Revised version. Had a challenge with MS word's markup mode-sorry

Chapter Four

A little before noon, the Colonials were packed and ready to make the trip to their permanent headquarters. It took a little less than an hour to make the journey from the hotel to the Kobollian Embassy as it was being called. Calling it the Colonial Embassy of Kobol just didn't sound right and although that was the official name, it was considered by most of the visitors a bit too cumbersome. In any case, on the way in the limo, they stopped at one particular red light and while waiting for the light to change, a Terran teenager on a motorcycle recognized the Colonial flag on the limo's hood. He turned a hateful face at the limo and flipped a finger off at the clerics hidden by the tinted limo windows. Tyberi merely pressed a button, causing a window to roll down, and proceeded to flip the teenager off right back.

He quickly rolled the window back up and turned to a quizzical-looking Ursula, and said with a smile, "Now that Earth kid will get to tell his grandchildren that he was flipped off by a priest of the United Colonies of Kobol."

When they arrived at the embassy, one glance at Father Patrenus was enough to tell that he was not impressed by the modest four stories, brown brick building surrounded by trees and tastefully designed gardens. The twelve foot high fence made it look like some elaborate prison and the square-like design of the structure somehow offended him although he wasn't sure why. He didn't like the overt presence of the security guards that had stopped the car and made a rather invasive check on the passengers inside. That had been offensive to him. They were priests, servants of the gods, not terrorists. Yes, he understood the reasons why they had been searched but it had still offended him. However, he would make allowances since these Earth people didn't know who they were and were only doing their jobs.

By most accounts when it came to his religious practices, Tyberi was a man of action. He wanted to be out among the masses impressing upon them the religious beliefs that these people had lost. The hotel stay had only served to energize him as he literally had a perfect view of one of the temples or what the Terrans called churches. They were so close to one of the churches of the One God that everyone seemed to revere here, that he could have walked to the place. Unfortunately for him they hadn't had time visit the Saint Bartholomew's Episcopalian Church and that left him frustrated. He wanted to speak to one or more of the religious leaders and get a feel for them which would help him decide how to prepare himself when he was ready. Never mind the fact that he couldn't speak the language well enough to hold an intelligent conversation with the locals. Never mind that the locals, despite them carrying portable computertronics called smart phones, disguised as communications devices in their pockets, didn't have Colonial translation applications built in – a mistake if ever there was one as Earth would one day become part of the Colonies of Kobol–he felt the need to begin the great work. In short, he was excited and wanted to begin the mission he felt he was born to do. It was the very thing that he had argued for in the Synod only three weeks earlier although he never dreamed (hoped, of course) of actually accompany the missionaries to Earth. Like the others accompanying him he believed the time was ripe to begin turning the people of Earth away from their ignorance of the true gods.

The weather was colder than the norm for this season, but the brisk wind couldn't dampen Ambassador Agasha Saltum's enthusiasm at seeing some of the prominent priests and priestesses from coming to the place he called his home for almost two years. He and his wife Damari were surprised to find out that even one of the famed Oracles of the Kobol Colleges on Gemenon had come. It was an honor to receive such important guests and served to remind them and their small staff how serious the Colonies were taking this. Wisely, both husband and wife looked out the window of their embassy before they grabbed their wraps and headed to the limousines slowing to a stop near the front entrance.

Quickly, the two of them ushered the missionaries into the embassy while other members of the staff grabbed bags and personal belongings and carried them to their already prepared rooms. It took approximately an hour before everyone was settled in.

The small group felt more comfortable to be among their fellow Colonials, although many of them felt somewhat disappointed that the amenities were not as luxurious as at the Waldorf Astoria, nor quite as advanced. When they checked out of the hotel, they had to return their e-papers. Those little personal devices had grown on them quickly.

In the main dining hall, several dishes were prepared for noontime meal and the missionaries were quickly shown their seats as the ambassador wanted to start this first of many meetings between them on the correct footing.

"I'm somewhat surprised that you got here so quickly after the request was accepted," started Agasha after the invocation had finished. The tall man with dark brown streaked with gray hair smiled radiantly at the visitors following his wife's unabashed example.

"We are, too," Tyberi said. "I really expected the Earth leadership to say no, that they didn't want us here. But it's obvious the gods thought otherwise." The man smiled, pleased that he could speak a civilized tongue without the fear of tripping over the confusing Englisa language. "And I will confess that the trip was interesting, so unlike our own mode of traveling the stars."

