Chapter 2
MALP-Facilitated Revelation
Former SG-1 leader O'Neill and all three current SG-1 members Carter, Jackson, and the last-name-less Teal'c had gotten to the gateroom in a record amount of time, feeling and looking perhaps the most stunned they'd felt all week long. Except for Colonel Cameron Mitchell, that is. Dr. Carolyn Lam was keeping confined in the base infirmary, with the aid of two Marine Force Recon veterans who were armed with dart rifles ready to use, in case he should unwisely act recalcitrantly and decide he was going to attempt leave, before she officially discharged him. The Force Recon Marines just happened to be on base and volunteered in their spare time to surveille the colonel. Perhaps continuing a bit with the marine corps-air force rivalry.
Jack felt the irony of him reflecting earlier how easy it would be if they had the help of an as-yet-to-appear Furling, hoping they would have seemd to appear is if answering his mental call. However, he felt Stargate Command's luck wasn't actually this good and laughed off the possiblity. Then he dismissed the possibility since he'd gone eleven years without ever encoutnering those folks. And he'd never have thought that SG-2 would've happened to encounter the Heck, for all he could've known, maybe they just had an accident trying to detach some ultra-high-tech Furling gadgets or trying to activate and/or operate another. He'd sent SG-2 to investigate the Furling planet and search for any hidden technology that they'd missed the last time they were there, figuring that if the Furling had indeed left any, they should attempt to salvage it. When using their newly-acquired technology, they'd gain a better chance of holding off the Ori for another.
Maybe the Asgard could spare some technology (or personnel, if the poor fellows weren't too too busy at the moment trying to solve their genetic deterioration issue) later to help research the Furling planet to find out if. Theyd' scanned it with their most advanced piece of equipment, the Daedeulsu Class vessel, but had had no luck despite the Asgard-designed sensors.
"Maybe Old Harriman decided he needed to have some fun for once on this stress-inducing facility of ours and decided to. Although he did so in poor taste if he indeed did so because it's not even close to April Fool's Day!" he quipped.
Sam thought Chief Master Sergeant Harriman too professional an SGC staffer and very quietly dismissed such a possibility.
"I cannot fathom Chief Master Sergeant Harriman engaging in such a jest-purposed act, whether the occasion was April Fool's Day or not O'Neill, he evaluated very seriously.
"Yup-not Harriman-absolutly noooo way!" Daniel agreed.
The four Stargate Command bigshots facing the rarely-changed-over-the–years gateroom stood in the control room overwhelmed with curiosity, excitement, and anticipation. They had worked at the rare-and-special SGC for about nine years now, discovering much of what their galaxy, and loosely, the universe, had to offer. This experience included meeting three-quarters of the Alliance of Four Great Races. But now they would finally, after ten years of searching for all this universde had to offer in the way meet this elusive fourth one, which until now had remained elusively unfound, as well as being virtually unknown about any to any level deeper than the very top of the surface level.
Daniel Jackson started to get enthused which he always did in these kinds of situations. "Now we can find out their cultural norms as related to their mythology if they have any, and boy would I like to find out the inner working of their elegant language, their culture, their history," he shared, barely able to maintain a calm composure. Of course, nobody took in what the the good archaeologist was expressing completely, because he was speaking even more quickly when he was feeling this excited than he already did normally.
Sam Carter then expressed giddily, "I can't wait to learn about the fundamental underlying concepts their technology's based on! I wonder if they were at least the second most-advanced of the four overall, and maybe even more advanced in some ways than the Ancients. I mean, if we base our overall feel for their technology on that amazing Furling Transport Arch, it uses principles that no other of the Four Races does. Wow! The new sub-sub-branches of the natural sciences and "
Jack O'Neill then mentioned partially casually "I, for one hope they've got some big-honkin space guns they'll use on our behalf to jump start the final "butt-whupping" of those omnipotently-annoying Ori. Some nice warship-type vessels, combat-oriented flightcraft, super-powered firearms. We'll take all the number of items we can get, please! And we'll help our and we'll help out our newfound Furling friends and allies all we can; who knows-we were able to offer the Asgard the benefit of "
Teal'c of Chulak went last, commenting "Are you all not forgetting the most important question: to inquire if they make any desserts similar to cake?" he offered with a one-sided big grin looking O'Neill straight in the eye. Tealc's sense of humor had improved exponentially since he had been living among the Tauri.
"Yes! How could I forget to pose that very first question first?"
"Maybe we should learn first from the colonel what they look like," Sergeant Harriman said as he gazed at them all for a moment.
