Author's Rant: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far; you make my day brighter! Ok, on to business: I've gotten some feedback that says it's getting hard to keep all the original characters straight, so I'll be posting a list of my OC's every other chapter from now on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you might possibly recognize from the TV show Stargate: SG-1. If any of my characters resemble any real people, it's probably because I'm basing their personalities on people that I know. Most of the people I know are very strange and bizzare, and should be flattered that I'm using them as a guide. If any known, unoriginal characters appear bruised, terrorized, shishkabobed, or otherwise abused, blame it on my fish.

To Roseofthegate (my beta), YOU ROCK!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE OF ORIGINAL CHARACTERS:

Katalina Aroura (or O'Hara): Princess of an Ancient kindom (Melidia), who lived much of her life on Earth. Sole heir to the Melidian throne.Was engaged to be married to Daniel Jackson, but was "killed" a week before the wedding in a car wreck in Egypt. Is now engaged to Prince Galqi of the Beriku kingdom against her will. Is a Sheni Master, and a commander in the Melidian military.

Galdrona: Kate's father. King of the Melidian kingdom. Severely dislikes Daniel, and will do anything to prevent him from getting close to his daughter again.

Galqi: Prince of the Beriku kingdom. Sent to Chandomir in his father's place. Engaged to Kate and is looking forward to the wedding. Sole heir to the Beriku throne. Doesn't trust Daniel as far as he can throw him.

Haldros: Galqi's father, king of the Beriku kingdom of the Ancients. Has a rare disease of the Ancients, called Vespan Syndrome, that usually takes the life of an Ancient far before their time. Cannot risk 'Gate travel or space travel, as these aggravate his condition. Sent his son to Chandomir in his place.

Delana: Queen of the Onvar kingdom. Has one child, a daughter, of only four years old. No other children.

Anteaus: Nox representative of the Four Races.

Torenth: Furling representative of the Four Races.

Colonel Ames Hendrick: Commanding officer of SG-3. Marine.

Major Bradly Sheffield: 2nd in command of SG-3. Good friend of Daniel's, as they share the same love of all things archeological. Marine.

Keenil Vung: Sheni warrior and Commander in the Melidian military.

Selskani: Unknown species. Personal aide to Prince Galqi.

Kovash: First Prime of Anubis. Posing as a merchant in the city of Kelpa.

Ok, I'm pretty sure that's everyone. Let me know if I missed one, or if you have a question.

Ok, enough rambling. On with the show!

Chapter Fourteen

A Friendship Forged

Daniel walked slowly through the halls, breathing the fresh air of late morning on Chandomir. He didn't have a particular destination, but he simply needed to move around, get a change of scenery. He ran a hand through his hair again. It was becoming such a habit since he came here that his hair was almost constantly in a tangled mess. He stopped momentarily to look out a large window. The city of Kelpa was slowly turning into a messy, cramped and polluted space; refugees from outlying cities, towns, villages and farms lined the streets, finding a place to rest wherever they could. Doorways, steps, gutters—all were occupied by a member of some unfamiliar species, or by any Kelpan citizen who was kind enough to lend out their home while they slept on the porch themselves. Daniel sighed and leaned against the window, watched his breath fog the glass. He hadn't been in a state like this since Sha're—his wife from Abydos—had died so many years ago. He stared, unseeing, out the window. How could this have happened? He asked himself. Does Galdrona hate me so much?

"Daniel?" The familiar voice of Janet Frasier pulled him from his thoughts.

"Mmm?" he replied.

"Are you okay? You look tired," she put a hand on his shoulder as she joined him at the window.

Daniel shook his head. No, he wasn't okay. The woman he loved was engaged to another man against her will. How cliché, he thought bitterly. But he didn't voice these thoughts to Dr. Frasier. "I'm just a little sleepy, Doc. It's nothing to worry about."

Frasier didn't look too convinced, but she knew Daniel well enough to drop the subject. "Hammond wants all available SGC personnel in the common room outside his bedroom in half an hour," she said. "If you can cheer yourself up in that space of time, he might appreciate it."

Daniel nodded, but didn't reply. With a heavy sigh, Janet left the room.

Hammond shook the hand of the quiet man who stood in front of him in the common room. He was tall and olive skinned with short black hair and a long, flowing grey tunic. At his belt hung the hilt of lightstaff ("The only weapon of a Sheni warrior besides his mind," he had said). "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr.—?"

"Vung, sir. Keenil Vung. The princess, Katalina, sent me here." Vung bowed low. "I'll be assisting in the transportation of your Tel'tak."

Carter came up and shook Vung's hand, too. "If I may ask, why do we need a Sheni warrior to come with us?"