"You will have to tell me what it was like. My wife and I came the traditional way. It took my staff and I the better part of a year to journey to Earth and that was after we received permission." The man shook his head. "You got here in a day. Amazing."

"And, it's somewhat bit disconcerting as well," said Jocasta Sparrow. Her forty-something's face was rife with disapproval. Even though fairly young, her natural beauty was hampered by the frown lines that came to prominence each time she spoke. A little plastic surgery would have been a help, but she shunned such things as being hypocritical to the gods' will of what a person should look like. "The Earth people are too advanced for their own good. Being isolated like this and having this kind of power can only cause ruin and their likely destruction in the long run."

"It's possible," Agasha allowed.

Elosha watched the ambassador carefully while the man spoke, trying to get a feel for him. It was easy to see that he wasn't enthusiastic at Sparrow's comment. "It seems like you don't necessarily agree with my esteemed colleague," observed Elosha. "How do you like Earth so far?"

"It's a fascinating planet. What I have seen, I liked; but, I haven't seen as much of this world," he explained. "You see, we're not allowed to travel to many of the countries here."

"Is that because of our religious beliefs?" asked Nikko. "I wouldn't be surprised if it were," he said answering his own question. "They have to be wary of our message. People don't necessarily like the truth."

"No," agreed the ambassador, but for entirely different reasons. "At first, I assumed that was the sole reason, too. However, although some countries are intolerant of any religion other than their own, most countries are hostile to us not because of our religion but because we tried to conquer them."

"We didn't try to conquer them," Linus huffed. "We were bringing them back into the fold! There's a difference." The young man with wild sandy hair looked indignant at the suggestion that the Colonies would try to conquer the Terrans. "They shouldn't have sheltered the Cylons and they should have welcomed their Colonial brethren–us with open arms instead of wiping out the fleet sent there to protect them from Cylon deceit." He didn't even try to hide the tones of bitterness spilling out from his voice.

"The Terrans didn't need our protection and there's the fact that these people see it somewhat differently," the ambassador's wife said delicately.

"Then the Terrans are wrong. They should have embraced us and none of this would have happened," Nikko countered. "Think of the numbers of lives lost because of this misunderstanding."

"Mister Demos, I've been here for more than a year and a half and I confess that my worldview now is different than what it was before I came here," interrupted Agasha, answering Elosha's unspoken question before the argument could get any more heated than it already was. The ambassador had already pegged Nikko as a hothead whose opinionated attitude might well get him into trouble unless he learned to rein in his patriotism. "What I've seen, I like. For an isolated people, the cultures here are remarkable and incredibly diverse. But we can discuss that a little later along with the rules and regulations that we need to go over while you are on Earth. Right now, I want you to enjoy this Earth cuisine," he said.

"It's not Colonial," Damari said apologetically. "It's impossible to bring most foods to this planet unless they're pre-packaged, decontaminated and deemed safe to be allowed on Earth, actions in which I happen to agree with. But many of the foods here are very close to what we have at home and we've tried to pick something that you'd be familiar with."

"We understand completely," Tyberi said. "We are aware of the dangers of introducing alien food stuffs into a new, alien environment."

"I'm still full from breakfast," complained Lucy. "If we keep this up, we won't be able to fit into our clothes," she added smiling picked up another finger sandwich and plopped it into her mouth.

"I see they have apples here," Nikko announced. He looked at them like they were the strangest things on the planet. "When I first saw them, I must confess that I didn't expect that," he said examining the deep yellow fruit carefully. "It's so similar to our fruit."

"Oh, yes," the ambassador said. "They have more than seventy five hundred varieties of apples at last count. You will find that this planet has such a huge variety of fruits and vegetables that they dwarf anything that we have at the colonies. And the flavors, while close, are different than our varieties."

"Impossible," Nikko sniffed. "We have close to six hundred varieties from seven different worlds at home. They can't have more than the Colonies."

"I see you know your fruit, Holy One."

"I grew up on a farm on Caprica and worked as a priest of Demeter on Aerilon," Nikko replied humbly. "We grew fruit of all kinds so I became somewhat of an expert on apples, pears, and peaches and several others. Most of our fruits are from the original seed stocks taken from Kobol during the great exodus."

"Well, Earth has documented their fruits," Agasha replied. "They have thousands of varieties of apples and are developing and discovering more every day. And they claim that these are native to Earth, not imports." The ambassador stared at the fruits on the table. Those apples helped shape my opinion of Earth in many ways."

