Author's Note #1: Two chapters in three days. I'm on a roll!
Author's Note #2: Please review. I like to know if my readers are enjoying my stories. I also greatly appreciate constructive criticism.
With Sujanha's generosity, Ruarc was able to spend the next two days accompanying Daniel also. On the third day, Ruarc took Daniel back into the city to the Great Library of Uslisgas. After a comparison of measuring systems with his companion, Daniel estimated that the Furling Library—containing eight floors of stacks in two separate wings—was several times larger than the British Library. In the massive complex, which also contained four large reading rooms and office space, were gathered a continuously expanding collection of the written records of the Furlings and all their allies, a multi-cultural collection of texts of all kinds. Daniel was, not surprisingly, extremely reluctant to leave the well-stocked library. He could not wait until he had acquired a grasp of the local languages so that he could begin examining the sources.
On the fourth day, Ruarc began teaching Daniel the language of Furlings in return for the rudimentary English lessons Daniel had given him a couple days earlier. As Daniel came to learn quickly, Furling was an enormously complex but extremely precise language. Furling had 58 characters in its alphabet, making it much lengthier than most scripts on earth, though not as long as the Khmer alphabet of Cambodia. With nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, gender and number were indicated by articles, while case was shown through inflections. With verbs, number and gender were shown through prefixes, unlike the inflections in Latin, and tense, mood, and voice were indicated through separate conjugations of the verbs. The vocabulary was also complex with multiple different words for the same thing or the same concept so that slight variations in meaning could be expressed, similar to how some Eskimo tribes in the far north on the earth had many words for snow.
On the fifth day, Daniel spent a quiet day at home, absorbing all he had learned and writing much in his notebooks.
By the time the sixth day came around, the 17th of Ihom, Daniel was ready to get to work. He loved learning about and experiencing new cultures, and there was no shortage of new things to do and experience on Uslisgas. Yet, at the same time, he was conscious of why he took refuge with the Furlings. He had needed shelter, yes, but he also wanted to help bring about the fall of the Goa'uld who had stolen his wife from him, and that could not be done while he sat idly by far away from the fighting.
He said as much to Sujanha when he came down for breakfast on the morning of the sixth day. With the aid of his new clock and a learned knowledge of Sujanha's schedule, he was now commonly rising before she left for the city and had the chance to speak with her at breakfast.
If the Commander was surprised by his declaration, she did not show it but simply looked up from her food and nodded her acknowledgement wordlessly. She did not seem to be in a great hurry, sitting at the table drinking her tea and tapping away with one claw at her tablet, but Daniel ate a hurried breakfast anyway, not wanting to slow her down.
When they were both ready to go, Sujanha touched her silver gauntlet, and the two were beamed away. When Daniel could see, the two were standing in a large stone-cobbled plaza in front of a massive four story stone-building. Spinning on one heel to get a wider view, Daniel realized quickly that the two were on the Acropolis which he had only seen from a distance before. Ruarc had told him that the Great Library of Uslisgas had once stood on the Acropolis but had been moved many years before when it grown large enough to require a new and lager building in the Lower City.
Sujanha gave Daniel a moment to look around but then touched his arm to regain his attention. "This building is our headquarters, both for me and Anarr. The top two floors belong to my brother, the bottom to me," she said, guiding him up the steps toward the main door.
The Furling Headquarters were quite busy as they made their way inside. It was just before the 8th hour, and hundreds of soldiers and aids, who served in both the fleet and the army, were arriving for work. All made way immediately for Sujanha when her arrival was noticed, and she was slowed down by the number of salutes and by several soldiers who stopped to speak with her. Many different races were represented within the Furling military. There were a number of races that Daniel had seen during the past week, and several more he had not. No one seemed to be wearing uniforms or BDUs like the United States military did, but all seemed to be wearing dark, unobtrusive colors. The soldiers seemed to be distinguished by the presence of a silver insignia shaped like a five-pointed star or by a gold insignia in the shape of something Daniel could not make out.
As soon as they made their way through the lobby, a lift took them up to the second floor. The lift opened at one end of a long hallway. Ruarc and Ragnar were standing about half-way down the hall, guarding the door to Sujanha's office. Her bodyguards greeted her in Furling, before switching to English to greet Daniel.
