Stargate, Tollana
Commander Riker stumbled out of the event horizon and crashed heavily onto the ground. He was dazed and felt a chill. Damn its cold he thought as he gathered himself and looked around. The members of the SG1 were all on their feet and Colonel O'Neil was extending his hand to help him up. As he accepted the Colonels hand, he wondered whether he was the only one who felt disoriented. "Thanks," he mumbled. Once he was up, he gazed further out and he noticed that they were in a built up area, but unlike the SGC, this was out in the open. That could only mean that the stargate was not a covert operation as it was on Earth.
He followed SG1 as they made their way down some winding street until they arrived at a building. Captain Carter 'rang' the 'doorbell' which was promptly answered by a middle-aged man who was beaming at the sight of the Captain.
"Sam, so good to see you again," he said as he hugged her.
"I am glad to see you too, Nerim," she replied with enthusiasm. Riker could easily see there was something special between these two. Finally, he turned to the rest of SG1 and said, "Colonel, Daniel, Teal'c, and who do we have here?"
"This is Commander Riker," the Colonel replied not giving away too much information. "Commander Riker, this is Nerim."
"Hello," Riker said extending his arm to Nerim who shook it warmly. He then turned back to Carter and said, "So Sam, what do I owe this pleasure to?"
"I'm afraid its nothing pleasant Nerim," she replied. His demeanor changed immediately as he ushered them inside. "We just had an incident at the SGC," she continued. "A couple of hours ago, we received a WMD through our gate."
"That's very serious," Nerim replied. "I'm glad you were able to avert the disaster."
"Yes, we were," Jack cut in. "But we're not here to deliver that good news to you. We are here to find out why your people sent the bomb in the first place."
Nerim was shocked at the blunt accusation. "I assure you Colonel that my people would never do such a thing, especially to an ally whom we owe our very existence."
"That's what we thought too, until today,"
"Colonel, why do you think it was us who did it?"
"Because the iris was closed when the bomb came in. Can you tell me of anyone else who has that capability?"
Nerim thought for a while and answered, "I don't know of any other race that uses technology like ours. But then, we would never do something like that. It doesn't make sense, we're pacifists. Why would we do something like that."
"But it did happen," O'Neil insisted.
"That is a very serious accusation Colonel, I will have to take it up to the Chancellor," he replied with profound gravity. "If you will excuse me a moment." He stepped out of the room leaving the group behind.
When he returned, he had an even graver look on his face. "I took your accusation to Chancellor and she vehemently denied any involvement in the incident," he told the group.
"She could be lying," Daniel added.
"The thought crossed my mind. I can't say she was lying but there was definitely something she was trying to hide from me," he said with a long face.
"Nerim, didn't you once say that all the proceedings of the Curia are made public?" Daniel asked.
"Yes it is."
"Don't you think that there would be some records of this incident if the Chancellor had a hand in it. Maybe we should check the computer records of all recent Curia meetings."
"Good idea, Daniel," Nerim said as he headed for the computer terminal. Soon they were pouring over records of recent Curia meetings.
"I can't believe this," Nerim exploded.
"What is it?" Jack shot back.
"Several records of recent Curia meetings are missing. Everything should have been here."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"Could somebody have deleted it?"
"No. You don't understand. Its against the law to hide things from the public. That is the most serious of crimes. I cannot believe the Chancellor would be involved in something like this."
"Well, apparently she would," Jack shot back.
Commander Riker had been quiet throughout this exchange but he was not missing a single word being said. He finally broke his silence and said, "Perhaps I can help." Everyone turned to him as he continued. "The data that has been deleted might be retrievable."
"How?" O'Neil wanted to know.
"Well, when data is deleted from storage, it does not just disappear. It is merely tagged so that it can be overwritten should the need for extra storage arise. If we are lucky, they might not have gone through and done a thorough clean up of the storage device."
"Commander Riker is right, sir," Carter added. "If only we could break into their computer system we might be able to retrieve the lost data."
"Could we do it?"
"That's where I come in," Riker added as he pulled out his tricorder. He placed it in front of Nerim's computer terminal and punched in several keys. Lights blipped as the tricorder activated and started to work its magic. Everyone waited in anticipation. After what seemed like an eternity, Nerim's terminal started to display the missing files. Everyone poured over the document. What they say was beyond anyone's belief.
