Rya'c was standing on the balcony of his home. He had ordered several small houses to be built near the gate, enough to house almost all of the two thousand Jaffa that they had supplies for, but the Jaffa had gone against him and had changed the design of one of the houses to a three story timber house, for him and Kar'yn. Still the settlement was growing quickly, they were getting close to a thousand Jaffa and housing was growing scarce. But with more hands helping things were growing faster and faster.
He was looking towards the town hall that was under construction closer to the fields, just outside town, it was the first stone building they were constructing on the world. The stone was being transported from a quarry they had opened into the side of a nearby mountain and was being pulled on large carts down to the site.
The datapad in his hand bussed a few times to catch his attention. Rya'c looked at it and saw a message from one of the group leaders at the mine they were trying to dig nearby the quarry. The message asked for more Jaffa and Rya'c accepted the request. He used the datapad to assign a few more Jaffa to the mine and checked the status of the town hall afterwards. It was still a long way to go, but the outer walls were soon done.
He double checked the messages on his datapad to see if there was something he needed to deal with. When he was done he turned around and walked through the wooden door into the house. It smelled of spices and food inside. He walked down the stairs to the kitchen where Kar'yn was cooking up a meal for Bra'tac who was due for a visit during the day, his first to the new world.
"So how are things today?" she asked. She was standing over the fireplace along the opposite wall, she was stirring the large pot that hung over the fire with a large ladle.
"Well everyone else is working and here I am, simply standing around pointing my fingers towards things," Rya'c responded.
"You are their leader Rya'c, they need you to point your fingers towards the things that need to be done, they need direction. Your father and Bra'tac have always seen this side of you, I think it is why they picked you for this."
"Perhaps, still I should be out there working with them, not stand here."
"And if you were not waiting for Bra'tac I guess you would be, just like you always are."
"Perhaps. Is there something you need help with here?"
She spun around from the pot, ladle in hand. "No, but you should go to the gate and wait for Bra'tac, he will be here soon."
"Yes and I want things to be perfect."
"To start with I would like to be able to cook a single meal for us and not have someone else bring the food for us, so unless you want me to smack you with this you shut up and let me do this." She swung the ladle in front of here.
"Now dear, I only wish to help."
She swung the ladle towards him and he took a few steps backwards, towards the door. "Get out and don't come back until after you've given Bra'tac a proper tour of the sites." With the ladle in hand she drove him out of the room.
Once he had gotten out and closed the door behind him he began the walk down towards the gate. He was still holding the datapad in his hand as he came closer to the gate, it informed him that there was an incoming wormhole and he began to run towards the gate. He came past the houses where the Travelers lived right by the gate and Bra'tac was already standing there waiting for him.
"Ah, Rya'c there you are," Bra'tac said. "How are things going here?"
"Master Bra'tac," Rya'c said and bowed. "Things are moving forward quickly. We have constructed houses for almost everyone, only a handful are still living in tents, but by the end of the week we will have houses for everyone."
"You have already built enough houses?" Bra'tac asked in surprise.
"Yes, come I will show you what we have done." Rya'c motioned for the forest where the well and fields were located.
"Lead the way Rya'c."
"I hope you are ready for a walk, the well and fields are not far but the quarry and mine is quite the distance away." Rya'c led the way into the forest on a narrow path that joined the main road between the well and the settlement a few hundred meters ahead, they followed the road a short distance to the large clearing where they had dug the well and plowed their fields.
"Are these the plants that Mokar was talking about? The plants that can grow in a matter of days?" Bra'tac asked when Rya'c led him in between the rows of the fields.
"Yes, this is the second harvest these fields have given us, but the crops are anything but pleasant to eat. We try to use them to stretch the other food we can gather and hunt and use plenty of species to hide the flavour. I am sure you will know the taste when you eat with us today."
"It is sad that we have to eat such poor food, but it is better than starving."
"Yes of course." They cleared the field and arrived at the stone well. "This well provides enough water for us all, but we have already planned several more wells to make sure we have water when more Jaffa comes, we have also planned for more farms, with more edible food."
"I see that you are planning far ahead Rya'c, that is wise. If you are ready I will make sure that more Jaffa come here," Bra'tac said. He threw down the bucket into the well and hauled it back up filled with crystal clear water. "I am impressed that you have found such clear water in a well."