The door in the hallway opened into a large outer office. Ragnar followed the Commander and Daniel inside, while Ruarc remained at his post in the hall. In the outer office, there were several chairs along the walls and two large occupied desks by an opaque door that led into what Daniel guessed was Sujanha's personal office. A human, whom Daniel believed was Asik, sat at one desk. A very strange figure sat at the other desk. It (He? She?) bore a striking resemblance to a Wookie from the Star Wars movies that Teal'c liked so much, if a Wookie was of a more regular human height and wore what appeared to be a breathing mask of some sort.
"Dr. Jackson, may I introduce to you my two aids: Asik Geatam and Jaax Nenth," she said, gesturing first to the 'human' and then to the 'Wookie,' "They both understand some English but cannot speak it yet."
"Can you tell them, 'I am pleased to meet them'?" He asked Sujanha.
She nodded and said a quick sentence in Furling to which both aids gave a shallow bow of greeting in acknowledgement. With introductions apparently then complete, Asik rose from his desk and followed Sujanha and Daniel into her inner office, all the while speaking quite rapidly in Furling. From his tone, nothing seemed to be amiss. Asik just seemed to be one of those people who talked like a machine gun. After sinking into her chair with a noise that was half-sigh and half-groan, Sujanha replied in the same tongue in brief. Whatever she said seemed to satisfy Asik who then departed, leaving the door between the outer and inner offices open.
"Asik will bring us both something to drink," Sujanha said, bringing up several holographic screens and paging through them quickly, "Then we may begin. Take a seat wherever you like."
Daniel took a quick look around her office as she spoke. Besides the Commander's desk and chair straight in front of the door, there was a large table with several chairs on the left side of the room and a medium-size pedestal with a decorated control stone sitting on top of it on the right side of the room. In front of Sujanha's desk was also another chair. Behind her desk was a large mostly-opaque window that let in some light but did not allow one to see out. A lamp stood on Sujanha's desk along with a tablet, a sheaf of papers, and a handful of control stones.
Daniel took the seat across from Sujanha, who worked in silence until Asik returned with two mugs of spiced tea several minutes later.
"Thank you," said Daniel. Asik smiled in acknowledgement, recognizing the tone and the intent behind the words, though he did not understand the words themselves.
Asik then turned to Sujanha and seemed to ask her a question from the way he spoke. Sujanha shook her great head and replied in brief. Asik then departed.
"Let us begin then," said the Commander.
"I'm at your disposal," said Daniel automatically, only realizing a moment after he spoke that Sujanha might be puzzled by such a Tauri turn-of-phrase.
If she was confused, Sujanha did not show it outwardly. "As I said to you some days ago, what I most have need of to continue planning our war against the Goa'uld is information, intelligence about their numbers, about their home worlds, about their organization. Supreme Commander Thor, whom I believe you have met, is providing me all the information he can through his contact with some of the Goa'uld during negotiations over the Protected Planets Treaty. However, that information is limited. Anarr and I need more information to launch an all-out assault against the System Lords and limit the deaths among the non-fighters at the same time."
"What is the Protected Planets Treaty? You mentioned it before, but I've never heard of it." Daniel asked puzzled.
"The Protected Planets Treaty is an ongoing armistice between the Goa'uld System Lords and the Asgard High Council. Under the treaty, twenty-six planets are kept free from Goa'uld control, habitation, and enslavement. Any violation of the treaty where the offending Goa'uld does not retreat will be met with force by the Asgard. All the Treaty planets are guarded by Asgard technology."
"That's explains Thor's actions on Cimmeria with Heru'ur," said Daniel quietly to himself.
"Cimmeria?" replied Sujanha, "Oh, yes, Thor spoke to me of that encounter."
The reminder of how Thor's timely arrival had saved all of SG1 from a stent as Goa'uld prisoners made him think of all the Jaffa who had disappeared, taken away by Thor's beaming technology. Thinking about the hated of the Free Jaffa for the Goa'uld and how Teal'c had switched sides, Daniel asked, "What happened to the Jaffa of Heru'ur who Thor removed from Cimmeria?"
