Major Surprises
Author's Note: I've been more slow to develop plot content for this story since chapter 5. I've found myself to have more difficulty at this point, which is at least halfway through or a quarterway through. I apologize profusely for leaving all my highly appreciated readers and/or reviewers interested for more content so long. However, rest assured, I've come up with what I think are feasibly interesting plot points to add to this chapter and I will keep brainstorming after I post this chapter. Thank you kindly for your patience so far! I promise when I do finish this chapter, I will make it one of my longest chapters ever so far.
Jack sat in a very comfortable leather-like-material chair the lobby of the Furlingiya Capitol Hotel satisfyingly taking in his new surroundings. The Furling race was truly his [much-desired 'Great Race'] which didn't start off by sputtering out phrases and sentences about the Tau'ri being too 'young' to interact with them on an equal level.
On the contrary, he noted that these technologically-advanced, galaxy-traversing elves had the same great wisdom, perhaps even more so tha the Asgard, to see humanity's great potential quite quickly. Heck, they even had the humility to admit that they'd learned as much from the Earth's German, Norse, Irish, and Welsh people as they'd taught those people. Now, it was indeed true that those four ethnicities at that point in time weren't at the time anywhere near the Furling technological level. But they had taught the Eldar about the concept of a more detailed military command chain structures. That's why it was no coincidence that Furling militray command positions were somewhat similar to Earth's. Two elves, one male and one female, in military dress uniform who he'd never met towards O'Neill's direction and gave the Earth representative a Furling-style military salute and an acknowledging smile. He observed that they appeared to be tertiary-generals in the Furling Aero-Space-Fighter-Vessel-Forces.
O'Neill returned the greeting by standing up and saluting in the Furling military style. To him, it seemed the Furling military officers were quite fond of their fellow military officers from Earth, just as all the Furling individuals he'd met seemed to be towards Earth individuals they had met. Positive comments such as "Great potential. Ingenious. Resourceful. Resilient. Freedom-bringers."
He glanced at his watch-Teal'c should be down here by now. Lekilis had arranged for the curator of the Furling Combined Service Forces Museum to guide them in touring this branch of the Furling National Military Museum. "The old genteelf has been alive for hundreds more years than I have. He can give you much more insight into the workings and historical usage of our older weapons than I can. I on the other hand, am only a young three hundred year old maverick who knows his egotistical service generation's easier-to-use military equipment." O'Neill would've thought that Lekilis was being more sarcastic than he actually was, but for the Furling, being three hundred years old was indeed young- Lekilis would be about thirty-years old in human years.
But, back to the big question on his mind-where was the Teal'cster?
He focused intently on the lobby's hyper-elevator. The one nearest him opened. A large human-like being with a gold glitter inlaid on his forehead stepped out, looking sideways at the white-haired elf right next to him. So there he was-probably got absorbed in speaking to this old-looking coot of an elf and forgot all about the time.
"Hey T, we really need to get a move on it. We're only thirty minutes late."
"Oh my, master Jaffa Teal'c"! the old elfman exclaimed. "I am so sorry for having delayed you in meeting up this morning with your Earthan friend."
He then turned and walked up to Jack looking very apologetic. "Pardon me sir. This old nuisance of an elf found a new Jaffa friend interested in possibly having his forehead tattoo removed. I'm an aesthetic surgeon staying in this wonderful hotel for a medical guild meeting and ran into this friendly, intriguing, and might I add prominent Jaffa in the turbovator. I've made him the latest victim of my overly-engaging lectures about aesthetic-surgery. We were so engaged we remained in the elevator for such a long time we went from the first floor one thousandth floor and back down again "
Asgard/Ori Discourse
Dodeca-High Councillor-and Council-Mentor Odin sat, by now extremely bored and equally extremely impatient in his chair right in the center of the Asgard High Council members. He stared at the Upper- Prior with his large black eyes, reciting what was probably a whole litany of wishfully inspiring lines, who he now found wSTING HIS TIME in his sacred executive room which the Asgard had always used to conduct the most important governmental affairs.
He was, at this moment in the Prior's continous repeating of certain intended-to-be-catchy-phrases, regretting tragically ever agreeing to give this highly irritating prior who enjoyed public speaking a bit too much for his liking, an audience. Looking around at his high-council colleagues, he saw they definitely shared his feelings. His usually studious and goal-oriented colleague Freyr was in fact tilting his head down, having lightly fallen asleep and was even starting to drool just a bit.
Now that senior Asgard, who barely slept under any cicrumstances, had regained the usual Asgard telepathic ability, he could've scanned his colleague's brain to see what he was thinking, but knew he did 't have to. Obviously, this Prior was causing at least half the high council members to become very bored, impatient, and irritated by spewing out pointless and irrelevant propaganda from their sacred religious book. Odin wondered seriously if this walking repository of the knowledge of Origin was simply quoting verbatim passages from The Book of Origin.
Now, the Asgard did not consider themselves actually religious in the sense of a higher deity or any higher forces to worship . They were spiritual in the secular, naturalistic sense, and highly respected the concept of pluralism in spiritual beliefs. They did not feel like sparing the time to hear one of these bald,extremely- pale-faced, clerics patiently, spewing intolerant, egotistical, overconfident, fundamentalist fanatical drivel, hoping to enlighten them. To these Ori cousins of the Ancients, the Asgard were simply another species they needed to bring into their dominating grasp. Another member of the High Council had just fallen into a deep sleep. Odin noticed that besides that one, every other Asgard had also fallen victim to intolerable boredom thanks to this Prior-they all were in a deep slumber with their heads
Odin in fact by now had started using his hand device as a yo-yo behind the table, where the Prior wouldn't be able to see him turning his attention away from what the Prior singularly assumed was an interesting ideological lecture about his gods, which only the bald-headed religious-ideology representative himself was enjoying. *What have I gotten the High Councill into?* the elderly Asgard had thought to himself. *But for all the pitfalls at least we can take this opportunity to understand the Ori operating mentality to better counter them when they take the next major action.*
He realized that it was now one and a half whole hours past the time for his usual midday meal. And six hours after the early-day meal, when he had last eaten. The elderly governmental official cleared his throat a bit as soon as the Prior had finished with his sentence which had the usual effect of sounding irritatingly grandiose and irritatingly false. "Mr. Prior, I hope you've had the opportunity to finish up your lecture by now. If not we wil be happy to resume after our midday-meal. We invite you to join us too. "
"Hallowed are the Ori, above all other beings in existence. To fulfill the saving will of the Ori, one must nourish the soul much more than the body. You will listen until I am done, for I am offering you knowledge of the precious path to enlightenment, which your people obviously haven't been able to do."
Author's Note: I'm having some trouble finishing this chapter, but rest assured, I;ve almost worked through the problems and will add the finished further content very soon.