O'Neill found himself agreeing with Walter Harriman's logic. *This is one sensible Chief Master Sergeant we have here.* "Gosh Walter, you really deserve a raise, as I've said time and time again. In fact, I'm about to submit this work-years budget requests to the Pentagon. I won't forget to bug them about adding at least a few thousand to yours for outstanding work and for your long years serving in the air force. Are they even furry by the way?"
"Definitely not, sir" Harriman answered him wryly. "Hope you're not too disappointed after waiting all this time sir!"
"Oh, we have a wise-guy now, do we? Now, Walter, yuou've always Nah-I'm just kidding hehe! Like how you've bveen mroe chill recently, Sarge-helps keep your stress level and everyone else's down. I am, though, very erious abnout granting you an annual payraise thoguh like I just broyught up!"
"Say, thanks general." Walter said. "My wife kept saying it was high time I received a raise. After all, I've done my work pretty conscientiously for my time here, and the children are about to attend college" he agreed seriously but amusedly.
"Right you are, our venerable and indispensible Chief Master Sergeant Harriman" O'Neill confirmed with an affirming smile.
"Sorry to interrupt you, Jack and Walt" Colonel Lauren "Becky" Hynes interjected. "But I think our Furling contacts are just as eager to meet you and at least start communicating through the MALP. Don't you guys wanna know what mythologically-progenitoring race the Furling are, after wondering all this time?"
"Now I heard that" an eloquent-sounding voice interjected mischeviously." "May I?" he seemed to be asking Becky."
"Why of course Terminik Edukil" she said. "In the Furling language, the term roughly means Ph.D. Professor she explained. "I present to you Terminik Edukil Lian, Furling Off-World Liason Team 1, or FOLT-1's, version of our Daniel Jackson."
A male Furling with medium-length dark-brown hair and a and a far more futuristic version of official uniform like SGC archaelogists wore stepped up to the MALP camera. He looked friendly, benevolent, and a bit aloof like Daniel Jackson might look. He had pointed ears, which made him stand out.
O'Neill thought *Remotely Vulcan. Nah!How silly an immediate reaction-they're more like those same race of folks with those political organizations- those several different kingdoms from the Lord of the Rings novel."
Teal'c blinked, He was very fond of reading up about Earth mythology, as part of his leaisurely habit of leartning more about the Tauri culture that he'd become very familiar with over the years. The Ancients, or 'Alterrans' were those 'gods' who had supposedly 'descended' from their god-like state of being to help cultivate human development. That would be an Alterran like Moros, for example. He had known of this first "great race" first.
Sam Carter, despite being a science-fiction, was also a fantasy fan. She dropped her mouth down widely at finding out just what. So far, she'd known about the Roswell Aliens and the Norse mythology as well, before ever meeting the Asgard; these beings were 'science-fiction' based, but also 'fantasy-based' at the same time. The Nox were purely fantasy-based, the progenitor of the fairy myths on Earth. Now, she found out these Furling had given birth to the another such famous Earth myth!
"Greetings, personnel of the Tauri United States of America Airforce Stargate Command" he began. I am Liann of the Furling. I fulfill a combination of the professional roles which our Tauri friends, children of the Alterrans, would call an archaeologist and an anthropologist. Forgive my poor English, as I haven't spoken it for more than eight thousand year up until now. I find it very fortuitous that both of our exploration teams were on this planet today. We are just reacquainting ourselves with some mutual friends, the Asgard. They spoke very highly of your people, and assessed that in only another hundred thousand years, with what they termed 'human ingenuity' you would be churning out scientific theories and technology just a bit less advanced than the Furling and the Asgard. Remarkable potential you possess, and well-done. "
"And now to the matter at hand. We have made first re-contact with the Tauri. Yes, to answer your inference, we have indeed, in the past, resided on your planet for a few thousand years. left your galaxy for too long and discontinued giving aid, due to some of our leaders believing we had negatively interfered in the course of human civilization. They felt the humans were too primitive to benefit well from us using our advanced knowledge to help them. We had taken over the role a teachers of the Earth peoples from the Asgard, a they returned to the Ida Galaxy to attend to some very pressing matters. That, and the fact that the Alterans were enraged at us for it, after some rogue Furling elements had developed an eventually hostile artificial intelligence for our ships, causing our Alteran allies considerable trouble. For those 2 reasons, we left for the Milky Way Galaxy for the Olympus Galaxy. But, as cultures do, we've reassessed having done so all this time, and feel differently now. Our Consulery, which has been informed we remade contact. They are very excited and would like to meet their combined counterpart, the President and Vice President of your country the United States of America. For now though, we though we, might get acquainted, that is, our uh, task team with yours? We can take turn visiting Team Headquarters. We've refurbished structures on this planet so they are no longer as barren and lonely as you experienced last time," he suggested and informed them.
