1700hrs

The Council for the Kirian Community Directorate did not seem so much suspicious as merely incredibly deliberate. In other words, they were slow, cautious and thorough and had a very specific way of going about things. A lot of talking was involved.

The room in which they had convened was an interior one, and therefore had no windows. At first there didn't seem to be much in the way of doors either, until Jonas processed the way the doors he'd walked through to get here had looked. They had all been open. Once closed, they would be flush with the wall, and had the same coloration and texture as it. Small indentations in the stone indicated a concealed handle. There was in fact at least one door on each of the six walls. The room was a hexagon. There were flat, seemingly decorative metal tables against the walls, with small carvings of black wood or beige stone sitting on them, and artwork hung on the walls above.. All of it was subordinate to the large, rectangular white granite table with its ornate, black metal chairs. The table took up most of the floor space, and was plenty big enough for Jonas and Marshal, plus Ayelas and her people to sit on one side, while the Council occupied the other. One noteworthy thing was the fact that the light overhead was an incandescent bulb, dimmer than Jonas was used to, but still it made colors visible as Jonas was used to seeing them rather than how the Guf'yn sun made them look.

Community Director Whilbarr, an exceptionally tall Guf'yn man with black eyes and a long, thin face, sat in the middle, flanked on either side by the rest of the Council. Jonas sat at the very end of the table on the opposite side, with Marshal at his right. He was closest to the door through which they'd come, but he felt that lent no advantage if things went sideways. Standing on either side of the door outside the room were men whose stance and black with gold attire fairly radiated their purpose as guards.

Jonas was increasingly nervous, he didn't like being so far from help, so isolated, so confined. And he especially didn't like that every bit of text he'd seen, from the sign outside to the Visitor's Tag he'd been given to wear, was in an ancient Goa'uld dialect that he was only barely able to recognize and read.

He half expected Whilbarr's voice to echo and his eyes to glow. But they didn't.

Thus far, Ayelas had done most of the talking, describing -in painfully accurate and thorough detail- the exact events leading up to this addressing of the Council. She described every bit of the drive out, and repeated the conversation between herself and the SG-team almost verbatim. It took a long time, and Jonas became increasingly aware of how uncomfortable the metal chairs were. He refused to let himself shift or fidget, but Marshal was not able to be quite so still.

Marshal was trained to endure discomfort, but not of this sort. Lengthy meetings where boring things were talked about for hours on end and nothing appeared to be accomplished were Jonas' forte. What was being said was only a small portion of what was going on here.

How Ayelas stood as she spoke said much. She did not move at all, and never let her gaze settle for too long on any one member of the Council. She did not look at her companions or the Earthlings at all. She kept her hands still in front of her just below her sternum, her left hand covering her right. Her tone seldom varied, betraying no emotion and never hurrying. She was attempting to bore the Council into submission by speaking long and dull, in a steady rhythm.

It was working.

The Kiri Council had expressed clear interest in the strangers at first. But once Ayelas got going, they evidently had to listen in silence until she finished. They gradually stopped glancing at Jonas and Marshal. The uninteresting décor offered them no escape, especially since they had undoubtedly been in this room a thousand times before. They didn't dare look at each other, because that would be admitting that they were bored. They began to look glazed, even though they struggled to maintain a look of interest, pretending that Ayelas didn't have them beaten.

Jonas didn't know why things were proceeding in this manner, but he'd been here before. Not in this room or with these people, but in this situation. He suspected Ayelas' objective was to instill such boredom in the Council that they would accede to any suggestion or request she made of them just so that they could escape The Meeting from Hell. Jonas had used the boredom tactic in some of his own presentations when he knew his audience would be otherwise unwilling to see things his way, or might otherwise be inclined to ask questions he didn't have answers to.

Ayelas was good at it.

Her companions were equally good at their job, which was to show nothing in their expression. All sat perfectly still. Two were leaning against the backs of their chairs, one leaned forward slightly to rest his forearms on the table. Jonas had taken the leaning against a chair back position, but he was regretting that choice. Now was no time to be moving around though. Expression of impatience was weakness, and would also become the most interesting thing in the room. Jonas did not want to be subject to extensive questioning, specifically because there was much he was not authorized to say unless Kofield (as the team leader) gave him permission. And there was still more he could not say unless General Hammond himself was contacted and gave the okay.

Lt. Marshal could not keep still. She kept adjusting, trying to find a comfortable position. No such position existed, but she hadn't had enough experience in this kind of setting to know that. There were only positions which brought temporary relief, and then made the discomfort all the worse. Holding still and waiting for the end to come was the only real option. But Marshal didn't know that, and she kept squirming, thinking she was being subtle, but really attracting every eye in the room because she was literally the only interesting thing available.

But the people and seating weren't the only elements of the contest they had entered in to. The temperature had been set to that precise level that is just slightly too cold for comfort if one is sitting still, and the metal chairs ensured everyone got the full effect of that. There had also been the obligatory beverage served, which everyone had by politeness been required to take one of.

Ayelas had said it was called Percolate. Jonas recognized it as being similar to coffee, except that he'd learned to like coffee during his time on Earth, and he doubted anyone could develop a taste for this vile brew. Like coffee, it tasted completely different from how it smelled, and the first sip of it told Jonas it had enough caffeine to rouse someone from a coma. But it had an element of spice to it that didn't add flavor, instead just adding a bite to the bitterness of it. The unpleasant taste, effect of caffeine and amount of liquid in each mug ensured maximum discomfort, but it also drew people into drinking more of it in an attempt to stay awake while Ayelas was speaking.

Jonas didn't understand why this game existed, but he had seen it on Kelowna, Earth and virtually every planet he'd been to. "Civilized" races invariably generated lengthy meetings in place of physical combat. People made their point by being long-winded but articulate, and you lost the game if you gave in to physical weakness such as needing to stretch your legs, use the bathroom or simply losing your temper as a result of excess energy that had nowhere to go.