"It was the Alterran system that suggested this precise location, it knew that the ground was softer here than where I thought that the well should be. It seems there is a river far to the north that goes beneath the ground, it flows through the ground where we have placed the well, it is also the reason our fields are here, the water brings minerals to the crops." He pointed towards several smaller fields where they grew other crops. "There we have begun to farm other crops."
"Clever planning I must say. You also said that you have opened a quarry and a mine. How are the yields?"
"I will show you, that is the next location I will show you. The mine is still being dug, but the quarry is giving us a good amount of stones for the town hall. We are making sure that you have a suite to suit your status as ruler of the Jaffa." He lead Bra'tac away from the fields and towards a narrow foot path through the forest that he usually took when he passed from the fields to the quarry during his checks.
"The Alterran city will serve as my seat of power Rya'c, this planet is yours to lead."
"Are you sure Master Bra'tac? You are the ruler, it's only fitting that you have a home on each world that the Jaffa control," Rya'c protested.
"You have missed the point Rya'c, I am not a ruler of the Jaffa, I am the leader of those Jaffa who choose to follow me. A ruler does what he think will benefit himself, I lead the Jaffa because the Jaffa trust me to do what is best for them and when I can no longer do that a new leader must be chosen. Therefore I do not need a suite in every Jaffa town or on every planet, as long as I am needed to lead the Jaffa I will lead from the city, when I am no longer needed I will find a peaceful place and make myself a house where I can live out the rest of my days."
They passed into the darkness of the forest and the damp air inside.
"I apologize Master Bra'tac, you are right. But the Jaffa still see you as a ruler, you are the one in charge."
"Yes, I am the one in charge. But I ask you this, why am I the one in charge?"
"Because you and my father have always seen the truth about the Jaffas' slavery to the Goa'uld and the threat of the Ori. You are in charge because you were first prime of Apophis and together with my father you are the only first primes who still lives, that honor still carries heavy in the minds of the Jaffa."
Bra'tac let out a laugh and the birds in the trees around them took to the skies. "There are many first primes still alive Rya'c, it is true that few served a system lord, but that should be considered no honor but a disgrace. And it is not because I saw what the Goa'uld were. No, it's is because the Jaffa choose to follow me young one, in their minds I am the leader they need."
"Yes but the Jaffa think this of you because of what you have done in the past."
"Perhaps, but then why do they choose to follow you? Have you earned their respect through battle and servitude of false gods?"
"They follow me because of you and my father, they follow you and you told them to follow me here and do as I say, they respect my father and the large shadow he casts and in that shadow I live, I would think that is why."
"Perhaps at first they did so because of me and Teal'c, but all that you have here now on this planet is because you have been a good and respectable leader, that is why they follow you now. I spoke to several of the Jaffa who returned to the camp around the city for their families, there is talk of the great plans you must have for the planet and the future of the Jaffa. So tell me Rya'c, what plans do you have?"
"We are simply trying to build a settlement that can grow without the need to build on top of the old structures, that is why we have chosen not to construct anything to close to the gate. In a few years time when we have metals and advanced technology we will build a great base around the gate, like the Tau'ri did. But for now we simply try to give the Jaffa a future."
"That is your plan? To get metals and build a base around the gate?"
"Of course there are other plans to get there. Such as the mine, we hope to dig deep to the metals so that we can begin to discover the secrets of electricity. With electricity in our grasp it should be easier to work the fields, to cut wood and dig down into the ground."
"That is a much better plan Rya'c." They stepped out of the forest and saw the hundreds of Jaffa that were running around on the side of a mountain. Carved straight into the mountain was a large quarry were the Jaffa was breaking stone. "Is this the quarry where you get stone for the townhall?"
"Yes, the majority of the Jaffa are working here. We have produced plenty of stone, more than we need for the town hall, but the more we mine now the more we will have when we begin to construct homes of stone."
"Are the wooden houses not good? Do they not hold the wind outside and the heat inside?"
"Yes, wood seems to hold the wind outside and the heat inside much better, but for now we will need to build the houses close together and if we used wood a single mistake could burn down the entire settlement. Therefor we must use stone."
"Good Rya'c, you learn fast. But if you replace the wooden houses you have with stone houses you will need to replace them once again when you can build buildings of metal." Quite some distance away Bra'tac could see a large mound of dirt that Jaffa were constantly adding to. "That is what you have dug out of the mine so far?"
"Yes, we are trying to reach a depth where there is plenty of metals, the datapads have shown that this mountain contains enough metals to last us several years."
