AN: Well, it's still Monday in my time zone...
26th of Ea, 6546 A.S.
(February 17, 2000)
Teucuria, Avalon
That's …. a lot of trees.
Jack would have really complained about this planet.
Jack had opinions about alien planets and trees.
Jack had opinions about everything, for that matter.
Those had been Daniel's first thought that morning when Sujanha, Daniel, and her bodyguards had stepped through the Stargate onto Teucuria. It was a Furling-controlled planet, formerly held by the Ancients and possibly inhabited thereby, which meant that its address was not on the Abydos cartouche. This was one of the major reasons Sujanha had chosen it as a base in the first place. Less risk of the Goa'uld stumbling across it, hopefully.
Teucuria's importance had increased tremendously in the aftermath of the Diagoth disaster and had seen much use servicing the warships which were unable to return to Asteria for repairs. A little over two (Furling) months had passed since that day, and about a month-and-a-half had passed since Daniel's unexpected bout with appendicitis and the heart-pounding battles against the Replicating Ones following Thor's disappearance to protect Othala.
Much had happened in those months for Daniel personally and in terms of the war effort against the Goa'uld. More and more Furling warships were being returned to service, the defects in their ion generators fixed, and with the Replicating Ones having been decisively driven back for the moment, giving the Asgard some breathing space, Sujanha and Anarr were now able to (and had been for a couple of weeks) return their attentions to Avalon and to the Goa'uld. In those intervening months since the Diagoth disasters, the pull-back of the Furling fleet meant that more than a few worlds and even a handful of entire star-systems had fallen back into the Goa'uld hands. A handful of those worlds had been recaptured during the last two weeks after the campaign against Bastet and Kali was restarted, and the horrible, though unavoidable, consequences of those worlds ping-ponging between Furling and Goa'uld control was already becoming terribly clear. Technically occupied worlds though they had been under Furling control, they had done well, and Furling aid with medical care and agriculture had turned more than a few Jaffa against their former masters. The Goa'uld did not take kindly to their slaves turning against them, and some of those planets, not all so far, had suffered heavily.
"Razed" had been the word Sujanha had used to describe one. Whose hands it had fallen into, she had not said.
Sujanha had been horrified at the collateral damage because of their strategic retreat, though she acknowledged that there had been no good alternative to that plan.
Rock and a hard place, as the saying goes.
The resumed campaign against Bastet and Kali was still ongoing and would be for some time, to all expectations. Battles were not ongoing constantly across the expanse of their territory or, at least, not battles that required Sujanha's express attention and oversight. The Valhalla was currently at Ausonia, resupplying and doing some minor maintenance among other tasks, none of which required Sujanha's presence, so the Supreme Commander was coming to Teucuria. The trip had been announced to Daniel as soon as he had shown up in her office on the Valhalla earlier that morning, not long after rolling out of bed and getting breakfast. The purpose of the visit was not totally clear to Daniel, but it sounded like a cross between official thanks for the base's work the last couple of months and an inspection tour.
The Stargate was situated in a broad valley, with towering mountain peaks on either side. Surrounding the gate was a small grassy clearing, but farther off were trees, trees, and more trees, stretching out to the edges of the valley where the cliffs climbed up into the sky. Even on some less sheer sections, there were trees on the mountain sides, as well, though not all the way up to the snow lines. The sun was shining brightly, and the whole scene seemed rather idyllic, like something straight out of a National Geographic photo of the Alps or something.
From what Daniel knew of Teucuria, the actual base was on the far side of the towering mountain peaks. If one attempted to keep the base concealed, it made no sense to have parked warships in sight of the gate … not that there would be room in this valley. That might be deliberate. Did they move the gate, I wonder? The Furlings had before on other worlds.
Given the number of trees, Daniel could almost feel his allergies sitting up and taking notice. He hoped that whatever season it was on Teucuria was not spring/pollen season, or misery might follow. I've got a handkerchief in my pocket if I need it.
Muddy grass squished as Daniel stepped forward out of and away from the Stargate, and his boots left obvious tracks on the meadow floor. It was not raining, and the sky was sunny and clear, but from the squish, it must have rained recently.
An exasperated grimace momentarily flashed across Sujanha's face as her paws went squish and she realized the conditions. Daniel, at least, was wearing boots. Sujanha (and Ragnar, like almost all Furlings … save those with specific injuries to their extremities) wore no shoes.
Mud … bare paws … mud in fur … ugh.
"We'll need to walk," Ragnar rumbled. Their footprints were all too obvious in the wet ground, and their footprints abruptly disappearing if they beamed out here would be too obvious. The immediate region surrounding the Stargate needed to look uninhabited or as uninhabited as possible. Footsteps vanishing into thin air would be more suspicious than even a few sets of footprints leading into the woods, which could be attributed to passing travelers.
Ragnar led them forward, with Sujanha following straight behind. He had shortened his stride, and she was walking in his footsteps so that their prints almost merged together, somewhat jumbled though they were. Daniel kept pace at her side, and Vylt—the Iprysh temporary replacement for Ruarc—brought up the rear. At one point, Daniel looked back and saw that his armor—just the feet—had changed shape until they were human-like, and Vylt was perfectly matching his steps so that it looked like there were only two of them, instead of four, or maybe three, depending on how closely someone is paying attention. Feline and canine paws aren't the same if you're paying attention.
The forest was quite thick, and there were no clear paths (at least to Daniel's eyes) that led away from the meadow in the direction Ragnar had picked. There were some tracks, but their presence could as easily be attributed to local fauna as humans. Ragnar warned Daniel to not get side-tracked or separated from the group. The trees made an almost natural labyrinth, and with only diffuse sunlight visible through the thick foliage, it would be all too easy to get utterly lost.