Daniel finally spoke up, "I don't understand. How could Tanith's ship withstand an assault from your ion cannons. Haven't you always been able to defeat the Goa'uld ships?"
"Yes we have. I cant fathom this either."
"They must have somehow upgraded their ships with new defensive systems. But where did they get it?"
"The Goa'uld are scavengers Daniel Jackson. Perhaps they discovered some ancient technologies that allowed them to advance their defenses," Teal'c offered.
"That explains why the Chancellor and the Curia decided to help the Goa'uld develop the phase shift weapons. They had their hands tied," Carter finished.
Nerim was beyond word. Finally he spoke up, "That doesn't give her the right to go behind the backs of the Tollan people and commit such a genocide. I have to confront her."
"And do what? So far the Curia is not aware that we were able to prevent the catastrophe that they had planned for us. The moment they do, they will try sending another bomb. We cannot allow that," Jack objected.
"Colonel O'Neil is right. So far, the Chancellor believes their plan was a success. But when she finds out the truth, she has no choice but to try again. To not succeed means a reprisal from the Goa'uld," Teal'c added.
"Yes of course. But the people have the right to know and the Chancellor has to be held responsible for her actions. The Tollans should be able to decide how they want to deal with the Goa'uld," Nerim replied.
"Perhaps we can achieve both. My Chief Engineer is currently setting up a defense against your phase shifting weapons. He should be done with the next couple of hours. If you could hold off your confrontation till then, it would give him time to complete the installation," Riker offered.
"Very well then, I will wait for a couple of hours before I take this to the Curia," Nerim said accepting the plan. "I am so sorry for the behavior of my people. If we get through this mess, perhaps we can someday make up for it."
"Thank you Nerim," Carter replied. She could see the shame and pain in his eyes and felt very sorry for him. "You are a good man."
"Thanks."
"Good luck!"
"Thanks, We're gonna need it."
With that the SG1 headed back to the stargate and dialed out.
Commander Riker stumbled out of the event horizon and crashed heavily onto the ground. He was dazed and felt a chill. Damn its cold he thought as he gathered himself and looked around. The members of the SG1 were all on their feet and Colonel O'Neil was extending his hand to help him up. As he accepted the Colonels hand, he wondered whether he was the only one who felt disoriented. "Thanks," he mumbled. Once he was up, he gazed further out and he noticed that they were in a built up area, but unlike the SGC, this was out in the open. That could only mean that the stargate was not a covert operation as it was on Earth.
He followed SG1 as they made their way down some winding street until they arrived at a building. Captain Carter 'rang' the 'doorbell' which was promptly answered by a middle-aged man who was beaming at the sight of the Captain.
"Sam, so good to see you again," he said as he hugged her.
"I am glad to see you too, Nerim," she replied with enthusiasm. Riker could easily see there was something special between these two. Finally, he turned to the rest of SG1 and said, "Colonel, Daniel, Teal'c, and who do we have here?"
"This is Commander Riker," the Colonel replied not giving away too much information. "Commander Riker, this is Nerim."
"Hello," Riker said extending his arm to Nerim who shook it warmly. He then turned back to Carter and said, "So Sam, what do I owe this pleasure to?"
"I'm afraid its nothing pleasant Nerim," she replied. His demeanor changed immediately as he ushered them inside. "We just had an incident at the SGC," she continued. "A couple of hours ago, we received a WMD through our gate."
"That's very serious," Nerim replied. "I'm glad you were able to avert the disaster."
"Yes, we were," Jack cut in. "But we're not here to deliver that good news to you. We are here to find out why your people sent the bomb in the first place."
Nerim was shocked at the blunt accusation. "I assure you Colonel that my people would never do such a thing, especially to an ally whom we owe our very existence."
"That's what we thought too, until today,"
"Colonel, why do you think it was us who did it?"
"Because the iris was closed when the bomb came in. Can you tell me of anyone else who has that capability?"
Nerim thought for a while and answered, "I don't know of any other race that uses technology like ours. But then, we would never do something like that. It doesn't make sense, we're pacifists. Why would we do something like that."