Vung smiled. "I will help to speed up the journey, Major Carter. The Ancients still have a few undiscovered secrets in that galaxy that we should be able to use."

Carter raised a curious eyebrow. "Will you be able to show us any of those during our trip?"

"Perhaps, but you would need the correct gene in order to operate much of the technology. I could leave you some instructions, however."

She smiled. "That would be great."

Vung smiled again. "So," he said, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as Dr. Jackson gets here so that we can let him know what's going on." O'Neill said from his position next to a translucent blue statue.

At that moment, they heard the now-familiar quiet whoosh of the door sliding back into the wall. They all turned to face the door just as Daniel stepped through.

"Well, speak of the devil," O'Neill mumbled good-naturedly.

"Hi, everyone," Daniel said, joining them. "Sorry I'm late. What'd I miss?"

Hammond introduced him to Keenil Vung and explained that Vung was accompanying Carter and SG-3 to retrieve the Tel'tak from the Beta Site, their off-world base.

"Oh," Daniel said, shaking Vung's hand. "Well, it's pleasure to meet you..." he caught sight of the large silver ring on Vung's right middle finger. "Commander Vung." He finished.

The Sheni's eyebrows shot up. "You recognized my ring? Impressive."

Daniel shrugged. "I've been spending a lot of time in the Hall of Records," he explained. "I learned the chain of command."

Vung nodded. "Ah, that explains it,"

Daniel finally gave Vung the first sincere smile he had since learning of Kate's engagement. "You know, I think we'll get along fine, Commander."

The door opened again and SG-3 came in. They snapped a salute to Hammond, which he returned and asked, "Is SG-3 ready to go?"

"Yes, sir. Ready and waiting." Colonel Hendrick said.

"Good. Commander Vung will lead you to the 'Gate room. Be safe, and Godspeed."

Hendrick nodded once, and left with the others.

"We should be back late tonight," Vung called over his shoulder. "You have arrangements to meet us in the village of Dethpa."

Later that night:

Daniel watched with interest as the Tel'tak touched down on the landing pad in the small village of Dethpa. The Goa'uld cargo ship had been brought back by SG-3 and the single Sheni warrior who had gone with them. Dethpa was one of the few other places that was a safe haven on Chandomir because it had its own shield, and wasn't a large enough city to attract too much attention from the Goa'uld. He stretched his shoulders to get the kinks out of his muscles, and leaned over to speak to Galqi's aide, whom he had sent in his place.

The small, white, furry creature looked vaguely like an overgrown cross between a mouse and a cat: while she kept the cat-like facial structure and senses, she had the round ears, tail, and posture of a mouse except for the fact that she walked upright. Daniel had to restrain the urge to scratch her behind the ears.

"So," he said, "Tell me again how we got the Tel'tak here so quickly?"

"The Stargate you know of was not the only kind employed by the Ancients," she replied. "After the Plague had wiped out most of them, those who survived were weak and were easy prey for the Goa'uld."

Daniel nodded, recalling that, according to the information found in SG-1's explorations and in the Mansion's hall of records, almost all of the Ancients had been wiped out by a fatal, unknown disease that they were unable to treat. In order to survive, the remaining healthy Ancients had moved to another galaxy that was free of the Plague. "Go on," he prompted.

She gave him a vaguely annoyed look, then continued, "They needed a quick way to evacuate the remaining ships, so they devised a Gate much like yours, but this one was on a grand scale: you could fly two Goa'uld motherships side by side through the event horizon of the wormhole. They built only two. One was built here—actually, it orbits Xersia, another planet in the Melidian Kingdom—by a small team of scientists, and one in your galaxy, not far from your 'Beta Site', was built by the rest of the scientists. The Gen'apurtus, or 'Galaxy Gate', was activated by the few remaining Sheni Warriors through their mental powers. The Gen'apurtus still remains in your galaxy, and that's how we got your Tel'tak here. The Galaxy Gate in your galaxy remains undisturbed by the Goa'uld because they don't know what it is."

Daniel crossed his arms, bracing himself against a gust of the chilly evening wind. "Ah, so that's why a Sheni went back with SG-3 to get the Tel'tak. We needed him to activate the Gate." The crew was exiting the spacecraft now, and Keenil Vung was beckoning Daniel to join them. "Well, thanks for the history lesson, Selskani. I'll see you back in Kelpa." he said, and then he turned and left.

Selskani watched him go. "You're welcome, Dr. Jackson." She tuned to leave. "And with any luck," she muttered under her breath, "You won't make it back to Kelpa."

REVIEW, PLEASE!