Tollana
Milky Way Galaxy
August 18, 1999
Jack was silently fuming as Klorel and Zipacna were trying to convince the Triad that Klorel was the rightful owner of Skaara's body. He eyed the Nox Lya – the supposedly neutral third archon – and wondered whether she was falling for the Goa'uld's arguments. Daniel had already hushed him a few times or taken over whenever he was making an argument, so he kept quiet for the moment and let the Goa'uld give their ridiculous little speech. It wouldn't do any good to upset the Tollans – or Lya – again by talking out of turn or ignoring another unexplained rule of the Triad.
"…by that law, they were Goa'uld property. Lord Klorel merely took what was already his."
He gritted his teeth when Zippy followed up his statement with a haughty glance in his direction, smirking. Teal'c had informed them Zippy was – or used to be – one of Apophis' most loyal underlords when he first stepped into the Triad room and bowed to Klorel. Jack didn't need to be told though; a dying Apophis had told him all about Zipacna and his penchant for torture when he'd asked the snake about Sam. It wasn't difficult to picture that smirking rat in a cell with Sam… He shuddered and fisted his hands to prevent himself from doing something stupid.
Like charging at Zippy and ripping his head off.
Instead of returning the look, Jack languidly stretched and shifted in his seat to get more comfortable, knowing the gesture would infuriate the Goa'uld. Before the Triad had started, he'd sent Teal'c and Kershaw out to investigate what Zippy's cronies were up to and he was almost hoping it was something nefarious just to see one of the Tollans' superior weapons take them out.
"I would first like to hear Skaara's perspective," High Chancellor Travell said.
Travell was the head of the Tollans' Curia, the highest governing body of Tollana, so Jack figured her position was similar to that of the President. When that arrogant Omoc had first appeared at the SGC to inform them about the Triad, Jack had asked Catherine to charm the man while he spoke to Hammond in private. The General told him to behave and try to get an audience with whomever was in charge on Tollana to find out whether they knew more about theft of advanced alien tech.
"I was born to this body," Skaara started, after the light on the Tollan device he was wearing turned blue, indicating the host was speaking. "Free of the demon Klorel. He stole my body. On Abydos, I would have married, had children, grown old and died. The Goa'uld took more than my body…he stole my life."
The device was pretty neat, Jack thought, in case they ever captured another Goa'uld or if one infiltrated someone at the SGC. Not that the Tollans would share the technology with them. They still had that arrogance bug, even if Narim, who seemed to be the most normal one among them, got along well with Daniel and was friendly to the rest of the team. It pissed Jack off that they wouldn't even share such a device or that weapons disabler thingy they encountered earlier. Offensive weapons he could understand and even those sweet ion cannons that were capable of destroying multiple Goa'uld motherships, considering they could be altered to attack others. But the collar thing – a detachment device, according to Omoc – and weapons disablers were harmless. One would give the host the opportunity to speak and the other ensured all parties were unarmed and leveled the playing field – not that Jack needed weapons to kill someone…
"Human archons," Travell said, gesturing towards them.
Jack was jerked from his thoughts and watched as Daniel stood to defend Skaara.
"Skaara, when you were born, did your people believe you were slaves?"
"No."
"Just so we can all be clear, who was Ra?"
"We believed him to be an evil god."
Daniel nodded, "So he enslaved your people through superstition and fear?"
"Until you came, yes," Skaara said.
Zipacna took over questioning, comparing humans hunting animals because they were deemed of less value to Goa'uld taking humans as host.
Jack jumped at his flawed argument the moment Travell gave them the opportunity to speak up, but Daniel soon took over with some ass kissing to the High Chancellor and smooth words to disprove Zippy's claims.
"The method of gaining the knowledge is not in question. We were able to obtain it. You were not," Zipacna said in haughty tone.
"Oh, please," Jack said, rolling his eyes.
"Gentlemen, we seem to have wandered away from the central topic: which seeker has priority over this body."
