-1CHAPTER SEVEN
STARGATE COMMAND, 10 NOVEMBER 1998, 1300 HOURS
On the afternoon of November 10, 1998, Rembrandt Brown sat in the now familiar Briefing Room on Level 27 of the Stargate Command Center beneath Cheyenne Mountain, waiting for the arrival of General Hammond. With him was Colonel Robert Makepeace, who, like Brown, had just returned from planet P3M-299, and was to, with Remmy, debrief General Hammond on their mission to said planet. Also there was Dr. Daniel Jackson, who had been assigned to study the notes left behind by the team of deceased archaeologists who had been killed by the inhabitants of the planet, and Major Stan Kovacek, who headed the diplomatic team of negotiators and linguists which had been sent through to negotiate with the natives.
As he waited for Hammond's arrival, Remmy thought back on the past few days. He was still astounded that his singing…and that of Colonel Makepeace…had served as the tonic which had allowed peaceful first contact with the natives of Planet P3M-299. Over the past ten days he had sung more often than he had in the past ten years. Indeed, his vocal cords were a bit sore from overuse right now. He smiled as he remembered the way the "Ewoks," as he still thought of them, had imitated his every move and sound. The Ewoks are bigger fans than I ever had here on Earth, he mused.
Now, the diplomats and linguists had taken over, and were finally making progress in learning to communicate with the natives. And so General Hammond had asked for a full briefing.
Just at that moment, the door of the briefing room opened, and General Hammond came in. Colonel Makepeace and Major Kovacek both stood and saluted as he entered. As civilians, Dr. Jackson and Remmy also stood, but did not salute.
General Hammond returned the salute. "Good afternoon," he said. "Please be seated." He moved to his own seat at the head of the table. The others sat down as well.
"Gentlemen," Hammond said, "I am anxious to hear what progress has been made on our first contact with the natives of Planet P3M-299." He looked at Daniel Jackson. "Why don't we start with you, Dr. Jackson? What have you been able to glean from the archaeological team's notes?"
"As you know, General Hammond," Daniel replied, "the team hadn't been on the planet very long. Apparently, soon after their arrival they ran into trouble with a sort of native monkey-like primate which invaded their camp and broke into their food lockers. They had also had some close encounters with a local feline predator that had led the team to request that a security detail be assigned to keep these creatures, and other local wildlife, at a distance."
"Yes, Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, nodding.
"Up until the encounter in which the archaeologists lost their lives, they apparently had no idea there was any sentient life on the planet," Jackson continued. "Their notes make no mention of these creatures at all."
Hammond frowned. "Did you find anything useful in the notes at all?," he asked.
"I may have," Daniel replied, nodding. "Dr. Petersen noted that the underground complex which they were exploring appeared to be of ancient Goa'uld construction. They found the remains of Jaffa in many places throughout the ruins."
"Well, that makes sense," Hammond replied. "The native creatures of the planet surely couldn't have built such a structure. They're too primitive."
"At first glance, it appears that way," Daniel said. "But I found some other things in Dr. Petersen's notes which indicate this might not actually be the case."
"Like what?," Hammond asked, clearly surprised.
"Dr. Petersen discovered some inscriptions inside and outside the complex which were not of Goa'uld origin," Daniel said. "He copied them down, but didn't have a clue as to who had made them."
"But you think you know?," replied Hammond.
Daniel nodded. "If you recall our mission to the planet Heliopolis," he said, "we found inscriptions in four alien languages in one of the rooms of the castle there. I've theorized that this place was a meeting room, a gathering place for four alien races of great antiquity and power. The writing found on P3M-299 matches one of the inscriptions found at Heliopolis. Dr. Petersen also noted that the inscriptions were found at about waist-level for an average human being, indicating they were probably inscribed by, and/or meant to be viewed by, a creature of much shorter stature than a human being."
"So you think the natives might have made them?," Hammond said, frowning.
"It's certainly possible," Daniel said. "We actually know very little about these creatures. And if these creatures are the race who left the inscription at Heliopolis, they'd have to be far more advanced than their outer appearance would indicate."
"Like the Nox," General Hammond said thoughtfully.
"Yes, General," Daniel said. "Very possibly."
Hammond now looked at Kovacek. "Major," he said, "what are your impressions of the creatures?"
"Hard to say at the moment, Sir," replied Kovacek, a tall man with reddish hair and pale gray eyes, whose face was dominated by a large nose and a prominent cleft chin. "We're finally getting a handle on their language, but our understanding is still far from complete. But they seem quite intelligent. We've seen no indication of advanced technology as of yet, but as with the Nox, that doesn't mean they don't have it."
"But if they did have advanced technology, why would they have been armed with bows and arrows when they attacked SG-5 and the archaeological team in the forest?," Hammond asked.
"Unknown, Sir," Kovacek said. "About the only thing we do know for sure about them is that they value music very highly. Indeed, much of their own culture…what we've seen of it…seems to be built around it."
General Hammond smiled, turning to Remmy and Colonel Makepeace. "Yes, of that much we can be sure," he said. "Mr. Brown, Colonel, I want to congratulate you for opening the door of negotiation for us."
"Thank you, General," Remmy said. "But if I hadn't been scared shitless out there, I'd have never started singing, and who knows how things would have turned out."
"Well," General Hammond said, smiling again, "we're just fortunate that you were along on that mission. And Colonel, your initiative in following up on the opening thus presented was commendable."
"Thank you, Sir," Makepeace replied, smiling in return.
"Can either, or both, of you add anything more to the facts and speculation which have already been presented?," Hammond asked.
Remmy said, "General Hammond, one thing I noticed is that the Ewoks…"
"Ewoks?," Hammond interrupted.
Remmy laughed. "Yeah, that's what we've been calling them, since we don't know their own name for themselves and since they resemble the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi."
"Hmmm," General Hammond said. "Well, I suppose it's as good a name as any for now. Please go on."
"Yes, Sir," Remmy said. "Well, as I was saying, I noticed that the Ewoks are very quick learners. They picked up my dance moves almost immediately. And by the end of my first show, many of them were singing in harmony with us, even repeating the words, though they didn't know what the words meant, of course. And like the Major said, a large part of their culture does seem to be built around music and dance. After we performed for them, they performed for us. It was amazing."
"It seems to go deeper for them than mere entertainment, Sir," Colonel Makepeace said. "Music seems to hold some greater significance for them. But what that might be, I couldn't guess."
"Yeah," Remmy agreed, nodding vigorously. "That's what I felt too."
"Well, gentlemen," General Hammond said, "it appears we have a mystery on our hands. Major Kovacek, keep me informed of your progress toward deciphering their language. Mr. Brown, Colonel Makepeace, I want you to remain with the diplomats and do anything you can to facilitate progress."
"Yes, Sir," the three men said together.
"Dr. Jackson, I want you to put together another team of archaeologists. Finish searching that Goa'uld complex, and see if you can find any further evidence to support your theories about the native inhabitants."
"Yes, Sir," Jackson said.
General Hammond stood up. "All right then, gentlemen. We've all got work to do. Dismissed."