It was probably fifteen minutes before they found terrain dry enough for Ragnar to call a halt. It was a stony bank at the edge of a river several hills past the Stargate. Or would it be a stream? When does a stream become a river? It's too big to be a creak. The water burbled pleasantly as it ran along, and brightly colored fish of various sizes swam by. The far bank was maybe … fifteen or twenty feet away, and the water looked shallow enough to cross on foot … if you don't mind getting quite wet.
"This is good, Commander," said Ragnar. "It'd be easy for tracks to disappear here, especially if you crossed the river."
Sujanha nodded agreement, and within moments, the four of them were beamed away.
Unlike most Furling bases, which were built entirely underground, protected within the deep bedrock, a shipyard obviously had to be built partially above ground. Daniel was not claustrophobic, but seeing unending miles of uniform passageways got old after a while, and it was nice to be at an above-ground base. Once they were on base, Sujanha went off to do whatever she needed to do with Ragnar trailing along behind, and Daniel and Vylt were parked in a conference-room-like room overlooking a large bay where a corvette by the looks of it was being worked on.
Time passed quietly and rather slowly. There was nothing he needed to do for Sujanha, so he spent the time working on his journals. Vylt parked himself in a corner and did not move a muscle (proverbially, since no one knew if the Iprysh even had muscles or biological forms) for the rest of the morning. It was strange … him not moving and Ruarc not being there. Daniel missed Ruarc. They could have passed the time talking. Not so with Vylt … not yet, at least.
Vylt was pleasant enough and perfectly polite, but the Iprysh largely fit the stereotype of the strong silent types, at least, out-loud. If he wasn't giving reports during a battle, it was almost impossible to get Chakrechi, the Valhalla's weapons officer, to say anything more than pleasantries. How much the Iprysh were communicating with each other non-verbally, Daniel could not know.
Yet … after Ruarc's open friendliness, Daniel's relationship with Vylt seemed stilted. It was hard to get a read on him without facial cues or body-language … because of the suit of armor. The Iprysh, conversely, semi-frequently had trouble with human body-language, as well.
I miss Ruarc.
I wonder how long until he'll return to duty.
I need to check on him one of these days. Ragnar probably knows what he's doing.
Eventually, Daniel pulled out a small bag of Asgardian ration tablets and nibbled on a couple. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either.
Early afternoon (Uslisgas time), Sujanha and Ragnar returned, and it was time to head back to Ausonia and the Valhalla. They beamed back to that same river along with four Lapith soldiers who were returning to Uslisgas and from there would depart to Noreia (the Lapith homeworld) on leave and joined (been assigned?) them as an escort. (There were much tighter restrictions on travel from the Milky-Way to Asteria than vice versa … for very understandable security reasons, and those restrictions currently included a very limited list of planets in Asteria to which one could gate from the Milky-Way. Most homeworlds were not on that list.) With eight people, instead of four, they made no attempt to disguise their footsteps and walked along as they wished, Ragnar, Vylt, and the Lapiths forming a loose circle around Daniel and Sujanha.
Sujanha quickly engaged the guards in polite but sincere conversation. She had an astounding memory for names and faces, and one reason the Fleet loved her so much was because they were not statistics, not nameless faces in a crowd. It was not just her bridge-crew that she called by name. The guards seemed slightly … in awe but also appreciative of her interest. The conversation was drifting between family, the guards' plans for their leave, and how hunting/harvest were currently on Noreia and Tuspietov, the only other inhabitable planet in the Lapiths' solar system.
Ragnar dropped back to walk by Daniel's side, leaving Vylt on point, and cheerfully began to ask how Shifu and Sha're were doing and whether Daniel had any new pictures to show or stories to tell about his "cub." Of course, I do! There was always something silly or cute that kids got into at that age.
Maybe half the walk back to the Stargate has passed or thereabouts when Ragnar stopped dead in his tracks as a hologram appeared above his gauntlet on his left arm. Appeared without waiting for the call to be accepted. An emergency override! That's not good. The figure was Lapith. Someone from the base? Ragnar and the other soldier exchanged terse, tense words for several moments, and whatever was said made Ragnar snap immediately from Daniel's friendly (but still watchful) walking companion straight into ultra-bodyguard mode. What just happened? The two had been speaking Furling, but the conversation was half in military-speak with a good dose of specialized vocabulary that Daniel did not know, which made the discussion hard to follow.
Ragnar snapped a few curt commands in Furling. They seemed to be military field codes or something, because Daniel understood the specific words, but those words made no sense in that order or context. The Lapith guards accompanying them instantly closed ranks around Sujanha, and Daniel was close enough that he could feel the slight charge in the air of shields rising. The staff weapons/staves that the Lapiths had been using almost like walking sticks where the ground was more uneven and less suited to their feet made a strange sound as they were armed. (They weren't quite normal Furling staff weapons and looked somewhat adapted.) Vylt was turning slowly. Scanning the forest?
What just happened?
Daniel instantly raised his own personal shield as the guards went on high alert. Doing so had become almost second nature with practice, though he had rarely needed it outside of practice. Just because he spent most of his time with Sujanha in an office did not mean that Ragnar (or Ruarc, previously) was going to let him get away with no self-defense practice.
Jack would approve.
Sujanha turned around, outwardly unruffled. "Ragnar?"
"Intruders have come through the Stargate," her bodyguard replied. "Jaffa are among them. All are armed. They are between us and the gate."
Jaffa? This planet is not even supposed to be known to the Goa'uld!
That was the whole point! The address isn't even on the Abydos Cartouche!
"Identity?" Sujanha asked calmly.
"Unknown. The gate guards were changing shifts. Those coming on duty did not get a good look at the intruders, and it was too great a risk of alerting them to our presence to get too close."
So there were guards when we arrived. It felt like we were being watched at one point.
"Numbers?"
"Unclear," Ragnar replied. "About 6, perhaps."
Sujanha had that look on her face like she was running through scenarios and plans at top speed. "Plan?"
"The intruders are heading roughly in our direction by chance or … not. If they get too close, they will be captured for your protection."
Don't you just hate it when the infinitesimal odds actually happen?