Daniel took Travell's statement as an opportunity, "If I may, your Eminence," he said, "I don't think we've ventured away from the central topic at all. What we're trying to point out is that the Goa'uld steal what they possess… as they have, in fact, stolen Skaara's body."
Jack had to give him credit for turning the discussion around to use it as their defense. "Can I," he looked to his friend, "sorry Daniel… can I say something?" When Daniel sat down, he turned back to the young Abydonian in front of him. "Skaara, you once told me you'd rather die than live another day as a Goa'uld. Why?"
"What I suffer each day is worse than death."
"For example." He hated having to prompt Skaara into reliving his horrors and certainly wasn't looking forward to hearing about them, but he knew those arrogant Tollans needed to hear it. They were too far removed from the war with the Goa'uld – or any war in their recent history – to fully understand that kind of pain and suffering.
Skaara was visibly upset when he spoke, but his voice strong, "I remember the demon stretching out my hand to kill Daniel, the husband of my sister. And O'Neill, too, when he tried to save me and his world." He looked down, ashamed. "The demon… he and Apophis wished to learn the secrets of the Tau'ri and when they failed to do so by torture, the demon took O'Neill's woman and made her a host to his mate. There was nothing I could do to stop it."
"I demand that the human stay on topic!"
Jack had blanched at Skaara's very public statement about Sam and was almost grateful for Zippy to butt in and change the subject. No one seemed to be looking to him at him, wondering what the Abydonian meant with "O'Neill's woman". Well, no one but Daniel, that was. He cleared his throat and glared at Zipacna, determined to continue as if nothing was amiss. "It is on topic. You just want to avoid talking about all the nasty stuff he's witnessed."
"The host witnesses nothing, since nothing of the host survives."
At the callous remark Skaara looked away, visibly struggling with his emotions as tears filled his eyes.
"Um, your Eminence, can we request a recess? So that Skaara might recover from the retelling of his atrocious experiences," Daniel said, ever the diplomat.
Travell's gaze traveled to the seeker and she nodded once. "It is not standard practice during the Triad but then it has been a long time since we have dealt with one such as this, with two warring over ownership of the same body. Very well, we will… recess," she said, frowning at the word. "We will reconvene after the evening meal."
Jack jumped to his feet and wagged a finger at Zippy who was approaching Skaara. "Ack! You had your little talk with Klorel at the beginning, Skaara is staying in control now and he's coming with us."
"Enjoy it while it lasts, Tau'ri."
"C'mon Skaara, let's take a little break."
The Abydonian wiped at his eyes and nodded, walking over to them. "O'Neill-"
Jack put an arm around his shoulders and steered him towards the exit. "It's okay, Skaara. We'll go somewhere more private and then we can talk."
Daniel joined them, smiling encouragingly at his brother-in-law, before walking ahead to lead the way to the suite SG-1 had been assigned.
Kershaw and Teal'c were already in the suite and got to their feet when they entered. "O'Neill."
"We think the Goa'uld are using the Triad to buy time so that they can prepare for an attack on Tollana, Sir," Kershaw said.
"Teal'c?"
The Jaffa inclined his head. "Indeed, we believe we saw them attempting to sabotage the ion cannons."
"Well, ain't that just great," Jack groused.
Hesitantly, Skaara spoke up. "My demon… he knows nothing of such a plan, but I believe it is not out of the realm of possibilities."
Daniel squeezed his shoulder in sympathy, "I know. Zipacna seems to really want to get Klorel out of here."
"With Apophis gone, Zipacna must be counting on Klorel to defeat the forces of Heru'ur," Teal'c speculated.
"Why don't you and Kershaw go inform the Tollans of your observations, T."
The Lieutenant nodded an affirmative, "Yes, Sir."
"Very well, O'Neill."
Daniel and Jack exchanged glances before the archaeologist gestured for the Abydonian to take a seat. "So, um, Skaara, Narim told us you crashed here on Tollana two days ago, but I don't know how long your, er, demon has been evading Heru'ur… have you heard anything about Sha're?"
Skaara looked down, visibly struggling. "Apophis made her host to his mate, Amaunet. She bore his child and I could do nothing…" His face crumbled and he reached for Daniel, "Please forgive me, Daniel!"