Daniel had been taking in this mysterious one of the 'great races' that the SGC had yet to come across in its wide forays into the Mily Way galaxy.
"You're-you're-elves!" Daniel commented out loud. "I really thought as much once about this possiblity, right after after we visited your ruins on the current planet for the first time."
"You made the deduction, Dr. Jackson?" Liann sputterd out in amazement at the academic's perceptive nature.
*And not all furry* Jack thought back on his 'Furlings being furry' jest statement he made so long ago. He decided not to share this momentary wisecracking reactively back at that time. He didn't know what the Furling would thin of how he recated at the time and so didn't want to risk it.
"I apologize, lady and gentlemen, but our deisgnated emissary to your world is currenly overseeing a very important matter related to what you term the "paradise planet. I therefore, invite you, in his place, to visit us when you are ready over here. Your Colonel Hynesworht seems to enjoy it so far. WE'ce refurbished the planet a bit sicne we were last here."
With Cam Mitchell finally feeling well enough to travel, Jack O'Neill decided to suit up and join his former SG team to visit the Furling Sanctuary Planet they'd been on. The general had gotten news that in no more than six months, he was going to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and position of Assistant Head of Homeworld Command and he wouldn't be going off-world often, if at all. He relished this last opportunity to do that, especially as it was one of the biggest finds he would ever observe in his career.
The four current SG-1 members stood in front of the embarkation room's ramp, with Jack leading the trip in front them all.
"I'm breaking an unwritten rule today" he informed them with a charming grin. I'll be the fifth member of SG-1 today, as well as the de-facto leader I guess. Yup. Sorry, Cam. Sorry, Sam. Sorry Teal'cster. Sorry Danny Boy. The ever-power-hungry General O'Neill is grabbing the reins of this old venerable gate-team for one last time operation Well, maybe not the last time actually."
"Well, that's one way to look at it , general. I look at it as you' directly directing us, kind of like like you usually do via malp, but in closer physical proximity, and observing/analyzing firsthand" Mitchell wittily responded.
"Hey, Mitch…' O'Neill called out, grinning slyly. "Do I detect you implying that I don't direct my SG-teams in an well-informed manner when I travel through the gate?" "
"Well, no…." Mitchell replied cheekily, "But since you mentioned it, I'm going bea big jerk and assert a little that, yes,.." "
"I am sorry to point this fact out and potentially offend you both, O'Neill and Cameron Mitchell" Teal'c , with a energetic grin. "But do you not notice, O'Neill that when you act as a wise-aleck, you encourage Colonel Mitchell to also be a wise-aleck in turn; more than he already is I might add. In fact, you two could parlay back and forth for an entire day. Please do not do so. I am rather sure that in timingly keeping our appointment, we shall meet pleasant people and see pleasant scenery instantaneously. I, for one, have been stuck underground for decades, and am impatient to be above-ground in the open air for a bit. Are you two not?"
Jack O'Neill got the point, striding forwards up the ramp toward the familiar ring. He suddenly stopped.
"Ha, bet you all thought I was going to walk right into the incoming event horizon, he said. Well. Actually, I almost thought I was going to do that. Euh, no I wasn't! I'd prefer it if you all"
"Told ya you need to be out on missions more often, General' Mitchell remarked."
He was about to continue again when Teal'c shot him a tired, narrow-eyed look, and clued all in that he was going to walk forward right ahead of O'Neill, being the first to step into the event horizon.
Jack put one hand up signaling Teal'c to let him have the right of way. Teal'c smiled satisfiedly and nodded his head at O'Neill, gesturing far with his right hand toward the gate, for him to lead the way.
O'Neill hurriedly strode up to his favorite circular gate. No matter how many times he heard someone elaborate on the wormhole-related physics of how the gate functioned to transport humans light-years away, his right brain hemisphere still was amazed at the concept.
He stepped one inch in front of the gate, waiting to step all the way through and be de-molecularized, then hurled forward in space to end up deposited on a planet gazillions of miles away. He'd started the first adventure of Earth's heading through this gate and nine years after he'd changed, he was going to to still be. Gee, he'd had an arguably incomparably awesome run of gate-travelling so far.