Disclaimer: The characters of Stargate belong to MGM. The characters of Farscape belong to Jim Henson Productions.

Chapter 4

Lord Protectorate

Part One – Starlight

Four months after the mission on P4S-619, Cam and Vala settled onto a remote planet, P1F-519, on the outskirts of our galaxy. They had to acquire an Al'Kesh in order to transport their finding – the two jet black crafts and the shuttle. This planet also happened to be one of the planets on the list, set by Dr. Jackson, to visit regarding the Ancient project Colossus.

Unfortunately or hopefully fortunately, this planet did not have a gate. Last time they had to use the Odyssey in order to reach it. For what reason this planet had no gate was unclear. Dr. Jackson, of course, speculated that at some point it had a gate, because it was part of his list, nonetheless the gate had been removed but the reasons for this could be a great too many, as Colonel Carter had reasoned.

Vala and Cam had managed to set a living camp on the southern hemisphere of the planet, which was the only part that was more or less inhabitable. The rest was either too hot or too cold. They had found a very nice cave, which they had to enlarge a bit so they could fit in the three crafts. It was exhausting work but it was worth protecting this extraordinary find. Building then a baffle took considerable time but they managed.

Vala was now alone on the planet as Cam had gone to acquire some parts and supplies on a nearby planet. She was studying with great interest the interceptors, as they had to call them. These crafts were amazing. Vala was able to determine, by of course testing them that they have as great maneuverability in atmospheric conditions as they do in space.

They were very easy to operate, for a skillful pilot of course, which she was. The precision of the weaponry was astounding, actually much more precise than a Death Glider or X-302. She also found that the crafts have an almost maximum sublight speed, which none of the gliders or X-302s and even the X-303 can do.

The shuttle, the Farscape module, on the other hand, was also an amazing piece of craft. Navigating the craft was very easy, at least for Cam who was more familiar with those types of crafts. Its smooth design was probably made for slingshot maneuvers, which could increase the speed of this craft to greater speed. Vala also determined that the module's proper speed had been substantially boosted due to the modified engine, the FTL drive, as she came to call it, which made the module almost equal to the interceptors with the difference that it had no weapons.

But the technology involved behind these modifications was simply amazing and there was no reference to it whatsoever. Vala had never come across anything remotely like it. At first, she had suspected that the propulsion system was close to the Goa'uld one but with time she had come to change her mind. Anything unknown could at first seem similar to what you're used to, so naturally she had assumed it was similar but now she knew that wasn't exactly so. This did not impede her however of finding out how it worked though.

One of the few things she had not been able to determine was the odd attribute on the nose of the shuttle. She was only able to determine it could provide shielding but for what purpose she still had no clue.

Cam returned with full load of supplies and parts to fix the shuttle and the interceptors. Vala started working immediately.

"Cam, I found something interesting." – Vala said after a while.

"What?"

"It's about the Farscape module. Come!" – Vala answered. Cam followed her. She pointed at the sign where it was reading NASA – Farscape.

"So?" – Cam raised an eyebrow. "We already know it says NASA…"

"Yes, yes, but no actually," – Vala interrupted. "The N is turned sideways. Actually, if you look carefully it'd notice that it reads as an I."

Cam came closer and took a more concentrated look. And indeed Vala was right. It should read IASA not NASA. But then raised the question why someone would bother to falsify the insignia.

"But why?" – Cam said aloud.

"Why what?" – Vala asked.

"Why would someone make it look like NASA, this is what I don't understand."

"What's the difference?"

"NASA reads as National Aeronautics and Space Administration as IASA reads as International Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is basically the American space agency while the other is made of the rest of the world most notably Europe." – Cam explained.

"But these crafts have lain buried for thousands of years!"

"Yes, that's why it's so confusing." – Cam said thoughtfully. "Why cover the truth?"

"There could be many reasons or simple coincidence."

"Doubtful." – Cam shook his head. "And also why built the temple around the crafts?"

"I'm not following you here." – Vala looked at Cam perplexed.

"The temple was built around the shafts where the crafts were. If someone had studied their technology – the Goa'uld, it would seem logical that he would put them apart, no?"

"Yeah, probably."

"So why then they are untouched?"

"I don't know." – Vala said. "Maybe we should take a better look at the temple."

"Hugh?"

"The Goa'uld are scavengers. They only take they don't make."

"Good point, we should definitely take another look." – Cam agreed.

"But after we finish repairing them." – Vala said. "Farscape will need your expertise. I can handle the interceptors."

"Sure!"

And they started working hard on repairing and replacing the faulty parts on all crafts to the best of their abilities but it took them more than a week. The interceptors were finally ready so Vala took one of them for a spin on the block, and Cam came along.

Cam was impressed by the maneuverability of the craft, the precision of the instruments aboard but most of all its speed. It seemed that Vala was not exaggerating. The craft had also inertial dampeners so when Cam pulled the craft straight up he barely felt it.

During the flight Vala was sticking closely to Cam. It seemed that those interceptors were made for close and distant combat. The pleasure of flying them was simply intoxicating.

As they were flying they were passing over the northern territories of the southern hemisphere when Cam caught a glimpse of a set of buildings. He blinked twice.