"There's nothing to forgive," Daniel said, "it was not your doing. You were not in control of your body and couldn't help her, Skaara. I know this and so does Sha're."
"Sha're?"
"We found her and freed her from her demon," Daniel elaborated.
Jack nodded when an overwhelmed Skaara looked to him. "It's true. She's on Abydos with Kasuf, recovering from what she went through."
"Why are you not with her, Daniel?"
It was Daniel's turn to look away, pain etched on his face. "It's difficult to explain. She… Sha're needs to be with her people on Abydos now."
Skaara pulled back, frowning. "You have abandoned her because of what Apophis and Amaunet made her do?"
"No! I still love her and we've spent time on Abydos together, but for now she needs some space to deal with what happened. In the meantime, we're looking for her son."
"The harsesis."
"He's just an innocent baby," Daniel said softly. "And he's Sha're's flesh and blood. Yours too."
Jack was surprised at Skaara's reaction at the mention of the boy but kept it to himself and instead let the two of them deal with their thoughts while he watched Skaara. It had been almost two years since he last saw him, aboard the Goa'uld mothership. At the time, he'd tried to save the Abydonian but mostly interacted with Klorel and had been forced to leave the Goa'uld on the ship to save his team.
The Tollan detachment device ensured Skaara was in charge of his body at the moment and it gave Jack the opportunity to observe him without the influence of his Goa'uld. Whenever Klorel was in charge, his whole body language and the way he carried himself changed. Now, Skaara resembled the Abydonian boy he'd met about four years ago more, except he wasn't as carefree and was a young man. The softness in his face was gone, he was taller and had a tormented look about him.
"Makka khaā ȧ sen't," Skaara said in a broken voice, looking up pleadingly at Daniel. "Maāmaā Sha're seki kha shep't er ȧ?"
"There is nothing to forgive; you didn't abandon her."
"But I did! Sha're is my sister and I could not protect her. Not from the demon Amaunet or when Apophis sent her away when she was with child."
Daniel sat down across from Skaara and leaned forward, his voice strong and full of determination, "You and Sha're were both victims of your demons. She worries about you, just like she used to when you were both still on Abydos. All she will care about when you return is that you're safe from the demon. That her brother has returned home."
"He's right," Jack said. "Once this Triad is over, you can go home and be with your family. You can finally get the life you deserve: get married, have kids and grow old on Abydos."
Skaara looked up at him, pain etched on his face. "I do not deserve such a life, O'Neill."
"Yeah, you do. Trust me."
"No!" Skaara jumped up and started pacing angrily. "The demon… he made me do things. Bad things."
Daniel frowned and got up, standing a few feet away from Skaara to let him walk off his anger. "Look, Skaara, we've been over this. What Klorel did was not your fault. He controlled your body, but it wasn't your doing."
"Every day I fight him and I listened, learned. I could not win. I was too weak…"
Jack waved off Daniel when the archaeologist was gonna make another attempt and instead walked over to Skaara himself, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you're not weak. You went through hell these past two years and still you managed to overpower Klorel and ask the Tollans to get rid of the Goa'uld. That's a strength not many people have, Skaara."
"He's right, Skaara," Daniel chimed in. "You and Sha're are both incredibly strong. Jack and I are gonna do our best to convince the Triad to set you free and then you can go home."
"I'm not gonna let that overdressed slimy bastard win. We're gonna get rid of Klorel and preferably Zipacna, too. You have my word," Jack said.
The words had barely left his mouth or Teal'c and Kershaw entered the room, carrying trays laden with food.
"Narim was not convinced, Sir," Kershaw said.
Teal'c placed three trays on the table. "He listened to our arguments and relayed them to the Curia, but I do not believe it was with conviction."
Jack made a face. "They didn't believe it?"
"No, Sir." Kershaw took a seat at the table and smiled at Skaara when he came closer, eyeing the food hungrily. "We should probably eat first, Colonel."