"Thor brought them to us, since he was unwilling to just let them go. Those Jaffa are our prisoners and are currently confined on a world in our galaxy that has no Stargate. We have several safe worlds where prisoners taken during our war with Goa'uld may be safely confined without being a danger to us or an opposing group of Jaffa. Hopefully, one day we will be able to show them the error of their ways, and then they will be freed," Sujanha replied, adjusting a holographic screen to where she could more easily write on it. "Back on the matter of hand, there are broad areas I need intelligence the most on. First, are there any peoples you know of that would make possible allies? Second, are there worlds not currently under Goa'uld control that must be carefully avoided or protected so as not to be caught in a cross fire? Third, I need to know the addresses for major Goa'uld worlds that must be approached with caution. Any other information you have would be useful as well."
"As to possible allies, there are two groups you should make contact with: the Jaffa Rebellion and the Tok'ra."
That certainly got Sujanha's attention if the sudden gleam of interest in her golden eyes was anything to go by. She looked across to Ragnar who was leaning against the wall just inside the doorway and asked him something. The only word Daniel could catch was Tok'ra. Once he had answered, Sujanha turned back to Daniel and said, "I have heard nothing of either group before. Tell me of them in as much detail as you can, please."
"I'll cover the Tok'ra first as I know less about them, and most of what I know is second or third hand. About a month ago, my team and I were on a mission to a planet called Nasya by its people and P3X-382 by us. The planet was under attack by the Goa'uld, and we were trying to evacuate the people to safety. During the evacuation, Samantha Carter, one of my teammates, was taken as a host against her will by what we first thought was a Goa'uld. After we discovered what had happened, Sam was imprisoned on our base for her safety and ours. In discussions with the symbiote, it revealed itself to be Jolinar of Malkshur, a member of a legendary group of Goa'uld who actually were enemies of the System Lords. Jolinar was infamous among the Goa'uld for mounting a rebellion against her overlord. She was successful until Apophis, one of the current main Systems Lords, interfered, and Jolinar was forced to flee. Ever since, Jolinar was wanted by the System Lords. Teal'c had heard the legends of Jolinar and the Tok'ra from his master Bra'tac, the former first prime of Apophis and a leader among the Jaffa Rebellion … Maybe I should have just started with Bra'tac."
"Keep going," said Sujanha, making notes on her screen, "You can clarify any unclear points later."
"The Tok'ra had previously been deemed just a legend by Teal'c and some other Jaffa. Not surprising, since widespread knowledge among the Jaffa of an internal fifth-column would be a great threat to the power of the Goa'uld."
"What happened to your friend?" Asked Sujanha.
"Jolinar was killed by an Ashrak…uh, a Goa'uld assassin…not long afterwards. Jolinar spent her last bit of strength making sure Sam would live."
"Showing that she was different, despite her mistakes. Very interesting. Do you know a gate address associated with the Tok'ra?"
"No, I'm sorry," replied Daniel with a shake of his head, "That was the only interaction I've had with any member of the Tok'ra, and Teal'c wasn't able to tell us much else."
"That is not a problem. The information you have will be of great use to me. Tell me of Bra'tac and this Jaffa Rebellion."
"Bra'tac is a Jaffa and the former first prime of Apophis. For years he has been working in secret to spread rebellion among the Jaffa and teach them that the Goa'uld are false gods. Even though Teal'c had joined us, Bra'tac was rather suspicious of us at first but has provided us with invaluable help multiple times and has come to be a valued ally. With his help, earth managed to repulse an attack by Apophis and Klorel several months ago. Last time I knew, Bra'tac was still on Chulak, one of Apophis' main worlds. I can give you the address."
"Yes, I will need the address eventually but not this moment," said Sujanha, "Do you think Bra'tac and the Rebel Jaffa would be willing to work with us?"
"Yes," replied Daniel slowly, "Bra'tac is an old and skilled commander. It would take a little while before he would trust you, but he had aided earth multiple times, and I think he would be willing to aid the Furlings once he came to trust you. He has enough insider knowledge of the Goa'uld to make a very valuable ally."
"It is as you say."
The two were silent for several minutes as Sujanha finished making notes on the Tok'ra and the Jaffa Rebellion. While she wrote, Daniel went over carefully the interactions of SG1 and the SGC with Bra'tac and Jolinar to make sure he had not failed to mention anything important. Suddenly, his meeting with Nem, which had occurred shortly after SG1's first meeting with Bra'tac, came quickly to his mind. Nem's race seemed fairly advanced. The Commander would probably want to know about him.
"I almost forgot one group," Daniel began in a rush of breath, his words about tumbling over each other in his haste to speak.
Sujanha looked up and motioned for him to continue.
