A/N: (feel free to skip my useless ramblings) Hello, my dear readers, new and old! As promised, here it is - the new story I've cooked up for you all to enjoy. It's going to be a rather wild ride. This idea was originally just going to be Doctor Who related, but I realized that I really, really wanted to write a crossover between the two series because they happen to be my favorite science fiction series of all time. Both have amazing sets of characters and really wonderful plotlines. I chose to keep (mostly) up-to-date with Doctor Who, using Eleven and River, but there are references to Classic Who if you squint (I'm not one of those fangirls who has only seen the new series. Don't get me wrong, I love the new series to death, but I also love the old series and hate it when it's completely ignored considering it forms 7/8ths of Doctor Who canon). However, if you've only seen the new series, that's okay. Believe me, you don't have to be familiar with it to enjoy the story. The same goes for those of you who have only seen SG-1 - the canon of Doctor Who is more or less explained here. There will be spoilers if you haven't seen Doctor Who or seen the show up-to-date.

To all the Whovians who haven't seen SG-1, the fic does start out with those characters, but my goal is to write them in such a way that you don't really have to see the show to understand them. Most of the canon of SG-1 is also explained (with minimal spoilers).

Anyway, with all of that now out of the way, I hope you guys enjoy this! Please, come on in, stay a while. Have some tea and a chocolate chip cookie with extra chocolate chips. There are still some fluffy, purple chairs left over from my other stories if you want to sit in those, as well as big comfy leather chairs and a fireplace that I totally own. So make yourself comfortable and please enjoy! Don't forget to leave your dishes in the sink and drop me a review on your way out. Questions, comments, and (constructive) criticism are always welcome. I promise I don't bite. :)

As Through A Looking Glass

By

IndigoXSoul

1

"Every Name is real - that is the nature of Names." - Stargirl

All was not well in Fembur, not with the Time-Keeper in hiding and the Darkling prowling about. Of course, you wouldn't be able to tell that on this fine morning, not with the sun painting the sky with a rosy glow as it rose above the towering pines. To the west, woodsmoke lazily curled up towards the clouds, and to the East where the sun rises there stood a great Ring - the Tumah. It was here that a young woman sat, her hands folded in her lap, her skirts spread about her feet in the lush grass, her neck craned. Nobody had come with her - they were too afraid of the Darkling. It was rare that this Autumn ritual was missed but it was simply too dangerous for the faint of heart with the Darkling about. She didn't care. She wouldn't miss this for the world - for only on this exact day did the sun rise over the river, aligning in the perfect center of the Tumah. Here, it was said the Lord of Time landed an Age ago and freed the People from their bondage to the false gods.

Now, every year on the Autumn Equinox, when the veil between the worlds was thinnest, the very fabric of time itself could be rent apart. Here stood the Tumah, the gate between the worlds - the symbol of the Pond, the relic of the Lords of Time. Here, great things could be accomplished - one need only seek them.

It had been a difficult winter. Even with the Darkling in hibernation during those treacherous months, resources had dwindled as the trees had one by one fallen prey to frost and wind storms. Many houses had been destroyed by falling trees. Animals had been killed. Her own brother, Eljan, had decided to leave home to seek his fortune on the winds of fate, sailing off on the River.

She could still remember his parting words: "Hail the Tumah for me, Amariel?"

That was why she had come today when so many, including the priestess, had abandoned the effort. She must do this for Eljan. Somebody had to look out for him.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of air, relishing the quiet of early-morning. It was only moments away now. Her heart began to pound wildly in her chest as she could feel the sun nearing the moment.

A splash of golden warmth on her face. Her eyes jerked open. Her breath was stolen away by the light spilling through the Tumah, playing on the river. She stood to her feet, opening her arms to the air.

Then, the faintest of whispers in her heart, never to be spoken aloud until the Silence was broken:

Her true name.