"We've got to resume the Triad after dinner, so maybe eat and talk?" Daniel suggested, also taking a seat.
Teal'c stepped closer to Jack while the others started scooping food onto their plates. "We were told you and Daniel Jackson would be disqualified from Triad if we continue to pursue the matter. Skaara would be represented by a new archon, not one of his or our choosing."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Just… stay away from Zippy and his gaggle of Goa'uld, okay?"
"I know the Goa'uld, O'Neill. They will attack."
"But I don't see a choice here. If we keep pursuing the issue, Skaara's going to be represented by God knows who and then we won't stand a chance in hell. I'm not going to let that happen."
"Regrettably, I must disagree with you in this situation, O'Neill. I believe we are faced with the loss of Skaara, one individual, versus the death of many Tollans and possibly ourselves."
Observing the table, Jack could tell this was the first time in a long time that Skaara finally relaxed. It was like a weight had been lifted off the Abydonian's shoulders and he suddenly looked like the boy Jack had met a few years ago again. Shy around Kershaw and even Daniel, but still showing a smile every now and then. How could he possibly sacrifice Skaara for a bunch of arrogant Tollans who didn't even want their help? "The Tollans did bring down a couple of motherships. I think they'll be okay."
"The Tollan have not been at war in many generations. They do not think strategically. I believe that to be a fatal flaw. Allow Lieutenant Kershaw and myself to continue monitoring the Goa'uld contingent, in case of-"
"No," he said, glancing at the Jaffa. "You've got your orders. Stand down."
Teal'c looked as upset and frustrated as he ever did but inclined his head in acknowledgment of the order and turned around, heading for their teammates and Skaara.
Jack took a deep breath, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Hell, the order to ignore Zippy might actually help fool Teal'c into thinking he'd lost it when it was time to go rogue. Still, it didn't sit well with him. But right now, Skaara's safety came first. Besides, it was unlikely the Goa'uld would stick around once Skaara was gone.
Perhaps it was time to meet with Travell and move up his timetable. Get Skaara the hell out of there and remove the risk of Zippy turning on the Tollans. It wasn't like the Triad was the only way to free Skaara of Klorel…
It took Jack a while but eventually he managed to track down Travell's whereabouts, hopefully without tipping anyone off. No one had followed him, at least. The team was taking care of Skaara and the Tollans were too naïve – or perhaps too arrogant – to even consider he was up to no good. He knocked and waited for the door to open.
"It is highly inappropriate of you to come to me during Triad, Colonel," Travell said, surprised. "If this is an attempt to influence the outcome of Triad, it is a feeble attempt indeed."
"It's not," he said, barely suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at her assumption.
She narrowed her eyes, "It would merely result in your and Doctor Jackson's disqualification as Skaara's archons."
"I'm not here about the trial."
"Triad."
He shrugged, "Tomayto, tomahto."
Travell frowned in confusion. "A Triad, Colonel."
"I know," he sighed, "can I come in?"
She pursed her lips, weighing her options. "Very well. You must not mention Klorel or Skaara. If you do, I will be forced to report the matter to the other archons."
Jack entered when she stepped aside and followed her to a seating area. "Yeah, that's fine. I'm not here to talk about that stuff. Although I do think it would have been the polite thing to warn us a freaking Goa'uld and his associates were gonna be here when your people were trying to get us to come over and disabled our weapons without warning."
"I believe you already expressed your displeasure about the matter, Colonel."
"Yes, well, I don't think one can express it often enough in this case." He plopped down in one of the chairs, hiding a grimace when the seat wasn't as cushy as it looked. Of course, it was Tollan furniture, so they probably made it to be functional rather than comfortable. "So…"
Travell sighed in much the same way Daniel often did when he was trying to keep the natives calm and at ease. "What is the reason of your visit, Colonel?"
"I'm just gonna get right to it."
"Please do."
He shifted to get more comfortable and waited until she was seated, too. "A while ago, we found out that a rogue operation on Earth was using our second stargate to steal advanced alien technology. At the time, my team retrieved the device-"
"The Touchstone from Madrona."
