TITLE: 99 Red Balloons
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13 for language, brief gore, severe emotional suffering
CATEGORY: drama, angst
SUMMARY: Goofing off leads to disaster. (Based on the song.)
SPOILERS: none
AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the time I wrote this chapter, I had the song "Bad Day"
by REM stuck in my head. Worse things could happen. And, on a more relevant
note, Gaelic is a massively cool language. And, on an even more relevant
note, please, please review.
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Jack and Daniel were deeply impressed by the Assembly. It was an enormous building, obviously designed so that it could hold the entire population of the village if necessary. A substantial fraction of that population had indeed taken shelter here, perhaps believing it would somehow protect them from the attacking Others. One end of the room held a few long tables at which the few dozen people comprising the Assembly were seated. There was an empty space immediately in front of them, and it was to this spot that Pakla led them.
The animated discussion among the Assembly gradually died down at the sight of the three people standing before them. Many other people crowded around as well to watch the proceedings. The woman seated in the center of the front row stood and demanded, "Pakla, are you back so soon? You should be with the Weapons-master, helping him with the machines to destroy the others."
Daniel spoke up. "Youíre just going to destroy them, without a second thought?"
Pakla glanced at him, surprised at the echo of what Arren had said only a few minutes ago. Then the Assembly member turned a frosty glare on her. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you brought these strangers here, uninvited? We have far more urgent things to deal with."
Pakla gulped. "They claim they can help us thwart the Others' attack, Lim. On those grounds I believed they might be of interest to you."
"Very well," Lim sighed. "But you should return to your work."
Pakla ducked her head and ran out.
Lim turned back to Jack and Daniel. "What do you have to say? How can you help us?"
"Actually," Jack informed her, "we want to tell you to call off your attack entirely."
Several Assembly members gasped, and a storm of muttering broke out among the Assembly and the clusters of watching public. Lin leaned forward. "And why might we do that? Are you saying that we should not defend ourselves from impending doom?"
"That's the thing," Daniel said. "There is no impending doom."
"You lie," she accused. The muttering grew louder.
"No, we don't," O'Neill contradicted. "We are absolutely telling the truth."
"Then what were those machines Pakla, along with many others, saw this morning? I myself caught a glimpse of them. They were entirely unlike anything native to this village. From where else could they have come but from the Others?"
"They came from us," Jackson explained.
"From you," Lim repeated. "Then what are they?"
"They're only toys," Daniel confessed.
"We didn't think anyone lived on this planet," Jack elaborated. "We were just messing around. Those things aren't even machines. They just float around and look good."
She squinted incredulously. "This planet, you said? You claim to have come from another planet?"
"We do, and we did," Daniel affirmed. "We came here from our own planet through the Stargate."
"Stargate?"
"You might call it the Chappa'ai. That big round thing, outside the forest."
Conversation broke out again, louder than ever. "The Ring of the Gods?" Lim asked suspiciously. "That has been dead for generations, and then it was used only by the goddess Morrigan and her attendants. Surely you do not claim to be Morrigan, or to serve her."
"Definitely not. In fact," O'Neill said, ignoring an urgent nudge from his friend, "to tell the truth, we're not terribly fond of her."
Daniel heaved a resigned sigh and muttered, "Great, Jack. Just great. You've just completely killed what little credibility we had with this woman."
Lim did not, in fact, look particularly pleased. "What reason have I to believe you? You have given me a highly implausible story, and you claim to be enemies of our Goddess. It seems more likely that you are agents of the Others, sent to prevent us from rightly defending ourselves against your attack."
"We're not enemy spies," Daniel insisted. "We're just trying to keep you from destroying the Others for no reason."
He and Jack were temporarily rescued from an argument they were obviously losing by the crackle of his radio. "Hey, Daniel," Sam's voice came through. "We could use your help over here."
Jackson looked questioningly up at Lim. She nodded reluctantly. "Go ahead, but be brief.
"Thanks. What do you need, Sam?"
"The people here don't speak English. I think their language is kind of like Gaelic, but I do't speak it and I was hoping you could translate for us."
"That would make sense," Daniel told her. "The people here do speak English, and apparently this planet was controlled by Morrigan, who's based herself on a Celtic goddess. And yes, I do speak Gaelic." Lim raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. He turned to Jack. "Do you mind if I join them?"
"Yeah, go ahead. I'll stay here and see if I can knock some sense into these people." Jack rolled his eyes.
Daniel smiled. "Good luck."