Sujanha nodded, and then her black eyes went blank, as she turned inwards to speak with Malek.
Vylt had finished scanning the forest or whatever he had been doing and then proceeded to run some sort of scanning field over each of them, starting with Sujanha and ending with the additional Lapith guards. When he had finished, he said something quietly and at length to Ragnar, of which all Daniel caught was, "No trackers."
How would someone even get a tracker on us? And who could?
Security around Sujanha was tight, especially for face-to-face meetings with those outside the Fleet/Army or the Asgard.
Ragnar and the guards herded Daniel and Sujanha away from the crest of the hill they were about to descend from and back down the way they had come. He guided them to a particularly thick clump of trees, half-way down the hill, which would shelter them from view from anyone standing at the top of the hill.
"Capture them alive, even if they resist," Sujanha ordered. "We must know how this address became known to our enemies. I must know if this is chance or whether our base has been compromised. Ragnar, join them. We will be safe here until you return."
With intruders here anyway, that negates the need to be careful of footprints and all. We can just beam back to base if they get close.
Daniel wondered vaguely why they hadn't already. Not a pressing enough need to? Yet.
"Yes, Commander." Ragnar bowed deeply to Sujanha and turned on his heel, hissing something into his comm as he moved. With only a few swift strides, he disappeared over the crest of the hill and was out of sight.
Please be careful.
Though he never would have admitted it to anyone except his brother, Ragnar felt slightly uneasy leaving the Commander and Daniel alone with only the five other guards. And if Ruarc were here, I wouldn't be concerned in the first place. Though he trusted Vylt—and he had no reason to distrust the Lapith guards, though he did not know them—Ruarc's months-long gaping absence made Ragnar feel like he had a limb missing. It was utterly foreign and uncomfortable to leave Sujanha alone without his brother with her to guard her.
The two brothers had lived, slept, fought, and bled beside each other for hundreds of years, and although Ragnar was thirteen years the elder of the two, they were as close as womb-mates (twins, as the Midgardians would say) with an ability, unnerving to some, to speak without words. Granted Ragnar and Vylt had overlapped during their time with the Imperial Guard, but that had been brief before the two brothers had been detailed by Commander Anarr to Sujanha's service after they had recovered from injuries gained at the nearly disastrous Battle of Three Peaks in 6107 A.S. Most of that time we were on leave.
Ragnar ruthlessly stamped down his illogical concerns and quickened his pace to a ground-eating lope, slipping silently between the trees like a shadow. In wooded environments, his gray fur made it less easy to blend in, so he had to trust to silence, instead. Darkness would have helped, but he had to work with the conditions present. The sooner the intruders were captured, the better he would feel.
Ragnar was strong, fast, and in excellent physical condition. Without the constraints of matching Sujanha's slower pace, it was quick work for him to cross the distance to join the guards. Gaps between patrols? Why does this keep happening? It's caused near-disasters before. This has to stop. It was a judgment call, how fast to go. Speed was needed to intercept the intruders before they got dangerously close to Sujanha and forced them to return to base, but he could not move so fast to alert even a buffoon of a predator moving about in the woods. Every step he had to judge. He had to watch out for branches that would break under his weight, slippery patches of greenery that could send him crashing to the ground in a jumble of limbs, unstable patches of earth on hillsides that could cause a slide.
Ragnar found the guards waiting to capture the intruders in a concealed hollow, a ditch almost, in a carefully cultivated agriculture choke point between the curving base of a steep hill and the wooded slope that led down to a fast-moving river, too deep to safely cross quickly on foot. The labyrinthine paths of the forest had shifted the intruders' path, so they were now not heading towards Sujanha and the others but might, if they were allowed to continue, pass out of sight (though not out of hearing range if the wind was right) to one side.
There were twelve guards there, not counting Ragnar. He scrambled as quietly as possible down the steep hillside and dropped into the ditch. Jotar, whom he had met for the first time just hours earlier, was the commander of the entire Teucuria garrison. He was Maskilim by blood with the appearance of one of the Azzon, the forest hunters, and his coloring made it easy for him to blend in among the trees. He was an old soldier with at least five centuries more battle experience than Ragnar himself, old and cagey and smart.
"Are there any new reports about the intruders?" Ragnar asked respectfully, acknowledging the other soldier's higher military rank despite his own position as one of the Supreme Commander's bodyguards. That made hierarchies … complicated.
"Our original estimate was in error. They number only four," Jotar replied. "One is a first prime. Another is a Goa'uld. What their purpose is here or how they found this world, only the Maker knows."
Ragnar frowned. That is near illogical. A Goa'uld with his First Prime but only two guards? On an unknown world? That is asking for an ambush by a rival. The cynical side of his brain then added. Unknown, we hope. Has this world been compromised? That was Sujanha's concern. Could this be a trap?
Jotar continued in an undertone, speaking now to the entire company. Caution, probably. The wind could carry their voices but was blowing towards them for now. "The intruders will reach us quickly. We will cover both sides of the track. On my signal and only on my signal will you reveal yourselves. Those on either end will cut off the way of escape to the front and rear. If the demon attempts to fight, disabling shots only. The Commander wants prisoners."
Ragnar scented the air as Jotar finished giving orders. This world and its smells were unfamiliar to him. If there were fresh scents on the wind, he could not tell. All the soldiers nodded and saluted but made no verbal reply. They moved to their positions, one handing Ragnar an extra staff weapon as he passed.
The next few minutes passed slowly.
Ragnar always found the last moments before battle or conflict to pass interminably slowly. He crouched beside Jotar, but unlike the garrison commander, he had been forced to activate the cloaking device he carried. His black-and-white coloring made him much more visible in the woods whatever the season. He was not willing to take the risk of being the one to expose the ambush.
His senses seemed to sharpen as the moments dragged on, the humming in his bloodstream. He knew one Goa'uld and only three servants stood no chance against the greater numbers of the Furling troops, who held technological superiority, but he was always glad for any battle to be over. He held no love for war despite his skill in battle, and the more years he fought, the more he looked forward to peace once this series of war was over.