"Do not think that a single mountain can hold that much metal Rya'c. The datapads may think that, but do they know of all the Jaffa who are still waiting to come through the gate?"
"Hm, I do not know if the datapads know such things." Rya'c led them along the side of the quarry, towards the dirt mound and the road that the Jaffa were pulling the wagons with the stones on back to the town hall. Right next to them they could see the large piles of stone blocks they had broken lying along the edge of the quarry.
"Why would they? Use the datapads as a support but do not rely on them, rely on your own knowledge and wisdom to make the decisions."
"Yes Master Bra'tac." They passed the mound of dirt and Bra'tac picked up a large red rock.
"Look closely at this stone Rya'c, this stone contains metal. I believe it is Iron, this is what you have thrown away. The very thing that you are searching for."
Bra'tac handed the stone to Rya'c. Rya'c twisted it in his hand. "Are you sure old man? This does not look like any form of Iron I have seen. How do you know that this is Iron?"
"I am not sure that it is Iron, but I am sure that it contains metals. Do you not learn what the Lanteans try to teach you?"
"I have not had the time to spend time with the Lanteans, I am busy planning the settlement and trying to make sure enough Jaffa are assigned to all of the tasks."
"And how many Jaffa have been there? Who are chosen to oversee the work?"
"We need every able body working, so therefor I oversee the work here, the datapads help with much of the logistics."
Bra'tac frowned. "Then you mean the Lanteans teach no one?"
"They teach the young and the old, those who have time."
"Why?!"
Rya'c look puzzled. "Because the young and old often are too weak to work in the fields, or break stone in the quarries. We need to keep working so that we make steady progress."
Bra'tac walked forward a few steps in front of Rya'c. "Then you are a fool. What do you think the Lanteans are to teach you? How to look good for a visit to a temple? They will show you all that they can, they will show you how to know what is metal, how you get it out of the rock, you only need to ask them. That is how you make progress, that is the new way for the Jaffa. Throwing Jaffa at a problem will not solve it, thinking is what is needed."
"I am no fool." Rya'c lashed out at Bra'tac with his left fist, a feigned to hide the kick he was going to plant at the back of Bra'tac's knees. But Bra'tac raised his arm and let the fist connect, then he grabbed Rya'c's leg as it came and pulled. In the blink of an eye Rya'c found himself lying on his back on the ground.
"Yes you are, if you think that violence will solve this situation. I give you three days to put things on hold, then I expect all of the halls the Lanteans have for teaching to be full. Those Jaffa who can not fit inside are yours to command as you see fit. You yourself will be learning too. If you do not do this I will find someone who understands the need for learning in our society." He began to wander back towards the gate on the wide road while Jaffa began to surround Rya'c who was struggling to get up.
As soon as he got up Rya'c stormed after Bra'tac. He got back to the gate just in time to see Bra'tac walking through it. With Bra'tac gone he turned around and walked back to his house. When he walked inside Kar'yn was placing cups and plates on the heavy wooden table. She looked up to him when he slammed the door shut behind him.
"Where is Bra'tac?" she asked.
"He has left the planet, he was not happy with how I have done things." He pulled out one of the chairs and slumped down on it.
"So what was it that he thought you had done wrong?" She did not even turn to look at him, she simply kept making the table for two people.
"He thinks that I should have more men being taught by the Lanteans, he thinks that I do not see enough worth in the knowledge they have."
"And what have I told you for several weeks?" she asked as she filled his plate.
"That knowledge is worth more than Naquadah. It seems you both think that I am doing wrong."
"I do not think you are doing it wrong I think that you are doing it the way you think is best, but perhaps it would be wise to listen to those around you. Not everyone will see things in the same way and Bra'tac has lived far longer than us both, he is wise."
Rya'c grabbed the spoon and began to eat, he nodded slowly a few times and swallowed. "Perhaps you are right. I will go to the Lanteans in the morning and see what they can offer. And I will take some men with me."
She opened the shutters that acted as their window towards the gate and pointed. As the light outside was slowly fading light was coming out of the other houses through gaps in the doors and shutters, but next to the gate the Lantean housing was shining like a beacon with their electrical lights. "That is what they offer Rya'c, advanced technology. Our future."
He nodded again and smiled towards her. "Yes you are right. I will learn from them, we all will."
"Good." She sat down across the table and began to eat.