"I don't understand," Elosha stated.

"Neither do I," said Tyberi irritably. "Can you explain what fruit has to do with our conversation?"

"Yes, I will," the ambassador answered. His wife went from relaxed to somewhat alarmed. What her husband was about to say could very well cause a diplomatic incident between them and the missionaries. "Before I begin, have any of you read my reports I've sent back concerning Earth and its culture?"

"Only a few," admitted Tyberi. "Most of the reports were censored since they dealt with the political situation which the Synod was not privy to. However, I did read some of your views and reports on the religions of this world. Frightening reading, actually."

Ambassador Saltum wasn't really surprised at his answer. Diplomatic packets and correspondence took an average of three weeks to a month to get to the colonies and back as each pouch was transported by a CDF diplomatic transport to Star base Makaria about a week's travel. From there the station used its powerful subspace transceiver to transmit and receive orders from Caprica. The transmission took an average of a week to arrive and another to get a response. So, communication with home was slower than he'd like but there was little choice in the matter. For emergencies the embassy had its own subspace transmitter–a product acquired from Cylon science–that could reach out to Makaria in emergencies. However it wasn't used much as Terrans proved their ability to easily intercept and translate most Colonial codes, which was naturally a source constant irritation and frustration at Colonial Intelligence. And paranoia was the operative word as CI did everything in their power to limit Earth from discovering any more secrets than the already had.

Simply put, they were afraid of Terran contamination; so much so that they placed the released prisoners, survivors of the battle in the Sol system in quarantine for almost a year before allowing them back into the population. Each and every one of the former prisoners, no matter the rank were forced to sign non-disclosure forms to insure that no mention of the Race was released into the general population under the penalty of life imprisonment including hard labor. Goesel didn't want it released under any circumstances, not until the time was right and apparently it still wasn't the right time.

"I thought as much. The briefs you'll receive later today will give you a general outline of what we've experienced since we've arrived on Earth." He snapped his fingers. "And before I forget, this world is based on a twenty-four hour cycle instead of a twenty-six as on Caprica. It's a small difference but it was confusing for a while and it took us a little time to adjust." Most of his guests nodded in appreciation. Having gotten that out of the way, he continued. "First, you will have to have to relax here for at least the next three to five days. Believe me, the immunizations that you've received from both our people and Earth's is going to affect you and you will need to rest from their effects."

"Yes, yes we know," Tyberi insisted. "But we feel fine right now."

"Enjoy it while you can," the ambassador said in all seriousness. "I was informed you underwent standard decontamination onboard their ship, but believe me, immunizations are something different altogether. Our doctor will make sure you're as comfortable as possible."

"Sounds ominous," Ursula said, speaking for the entire group. "But we do thank you for your concern."

"Good. I just want you prepared and now that that's out of the way. We have to discuss another very important topic. It's most imperative that you understand that Earth is not like any colony you've ever experienced. It is known by several different planetary governments and their enemies by the name familiar to us all, the Tau'ri. It's the unofficial name for the Terrans and let me be clear that they do recognize it but strongly prefer to be recognized as the Terrans."

"So we've been told over and over," Ursula huffed. "I don't understand why they have such a problem with the name Apellai. It's who they are. Every person in the Colonies knows by now that the Earth's star in relation to the colonies is in the constellation we both call Ophiuchus, another connection by the way. Apollo is sometimes related to Ophiuchus and one of his epithets is Apellai, meaning destroyer, a good name for these people and their belligerent attitudes."

"With respect, Honored One, they could care less about our assumptions about who they are," said Saltum. "But to continue, the name Tau'ri was given to them by their enemies and is considered by the Terrans to be somewhat derogatory, although the Terrans have by their actions made it into their own and it's respected, or feared and hated, depending on who you are, across the galaxy."

"What do you mean across the galaxy? How far have they traveled?" asked Tyberi.

"Are we speaking of aliens here?" asked Lucy. "Or, are we speaking about other colonies like those wretched Tollanians?"

The ambassador looked thoughtful as he answered. "The Earth people haven't come out come out and said it directly but their travels appear to be extensive, far more than our explorations. Tollanians are human but they are not a colony of Earth. But to answer your other question, I believe we're speaking primarily about human occupied worlds, although there has been some suggestions that not all of these governments are–human."

Tyberi felt a shiver craw up his spine. He began silently praying that these so-called 'aliens' weren't in fact the lizards that called themselves the Race. "What type of aliens are we speaking of here?" he carefully inquired. "Do you have a name for them?"