The wind carried the noise of the intruders to Ragnar's ears before they appeared: the slight thump of footsteps, the barest murmur of low voices carried on the breeze, the low crack of branches underfoot. When the four intruders finally did appear around a bend and rise in the 'trail,' Ragnar felt a sense of utter shock at the sight of them. He was sure he recognized them—three of them—from Daniel's stories about his teammates from Midgard. The boy had a way with words, and Ragnar was blessed with a good imagination based on picture-words. These intruders matched closely with his mental images of how his friend's teammates probably appeared.
SG1 here? That doesn't make sense.
How would they know the gate address, either?
The Jaffa was the most striking of the four. The gold symbol—a snake, the sign of Apophis—marked him as a First Prime. He was very tall and broad-shouldered with dark skin. His staff weapon was carried in one paw-like hand as if he were heedless of its weight. He periodically scanned the path and the forest around intently. His build would have made even Ragnar wary to oppose him without the protection of a personal shield. Teal'c, his mind supplied.
The second male, based on his age, had to be O'Neill. The hair that emerged from beneath his extremely peculiar hat was colored gray with age. He has an interesting face. O'Neill, like Teal'c, seemed quite aware of his surroundings like an old, canny soldier.
The only woman in the group, tall and blond-haired, could only be Carter, the scientist and Daniel's close friend, with whom he shared a love of seeking after knowledge, however diverse. She had temporarily been a host to a Tok'ra symbiote, which would explain why the gate guards' scanners had identified one among the intruders as being Goa'uld.
Someone needs to update the sensitivity to distinguish between a host and a former host.
The identity of the last figure—a younger, much shorter man, with reddish-brown hair—Ragnar did not know. He did not match any of Daniel's descriptions of his friends or teammates at the SGC, and his outfit was not military like O'Neill and Carter. There was no name-patch or other identifying marks on his clothes, not that they would have done Ragnar any good even if there had been. Unlike Ruarc, who was the more linguistically inclined of the two brothers, Ragnar's knowledge of written English was almost nonexistent. His spoken English had been passable, though heavily accented, without a translator, but his skills had declined somewhat since Daniel had learned Furling. With any language, lack of use generally precipitated a decline in skill, though Sha're's presence had given him necessary practice more recently.
Aside from "danger!" There were standard phrases in common languages that any bodyguard needed to know if only to keep his charge out of danger.
Shaking himself from his bewildered surprise with a soldier's discipline, Ragnar leaned over and silently tapped Jotar on the shoulder and made two quick hand gestures. *Possible friendlies. Me lead* (Grammar was an after-thought usually with simple, field sign-language.) Jotar's returning stare was one of incredulity, but after a long pause, he slowly nodded, trusting that Ragnar knew what he was doing.
Ragnar waited patiently until the intruders reached the prime position for the trap to be sprung. SG1, he believed them to almost certainly be, but neither Jotar or Ragnar would countenance taking risks with the lives of their men. Or with Sujanha's. Finally, Ragnar glanced across at Jotar and nodded. It is time, the look said. Using his comm on his gauntlet, Jotar sent a non-verbal countdown to the other troops.
A heartbeat passed, and then Ragnar slowly began to rise from his crouch, keeping his cloak up to hide his movements. Though he brushed against no leaves and broke no sticks under his feet, the Jaffa seemed to suddenly sense something amiss and paused, his weapon rising, as he intently scanned the tree-line on either side of the path. The Midgardians, if they were whom Ragnar believed them to be, immediately halted, as well, moving like an experienced cohort, scanning for danger but spotting none of the Furling warriors hidden nearby. (The fourth—the unknown young man—had a weapon but was evidently not a warrior from the way he was moved towards the center of the group.) The four exchanged a few words in tense voices, their voices only barely audible to Ragnar, but before they could do much more, Jotar gave the signal.
Moving as one unit, the Furling warriors rose with armed weapons and emerged from the woods, quickly surrounding the four intruders and cutting off all means of escape.
The three Midgardian warriors, despite their surprise, moved immediately into defensive positions. Ragnar quickly cataloged their visible weapons. Save for the Jaffa's staff weapon—out of date—the rest seemed to be the projectile weapons favored by the Midgardians—guns, Ragnar remembered Daniel called them. Ragnar could also see one or two bladed weapons. Knife-fighting and the type of close-quarter battle that came with it was something with which Ragnar had less familiarity outside of a practice arena, though he was not unskilled by any means. If there was a style of battle he might encounter, he had to know how to counter it.
Knowing that his personal shield would protect him from the weapons of "SG1," if the standoff should devolve into a battle, Ragnar took a chance and deactivated his staff weapon. He rested the end on the ground and leaned his weight on it casually. "Colonel O'Neill, I presume," he began in heavily accented but still passable English.
There was instant recognition at the name. One of the gray-haired warrior's eyebrows rose almost to the brim of his very peculiar hat, and a range of emotions flashed across his face, going from wary to confused to calculating all in a split second at the very Midgardian turn of phrase.
"Guilty as charged. And you must be Akela," O'Neill replied. His head tilted, and then he continued dryly, "Or his younger brother." Ragnar did not know who or what an 'Akela' was but figured such an expression must be a sign of O'Neill's legendary wit, of which Daniel had spoken at length. Ragnar filed away a mental note to ask Daniel later to explain the expression. A compliment or insult?
"You are trespassing. We do not allow trespassers without permission."
O'Neill's eyes narrowed, and the woman's eyebrows shot up. "You forgot to post signs, big-honkin-signs with red letters," he countered.
What is "honkin"?
What a strange word!
"Perhaps," he was starting to run out of Midgard-terminology he remembered from Daniel's stories, "you did not see them, or perhaps the labyrinth is the sign."