"But it did happen," O'Neil insisted.
"That is a very serious accusation Colonel, I will have to take it up to the Chancellor," he replied with profound gravity. "If you will excuse me a moment." He stepped out of the room leaving the group behind.
When he returned, he had an even graver look on his face. "I took your accusation to Chancellor and she vehemently denied any involvement in the incident," he told the group.
"She could be lying," Daniel added.
"The thought crossed my mind. I can't say she was lying but there was definitely something she was trying to hide from me," he said with a long face.
"Nerim, didn't you once say that all the proceedings of the Curia are made public?" Daniel asked.
"Yes it is."
"Don't you think that there would be some records of this incident if the Chancellor had a hand in it. Maybe we should check the computer records of all recent Curia meetings."
"Good idea, Daniel," Nerim said as he headed for the computer terminal. Soon they were pouring over records of recent Curia meetings.
"I can't believe this," Nerim exploded.
"What is it?" Jack shot back.
"Several records of recent Curia meetings are missing. Everything should have been here."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"Could somebody have deleted it?"
"No. You don't understand. Its against the law to hide things from the public. That is the most serious of crimes. I cannot believe the Chancellor would be involved in something like this."
"Well, apparently she would," Jack shot back.
Commander Riker had been quiet throughout this exchange but he was not missing a single word being said. He finally broke his silence and said, "Perhaps I can help." Everyone turned to him as he continued. "The data that has been deleted might be retrievable."
"How?" O'Neil wanted to know.
"Well, when data is deleted from storage, it does not just disappear. It is merely tagged so that it can be overwritten should the need for extra storage arise. If we are lucky, they might not have gone through and done a thorough clean up of the storage device."
"Commander Riker is right, sir," Carter added. "If only we could break into their computer system we might be able to retrieve the lost data."
"Could we do it?"
"That's where I come in," Riker added as he pulled out his tricorder. He placed it in front of Nerim's computer terminal and punched in several keys. Lights blipped as the tricorder activated and started to work its magic. Everyone waited in anticipation. After what seemed like an eternity, Nerim's terminal started to display the missing files. Everyone poured over the document. What they say was beyond anyone's belief.
Daniel finally spoke up, "I don't understand. How could Tanith's ship withstand an assault from your ion cannons. Haven't you always been able to defeat the Goa'uld ships?"
"Yes we have. I cant fathom this either."
"They must have somehow upgraded their ships with new defensive systems. But where did they get it?"
"The Goa'uld are scavengers Daniel Jackson. Perhaps they discovered some ancient technologies that allowed them to advance their defenses," Teal'c offered.
"That explains why the Chancellor and the Curia decided to help the Goa'uld develop the phase shift weapons. They had their hands tied," Carter finished.
Nerim was beyond word. Finally he spoke up, "That doesn't give her the right to go behind the backs of the Tollan people and commit such a genocide. I have to confront her."
"And do what? So far the Curia is not aware that we were able to prevent the catastrophe that they had planned for us. The moment they do, they will try sending another bomb. We cannot allow that," Jack objected.
"Colonel O'Neil is right. So far, the Chancellor believes their plan was a success. But when she finds out the truth, she has no choice but to try again. To not succeed means a reprisal from the Goa'uld," Teal'c added.
"Yes of course. But the people have the right to know and the Chancellor has to be held responsible for her actions. The Tollans should be able to decide how they want to deal with the Goa'uld," Nerim replied.
"Perhaps we can achieve both. My Chief Engineer is currently setting up a defense against your phase shifting weapons. He should be done with the next couple of hours. If you could hold off your confrontation till then, it would give him time to complete the installation," Riker offered.
"Very well then, I will wait for a couple of hours before I take this to the Curia," Nerim said accepting the plan. "I am so sorry for the behavior of my people. If we get through this mess, perhaps we can someday make up for it."
"Thank you Nerim," Carter replied. She could see the shame and pain in his eyes and felt very sorry for him. "You are a good man."
"Thanks."
"Good luck!"
"Thanks, We're gonna need it."
With that the SG1 headed back to the stargate and dialed out.