"No," Agasha confessed. He was on dangerous ground now. Most Colonials didn't know about the Race. Goesel and those members of the Quorum in the know were very specific about keeping the people of the Colonies ignorant of the creatures as long as possible. Disclosure would come soon enough but on their terms, no by having the information leaked before they were ready. "The Terrans are remarkably tight-lipped about their alien allies. I do know that some of their fantastic technology came from an extinct alien race called the Asgard. But I have few details."

The Asgard, another human group, Elosha thought. She remembered the senator mentioning Asgard and Goa'uld during the Congressional hearing broadcast in the news, but she kept silent as she listened and observed the discussion.

"Aliens," Nikko scoffed. "We've never encountered aliens in our thousands of years of space travel. I've heard something about the goa'uld but they're just barbaric humans, not aliens."

Tyberi remained remarkably silent while Elosha began to glare daggers at his back. Dodona simply glanced at him and returned to eating with eyes half-closed. A tiny smirk tugged at the oracle's lips.

"Aliens are real," the ambassador said, glad to be able to speak a half-truth to his fellows. "The goa'uld are real aliens, not some human devil or servants of the Prince of Darkness as many in the Colonies think. But from the descriptions about them that I've been told about, they could be right, for all I know. They are parasitic snake-like intelligences that take over and live inside and controls the human body. They have been around for thousands of years, maybe longer and they pose as gods. They've destroyed hundreds of races and enslaved countless humans. They are real."

As Nikko stared into the eyes of the ambassador, his own widened with horror as he remembered the news clip of the woman introduced as Athena in the American Senate hearing. "That's ghastly," he said. His voice was a harsh whisper as his mind raced. "Is that why these Terrans have rejected the gods? Is it because of the blasphemy of these abominations?"

"But you said that the goa'uld enslaved thousands of humans. What humans?" asked Elosha. "Were these humans Terrans that were kidnapped? Since we've never heard of the goa'uld, and there has never been any recorded incidences of kidnappings on such a scale at home or in the Scrolls, not even rumors they had to come from Earth. Am I right?"

"Yes. Humans were spread across the galaxy by these creatures." He waited as the missionaries digested exactly what he had just told them.

Lucy was the first to blurt out the realization. "That means there are humans spread throughout the galaxy, isn't there?" she all but yelled. "Most of them are heathens with no idea of the true example of the gods." She slumped back into her chair. "We have a lot of work to do."

"Quite a bit, actually. This world doesn't believe that they are a colony of Kobol."

"Of course they don't." Ursula smiled gently. "Being so isolated from us, how could they not, especially since they've lost their history. Or, has it been suppressed?"

"I've been on Earth and the things I've seen, what I've read has made me more thoughtful and cautious. Suppressed? I don't believe so. But it appears that they don't have any history concerning Kobol."

"So in other words, you don't believe Earth is the Thirteenth Colony," Lucy challenged.

The ambassador slowly nodded to her shock. "I'm beginning to doubt it."

"Impossible," Tyberi scoffed. "We are all Kobollians, no matter what they say. We have a common heritage–humanity."

"I wonder," Agasha said. His words came out harsher than he'd intended, surprising Tyberi and the others. "You haven't seen what I have. They have archeological evidence dating back a hundred thousand years that's impossible to dismiss."

"Why are you telling us this?" Elosha asked. Like the others she could barely believe what she was hearing coming from the ambassador.

The look on his face was that of a desperate man. "I need to explain to someone who might listen," the ambassador told her. "I've sent word to our government leaders but I don't believe they understand what I'm trying to convey to them, or maybe they don't want to. I am praying that you, our religious leaders might be able to understand what I've seen here. We're making assumptions that could put our worlds in extreme danger."

"Ambassador," Ursula said gently as not to antagonize their hosts. "I don't know what you've seen. I don't know how the Earth people have convinced you, but what you've just said flies in the face of everything that the Book of Pythia tells us. This is Earth. This is the Thirteenth Tribe; there's no question about this. They were the first tribe to escape the impending doom of Kobol more than two thousand years before the other tribes left Kobol. Many people think that all of the tribes left at the same time or that the Thirteenth Tribe was the last to leave, but most people do not read the Sacred Scrolls from beginning to end. Nevertheless, the fact that they left Kobol can't be disputed."

"Here, it can," Agasha stated flatly. "I've seen evidence that the Sacred Scrolls aren't as complete as we may believe."

