"So these little gray people want to save us?" Relun asked, incredulously.
"They think they can move everyone before the water rises and floods the
crops?"
The three of them had been walking and talking for about twenty minutes, and were nearing the town that the Pe'aoli had mentioned. There was a large body of water on the horizon, now, and the air that had smelled so fresh while they were in the fields now had a slightly salty tang to it. Still pleasant, just different.
"They can move you, Relun," Carter assured him. "But they can't do it unless you all agree to be moved. They won't just move in and make you do what they tell you to."
"The town Council has talked to them already? Really?"
"Yup. But they were a bit nervous around them. The Asgard don't exactly look like you and me."
"They sound like incredible people."
"Oh, they have their moments."
"I'll take you to the town Council, Jack, and hopefully you can convince them that these people are really not here to cause problems, and that it's safe. It is safe, right?"
"Yes, it's a lot safer than staying here."
They attracted a lot of attention as they walked through the town. They looked just strange enough that people wanted to know about them, but Relun wasn't stopping to tell them, and Jack and Sam didn't want to tell their story more times than they had to. Which meant that if these folks wanted to hear it, they had to come along. And many chose to do just that. By the time they reached the largest building in town - a three story wooden building that was glistening in the bright sun – the majority of the adults in the town were walking with them, and had sent their children off to fetch relatives. Something was going on, and they wanted to know what it was.
~*~
"Yes, the aliens came down," Rickart said. He looked over the crowd of people that had assembled in the large room that was obviously used for important town meetings, and shook his head. "They came out of nowhere. Little naked gray men with huge eyes. Telling us that the seas were rising and were going to drown us all if we didn't go with them!"
There was a rumble of murmuring in the room as people talked that over with each other. Little gray men? Naked ones? Why hadn't the Council mentioned it before? What if they were right? The waters DID seem to be higher than usual, after all. The tides were almost touching the edges of town and completely overrunning the beaches, something that none of them had ever seen. Even on the rainiest of months.
"They were lying!" Rickart shouted, over the noise of the crowd. "They have to be. How can we trust them to be looking out for us? They don't even know us."
"They're good people," Jack said.
The crowd looked Jack and Sam over with interest. These two were a mystery. Where had they come from? How did they know of the dangers?
"They're alien." Shelan said. She was an older woman, and the only female on the Council of Seven.
"We're alien, too," Sam said.
"You don't look gray to me," Relun said.
Sam smiled. "Alien just means different. It doesn't mean bad or good."
"But these guys want to help you," Jack said. "Nothing more. They have a great new planet picked out for you to live on. Something that's just as nice as this place, only a lot safer. You just have to trust them."
"Why should we?" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"Because if you don't, you're going to die."
That silenced that guy.
"How do we know you're not one of them, just looking like us to trick us?"
"We're as human as you are," Sam said.
"They look like us," One woman agreed.
"They sound like us, too," Another said.
"I don't believe it."
"How many of you have noticed the water rising?" Jack asked.
Everyone raised their hands. They lived on the edge of the water, they knew it well, and all of them knew it was different than it had been. Even the oldest among them had commented that they'd never seen it so high.
"Let me ask you something else," Jack said. "What do you have that the Asgard could possibly want to steal from you?"
"I have a cow."
"They don't need your cow."
And so the arguing continued...
~*~
"How do you feel?"
Shawn opened his eyes, reluctantly, but the dizziness seemed to have passed. "A little sick."
"It will fade."
"Did it work?"
"It did."
"How do I know? I was hearing you in English before you touched that thing to my head-"
"What does this say?" Thor asked, pointing at a mark near the door.
"Open."
"And this?"
"Duh. Close." Shawn realized neither of them was written in English. "Hey! I can read that!"
"Indeed. You will find that you can read Asgard and Goa'uld with equal proficiency. As well as English, of course."
"Probably better, since I don't read all that well in English, yet." Shawn admitted.
"I could change that," Thor said, "But I will not. Otherwise, what I have done will be apparent. You will learn your native tongue at your own pace, and it will not make anyone suspicious as to-"
"Thor." The voice was Jack's.
"Yes, O'Neill?"
"We've been talking to the town council, and a large part of the people of the town, and they want to talk to you. They seem to think that we're your servants or something." Jack's voice was filled with annoyance that even Thor could recognize. He hated arguing with people.
"What would you like me to do, O'Neill?"
"You'd better beam yourself down here and prove to these folks that you're not going to steal their cows."
"I shall have one of the others come over to the ship to watch your young friend," Thor said. "Then I-"
"No." Jack didn't know the other Asgard, and he wasn't going to leave Shawn alone with them. "Bring him along. These folks aren't going to hurt him."
