Chapter Four

"Shit."

Daniel grimaced. "Yeah."

They were screwed.

"And you're reading their history to see if you can find clues?" she surmised.

Vala knew him – he always forgot just how well. He should have known she'd guess what he was attempting with all the papers. He gave a bland smile. "Yeah," he repeated and sighed heavily. "No luck so far."

She appeared to be pondering their situation to try to find solutions. As much as she annoyed him, Vala always did have the ability to think outside the box – sometimes way outside – so if one of them was coming up with a creative solution, it was her. "What if this is like Earth?" At his frown of confusion, she elaborated. "What if the Goa'uld were here years ago and the thing happened here as it did on Earth? Maybe they buried the 'gate?"

"Or the Goa'uld took it with them," he mumbled unpragmatically before moving on. "Then why isn't it in their history? Why is there no evidence?"

Vala chuckled. "Aside from the Stargate, which took thousands of years to be found by the way, Earth didn't have any either."

"We have the myths of all the gods," he pointed out. He already asked Mervyl if they had any 'gods' and the man's response had been no. "They don't. Not like that anyway. It's more a simple faith in the universe and mother nature type of faith."

She stopped to think again and he didn't mind. They needed to think through and discuss any and all possibilities before surrendering to a very likely scenario – the possibility of there not being a Stargate. It wasn't something they wanted to dwell on. If there was no Stargate, they really were trapped. There wouldn't be a way home. No one knew where they were in the Universe – hell they didn't even know! There was nothing leading anyone to them, no rescue mission. The SGC probably didn't even know what happened to them on the Alliance's ship or if they were alive or dead. It would be as Vala once said – searching for a needle in a needle stack. Like the IOA would allow that.

"Okay, so this is a little dark," Vala spoke abruptly, breaking the silence, "but what if their experience was so bad they wiped it from their history completely? Like with the Dark Ages on Earth."

Daniel barely disguised his laughter as a cough – for all the good it did. "That's not exactly what the Dark Age was…"

Vala sighed in frustration – a sound he had gotten used to over the years. It differed from her impatient and whiny ones. This one was aimed at getting another Earth fact, idiom, and saying wrong again. She always tried to pretend it didn't bug her, but he had seen through it for some time. "Well, the name is very misleading!"

He cracked a smile. "Fair enough," he conceded before responding. "That could be a possibility, but we won't know unless we dive deeper. If their ancestors purged it from their history, they may not even know it."

"Wouldn't you be able to tell by the dates in the records?"

"Not everyone records the dates."

"Well, that's stupid."

"Agreed," he fingered the papers on his lap. "But we don't have anything else to go on except. We can only hope we'll find something in their history."

Vala was quiet for a moment, appearing to take it all in, before she said, "Well, let's get started, shall we?"

o0o

Despite his protests, Vala insisted on helping. She didn't care that she was still recovering. She couldn't stand the thought of sitting around while Daniel did all the work to try and get them home. So, the morning after she woke up, she practically forced him to take her with him to the town library and put her to work. He obeyed with great reluctance and pouted like a toddler not getting his way. She ignored it and grabbed one of the history books he set aside during her prolonged sleep.

The Thessians really did document almost everything of significance. There were thousands of books and scrolls noting everything and anything that could potentially prove to be useful in the future – weather patterns/changes, plagues, diseases, agriculture notes on the entire food process from most crops, every person who had been a premier since the first elected, the advancements of their civilizations, growth, summaries of each year since almost the beginning, and more. Vala could tell it was mind boggling to Daniel how meticulous their record keeping was.

"It has been ingrained in us since the dawn of our civilization to record our existence," Mervyl told Daniel after he commented on their extensive historical records. "No one can remember a time when we did not."

The Premier's answer somehow seemed to excite Daniel and he became more determined – something she didn't understand. "Think about it!" he exclaimed in his usual way of excitement. "No brand new race just wakes up and thinks, 'Let's record our history, even though we don't even know what that is, or have a written language to go with it.'"

He had a point, but she was still missing a piece of the puzzle. "Okay, so what does that mean?"

"It means someone told them to!" he looked at her with what she could only describe as hope.

"Like the Ancients?" she guessed.

Daniel shook his head. "No, no. If it was them, there'd be a Stargate and some sign of them here. They don't interfere or experiment with those on a lower plain of existence."