Slowly, O'Neill lowered his weapon, his brow furrowed. Whether the old soldier had recognized the hints Ragnar had been trying to drop to show that he knew more of Midgard than one would expect or he had seen the futility of any resistance, Ragnar did not know. The Jaffa and the woman still kept their weapons raised.
"You will surrender your weapons and come with us. My commander will decide what is to be done." Technically, Anarr had jurisdiction over all planet-side bases, even over Sujanha's shipyards and supply worlds, but Sujanha was the most senior commander on planet. Despite the issues between the two, Anarr would not be bothered by his sister dealing with the matter, instead of punting it across the chain of command and making it his problem.
"Colonel?" The woman—Carter—questioned.
"We don't have a choice, Carter," O'Neill replied bluntly. "We're outnumbered at least 4 to 1."
"You will not be harmed. You have my word," replied Ragnar. The Furling soldiers collected the weapons of the reluctantly cooperating SG1 and quickly searched them.
"And I should believe you, why?" O'Neill asked sharply, turning his gaze away from his subordinate back towards Ragnar, cutting a glance around the scene and at the still raised weapons of the Furling troops.
"You do not know me, but I know you, O'Neill. Some we know in common, and they have told me much of you."
Daniel will be quite surprised. And pleased, I hope. I know that he has missed his friends greatly since he joined us.
"And yet this warm reception…" O'Neill countered with a sweep of his arm and a sarcastic lilt to his words.
"You are still trespassers, and this is a restricted world. My commander will speak with you," retorted Ragnar.
With a few quick words, Jotar had the other soldiers in motion, and they began the trek back toward where Sujanha, Daniel, and her guards were waiting.
Daniel felt a sense of unease sweep over him as he watched Ragnar disappear over the hill-top. He knew how skilled the Furling troops were, but he still felt concerned for his friend, especially with the unknowns about the intruders. The time passed with interminable slowness. Sujanha, usually unflappable, seemed outwardly unruffled, though who knew what was going through her mind or what she was saying to Malek. Soon after Ragnar left, Sujanha sat down, her back against a tree. Her eyes were staring off into space, and she seemed to be either thinking or talking to Malek.
Daniel paced a few steps back and forth along the tree line.
And he paced, and he paced some more until one of the Lapith guards asked him to sit because he was making too much noise.
Finally, Sujanha stirred, one paw making an aborted gesture toward her ear. For most communications, the Commander used the holographic comm function on her gauntlets, but she also had an earpiece that she used for private messages. She spoke a few words in such a low tone that Daniel sitting only a few feet away could not make out her words.
"Commander?" Vylt questioned, as Sujanha rose.
"The intruders have been apprehended," Sujanha replied. "There is no danger. Ragnar and Jotar are leading them to us."
They all walked on ahead for several minutes until they reached the next rise. On that hilltop, Sujanha stopped walking and indicated that they would wait for Ragnar and the guard to join them there. She took a seat on the soft grass in the shade of a tree, a position that gave her a view of the tree-line in the vague direction of the Stargate. Daniel knelt beside her, his back to the slope, to ask her a question that had been on his mind for days but that he kept forgetting to ask or rather remembered only at all the wrong times. Like the middle of the night. I have so many brilliant ideas in the middle of the night. Vylt and the Lapith guards were spread around, watching forward and the way they had come.
Sujanha set to answering his question thoroughly, but to Daniel, she seemed somewhat distracted. Another few minutes passed, and Sujanha was just wrapping up her explanation, when one of the Lapith guards suddenly spoke, "Supreme Commander, they have arrived."
Rising (and wincing at the pain in his knee from crouching so long), Daniel turned slightly and looked down the hillside. Just coming from the tree-line at the base of the hill were Ragnar, whose towering form Daniel could immediately pick out, a dozen or so other soldiers, and in the midst of them all …
His brain ground to a halt.
It can't be!
If it would not have been terribly undignified, Daniel would have been tempted to clean his glasses or rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing straight. It had been nearly two years since he had left earth to escape the clutches of Maybourne and his goons with their presidential orders and some such nonsense about treason for making sure the Tollan didn't become lab-rats. But now … SG1 was there … just down the hillside. His heart leapt, and for a moment he felt choked up. He had missed them so much. Jacob and Bra'tac gave him updates periodically when they heard new news, but it wasn't the same.
What are they doing here? How are they even here?
This address wasn't on the Abydos cartouche!
Daniel glanced down at Sujanha, who had not risen, and noticed that she was looking back at him, studying his reaction. "Did you know?" He asked.
"Yes," Sujanha replied. "Ragnar recognized them from your description. I wished for confirmation. Forgive me."
"I understand," Daniel replied, glancing back down the hillside. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c—and whoever that is who replaced me—did not seem to have seen him yet. He thought he might be half-hidden behind the Lapith guards, and his back was still mostly to the slope. "I … have … no idea how they're here. This address wasn't on the Abydos Cartouche, and that was the only database they … we had while I was there."
"That does concern me, but you have been gone for some time. Matters can change rapidly."
"That they can," Daniel replied softly. That's the tagline of my life some days.
He took a half-step forward, bringing him just in front and to the right of Sujanha and out from behind the back of the Lapith guards, stationed in a semi-circle a few paces down the hill. The flash of movement drew Sam's eye, as they approached, and even with his eyes, Daniel could still see her jaw drop and then her nudge Jack, speaking a few quick words and gesturing dramatically toward him.
Before Daniel could move forward anymore, Sujanha gently caught his wrist. Her 'finger'-pads were rough. She shook her head. "Not yet," she said softly in Furling. "This is more than just a reunion."
Especially if Sam gets too close to Malek!
That would make this very unpleasant.
Daniel nodded and dropped back a pace to her side. Sujanha slowly climbed to her feet. The exercise was good for her, but she was tired, and it was easier for her to stay on her feet than to get up and down. Malek's presence was helping, but her healing powers weren't a cure-all for the long-lasting effects of the Enemy's poison.
