SG-1 just stand in awe looking out of the window at the city, unable to quite believe they're seeing what they're seeing.
"This...is so cool." says Alisana, smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Where did this come from?" asks Vala.
"I'm not sure." says Daniel.
"I have a theory about that." says Carter, "The Ancients had to land this ship somewhere, so my initial theory about there being an island here is probably correct...well it has to be." she says.
"How do you figure?" asks O'Neill.
"Well, there's clearly vegetation down here but there's no possible way that it could have gotten down here naturally, so this city must have been above ground at some point, and like I said it was probably covered with rock and ash due to volcanic eruptions." says Carter.
"Wait a second...if the city was covered in rock and ash then why are we seeing it now, shouldn't the whole thing be rubble?" asks Mitchell.
Carter bites her lip, "Yeah...I'm still thinking about that." she says.
Daniel moves over to Carter, "How do we get out of the ship?" he asks.
"Daniel?" says O'Neill.
"Jack, we have get a closer look at this place." says Daniel, turning to face O'Neill.
"Lets go." says Alisana.
"We're not going out there." replies O'Neill, "We don't even know if its safe." he says.
"General." says Mitchell, looking over his back.
"No, I said we're not..." says O'Neill, as he turns to Mitchell he sees the alien peering around the door of the bridge.
The alien comes round from the side of the door and takes a step in to the room, SG-1 still don't know if its friend or foe, but it did save their lives in the lab and that alone gives them a reason to trust it to some degree, it stands by the door looking at everyone.
"What do we do?" asks Mitchell.
O'Neill looks at Mitchell, "I don't know." he says.
"You should do something." says Vala.
"Like what?" says O'Neill.
"I don't know but its freaking me out just staring at us like that." says Vala, "Do something." she says.
"What do you want me to do, dance with it." says O'Neill, "Daniel, you're the expert at this sort of thing, you do something. Talk to it." he says.
"I've already tried talking to it." replies Daniel.
"Well.." says O'Neill, he gently pushes Daniel forward, "..try again." he says.
Daniel almost trips over from O'Neill's unexpected push, he looks back and gives him a frustrated look, "Fine." he says.
"Ask it what it wants." shouts Mitchell.
Daniel steps close to the alien and the alien look up at him, Daniel smiles briefly then drops to one knee so they're at eye level with each other, "You probably don't understand me but I'm going to try anyway...errm...I'm Daniel, do you have a name?" he asks.
The alien doesn't respond and just keeps staring at Daniel with curiosity, "Okay. What do you want?" asks Daniel, "Why are you here?" he asks.
"Why are you here?" says Daniel, he points to the alien and then to the floor trying to make the alien understand what he's asking, "Why are you...why are..." he says, then he turns to look at the others behind him, "You know what forget it, it doesn't understand." he says.
As Daniel looks back at the alien, it's hand touches Daniel's forehead and he and the rest of SG-1 slowly pass out and fall to the floor.
The alien communicates with them by implanting memories into their heads and SG-1 see them like a vision or a dream.
The following is what they saw...
The Alterans left their home world of Celestis millions of years ago on board their ship, the Lantis, they plotted a course to an area of space that they hadn't yet explored and was unknown to both them and the Ori.
In order to escape and sever their connection with the Ori they knew they had to put as much distance between them and themselves as possible, knowing that their journey would take many hundreds or possibly thousands of years to complete, they put the Lantis in to hyperspace and the entire crew were placed in to stasis chambers.
As the Lantis passed from galaxy to galaxy, it stopped at each one and awakened the crew, this allowed them to conduct repairs to the ship and they also spent a lot of time exploring these galaxies, taking readings, collecting samples and searching for a new world in which to settle.
A few thousand years later they discovered the Milky Way and decided to make it their new home, when they eventually settled on Earth they found a suitable island in the North Pacific and landed the Lantis on a small mountain top, the island had an abundance of a metal ore they required and it was perfect for their needs, so they set to work building their new home.
A few hundred years later a small group of aliens came through the Stargate that was on the island, they called themselves the Tulla and were seeking refuge from a hostile race known as the Umbra, they carried with them their princess, who had been very badly injured in a battle.
The Alterans granted them refuge and began treating their princess's injuries, the Tulla physiology was quite complex and the Alterans didn't really know how to treat her wounds so they placed her in to a healing pod.
The Tulla were incredibly grateful to the Alterans for giving them refuge and as a thank you they helped the Alterans with their project.
The Alterans continued working with the Tulla on their project for a number of years and once completed they launched a large number of ships from the island, however, as the last ship was launched, the surface began to crack and volcanic fissures opened all over the island, soon the nearby volcano started erupting and large quakes shook the entire island, the Alterans had mined so much of the metal ore from the island that the surface had become thin and weak
They evacuated the city using small shuttles to ferry people off the island, a small crew attempted to move the Lantis, but large boulders and rock erupting from the volcano had damaged the engines, they had no choice but to abandon it and head for the shuttles, the Tulla however refused to leave and despite the crews best efforts they were unable to convince them to go with them and so reluctantly left them behind.
