A Cloak-and-Dagger Meeting

O, divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible, and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands. (Lao Tzu)

"Whoa…who's our guest, Jackson?"

When the archaeologist had summoned them back to the third room, Cam had expected to find either a way out to explore, or a new squabble to appease. He had not expected to find one more person than he had left behind, let alone a white-clad, slightly ethereal-looking woman with a placid expression that made him feel uneasy. She looked like she belonged in that muddy cave about as much as a daisy in a pigsty. A particularly smug daisy, if he was going to be honest about it.

"This…is Ghannis Lal," Daniel provided, "also known as Morgan Le Fay in Earth culture. She's an—"

"Ancient." Mitchell let his head fall back with a roll of his eyes. "Why," he intoned, "does that not surprise me?"

Frowning, a puzzled Sam shook her head.

"What are you doing here?"

"Good question," Daniel harbored the slightly expectative air he had around the rule-bound Ancients. "I thought you were being punished for telling us too much."

Vala huffed in amusement.

"Well, obviously the punishment's ended and she's up to her old tricks again. Not," she clarified, raising both palms, "that we're complaining, mind you."

Morgan let out something akin to a sigh, and nodded.

"Since our last encounter—or really, because of our last encounter—my status among the others has been significantly lowered," she admitted. "I am no longer allowed a vote in the council, nor participation of any sort. I have been confined to this plane and this planet until a final decision will be made."

"What a convenient coincidence," Mitchell remarked dryly, "for you to be on the exact planet we happened to be visiting."

She simply stared at them in meaningful silence, until Daniel got the drift.

"Except…you're not." He chuckled mirthlessly, not at all surprised at the revelation. "Which means that we're not on P3X-228 anymore either. But I thought you weren't allowed to do anything, let alone bring us here…"

"I did not bring you here, Daniel Jackson."

Sam almost rolled her eyes. She did not appreciate being abducted by alien beings, no matter what plane of existence those beings belonged to. And she thoroughly disliked the secretive, need-to-know-only attitude that the ascended Ancients kept entertaining.

"If you didn't bring us here," she asked, "then how—"

But Morgan raised a hand to silence her before she could finish the question.

"The time is short," she repeated. "More pressing matters preoccupy the council, and as long as my energy does not interfere with this plane, they will not turn their attention to us. But the risk is there, and we must talk before anyone can stop us."

They exchanged wary glances, but Mitchell nodded.

"Alright…we're all ears."

"The Sangraal didn't work," Vala piped in before the Ancient could speak again. When Daniel fixed her with an impatient look, she offered an innocent shrug. "Just thought she might want to know."

Closing her eyes for a brief second, Morgan nodded in understanding. The bad news was no surprise to her, it appeared, and by her grim expression, worse news was on the way.

"The Sangraal was designed to dissipate the energy of ascended beings," she began to explain. "It should have worked. But I underestimated the power that the Ori draw from the faith of their followers. It is an endlessly source of energy for them, and it cannot be extinguished."

"So," Daniel quickly sensed the more subtle implications, "the weapon couldn't destroy the Ori because they constantly feed on the energy of their followers, but..."

"It could well destroy the Ancients," Teal'c finished, having correctly guessed, as well.

"And we sent it right into their welcoming hands." Mitchell visibly deflated at the grim discovery. "Son of a…" He kept quiet for a brief moment, then resumed. "So who's going to stop them from charging into our galaxy and blowing you all to bits?"

The bleak expression on Morgan's face suggested she was considering the same question.

"Since my exile, I have had very little information on the Ori. I do know that the Sangraal extinguished the Fire of Celestis, and it takes time for it to rekindle in its previous form. Currently, the Ori are finding it difficult to communicate their desires to their followers."

"That's why the Priors in our galaxy haven't made their presence known yet," Sam realized. "There's no one to lead them!"

Vala looked away at the last words, keeping her face carefully neutral. When she sensed Daniel's eyes on her, she swallowed hard and thrust her chin forward, in a gesture that plainly read: no regrets. Then straightened her shoulders and addressed Morgan again.

"So if the Ori are regaining their previous form and planning to use the Sangraal against you, why don't your people do something?"

The Ancient's face saddened.