"Yeah… you know about that?"
Unexpectedly, Travell laughed at him. "There's no need to look so surprised, Colonel. We are allies of the Asgard as well."
Jack quirked an eyebrow. "Figures. So, Thor already stopped by on his way home? He was supposed to get back to us ASAP, but it's been a while and we haven't heard anything yet."
"The Supreme Commander inquired whether some of our technology had been misappropriated some time ago. However, he did not specify it were the Tau'ri who might have been responsible."
"He didn't?"
Her lips twitched for a moment, before she replied, "The Supreme Commander may have implied your people were possibly involved…"
"Let me guess, if he did another Triad would have been required?"
"Not a Triad, but indeed a similar process to investigate the truth of the matter."
Jack nodded, "Ah, right. Well, we're not afraid to 'fess up and take our responsibility."
"And why have you come to me, Colonel?"
"Well, with you being the head honcho around here, I figured it was time we had a little talk."
Travell had a look of understanding on her face as she regarded him. "You wish to know what we discussed with Supreme Commander Thor."
"That'd be a good start. It's not like Thor's rushing back to inform us and in the meantime, that rogue operation is still, um, in operation."
"Your people have not captured them yet?"
"They escaped through the second stargate and we didn't get a look at the address," he explained, grimacing at the memory. They'd been so close! God, how he'd love to give that asshole Grieves what he deserved… if only Kershaw had caught the glyphs on the DHD. "General Hammond and I spoke to Thor about our plan, though."
The High Chancellor got to her feet and walked over to a side table to pour herself something to drink. "I believe he mentioned something about infiltration."
Jack moved to join her when she gestured for him to take a glass as well. "Yeah. General Hammond and I discussed it and we've decided that I'm the best person to infiltrate the operation." He accepted the drink and started explaining the plan he and his CO had come up with and what kind of help they needed to succeed.
"And you will return all the stolen technology you find?"
"If the Asgard can help us retrieve it and find the rightful owners, yeah. We don't know what kind of records they keep, but I think it's safe to say we should be able to find some kind of information about the origin of the items. If not, the Asgard or possibly you or the Nox might know to whom it belongs."
"You would willingly hand over this technology, even if it could help you in defeating the Goa'uld?"
"We don't want to win the war with the Goa'uld by stealing. That's not our style and would make us no better than the Goa'uld."
Travell considered his words carefully, taking slow sips of her drink. "These rogue Tau'ri you speak of have not been to Tollana. It would not be possible, because until recently we did not have a stargate."
Jack made a face at the memory of Daniel praising Narim and his people for their ingenuity and advances for building their own stargate. "Right, because you built it yourselves."
"This region of space did not have one assigned, which means the address of Tollana is not known to anyone but ourselves and the Nox."
"Speaking of which, I haven't had the chance to talk to Lya, but do you happen to know if the Nox are missing tech too?" He frowned, reminded that they hid their technology from outsiders. "Or know other races whose technology has been stolen?"
"I do not believe that to be the case, Colonel. The Nox seal their stargate when they are not using it and they rarely travel to other planets."
"I know, we suggested it when we met them the first time. That's why we needed Omoc's help to contact them when your people were stranded on Earth."
Travell shook her head slowly, "No, Lya did not confide in me about such a matter, nor did the Asgard."
"Okay… but you're willing to cooperate with us to find the perpetrators?"
"I concur with Supreme Commander Thor and hereby grant you permission. However, I will warn you that it will not be easy: our technology is vastly superior to yours."
Jack rolled his eyes at her attitude, although he was grateful she was willing to help out. "Still got that arrogance bug I see. Don't you worry, Ma'am, I'm sure I can manage to snag some kind of Tollan tech on my way back home. Just don't forget to act outraged and… well, I was gonna say all high and mighty, but I think you've got that down already."
"No need for concern, Colonel. I am certain I will be capable of enforcing your charade. Now, I think it is time for us to return to our duties."
"Yes, I should go see Skaara and my team before we head back to Triad. Thank you, your Eminence."
"You are most welcome, Colonel."