The Tulla used their abilities to protect the city as best they could, but despite their efforts, the island still crumbled and sank to the bottom of the ocean.
SG-1 slowly regain consciousness and lift themselves up to their knees, feeling quite dizzy.
"Ooar...what was that?" says Alisana, "My heads killing me." she says.
"I feel very strange." says Teal'c.
"Everyone alright?" asks O'Neill, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I had the weirdest dream." says Vala, "Something about ships and a fire."
"I had the same dream." says O'Neill.
"Same here." says Carter.
"I don't think that was a dream." says Daniel, "I think the he was answering my question." he says, pointing to the alien.
They all discuss what they saw in their dreams and all saw exactly the same thing, it answers some things but also brings up other questions.
Daniel is still on his knees and he looks at the alien, "I don't understand, if the island was sinking, why did you stay behind?" he asks.
"I am Yol" says the alien.
"It speaks." says Mitchell.
Yol looks at Mitchell, "I learnt your language when I shared my memories with you." he says.
"So why did you stay behind?" asks Daniel.
"The Alterans were helping to heal the princess, however it was taking quite some time and when the island was being evacuated she was still inside the healing pod on board the ship, we could not leave her behind." says Yol.
"You've been stuck down here for thousands of years?" asks Carter.
Yol nods, "Yes." he says.
"Where's the princess now?" asks O'Neill.
Yol walks around Daniel towards the window, he points out of it towards a large structure in the middle of the city, "There." he says.
"She's still alive?" asks a confused Carter, "After all this time." she adds.
"She remains in the pod." replies Yol.
"Are you saying she hasn't healed yet?" says Daniel.
"She has." says Yol.
O'Neill walks over to Yol, "Then why is she still in there?" he asks.
Yol explains that shortly after the destruction of the island, he and the other 4 guards were taking the princess's pod to the Stargate when it suddenly activated, a small number of Umbra managed to come through the Stargate and they immediately attacked the Tulla guards.
The Tulla tried to move the pod but they couldn't move it fast enough and were soon surrounded by 30 or so Umbra, suddenly the rock above the Stargate began to crumble and huge boulders fell to the ground, this provided a distraction and as the Umbra turned to see what was happening, the Tulla used the opportunity to escape, but they had to leave the pod behind.
The Tulla retreated back to the Lantis and sealed themselves inside, the Stargate was crushed and buried under thousands of tonnes of rock, the Tulla watched from the window of the Lantis as the Umbra took the pod in to the city, with the Stargate gone, neither the Tulla or the Umbra could leave and they have been there ever since.
"You left her there at the mercy of the Umbra?" asks Mitchell.
"They will not harm the princess." says Yol.
"Where are the other guards?" asks O'Neill.
Yol lowers his head looking a little sad, "I am the last." he says, "The others attempted to recover the princess...the Umbra killed them. They have far greater numbers." he adds.
"You're one of the original guards?. How can that be?." asks Daniel.
"The Tulla can live for many thousands of years, we do not die from natural causes. We can however die from injury." replies Yol.
"You said around 30 came through the Stargate, we detected at least 200." says Carter.
"Their life span is only a few hundred years." says Yol, "The Umbra have been breeding quite excessively and increasing their numbers." he adds.
"Why didn't you guys do that?" asks O'Neill.
Yol gives O'Neill a strange look, "We were all male." he says.
"Oh..." says O'Neill, "I see." he says, looking a little stupid.
Alisana walks over to Yol and kneels beside him, "How long have you been alone down here?" she asks.
"Over 600 years." replies Yol.
Everyone in the room goes silent after hearing that, they sympathise with Yol and truly feel for him, being alone for such a long period of time..they can't even imagine how that must feel.
"Well we're going to help you." says Alisana.
"We are?" says O'Neill.
"Yes." says Daniel, "It's the right thing to do, Jack." he says.
"Yeah...I know." says O'Neill, "How many did you say they were out there?" he asks, looking at Carter.
"200 Sir." says Carter.
Mitchell pushes down a mag in to his P90, "4 P90's, 6 mags a piece, 8 grenades, 2 Zats and some C4 versus 200 bad guys." he says, "A walk in the park." he adds.
"Actually...we'll be walking through the city." says O'Neill, jokingly.
"Alright, Teal'c, Mitchell, Daniel, you come with me. The rest of you stay here, Carter concentrate on the ship, figure out a way to get this thing out of here." says O'Neill, "Do you have a weapon?" he asks, looking at Yol.
"My mind." replies Yol.
"Knowledge is power huh." says O'Neill, "Well come on, you need to show us where we're going. Maybe we'll find you some pants on our way out." he says.