"At this time when we must be united, we are more divided than ever," she answered in a regretful tone. "The non-interference policy has caused a rift within the council, and it proves hard to mend. Few of us favor a preemptive act, but the majority wishes to remain neutral." She shook her head. "We cannot agree on a course of action."

"Yeah, and while you talk it ten times over, the Ori are regaining power!"

She did not seem taken aback by Daniel's vehement protest.

"That is why I have come to speak to you, Daniel Jackson. The Ori misuse their power, lie to their followers and violate free will. They must not be allowed to rule over this galaxy, or any other."

"And you want us to stop them." Mitchell almost laughed with disbelief. "Just how are we supposed to do that? We've no weapons to match theirs, we can barely hold our own against one single prior, and to be honest, we're pretty much getting our asses handed to us time and again in this battle!"

"More advanced weapons would only help on short term," she told them. "The only way to defeat the Ori definitively is to destroy the faith of their followers."

"So we have to expose them for the fake gods that they are."

Vala gave him an askance look.

"Uh, Daniel, that didn't work so well before." She arched both eyebrows with faint irony. "Remember what we were doing before we ended up in this cave?"

"It will not be easy," Morgan admitted, "but it must be done. And it must be done quickly, before the Ori rekindle the Fire of Celestis and communicate to their Doci again. I do not know how long that will take, or how they plan to lead their armies without the Orici."

For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, she seemed to drop her air of superior calm, and allowed some anxiety to seep through her words:


through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible, and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands...


"I can feel the insidious touch of the Ori everywhere, on every planet they have turned, in every mind they have touched…" She fixed them with an intense stare, moving her apprehensive glance from one to the other. "Your only chance of defeating them, our only chance, is to disrupt their influence over people."

They guarded an almost reverential silence, acknowledging her visible concern with worried glances of their own. Then Mitchell nodded with false levity.

"Cut off their energy source. Sounds good enough for me."

Sam would not let it go so easily.

"How exactly is that going to happen?" she demanded of the Ancient.

Morgan set her eyes on the inscribed stone piece that Vala had discovered earlier. She nodded to the symbols that decorated it.

"The tablet will lead you to the library where the Ori first started their investigations regarding Ascension. The knowledge they used to ascend is stored there, on a long-forgotten planet that no one has guarded in centuries. My hope is that you will find something in those writings, something that will tell you how they draw energy from their followers, so that you understand how to disrupt the process."

"Your 'hope'?" Cam was unimpressed. "You mean you don't know for sure? Why don't you just tell us where that planet is? Why not go investigate yourself?"

The ascended Ancient shook her head once more, and Mitchell though he could feel the draft as the old patronizing air rushed back to her.

"As I have said, I am not allowed to leave this place until the council has reached a decision on my case. Just getting this tablet has been dangerous enough, and so has our discussion." She searched their surroundings almost nervously, as though expecting someone to break in any second. "I will try to help you more if I can, but you must be prepared to do this alone. Now you must go."

Daniel was not prepared to give up just yet.

"Wait a second, you haven't told us—"

"There is no more time, Daniel Jackson," she interrupted, then urged again. "You must go now, before the council discovers your presence on this planet."

"Okay…then get us out of here!" Vala demanded, only to receive a deadpan expression as the Ancient informed them:

"I cannot."

Mitchell was starting to lose his patience.

"Lady, maybe you forgot, but we can't pass through walls!"

His stinging comment seemed to amuse her, and she gave them all a small smile.

"Use the tablet," she advised, then nodded to each of them. "I hope we will see each other again before the end."

"Hey wait—great." Cam rolled his eyes as she faded out of sight before he could ask anything else. "Use the tablet," he repeated almost sarcastically. "Well Jackson, better get translating our way out."

"I don't think that's going to be necessary," Sam remarked, and turned the tablet over under their intrigued stares. A small device was attached to the back of the stone slab. "Looks like a beacon," she informed them before fiddling with its buttons. "And now it's activated."

Almost immediately, the same blue light enveloped them, and seconds later the bridge of a familiar ship materialized beneath their feet. As he set his eyes on the occupants of the ship, Cam gave an exasperated sigh, and repeated the rhetorical question that seemed to have become his favorite.

"Why. Am I not. Surprised..."


A/N: Comments, questions, suggestions? Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one! Thank you for reading!

Myosotis