"What the…?" – Cam said to himself. He turned the interceptor around for another pass.

Vala noticed his behavior. "Cam, what's up?"

"I'm not really sure."

"About?"

"I thought I saw a few buildings on the northern ridges."

"Well, did or did you not?"

"As I said, I'm not really sure, descending to two thousand feet. I'm going to take a closer look." – Cam replied.

Cam's interceptor dived in and Vala followed though she was not sure why, although knowledge was important. They thought they were alone on this planet. This may seem to have changed.

This time, it was certain. Cam had seen absolutely correctly. Down, there were buildings. The sensors did not pick up any life signs but it was worth checking out.

"Vala, we are going down to check them out." – Cam said over the radio.

"I agree." – Vala responded.

The interceptors dived and with beautiful, quick turns reached the ground. They landed before the entrance of the village, as it seems it was, of course, all in ruins. But the architecture was definitely suggesting Ancient design, which was curious, because when they first came to this planet, according to his research Dr. Jackson had said that the place they had visited was the only one made by the Ancients. It was apparent they had missed something.

"Cam, it is definitely made by the Ancients." – Vala observed.

"I noticed." – Cam agreed. "It would seem Jackson was wrong."

"Not necessarily." – Vala said knowingly. Cam looked questioningly at her. "It could be a diversion."

"Which one?" – Cam asked. "This village or the one we visited with Jackson?"

"Well, I don't know but if you wanted to protect something you would not put it in the obvious place. Besides, this village became visible to us only by flight. As you saw from above it's surrounded by sharp hills thus getting here must be quite difficult on foot." – Vala reasoned.

"It's possible." – Cam agreed. "Let's take a look around."

"You mean – split up."

"Yeah. Keep radio contact."

They separated. The village was not that big but it had many buildings built close one to the other. Curiously enough, there was something familiar about this village. Cam wished he'd paid much more attention to history, because the position of this village, or at least something in it was very familiar to him although for the moment he had no idea what it was.

It seemed that at some point the village might have been surrounded by heavy, high walls against attacks or floods. But there was also something odd. This village looked like some time ago it had had a port. It was possible a river was passing by though it was not really visible where.

Vala was exploring the village square where she located remains of a statue. At the foot of the statue something was written but it was not Ancient, which was confusing. She called for Cam to have a look.

"I knew it." – Cam exclaimed but seeing Vala's obvious question shrugged. "I don't know but there is something familiar about the configuration of this village. I'm not really sure what exactly, yet."

Cam observed the letters and they definitely looked like ancient Greek. Hopefully, Cam had taken Jackson's books and notes so he might be able to decipher them, if of course he could first clear them up enough. Cam was usually not a very patient man in such matters and neither was Vala but this time he used the time to slowly clear it up.

Vala took an interceptor back to their Bat Cave, as Cam had officially dubbed it, to take Jackson's notes and bring some food. It seemed they would be staying here for the night trying to decipher the letters.

Cam used the time to have a look around. The buildings were indeed very close one to the other so it did suggest that its purpose might not be as obvious. But the style of the Ancients was in riddles and cryptic messages not confusing building style, which was exactly what concerned Cam. Vala might be right – it was protecting something – but what was the question.

Maybe whatever it was could be visible by air – again, so Cam took the interceptor back to the air. As he was lifting off he noticed something. At the front gates of the village, on each of the sides, there were two block like pedestals, just slightly above the city gates. They were all covered with vegetation so being down it was not so visible. Cam hovered so he could have a better look.

The blocks appeared to be rectangular, at least twenty meter high and fifteen wide. They were placed just, slightly above the main city gates. Cam took his craft a bit higher. This village definitely had a port once. From his altitude, it became much clearer, although it was still a speculation. There could be a hundred reasons why the villagers might have left an oval horseshoe sized space between the gates and the town square. If he wanted to prove his theory he had to go back down and remove all the vegetation that has swarmed every meter of the village.

Cam landed back and started his work. "Let's find out what you are," – Cam told himself.

Removing all the vegetation was hard work but Cam was determined though he was not sure exactly why. He was cutting, and cutting, and cutting, removing piece by piece. Vala returned at some point with enough food, as Cam noticed, for a week of stake outs. She started helping him out.

It took them nearly two full days to clear up the front of the village. The hardest part was the vegetation around the city gates as it was the thickest.

"Why are we doing this again?" – Vala asked as she sat exhausted.

"There is something familiar about this village." – Cam answered.

"Aha, I thought you might pull this one up, again." – She groaned, rubbing her hands and feet.

"Yeah, I had to and…" – Cam stopped in the middle of his sentence. The day has reached noon and the sun was now exactly, directly in front of the gates.

"What?" – Vala asked and turning around saw something beginning from the walls straight to the gates when she no longer needed to speak as she as well as Cam gaped.

"W…wow!" – Cam could let go only this exclamation.