At the SGC, this was called a debriefing.

Except that General Hammond did his best to avoid making things more unpleasant than they had to be. The coffee at the SGC tasted good (and was optional), the chairs were comfortable(ish) and nobody was faulted for needing to use the facilities if the debriefing lasted longer than a couple of hours (which in itself was highly unusual. Hammond preferred brief debriefings).

Jonas was still uncertain what was happening here. A contest of this sort usually involved some issue more contentious than merely returning home early. Debriefings when an SG-team returned early were often the shortest of all. Maybe alien visitors were more interesting than Ayelas had led them to believe. Or maybe Ayelas was somehow on bad terms with the Council. In any case, Jonas was missing something, he was sure of it.

At last, Ayelas concluded her account, bowed slightly, and sat.

Whilbarr leaned forward a bit, folding his hands in front of him on the table.

"You came through the Chappa'ai?" Whilbarr inquired, looking at Jonas.

Rather than speak, Jonas opted to merely nod. He was unsure of the customs of these people, and so he used his own knowledge of social behavior, and what he had observed as working well for the SGC teams. Teal'c, despite alarming many on account of his size and the mark on his forehead, seemed to do very well by his quietness and way of moving. A part of Jonas also recognized that, after enduring a long speech by Ayelas, the Council would probably be best pleased by silence or at least brevity on the part of Jonas and Marshal. Some of the youngest Council members (all decidedly older than Jonas) looked quite uncomfortable at this point. They had foolishly consumed more than the obligatory single cup of Percolate, and were probably on the verge of climbing the walls.

"You came to study our sky?" Whilbarr asked.

Jonas nodded again, in the same precise way, then added, "And to study the ruins near the Stargate. We didn't know what they were, but Ayelas," he tilted his head to acknowledge her down the table, "told us that the structure was once a temple."

Whilbarr seemed to be considering this, but then Marshal jumped in.

"Ayelas tells us you have done extensive research concerning the light conditions of your planet. We came here hoping to see that so we could add to our knowledge before initiating studies of our own. We would of course share anything we learned from our studies with your people."

Jonas watched the Council's response to this, keeping his main focus on Whilbarr. He knew well that there were any number of rules Marshal might have broken. Many societies Dr. Jackson had written about did not look kindly on someone speaking out of turn. Whilbarr had addressed Jonas, not Marshal. Jonas had been doing the speaking for his side, as Whilbarr seemed to speak for the Council. Depending on the society and how they viewed a breach of protocol, they might demand that the people from Earth leave. Or they might imprison them overnight. Or worse.

The Council definitely looked offended. They said nothing and their expressions only barely changed, but they exchanged glances with one another, as people the galaxy over did when someone did something embarrassing or awkward in front of them. Marshal did not appear to notice.

"We must... Deliberate on this," Whilbarr said, ignoring Marshal and addressing only Jonas.

"We understand," Jonas responded, "Strangers from another planet coming through a device you believed was a useless relic can be... unsettling," he was of course speaking from experience.

He must have nailed the understanding, patient tone he'd been aiming for, because Whilbarr seemed to soften his expression slightly, and spoke more gently.

"In the meantime, I'm afraid you must stay within this building. The Enforcers will show you to a waiting area where amenities will be provided. I hope that your stay will not be inconvenient."

You and I both know being imprisoned is still being imprisoned, however you put it, Jonas thought.

But he smiled politely and dipped his head, "We appreciate your hospitality."

Marshal looked shocked and opened her mouth, but Jonas kicked her boot with his to silence her. Now was not the time. So far, they had not been disarmed or physically forced to do anything. If they put up a fuss now, it would only make them look bad before the Council, and possibly result in rougher handling and tighter restrictions. All arguing would accomplish was offend the Council.

Whilbarr stood, which seemed to be the signal for others to do the same.

Ayelas and her companions rose, Jonas took his cue from her and also got up. Whilbarr went to the door through which Jonas and Marshal had initially entered following Ayelas and her colleagues. Whilbarr opened the door, and summoned one of the Enforcers standing outside.

He spoke quietly, and gestured to Jonas and Marshal. The Enforcer scowled at them, then returned his attention to Whilbarr. When the Community Director ceased speaking, the Enforcer nodded curtly to him. Only then did he look at Jonas and Marshal and speak to them.

"If you would come with us please," the words were polite, the intonation brooked no argument.

The second Enforcer had a hand near the weapon holster at his belt. This part of the game Marshal understood. She glanced at Jonas and then nodded to the Enforcer who'd spoken. She led the way through the door, Jonas following. The Enforcer who'd spoken went ahead of her, the other one fell in behind Jonas.

Jonas couldn't help but think he'd gone wrong somewhere. He should never have told Kofield he could handle a first contact situation. He should never have agreed to come here with only a green Air Force lieutenant as backup. Maybe he should never have even agreed to come here with SG-7.

Despite feigning outward calm, Jonas was terrified of what might happen next.

He knew only too well how things looked from the other side. When the Kelownans first heard from the Tau'ri, there had been much suspicion among them. Some were convinced that these were not aliens at all, but enemies of Kelowna. That they were spies, or assassins. There was a great deal of fear, even among those who accepted that they might really be aliens. Aliens might want to enslave them, or possibly abduct them, or worse. Science fiction and ancient myths had taught Kelownans to fear beings from other worlds. Jonas had felt very alone when he asserted that the Tau'ri might be exactly as they appeared, peaceful and friendly. He had been just as scared as everyone else, but he had been willing to take a chance that his fears were unfounded and advised First Minister Valis to do the same.

Would the Guf'yn take that same risk?