"You may depart," Lim told him. "I have no truly good reason to believe you are a spy. However, keep in mind that I have no better reason to believe you are not."
"Thanks. I'll be back soon," Daniel said, and hurried out.
He just barely avoided crashing into Slarin, who came running into the building at that same moment.
Jack and Daniel were deeply impressed by the Assembly. It was an enormous building, obviously designed so that it could hold the entire population of the village if necessary. A substantial fraction of that population had indeed taken shelter here, perhaps believing it would somehow protect them from the attacking Others. One end of the room held a few long tables at which the few dozen people comprising the Assembly were seated. There was an empty space immediately in front of them, and it was to this spot that Pakla led them.
The animated discussion among the Assembly gradually died down at the sight of the three people standing before them. Many other people crowded around as well to watch the proceedings. The woman seated in the center of the front row stood and demanded, "Pakla, are you back so soon? You should be with the Weapons-master, helping him with the machines to destroy the others."
Daniel spoke up. "Youíre just going to destroy them, without a second thought?"
Pakla glanced at him, surprised at the echo of what Arren had said only a few minutes ago. Then the Assembly member turned a frosty glare on her. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you brought these strangers here, uninvited? We have far more urgent things to deal with."
Pakla gulped. "They claim they can help us thwart the Others' attack, Lim. On those grounds I believed they might be of interest to you."
"Very well," Lim sighed. "But you should return to your work."
Pakla ducked her head and ran out.
Lim turned back to Jack and Daniel. "What do you have to say? How can you help us?"
"Actually," Jack informed her, "we want to tell you to call off your attack entirely."
Several Assembly members gasped, and a storm of muttering broke out among the Assembly and the clusters of watching public. Lin leaned forward. "And why might we do that? Are you saying that we should not defend ourselves from impending doom?"
"That's the thing," Daniel said. "There is no impending doom."
"You lie," she accused. The muttering grew louder.
"No, we don't," O'Neill contradicted. "We are absolutely telling the truth."
"Then what were those machines Pakla, along with many others, saw this morning? I myself caught a glimpse of them. They were entirely unlike anything native to this village. From where else could they have come but from the Others?"
"They came from us," Jackson explained.
"From you," Lim repeated. "Then what are they?"
"They're only toys," Daniel confessed.
"We didn't think anyone lived on this planet," Jack elaborated. "We were just messing around. Those things aren't even machines. They just float around and look good."
She squinted incredulously. "This planet, you said? You claim to have come from another planet?"
"We do, and we did," Daniel affirmed. "We came here from our own planet through the Stargate."
"Stargate?"
"You might call it the Chappa'ai. That big round thing, outside the forest."
Conversation broke out again, louder than ever. "The Ring of the Gods?" Lim asked suspiciously. "That has been dead for generations, and then it was used only by the goddess Morrigan and her attendants. Surely you do not claim to be Morrigan, or to serve her."
"Definitely not. In fact," O'Neill said, ignoring an urgent nudge from his friend, "to tell the truth, we're not terribly fond of her."
Daniel heaved a resigned sigh and muttered, "Great, Jack. Just great. You've just completely killed what little credibility we had with this woman."
Lim did not, in fact, look particularly pleased. "What reason have I to believe you? You have given me a highly implausible story, and you claim to be enemies of our Goddess. It seems more likely that you are agents of the Others, sent to prevent us from rightly defending ourselves against your attack."
"We're not enemy spies," Daniel insisted. "We're just trying to keep you from destroying the Others for no reason."
He and Jack were temporarily rescued from an argument they were obviously losing by the crackle of his radio. "Hey, Daniel," Sam's voice came through. "We could use your help over here."
Jackson looked questioningly up at Lim. She nodded reluctantly. "Go ahead, but be brief.
"Thanks. What do you need, Sam?"
"The people here don't speak English. I think their language is kind of like Gaelic, but I do't speak it and I was hoping you could translate for us."
"That would make sense," Daniel told her. "The people here do speak English, and apparently this planet was controlled by Morrigan, who's based herself on a Celtic goddess. And yes, I do speak Gaelic." Lim raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. He turned to Jack. "Do you mind if I join them?"
"Yeah, go ahead. I'll stay here and see if I can knock some sense into these people." Jack rolled his eyes.
Daniel smiled. "Good luck."
"You may depart," Lim told him. "I have no truly good reason to believe you are a spy. However, keep in mind that I have no better reason to believe you are not."
"Thanks. I'll be back soon," Daniel said, and hurried out.
He just barely avoided crashing into Slarin, who came running into the building at that same moment.