She was about to speak Eljan's to the Tumah as well when she was interrupted. What happened next was not what she expected. The Tumah roared to life. She let out a yelp and fell to the ground as it spun, water bursting from its depths like an enormous splash. Her blood was rushing in her ears as she dared to look up, seeing the blue, watery surface stretch in the center of the ring. Light flickered off of the blue depths, shimmering, shining.

So it was true.

She scrambled to her feet, catching up her skirts in her fingers, and spun on her heel. That morning, that very Autumn Equinox, she ran like she'd never ran before.

Heavy, militaristic boots struck the stone platform that the Stargate rested on with a sandy swish. SG-1 looked around them, taking note of the beautiful landscape. Daniel was the last to come through, squinting under the bright sunlight as the gate closed behind him. He looked behind him to see a winding, rippling river meandering through the forest, cutting a path through its sandy banks. It seemed to have been there for ages, for it rested in a sharp ravine. When Daniel turned and looked ahead of him, he saw only trees and underbrush.

"The planet seems to be inhabited." The stoic, firm presence of the large Jaffa, Teal'c, made its presence known at his side. His dark eyes were turned toward the sky, locking on the steady stream of smoke pouring from the West.

Daniel's nose wrinkled as he pushed his glasses up his face so he could see better. "Yeah. Looks like it."

Their commander, Col. Jack O'Neill, looked at his second. Sam's blue eyes were trained on her scanner, brows knitted together, her straw-colored hair sticking out around her ears from under her standard-issue green cap.

"Carter?" He cocked his head to the side in a silent question.

"Well, Sir," She began, "From what my scanner is telling me, this planet is very rich in Naquadah and other resources - if the indigenous people are mining it, then this could be potentially very useful to us. We could power a couple hundred Naquadah reactors with just what I've been finding. We could eventually even become fossil fuel independent if I can manage to get some of it back to the lab to run some tests-"

"-So we're here to make friends, I gather?" Jack replied in his best 'get to the point without the scientific lingo' voice.

Teal'c's gaze was pensive as he stood there in the sunlight, powerful form standing statuesque in the morning air, gripping his staff-weapon in his right hand. "If there is Naquadah the Goa'uld are likely to have already exploited the natives, O'Neill."

"Teal'c's right," Daniel took some steps down from the platform and stepped onto the soft, bright green grass. "If the planet's as rich as Sam says it is, there's no way they wouldn't have gotten to it before us."

"So we're liberating some people, then," Jack clarified.

Sam nodded, the muscles in her neck tightening as she turned off her scanner and put it in her pack. "Looks like it, Sir."

Daniel cut a look towards the two of them. "Well, we don't know that yet."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Jack left his hand on the reassuring metal of his P-90, fingers twitching as his brown eyes hardened to glittering jewels, surveying the landscape ahead of them. Daniel, of course, was distracted by other matters when his eyes caught markings on the base of the platform the Gate rested on. While the rest of SG-1 followed Jack, Daniel went the opposite direction and crouched in the dew-moistened grass, squinting at the symbols. He reached up and gently brushed the dirt away with his fingers. It fell freely to the ground. Fingertips traced the edges of the stone in circles. He'd never seen script like this before. What was it? This was certainly a conundrum. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen on earth. It looked like a bunch of circles, lines, and more circles and rings inside of them - planet charts, maybe?

Perhaps the people on this planet were more sophisticated than they originally thought.

"Uh, guys?" Daniel called. "You may want a look at this."

The group ambled over. Jack bent and frowned at the symbols while Sam got to Daniel's level. Her clear eyes were taking it in, bent on trying to understand. "Is this a language?" she asked presently. She looked up at Teal'c to see if he knew what it was.

Teal'c only stared at the etched stone. "I do not recognize it if it is," he replied evenly.

Daniel frowned. "Neither do I. I've never seen anything like it on earth. It seems to have the structure of a written language - but it's so strange." He pulled out his notebook and began copying the circles down.

Sam nodded. "Charts of planetary orbits, maybe?" she offered.