"For now, I'm simply Supreme Commander in any introductions among your people," Sujanha spoke again. "Until I know them better, I do not want my true status known."
Knowing what he did of the history of the Furlings, of American politics, and of the (very short) Furling line-of-succession, Daniel could understand her caution. Betrayal by those whom they thought close allies had cost the Furlings dearly before. He was not even sure if Jacob-Selmak knew her true standing either, and she trusted him the most among all the Tok'ra save her own symbiote. "Yes, Commander."
Sam, Jack, and Teal'c had all seen Daniel by now, and they were talking animatedly amongst themselves, their faces full of surprise and elation. Even Teal'c, usually stoic to the extreme, looked pleased.
Sujanha made a small signal. The guards stopped SG1, including the new fourth member, whose face Daniel could not place for the life of him—he wasn't a member of the archaeology department while I was there, I'm sure of it—a little ways down the hill from the Lapith guards. The Lapith blocked the approach toward Sujanha, and all together it kept Sam, especially, well back and out of symbiote detection range.
The last thing we need is Malek getting discovered.
I'm not sure I want to know how Jack'd react. From the pieces he had put together from some of Jacob's stories and from other things he'd overheard from other visiting Tok'ra operatives, it sounded like relations between the SGC and the Tok'ra were tense. I can't imagine, knowing Jack, that he likes them much … especially after what happened with Sam and Jolinar.
"The newcomers, as you commanded," Ragnar spoke in Furling, with a low bow to Sujanha. He then moved to take up a position on Daniel's right, leaving Vylt off Sujanha's left.
It was interesting for Daniel to watch the play of emotions across his friends' faces and to see their expressions as they got their first good look at Sujanha and at the Iprysh and Lapith guards, the latter of whom were even more … unusual … in a way than the Furlings. Unsurprisingly, Sam seemed torn between looking at Daniel and eyeing Vylt's armor. She had the science-y look in her eyes that usually preceded lots of questions or long days in the lab. Teal'c seemed mostly occupied with the guards. Jack, however, after his first look at Daniel, was focused on Sujanha, an undefinable look in his eyes. The fourth was just staring wide-eyed all around.
I'm guessing he's new to all this?
"You are their leader?" Sujanha spoke directly to Jack. It was not like she did not know the answer, but it worked as a good opening.
"Yesssss," he drawled, before turning his attention to Daniel himself. "Danny boy, what's going on?"
Not now, Jack. Daniel shook his head and made a motion toward Sujanha. Answer her questions. Then we can talk. Base security had to come before catching up.
"How did you come here?" Sujanha asked, moving forward slightly but still keeping her distance from Sam. Her voice would have sounded almost emotionless to his friends, but Daniel could hear the slight edge of stress.
"Through the Stargate," Jack answered dryly, not even trying to be helpful. There was a set to his jaw that Daniel didn't like.
Oh, for …
Sujanha gave a low, rumbling growl. "Do not test me, Colonel. How did you learn of this address, and why have you come? This is a forbidden world."
Jack looked back across at Daniel, and finally Daniel thought it wise to speak before Jack was more of a smart-aleck. "Just answer her, Jack, please, and this'll be over sooner for all of us. You won't be harmed. Trust me."
"I know the address for this world is not on the Abydos Cartouche," Sujanha added.
Where else could they have gotten this address?
Jack was quiet for a long minute, staring at Daniel, but finally answered, "Brain dump from a doo-hicky. And we're explorers. You should know that since Daniel's with you."
Brain dump from a doo-hicky? What did I miss? That certainly didn't make it into the updates I've gotten. And what on earth does that even mean?
Sujanha pivoted to look at Daniel, her black eyes puzzled. "What is a 'brain dump'?" She asked in Furling. "And what is a 'doo-hicky'?" Even hearing that word coming out of her mouth was so incongruous that he almost laughed. Somehow, she managed to actually say "doo-hicky" on the first try.
"In this context, I have no idea," Daniel replied in Furling. "In general, a 'brain dump' is basically a large transfer of information from one place to another, like when someone writes down a lot of stuff on a tablet. A 'doo-hicky' is a slang term in English for an object whose name you can't remember."
"You're the Forgotten, aren't you?" Jack continued, when Daniel had stopped talking, "Lya spoke of you."
Sujanha turned back to face him and gave a short laugh. "Some might call us that, yes, but in our own tongue, we call ourselves the Furlings."
Sam gasped, relaxing a fraction. "You're the last of the Four Great Races … like from Heliopolis. We thought you had disappeared."
"We are," Sujanha confirmed with a nod. Tensions in the group had lowered a notch at this revelation, but Daniel noticed the Commander hadn't released the guards. Sam still hadn't felt Malek's presence yet, and when/if she did, that could prove a problematic surprise. "In a way, you are correct. We had matters to deal with in our galaxy for ages and have only recently had time to start dealing with the blight that is the reign of the Goa'uld in these lands. Our name has largely been lost to the time."
"Thanks for that, by the way," said Jack. "You've made our work a lot easier."
"We did this for all those who dwell in this galaxy and do not wish to live under the tyranny of a corrupt race," Sujanha replied. She made a motion with one paw, and the guards stepped back from Sam, Jack, and Teal'c. Sujanha started to turn away, signaling that she considered that her part in the conversation was done.
"We're free to go?" Jack asked.
Sujanha stopped and turned back. "Yes. You may speak with Daniel for as long as you choose. When you have finished, you all will be escorted to the Stargate." Apparently, she did not expect to get anything more helpful about how SG1 knew the address than "brain dump from a doo-hicky." Is that supposed to be reassuring or not about base security?
"Can we have our weapons back?" Sam asked.
Daniel met Sujanha's eyes. The most prominent emotion in her eyes was amusement at the question. SG1 were still trespassers, even though the Commander was allowing their presence. Only members of the Furling military or of the militaries of their allies could bear arms on Furling controlled worlds. The transitive property doesn't apply to their being allies of our allies. They'll get a little more room because of my friendship with them, but earth isn't an ally of the Furlings.