"What you're saying can be considered blasphemy by some people," suggested an intense looking Father Tyberi. "Perhaps living on this planet has caused this crisis of faith you're obviously having. I now understand why we're here at this precise time and place. Among other things, we're here to support you as you begin to doubt that which you know is true. The gods must love you to want to protect you as such."

"I pray that they do," answered the ambassador. "But that doesn't explain what I've seen and I can't ignore the evidence."

"Then please give us an example," prompted Luke as he pulled out his ever present notepad.

The room quieted somewhat as he had the attention of everyone. Linus and Lucy glared at him as if he were some type of poisonous insect. Elosha was guarded but curious while no one could tell what Ursula was thinking. Tyberi and most of the others looked on the man with something akin to pity.

"I've spoken to Tollanian Ambassador Tarium. I..."

"You've spoken to those people?!" Julian all but screamed. His response shocked the others to their core as his outburst indicated just how shocked the usually quiet, priest was at the ambassador's statement. "They're murderers, all of them!"

Elosha glared at him. "What is wrong with you?"

"My father was a senior officer on the Severus when it was blown apart by the Tollanian warship," he whispered. "All of those people killed and the Tollanians got away with it without a scratch."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Saltum told him. "Too many people have been killed in the last few years and that's why we're all here, each doing our duty to keep more deaths from happening."

Dodona Selloi rubbed her temple in dismay. "We've been so concerned with the people of Earth that we've forgotten to take care of our own!" She turned to face an angry Julian Soter. "Please forgive me for not realizing this sooner. I would be honored if you would take time so that we might speak to each other in private. Together we can get your time of mourning something you haven't had. You're not alone and we take care of our own."

"I feel fine," argued Julian, but refusing to look at her.

"I can tell that you're not," countered Dodona while she secretly wondered what Livia was thinking choosing someone still in the grieving process. What did the woman expect, that he would forgive the people who killed members of his family after only a few weeks?

"Please excuse my outbursts," the young man said. "I thought I had my feelings under control." He was obviously conflicted. "If you will excuse me, I will retire to my room."

"Maybe you should stay and hear what I have to say," insisted Saltum. "Knowledge is power and you need to know this if you are going to stay on this planet and speak to their allies. I'm sorry but we've all lost many of our friends and loved ones because of the wars. Cylons, Terran, Tollanians; it makes little difference how when our people die and leave us. What we must do is prevent more deaths on sides. But ignoring the truths and ignoring needed information will only help to get more people killed. So, I ask that you stay and listen to what I have to say."

Clearly Julian wanted to leave, torn between the need to be alone and the obligation to hear what his ambassador had to say. From his tone, it had to be important but what did it matter to him? Without his permission, a laugh escaped from his mouth. All of his strength had deserted him. Everything he thought he was turned out to be a lie. He was so convinced that the death of his father wouldn't affect him when Livia suggested that he go that he had ignored his own feelings. He truly believed that but when the ambassador mentioned the Tollanian, he carefully cultured shell fell apart. Julian would have never believed that he was so weak. If there was so much hatred in his heart for the Tollanians, then how much more for the Terrans was hiding waiting to burst forth and ruin this mission of the gods?

"I will stay," he said slowly. When this is over I need to rethink who I am. This mission is too important for me to hamper it with my attitude because gods forgive me, I hate them,he thought.

"Thank you,' Saltum said with grudging respect. The man had some strength, more than he had first assumed. "As I said, I spoke to the Tollanian ambassador at length about the Terran people and their relationship to the Tollanian people and like many I assumed they were a colony of the Terrans. Ambassador Tarium was adamant that his people are not a colony of Earth. From his denial, I surmised that his people were one of the lost ones, ships of the Thirteenth that somehow been lost or damaged and somehow separated from the main fleet that had successfully made it to Earth. The Tollanians must have found a habitable world of their own and developed their own culture and science independent of Earth. As you know from what was written in the Tynesus logs, colony ships were lost due to mechanical failure, outright mutinies, or natural disasters like the Acsellii asteroid swarm that destroyed those eight colony ships of ours before our ancestors discovered Cyrannus."