"I think there might be one other group you'll want to look up."
"Go on," prompted Sujanha.
"Not long after we first met Bra'tac, SG1 and I had a rather interesting encounter with a creature called Nem, a member of a race called the Oannes."
Sujanha had just taken a drink from her mug of spiced tea as Daniel spoke. She was so surprised by what Daniel said that she swallowed wrong and began to cough harshly, and her paws shook as she tried to put her mug down without sloshing the contents. Concerned, Ragnar started forward to assist her, and Asik reappeared in the doorway, but Sujanha waved them both away. Once she could breathe easily again, she asked in a rough voice, "You have had contact with the Oannes recently?" Surprised oozed from every pore of her body.
"Yes," replied Daniel, "You know them?"
"The Oannes were close allies of ours in a past age. They are a very advanced race and are one of the few races to have a lifespan that could match our own. We lost contact with them for an age and thought them lost to time when we could not find traces of them afterwards. Their passing was greatly mourned by us. We valued their friendship and their knowledge highly."
"If you have something I can write with," said Daniel, "I can give you their gate address."
Sujanha rummaged through a desk drawer and finally found a stylus which she handed to Daniel. She then pushed a holographic screen across to him. Daniel quickly drew the gate address for the Oannes' world and labeled it. When he had finished, Sujanha turned the screen so she did not have to read the address backwards.
"I do not recognize this address from the archives. This planet was not known to us as one the Oannes dwelt on."
"That's odd," replied Daniel, "from what contact we had with Nem, it seemed to be their homeworld."
"Homeworlds can change for many reasons," Sujanha noted, "outside attacks, natural calamities, famine, loss of water supplies. Many advanced races have multiple homeworlds throughout their history. My people have. The Asgard have."
"Interesting….Should I go on to your second question?"
"Please do."
On this subject, Daniel had the most to say. With requisite bathroom breaks and a pause for lunch—some sort of flat bread with meat and a spread that tasted similar to hummus—Daniel talked for several hours about many of the worlds that he had traveled to during his time with SG1. If not for the supply of tea that Asik fed him, Daniel probably would have gone hoarse as he told Sujanha of Abydos, his home with Sha're for over a year; of Simarka, the Mongolian-like world where Sam had been kidnapped as barter; of the land of the Touched; of Argos, a former world belonging to Pelops where Jack had been infected by nanites; of Hanka, the world infected by Nirrti's virus, which needed to be avoided for safety's sake; of Cartago; of Altair; and of the many others worlds visited by the SGC that would stand no chance if caught in the crossfire between the Furlings and the Goa'uld. When Sujanha gave him another holographic screen to write on, Daniel wrote down and labeled all the Stargate addresses that he could remember, making a mental note at the same time to tell the Commander about the Abydos Cartouche.
In time, Daniel came to a discussion of the Goa'uld themselves and their home worlds. On this subject he mostly spoke of Apophis and Chulak, using as sources his own observations from his couple of visits there and the information he had learned from Teal'c. Of Nirrti and Hathor, Daniel spoke briefly, not wanting to dwell on what memories he had of the latter. Of the other System Lords, Daniel knew very little at present, apart from tidbits gained from surviving mythology on earth.
By the time Daniel had told he could, answered any of Sujanha's questions, written down a few more gate addresses, and told her in brief about the Abydos Cartouche, it was early evening.
While Sujanha took a break to speak with Ragnar for a few moments, Daniel got up to stretch his legs and walk around. As he did so, a question that he had been wondering about for a while came back to his mind. The Furlings clearly hated the Goa'uld. That much was clear from the periodic flashes of anger in the Commander's golden eyes and the disgust with which she spoke of them. Yet from what Ohper had said when he had first told Daniel of the Furlings, there seemed to be a special reason why the Furlings hated the Goa'uld and wanted to bring about the fall of their empire, beyond a general abhorrence for their behavior and actions.
After Ragnar left (he had been in and out all day), Daniel retook his seat and after a long pause asked, "Commander, why do your people want to bring down the Goa'uld so much?"
Sujanha noticeably tensed, seemingly ill at ease with his question. Finally, she replied, "Because it is long since time that we resolve an ancient wrong. The Furlings are the cause of the rise of the Goa'uld to power. It is our duty to bring about their fall."
The next chapter is completed and is currently being edited. The cliffhanger will be resolved on Sunday.
