Sam's smile. Daniel' s eyes, and Teal'c's stoic expression. What Jack wouldn't give to see that man smile. With that thought, Jack's grip started to slip. He gathered his remaining strength to regain his hold, but his muscles wouldn't work. Slowly his hand began to release it's hold on the wall, and Jack began to fall.

"Noooo!" Teal'c yelled. 'I will not allow this. He will not die like this!" In his meditative state, Teal'c imagined himself grabbing for Jack's hand. He saw himself position Jack in a secure hold on the cliff face. In his mind, he began to guide Jack's movements up the remainder of the cliff.

Something like a swift gust of air helped Jack regain his hold. It seemed crazy, but he felt as though Teal'c were with him. Renewed determination flooded through Jack. He began to climb once again. This time he didn't feel so alone. Painfully he crested the ridge and collapsed on the solid ground only a scant few feet in front of the building that was his objective. He crawled forward until his fingertips brushed the smooth stone, when his strength gave out for a final time. An image of Teal'c smiling in front of him flickered across his eyes before he succumbed to darkness.

Courage smiled then floated away to join Reason and Trust.

The walls of the room were Carter, Daniel and Teal'c had been held flickered and were gone, leaving them in the open air. The chairs restraining them released their hold and disappeared. The captives rushed to Jack to see if he would be okay. Jack groaned in their arms and slowly came to. He looked up to see three smiling, but concerned faces. Slowly they raised Jack into a seated position and leaned him back on Teal'c. "Are you guys okay?" Jack asked weakly, concern in his voice. "What happened to you? I couldn't see you, but images and thoughts of you kept coming to me. I knew you needed my help, but I kept getting the feeling that I was getting yours instead."

"Jack, you're asking us if we're okay ?" Daniel asked incredulously. This man never ceased to amaze him. A thought came to him "How did you know about the bridge anyway?"

"You told me Daniel. You told me to trust you, and I did." Jack grinned weakly at Daniel's astonished face.

"Yes you did Jack. Thank you" the look of gratitude at the trust Jack had shown Daniel was apparent. Tears were forming in those blue eyes as the realization hit home that Jack had risked his life on Daniel's words.

"We're all fine. All we did was sit and watch you, and not be able to help" Sam spoke..... in a shaky voice. "We're sorry Sir. We couldn't do anything. This child-thing in the room with us told us you had to undergo a test of some sort, and that if you failed, you would be destroyed."

"Does that mean the test is...."Teal'c's words were cut off as the four child figures floated towards them out of nothingness.

"The testing is over " The first child spoke.

"You have proven your worth to us" said the second.

"You have passed all four tests which were given to you." Spoke the third.

"Four tests?" asked Daniel. "I thought you said there were to be three. That of reason, demonstrated by the riddle, trust, shown at the bridge and courage, shown by Jack making it to us despite all obstacles. What was the fourth?

Now the fourth child, the one who had been with the rest of the team, spoke "The fourth test was that of friendship. You proved your love and loyalty to your friend. Although you could not reach him physically, you reached out with your hearts and your minds to help. Together you have passed the guardians' test and proven yourselves worthy enough to deal with us. We shall send you home now to heal, but know that you are welcome here, as no-one before you has been in many millennia. You have earned the right to be here amongst us."

With that said, the air once again began to shimmer and the light to glow. The team was engulfed in the brightness once more. As the light faded, they found themselves at the gate. Teal'c and Sam rushed to support Jack between them while Daniel dialed the gate. Together the four friends walked through the bright circle towards home.

Hope you liked it

Comments, suggestions? Be kind, I have a tender heart!