Compass in the Night

"I took my share in this fight for the impossible..." (Albert Camus)

" Well, there's good news," Daniel informed them, "and there's really, really bad news."

"Isn't there always, darling? The good first," Vala picked, though no one had asked her to.

Brushing off some stray papers, she perched herself on the edge of his desk. Daniel's office seemed small and cramped, with the five of them gathered around the messy table in the center, where the Ancient's tablet lay covered in scribbled pages. As he had promised, the archaeologist had translated the text in record time. Yet, he looked far from satisfied. Vala's mind was just drifting back to his earlier description of the Ancients as "cryptic cartographers", when Daniel clasped his hands together and began:

"The tablet talks about the 'initio foccum', the beginning of fire."

"That could refer to the knowledge that the Ori acquired prior to their ascension," Teal'c opined.

"It probably does," Daniel nodded, then scanned the tablet once more before continuing: "Actually, the information is pretty straightforward. The knowledge is said to be guarded in a library of sorts, just like Morgan said. The tablet gives a good description of the planet this library is on…a bit too poetic to be entirely precise, but I think it says that the planet is part of a five-planet solar system. 'Sola vita gardit', it alone preserves life, so it's probably the only inhabitable one in the system. 'Due luni revolutio' refers to the two moons that orbit it."

"That is a pretty accurate description," Sam agreed, "but there must be countless planets in the galaxy to fit that description."

"From what Morgan said, we know it doesn't have a stargate," Mitchell provided. "That might narrow it down a little. Still, the database search could bring up a couple dozen planets, or even—"

"None."

Daniel gave them a serious look, then shrugged and mirrored the puzzlement in their expressions. "I've looked through all the charts we have in our system, none of them returned any matches."

"Impossible!" Sam was baffled. "There are thousands of systems out there!"

"I've run every program, checked every chart of the galaxy that I could find in our computers. So, either we don't have the data on that particular solar system—"

"—or the planet doesn't exist," Mitchell finished.

"In this galaxy." While four grim looks turned to him, Teal'c regarded the tablet with keen interest. "Is it not more likely, Daniel Jackson, that the knowledge is deposited in the Ori galaxy, rather than our own?"

Daniel expelled a sigh, letting his chin drop to his chest.

"And there is the really, really bad news."

One hour later, when Sam had double-checked all the charts in their computers just to make sure, the half-hearted debate came to an end. It was obvious and definitive: the Ori library would be in the Ori home galaxy, and there was no point pretending or hoping otherwise.

"And there's no point in looking for it, either."

A tired and frustrated Daniel sank into his chair, glaring at the tablet as though it intentionally tantalized them.

"We have the description of the planet," Sam reminded him. "That's a start."

"And no way of finding it," Vala pointed out, "and even if we had that, there's still no way of actually getting to it, not to mention getting back—"

"Alright, let's have a bit of optimism, shall we?" Cam placed both palms on top of Daniel's desk, looking towards the archaeologist and Vala. "You two made it to the Ori galaxy before, didn't you? Vala, you explained that stone…connection thing when you contacted us from there last year, can you try that again?"

"No," came their simultaneous, emphatic answer. They exchanged a quick glance, then resolutely looked the other way, each shielding thoughts and fears and scars that ran silent at the back of their minds.

"Our last trip there didn't go so well," Vala resumed quickly, "I trust you remember, Cameron? You nearly lost the beauty and brains of your team…? And…Daniel," she added as an afterthought.

"Anyway, isn't the Ancient communication device gone?" Sam pointed out.

"Yeah…Teal'c and I had to fling it into the naquadah vortex." Mitchell grimaced at the memory. "Okay you're right, that was a bad idea. No more mind traveling business. If you want something done right, you have to get your ass down there… physically," he added after a short, confused silence.

"Deep," Sam grinned.

"Hey, my Grandma knew what she was saying…" he replied with a small grin of his own. Then he looked at the tablet again. "I want solutions, people. We need a map of the Ori galaxy first, so we don't jump in head first for something we don't even know for sure is there."

"Somehow, I don't think anyone's been up to charting the galaxy," Daniel remarked, "since the Ori have kept their followers' civilization somewhere around the Dark Ages. Science is still alchemy, space the dwelling of gods and so on."

"Makes sense, doesn't it? They wouldn't want people asking too many questions," Cam mused. "Keep the followers anchored in their religious ignorance, and their faith keeps providing energy for the Ori to feed on."

"Hm." Vala bit her lips with an expression of fascinated concentration. "I just had a revelation," she declared airily.

Four mildly curious glances fixed her.

"To bring Origin here," she started slowly, "the Ori had to make a compromise and risk offering advanced equipment to their people. The followers aren't exactly technologically impaired anymore, are they? Not with the big crusader ships roaming our galaxy."

"Some revelation," Mitchell sighed. "Yes, Vala, they have big ships with big weapons and even bigger plans. That doesn't exactly help us."

"Actually, Cameron…" Vala was obviously enjoying drawing out her revelation, "how do you think those ships navigate?"

It dawned on the four of them simultaneously, and it was Sam who voiced it for everyone.

"Maps… The ship computers must have maps of the Ori galaxy!"

And excitement mixed inside them with awe, as they had surpassed one seemingly insurmountable obstacle only to move on to the next.

A/N: Thank you for sticking with this story:) despite the abysmal update times, be assured that it's going forward, and hopefully you're enjoying the ride! And as always, know that your feedback is much appreciated and makes my day brighter!

Until next time,

Myosotis