The city walls believe it or not were all engulfed by fire. But the fire did not stop there. No, the fire grew. Soon, it reached the gates, and as it reached them, started to grow in altitude until it filled the pedestals. At this point, Vala and Cam saw the form of a man that stood astraddle, each foot on the pedestals. The form of the man was enormous, at least ninety meters high. He was holding, at head's level, a torch in his left hand. Well, they were seeing his back but still it was an impressive sight.

"Rhodes Island!" – Cam spoke finally still shaken.

"What?" – Vala asked not understanding.

"Back on Earth, there was an island, the island of Rhodes, where the ancient Greeks have built a statue at the gates, a lord protectorate, if you wish that supposedly was the guardian of the city. But the statue was never found, only few fragments that suggested its existence. "

"Wow, Cam, I'm impressed of your knowledge. I didn't know you had the time to read Daniel's…"

"No, this is history. One of the few lessons, I've actually paid attention to in class. I have always tried to imagine it. But you can never be prepared for the real thing." – Cam explained.

"So this statue, this guardian is protecting the village…"

"He's not only protecting it." – Cam said. "He's supposed to guide ships deep into sea. And…" – Cam did not finish again as the torch of the figure lit up. But it had a most unusual light. Actually, it did look familiar. It was not exactly light; it looked to both of them very familiar. It had somewhat of starlight shape so to speak.

"What the…?" – Vala exclaimed then an idea came to her. "Cam, it looks like a…like a wormhole."

This revelation was a correct one. The starlight was swirling depicting clearly a wormhole. Inside, strange shapes were forming but they were too far away to tell exactly so Vala took a unilateral decision, and jumped quickly to her feet, heading straight to her interceptor.

"Vala, where are you going?" – Cam shouted after her but she was not listening. She had a thunderbolt revelation. Her craft lift off. She hovered at the point of the torch. "Vala, come back down. It could be dangerous." – Cam said using his communicator.

"It's a gate address." – Vala responded.

"What?"

"A gate address, it's a gate address." – Vala replied excitedly.

The starlight suddenly become much more intense and Vala moved away as it became almost blinding. Hopefully, she had put the craft on autopilot landing. Cam hurried towards her. He opened the craft's hatch. Vala was unconscious. He took her out of the craft.

The starlight in the torch had gone. The figure flickered and slowly vanished like desert mirage. The fire engulfing the walls soon dissipated too. Everything was back to normal, well almost everything, Vala was still unconscious.

Cam tried to bring her back but she remained the way she was. He checked her pulse, which for his relief was normal but this was not helping much. Cam used the time to prepare something to eat and bring fresh water. He then took Jackson's notes and headed to the center of the city square where they discovered the writings.

The writings were definitely ancient Greek. After few hours of trying, Cam managed to decipher few words. It said "lord protectorate", "supreme" and "heavens".

Vala came around about a few hours later. She sat up holding her head. Cam gave her something to eat, and some water.

"How are you feeling?" – He asked still concerned.

"My heard hurts like I've played several boxing rounds with Teal'c." – Vala answered. Cam smiled. She was definitely back. "What happened?"

"The torch illuminated the area around your craft and you moved away. When you landed, you were not conscious." – Cam explained.

"Oh."

"And I've managed to decipher few of the words on the statue at the village's square." – Cam added.

"Let's see." – Vala stood up, faltering a bit.

"Easy." – Cam stood up supporting her.

"I'm fine." – Vala said. "I'm just a bit light headed."

"This is reason enough, for you to take it easy." – Cam said.

"Let's go."

Cam sighed, and supporting her, headed to the village's square. She was stubborn at times.

"Here, it says "lord protectorate", "supreme" and "heavens". This is as far as I have managed." – Cam showed her.

Vala looked at the writing and said. "Here at the island's hills surrounded of fire by water, our lord protectorate, supreme guardian of Heavens, bids you welcome to our fair community. He speaks on your behalf to the mounts of Olympus. He gives you the light and then guides you back into the ocean to be darkness as set to the doorway of enlightenment."

Cam looked staggered at Vala, his jaw opened. She looked back at him. "What?"

"How did you do that?" – Cam asked with a look of great concern in his eyes.

"What did you mean?"

"You just read ancient Greek." – Cam bluntly replied.

"Oh, I did?"

"Yeah…oh boy!" – It seemed that the blinding light was also something familiar and a real concern to Cam, if it was what he thought it could be.

Vala guessed quickly what he was thinking and shook her head. "That's impossible."

"Really?" – Cam asked raising an eyebrow. "Then how did you explain – yourself reading a dead Earth language, ha?"

"A…I don't know." – Vala replied cautiously. "A wild guess?"

"It's too precise to be a wild guess." – Cam remarked. "We have to go back to the SGC, immediately."

"Well, if it is what you think it is then only the Asgards could do that but as we all know they're gone. And the only person that could actually do that would be Sam, which is also gone so if it is what it is then there is nothing you can do."

"Stop saying that." – Cam's temper suddenly heated up. "That's what everyone kept saying…"there's nothing you could've done, Colonel Mitchell. It wasn't your fault what happened and bla bla…"

"But it's true."

"Not exactly. I do know one that could help."

"Who?"

"Dr. Rodney McKay. We are going to Atlantis and that's final. There must be a way."

To be continued…

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Lordheaven