Daniel cut her a glance and gave a short grunt of agreement. "I was thinking that, or maybe charts of their moons and sun."

Jack had soon grown bored of their conversation and had returned his eyes to the treeline. His gaze hardened again and his form stiffened, muscles tightening. His fingers gripped his P-90. "Hold up, kids."

Sam frowned and stood. "What?"

Teal'c too seemed to have seen it. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the darkness between the trees. "There appears to be some movement within the forest."

Jack glanced at him and gave a short nod, lifting his gun and glaring at the trees as if they posed some threat. Daniel stood as well, dusting off his hands. "Maybe it's friendly." Always the optimistic diplomat of the team.

"Not going to take that chance just yet, Daniel," Jack mumbled, taking a few cautious steps across the grass to get a better look.

The skin around his eyes tightened as the underbrush rustled. Jack peered through his sight on the gun, Teal'c's chest puffed out and he raised his staff-weapon. Sam picked up her gun as well, pointing it at the unknown threat. Daniel's tongue poked uncomfortably at the side of his cheek, his brows furrowing as he blinked from behind his glasses. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but getting his own pistol out might be a good idea.

A bright call rippled across the moor to them. "Right here, you'll see!"

Two women burst through the bushes. The first was tall, with a mouse-like face and round, brown eyes. Her dark hair pinned back, her loose dress dirty. When she saw the team, the wondrous smile died on her lips. She fell a step backward, glancing back at the older woman she'd been leading by the hand.

With a strong, sinewy arm, the older woman tucked the younger behind her. Her gaze sharpened as she stared at the team, her lips pursed.

Daniel raised his hands in the air. "It's okay. We're nice."

Jack glanced back at him, his eyebrows soaring to record heights. "We're nice?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and simply shrugged. "Jack, you're scaring them."

Sam and Teal'c were the first to relent. Teal'c relaxed his form, lowering his staff-weapon and then holding it more like a staff than a weapon. Sam stood up straighter and held her gun to her chest, though she was ready to raise it if there came a need.

The older woman's gaze flicked between the three and then Jack, then back again. Slowly, Jack rolled his eyes and stood down as well. The two women seemed relieved.

"What do you mean, a pond in the Tumah?" the older woman said sharply to the dark-haired one. "I see nothing but a group of soldiers."

"-and an archaeologist," Daniel corrected without thinking.

If she understood what that meant, she didn't indicate it. The younger woman's gaze flicked to the ground, her cheeks beginning to burn. "There was a pond, I swear."

"Ah- excuse me, if I may interrupt?" Daniel asked mildly. Green eyes turned to him, glittering like emeralds. The woman's face was tight as she stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "Ah," he began again, "I-I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson, these are my friends Teal'c, Major Samantha Carter, and Colonel Jack O'Neill," he gestured to each in turn, "We're peaceful travelers - and if by Tumah, you mean that ring over there-" he jerked his thumb behind him, "Then yes, there was a pond, I suppose. We came through it. That's how we travel."

The more he spoke, the more the woman's eyes widened. She suddenly gathered up her skirts and bowed low, her forehead nearly touching the ground. "You came from the Tumah?" she whispered in awe, "You say you are a doctor?"

Daniel's brow furrowed and he looked back at the team. They simply shrugged at him, completely at a loss. Daniel turned back to the two women and nodded. "Yes, yes I am. I'm a doctor of Archaeology..."

"-The study of lost things," the younger one breathed.

"I suppose you could call it that, yes." Daniel was feeling more and more bewildered by the moment.

"Come," the older woman said suddenly, beckoning to them, "Come," she repeated, "Doctor, Colonel, Major, and Teal'c - you must join us at the city. You are most welcome!" A smile spread across her face and she turned towards the forest, making it very clear that they were to follow. She glanced back at them. "I am Deabla - this is Amariel. You must hurry! We've been expecting you!"

As she took Amariel's hand and pulled her back towards the forest down a path none of them had noticed before, the team exchanged glances.

"Well," Jack said presently, "This sure is different."