Several of the missionaries in the room nodded and the mention of the reference. Captain Brotem Tynesus's logs of the great journey from Kobol to the system of the twelve worlds was without doubt one of the great historical treasures of the Colonies, in many ways almost equal to the Sacred Scrolls. The captain's accounts of the journey from Kobol and the perils the people encountered were still required reading for all historical students. Seventy ships were recorded leaving Kobol, led by the great ship Galleon. Only eighteen colony vessels survived the two thousand light year journey from home to the Cyrannus quadruple star system. What wasn't commonly known was that during the journey, mutinies and piracy among the survivors occurred. Precious food and water were coveted prizes as well as parts fuel. The jump capability of the ancient ships were very limited being able to jump a maximum of only four light years. Once the transit was completed, it took a week for the engines to cool down enough to be used once more. According to the records, the wait periods between jumps were the worst. Many times, a ship didn't arrive at the proper coordinates and was considered lost. Many escapees, refugees from the war and ecological catastrophes that destroyed Kobol still harbored grudges. Entire ships and crews were lost due to in-fighting. In his logs, Tynesus theorized that some of the missing ships may have found refuge in unknown star systems but he had little hope for them surviving alone. By all accounts, the trip to Cyrannus was horrific and a textbook example of what could happen when cramped, desperate people did everything they could to survive. But it was just the people and ships that were a danger.

The worst incident, and ironically the defining moment of the journey happened when the fleet inadvertently jumped into the Acsellii asteroid field, named after the first ship obliterated by a strike from a half mile wide asteroid. Nineteen ships were destroyed during the eight days stay as they did everything they could to cool the engines and avoid the rocks plummeting the heavily armored by vulnerable transports. Two of the vessels attempted to jump early. Their engines tore themselves and their ships apart. The incident changed the mindset of the entire fleet. Together the survivors made it to the Cyrannus system. Many of the old resentments remained but on the twelve worlds, humanity remembered.

The Thirteenth Tribe's trip, was believed to be a different story. Some historians believe that they were the last tribe to leave Kobol but there was evidence to suggest that they instead may have been the first to leave, as described in the Sacred Scrolls. Some still argued the point. However, whatever the reason, many historians believed that the Thirteenth Tribe ships that left suffered many of the same challenges that the Twelve Colonies had. It was almost impossible to believe that ships hadn't been lost during their journey, but unlike their brethren their destination had taken them to areas of the galaxy where there were rich garden worlds perfect for humanity to flourish. That the Sacred Scrolls, especially the Book of Pythia, contained descriptions of the Thirteenth Tribe's journey to Earth heavily suggest that someone may have come back to Kobol and told the tale to the other tribes.

Agasha naturally assumed if the Tollanians weren't a colony of Earth then they were lost members of the lost tribe. They told him otherwise.

"The Tollanians are not a colony of Earth, nor are they survivors of the journey to Earth. Both they and the Terrans agree on this. The Tollanians acknowledge that their people originated from Earth, kidnapped from Earth by a Goa'uld that had either abandoned them or died. They're unsure about what happened but they were left alone and their technology advanced much further than Earth's. They are few in numbers now but they are adamant about Earth's survival. Any attack or aggression against Earth is considered an act of aggression against them. That why they attacked and destroyed some of our warships only twelve light years from Earth. They perceived us as a threat."

"But why were we perceived as a threat?" Linus asked. "We weren't threatening the Terrans. We all know that the Terrans are capable of taking care of themselves and we all know that this part of the galaxy is rich and capable of sustaining us all without us interfering with each other. Are they so afraid of us that they can't abide us to be anywhere near them?"

"Perhaps we shouldn't focus on the politics," Tyberi interjected quickly, trying to deflect this line of questioning. "We're here to help these people understand the truth and let's leave the politics to the politicians."

"But I want to know," Linus insisted.

"As do I," added Ursula.

"They believe that war is inevitable and Earth is a critical part in everyone's survival. They owe Earth a great debt. The Tollanian ambassador told me that they will not tolerate any people actively interfering with Earth. These people are not interested in us or our survival. If we interfere, they will wipe us out."

"Barbarians!" Luke huffed.

"Whatever they may be, they insist that Earth is the home of humanity not Kobol. The Jaffa also insist that the Tau'ri, not the Kobollians, are the first people and Earth is where humanity originated."

"They've lost their history," suggested Luke.

"Or, they have solid evidence that contradicts our understanding of Humanity," the ambassador countered.

"Ridiculous," Tyberi scoffed. "But this argument will be settled when we find evidence of it in our time here on this planet, not arguing here over lunch. When we find the Temple of Aurora, we will be vindicated. Let us speak of more important things."

"No," Elosha said. She could see the worry and concern and confusion written across Agasha's face. "I want to hear what our ambassador has to say."

TBC