Sujanha shook her head. "No. Your weapons will be returned to you when you return to the Stargate. I am allowing your presence, but you are still trespassers."
Daniel could see Jack visibly rile and stepped forward to intervene. No Jack-isms and confrontations, please. Not now, not here.
"The Commander always keeps her word, Jack. You're all safe here, and your weapons will be returned to you," Daniel said, trying to defuse the situation before it began. "Let's not waste time arguing. How long can you stay?"
Please let me have a little time to catch up.
Thankfully, Jack allowed himself to be drawn aside as he checked his watch. "We're due back in about 5 hours now. This was only supposed to be a short recon mission."
"The Commander might need to head back before me," Daniel replied, "but I can stay for a bit." I think? She can spare for a little while, at least, I'd guess. He glanced at Sujanha with a question in his eyes, and she nodded agreement. Good.
Sam moved over to join them, and the two hugged. Daniel had missed them all, missed their adventures and (even sometimes) their misadventures, missed the science-y discussions and the snark. After a minute, Teal'c, who had been keeping a close eye on the Furling soldiers, who had not returned to base but had gathered around Sujanha who had retaken her seat on the hillside, joined them, as well. Are they going to escort SG1 back? A slight, awkward silence descended for a minute. Despite their comradery, no one was sure what to say first after the long separation.
It was Teal'c who broke the silence. "It is good to see you well, Daniel Jackson."
"It's good to see you, too, Teal'c," Daniel replied. "I've missed all of you."
"The teams have been keeping an eye open for you. We had a capture-on-sight order from on high for you until recently," said Jack, his … opinion … of said order clear in the contempt in his face and tone, "though we all had no intention of following it if we actually ran across you." The SGC was loyal to its own.
"Lya passed on your warning. I actually haven't spent that much time on the ground since I left earth. When I'm actually in Avalon … uh, the Milky-Way, I'm usually with the Furling Fleet." Daniel had to be careful how much he said, what he said about the Furlings, but referencing the Fleet was safe. Its presence was plenty clear from the Goa'uld getting their tails kicked.
"Actually in the Milky-Way?" Sam asked, her head snapping around. Her gaze had drifted back towards Vylt. (Jack gave a groan, anticipating the forthcoming science-y discussion.)
"The Furlings don't live in this galaxy," Daniel replied with a nod, picking his words carefully. "They have some bases here to help with the war against the Goa'uld, but their homeworld is in another galaxy … like Thor's people." Don't ask me where. The name won't mean anything to you, and I don't know what all those galaxies are called on earth.
"How do you get back and forth?" Sam asked, brow furrowing. A look passed between her and Jack. I must be missing a story.
"The Stargate, if we're on foot," Daniel replied simply. The Furling's level of technology had become so normal to him these past two-ish years that it didn't cross his mind how extraordinary regular inter-galactic travel through the Stargate system would seem to his friends. It was amazing what one could get used to.
Sam's jaw dropped. "It took a special power source for just that one-way trip to the Asgard homeworld last year," she said almost as an aside. "It nearly fried the power-grid, it was drawing so much power."
Okay. I definitely missed something.
"What's this?" Daniel asked, puzzled, looking back and forth between Jack and Sam. The Furlings had regular contact with the Asgard, and Daniel saw Thor semi-frequently, but there had been no word about this adventure. Was it low priority, or did he forget something, or did Sujanha forget to tell me?
"I got head-sucked by an Ancient doo-hicky a couple months after you left," Jack explained.
"It downloaded the knowledge of the Ancients into his brain. That's how we knew this gate address," Sam explained. "He uploaded a lot of Ancient gate addresses to our database."
Head-sucked by an Ancient artifact … what?
Gate addresses … That's good to know. Sujanha'll want to know that.
Daniel's eyebrows did their best attempt to crawl into his hairline. "Interesting. What's the gate address for that world?" He asked, fishing around in a pocket for the small paper notebook and Furling version of a pen he always kept with him when he didn't have his tablet.
Sam rattled the address off, and Daniel copied down the signs onto a clean sheet of paper. Ripping it out of the notebook, he said, "Give me a sec. I'll be right back." Jogging across to where Sujanha was sitting, Daniel knelt beside her and handed her the sheet of paper.
"What's this?" Malek asked, glancing at the gate address and then giving him a puzzled look. Her body language shifted suddenly, and then Sujanha was back in control.
"You wanted to know how the SGC got the gate address for Teucuria." Daniel explained. "SG1 was exploring this world, when Jack got head-sucked, his word, by an Ancient artifact that downloaded their knowledge into his brain. Does that mean anything to you?"
Please tell me it does, because I'm confused.
Sujanha gave what was as close for her as possible to an exasperated sigh. She might have rolled her eyes, but with black pupils and irises, it would be really hard to tell. "Yes, that makes much sense. I knew from the Asgard that the Ancients had left several Archives scattered across Avalon, but neither of us knew their locations, unfortunately. We have had no time to mount a search. I am unsurprised that the choices of the Ancients have caused trouble yet again. I am more surprised that your colonel survived such an encounter." For being past allies, the Furlings had strong uncomplimentary opinions about some decisions the Ancients had made once upon a time.
"The Asgard had a hand in that," Daniel noted, "from what they said."
Sujanha opened her mouth to respond, but then her gaze snapped up to someone or something behind Daniel. Any words she would have said were preempted by a shocked gasp.
"Colonel!" It was Sam's voice.
Heart in his throat, Daniel rose and spun. Sam had wandered over, while waiting on him to return, probably to speak to Vylt considering where she was standing and the way she had been eyeing him. His armor would have drawn her attention. She was close … much too close to Sujanha, and from the look on her face, she had just sensed Malek's presence. Oh, joy.
"Goa…." Sam tried to spit out, her eyes almost panicked.