The three of them had been walking and talking for about twenty minutes, and were nearing the town that the Pe'aoli had mentioned. There was a large body of water on the horizon, now, and the air that had smelled so fresh while they were in the fields now had a slightly salty tang to it. Still pleasant, just different.
"They can move you, Relun," Carter assured him. "But they can't do it unless you all agree to be moved. They won't just move in and make you do what they tell you to."
"The town Council has talked to them already? Really?"
"Yup. But they were a bit nervous around them. The Asgard don't exactly look like you and me."
"They sound like incredible people."
"Oh, they have their moments."
"I'll take you to the town Council, Jack, and hopefully you can convince them that these people are really not here to cause problems, and that it's safe. It is safe, right?"
"Yes, it's a lot safer than staying here."
They attracted a lot of attention as they walked through the town. They looked just strange enough that people wanted to know about them, but Relun wasn't stopping to tell them, and Jack and Sam didn't want to tell their story more times than they had to. Which meant that if these folks wanted to hear it, they had to come along. And many chose to do just that. By the time they reached the largest building in town - a three story wooden building that was glistening in the bright sun – the majority of the adults in the town were walking with them, and had sent their children off to fetch relatives. Something was going on, and they wanted to know what it was.
~*~
"Yes, the aliens came down," Rickart said. He looked over the crowd of people that had assembled in the large room that was obviously used for important town meetings, and shook his head. "They came out of nowhere. Little naked gray men with huge eyes. Telling us that the seas were rising and were going to drown us all if we didn't go with them!"
There was a rumble of murmuring in the room as people talked that over with each other. Little gray men? Naked ones? Why hadn't the Council mentioned it before? What if they were right? The waters DID seem to be higher than usual, after all. The tides were almost touching the edges of town and completely overrunning the beaches, something that none of them had ever seen. Even on the rainiest of months.
"They were lying!" Rickart shouted, over the noise of the crowd. "They have to be. How can we trust them to be looking out for us? They don't even know us."
"They're good people," Jack said.
The crowd looked Jack and Sam over with interest. These two were a mystery. Where had they come from? How did they know of the dangers?
"They're alien." Shelan said. She was an older woman, and the only female on the Council of Seven.
"We're alien, too," Sam said.
"You don't look gray to me," Relun said.
Sam smiled. "Alien just means different. It doesn't mean bad or good."
"But these guys want to help you," Jack said. "Nothing more. They have a great new planet picked out for you to live on. Something that's just as nice as this place, only a lot safer. You just have to trust them."
"Why should we?" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"Because if you don't, you're going to die."
That silenced that guy.
"How do we know you're not one of them, just looking like us to trick us?"
"We're as human as you are," Sam said.
"They look like us," One woman agreed.
"They sound like us, too," Another said.
"I don't believe it."
"How many of you have noticed the water rising?" Jack asked.
Everyone raised their hands. They lived on the edge of the water, they knew it well, and all of them knew it was different than it had been. Even the oldest among them had commented that they'd never seen it so high.
"Let me ask you something else," Jack said. "What do you have that the Asgard could possibly want to steal from you?"
"I have a cow."
"They don't need your cow."
And so the arguing continued...
~*~
"How do you feel?"
Shawn opened his eyes, reluctantly, but the dizziness seemed to have passed. "A little sick."
"It will fade."
"Did it work?"
"It did."
"How do I know? I was hearing you in English before you touched that thing to my head-"
"What does this say?" Thor asked, pointing at a mark near the door.
"Open."
"And this?"
"Duh. Close." Shawn realized neither of them was written in English. "Hey! I can read that!"
"Indeed. You will find that you can read Asgard and Goa'uld with equal proficiency. As well as English, of course."
"Probably better, since I don't read all that well in English, yet." Shawn admitted.
"I could change that," Thor said, "But I will not. Otherwise, what I have done will be apparent. You will learn your native tongue at your own pace, and it will not make anyone suspicious as to-"
"Thor." The voice was Jack's.
"Yes, O'Neill?"
"We've been talking to the town council, and a large part of the people of the town, and they want to talk to you. They seem to think that we're your servants or something." Jack's voice was filled with annoyance that even Thor could recognize. He hated arguing with people.
"What would you like me to do, O'Neill?"
"You'd better beam yourself down here and prove to these folks that you're not going to steal their cows."
"I shall have one of the others come over to the ship to watch your young friend," Thor said. "Then I-"
"No." Jack didn't know the other Asgard, and he wasn't going to leave Shawn alone with them. "Bring him along. These folks aren't going to hurt him."