The response from the guards, all 16 or so, was immediate. Shields snapped up, and the guards formed into a living wall between their commander and those that might be a threat. Ragnar grabbed a fist-full of Daniel's sleeve and dragged the younger man half-behind him.
Sujanha's reply was immediate. Pulling herself to her feet, she replied, cutting off Sam's attempted warning, "Your assumption is incorrect, Captain Carter. My symbiote is Tok'ra, not Goa'uld."
"Why should we believe you?" Sam snapped, a dark look flashing across her face.
Daniel edged his way out from behind Ragnar, ignoring his friend's low growl of protest. "I was there, Sam, soon after it happened. Her symbiote's previous host was mortally injured during an earthquake on Vorash. She was the only available host, and she made her choice."
Jack made a horrified (disgusted?) face in the background, which Daniel really hoped Sujanha had not seen. (His strong opinions and his lack of tact regarding his opinions were going to cause trouble one of these days.) Teal'c was standing beside Jack, body tense, face unreadable. Sam's flinch was noticeable. Apparently, the scars of her time with Jolinar were still unhealed, not that Daniel was that surprised. It had taken a while for him to get comfortable around the Tok'ra, and he'd never been a host. It had taken Sha're some time to get used to Malek, too.
"Sam?" Jack questioned, his tone suspicious.
"Daniel's clear, Colonel. So are the others, I think. The only host is…" Sam's voice trailed off at the same moment that Daniel realized Sujanha had never been introduced or given her name.
"Sujanha Staðfastur," she supplied, noticing Sam's pause, "Supreme Commander of the Furling Fleet. My symbiote is Malek of the Tok'ra." Sujanha paused and then added as an addendum for the sake of SG1 alone, "I am Supreme Commander Thor's counterpart among my own people. He speaks well of the people of Midgard."
Despite the mention of Thor, from the looks on Daniel's friends' faces, they still seemed to half-want to drag him back to the Stargate to safety.
"How long have you known the Tok'ra?" Sam asked. She had the look in her eyes that she usually did when she was seeing one of Jolinar's memories or actively trying to find a memory.
Sujanha glanced up at Daniel and signaled him to answer, since he could answer without having to convert between time measurements. Which is really annoying.
"Fifteen, sixteen months, Sam."
"How come we've never heard about all this before?" Jack broke in, making some wide-expansive hand-gestures.
All this being what precisely?
"As you would say, it is an expansive story and not one well-suited to being related in this place and at this time," Sujanha replied, mangling the earth-idiom a little.
After a few minutes of suspicious glances and hissed conversations between Sam, Jack, and Teal'c with the fourth guy hanging over their shoulders, tensions finally eased enough for Daniel to return to join their group. Their discussions now were going to be rather more awkward from the looks still on everyone's faces, Jack especially, though Daniel could understand their concern … to some extent. Up to a point.
The new guy was the first to break the silence, extending his hand to Daniel, speaking for the first time since SG1 had arrived. "I'm Nyan," he said. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Daniel, but you know that. I'm sure you have."
Nyan … that's an interesting name.
No last name … Is he actually from earth?
"You should come back with us, Daniel," prompted Sam, her eyes were flicking back over his shoulder every few seconds. Whether she meant permanently or for a visit wasn't clear.
"It's safe now?" Daniel asked. If the answer was yes, there would be some difficult choices in the near future: to stay with the Furlings with the new life he had made with Sha're or go back to earth where he had never really felt at home in a very long time, despite his close friendship with Sam, Jack, and Teal'c.
"New president got elected last year. This one has more sense than the last, and Maybourne and the NID are PNG for the moment." Persona non grata. "The warrant against you's done with," Jack explained in his usual blunt fashion.
"I don't know," Daniel hedged. "There're some books and other stuff I'd like from my office and my apartment, if I still have both, but I'm not sure the Commander can spare me right now."
I wouldn't want to uproot Sha're and Shifu anyway, especially after just settling on Uslisgas.
Besides, even if the NID is PNG for now … would Sha're be safe there? She was the host to a Goa'uld, not just a Tok'ra. What about Shifu … if they learn he was born Harcesis?
The political winds could change again, too. What's out of style now might not be forever?
"We put the stuff in your apartment into storage when your lease expired," Sam hurriedly explained. "Nyan has been using your office, but…"
"I've kept your system. Everything's almost exactly like you left it," Nyan broke in eagerly.
"Thank you, Nyan." The young man seemed very … young … and eager to please. I hope Jack's not being hard on him. Daniel looked back at Sam. "Not right now." He really did want to go back to earth, at least for some visits. Some books from his office and apartment and some of his other stuff would be nice to have, and he wanted to see Catherine, Janet, Cassandra, and others again.
The faces of his friends fell for a moment, before Jack's went stern, almost angry. "What about Sha're and Skaara?" He snapped.
"I left so I could keep searching for them, Jack. I haven't been sitting on my hands. They're safe, Jack. They're both safe. And free."
Sam gasped. "How long?"
"About three months," Daniel replied. "I could haven't found her…them without the Furlings' help. They're the best ally earth could hope for in the fight against the Goa'uld."
Jack's anger dimmed as quickly as it had begun, and Daniel saw the military side of him immediately pick up on his phrasing. "The best?" There was an unspoken question: Better than the Asgard?
"Yes." The Furlings had to keep an eye on what was going on in Ida with the Replicating Ones. Even so, they still had more forces and resources to devote to the war with the Goa'uld than the Asgard, who were basically keeping the Protected Planets Treaty alive by bluffing and depending on the Furlings for backup if it went wrong, did.
Well, the Furlings do now that the whole fleet is coming back into service.
Daniel and his friends talked for a bit longer, but eventually it came time to part. SG1 needed to return to the SGC, and Sujanha, who seemed unwilling to just leave Daniel there, needed to return to the fleet). Jack managed to speak politely to Sujanha, despite her symbiote, and SG1 left with an expression of interest in further talks and, unspoken but implied, the possibility of an alliance.