Vala flipped through pages in one of the books she was studying. "Who says they were ascended?" she gave him a challenging look and raised an eyebrow that Teal'c would be proud of. "And let's not forget that just because they're not supposed to interfere, doesn't mean that they do. We've seen interference many times."

He tapped his pencil on a notebook as he considered the alternative she presented. "Touche," he conceded. "It's not really their style, but we've seen evidence of rogue Ancients that support your theory."

"I wouldn't call it a theory," she retorted. "If you weren't thinking of the Ancient, then who?"

"The Asgard," he replied. "We've seen it before. Though I will admit, this is different. The Asgard in the past have posed as Norse gods on primitive planets – don't give me that look. They assumed the roles of protective gods against the Goa'uld and never asked for worship. They simply did it to protect the planets."

Vala hmphed. "Well, considering these people don't believe in gods, I think it's safe to say it wasn't the Asgard."

"Not necessarily," he pointed his pencil at her. "Who knows where this planet is in the galaxy? It's definitely out of the way that even the Goa'uld didn't know about it. Maybe they didn't need to play gods – the planet's location was enough protection."

She thought about it for a second. "Say you're right, why would they do that?"

He scowled at her, but she secretly knew he loved it when she challenged him – it generally helped him think better, and of course, gave him a chance to show off his knowledge. "They did it before with other worlds – why not observe how Thessa would evolve without the interference from the rest of the galaxy?"

She considered the possibility for another minute. "Even if anything of this holds the slightest truth, how does this help us?" she challenged him once more. "Because the way I'm seeing it, this does us no good. The Asgard are dead. There is no one running to our aid like Thor did on Cimmeria – no Asgard appearing if we solve a series of tests."

She hit the mark. She took no pleasure in his deflation, but she refused to coddle a hope that wasn't there. "Right," he mumbled, and looked down at the book he was studying. "You're right. I didn't think of that. They wouldn't have left a way off. They always came to the planet and beamed them up. Those sensors are long destroyed. We're back to square one – stuck together."

Vala knew he was mainly talking to himself and making himself accept the reality of their situation, but something about his last words really bothered her – so much that she physically flinched. He didn't mean it like that – not entirely– but she couldn't help but take offense to them. "Well, I'm sorry you had to get stranded with me. I know you'd rather much have anyone else," she blurted out, and she heard her own bitterness lacing the words.

Her actions registered not long after she spoke, and she instantly regretted her rashness and buried herself into the history book to avoid his now pointed gaze at her. Great, just what they needed – another fight. She also wasn't in the mood for him to tell her that she was right – she already knew. She would always be her teammates' last pick to be stranded with.

"That's not what I meant," she didn't expect his soft reply, and it made her head snap up and meet his eyes. "Vala, please know that's not what I meant. I'm just frustrated at the situation, not you."

She glanced away. "But you'd still rather be stranded with someone else, right?"

Daniel sighed in displeasure, but she didn't care. "Honestly? Yeah, probably. I mean Sam would be the ideal choice. You're you. Mitchell talks too much. Teal'c doesn't talk enough. Jack would complain too often, and lament that he was stranded again."

She snorted. He was right there.

"But honestly, it depends on the situation," he tapped his pencil on the book in front of her to catch her attention, and she looked back up at him. "As much as I trust Sam to get me off a Goa'uld mothership, I trust you more – especially an altered Goa'uld mothership. And as much as I trust Teal'c to fly and crash land a damaged Cargo Ship, I trust you more."

Vala raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" she knew she sounded skeptic, but it wasn't something she expected Daniel to say…ever.

He gave her a small smile. "Really," he promised, and sounded like he meant it. "It would've taken Sam longer, if at all – who knows where'd be with the Alliance. And I don't think Teal'c could've flown that crappy ship the way you did or land it with minimal injuries. In this situation, you're my choice."

She blinked, not quite able to believe what he was saying. "You can't be serious." He was just saying that to keep the peace, right? They did have to live with each other for who knows how long – possibly forever.

"Dead serious," he replied with conviction as he locked eyes with her as if trying to convey how serious he was. "I mean it, Vala. You need to give yourself more credit. You're the reason why we escaped, and not being tortured by the Lucien Alliance right now. Crashing on a habitable planet with nice people is a better alternative."

There was that, but they were minor details in comparison to the big picture at hand. "I can see why I'm preferable in those ways," she said, "but those events already happened – they're over. We're now talking about what could possibly be the rest of our lives. Surely you still can't feel the same."

Daniel smiled again. "I do," he said sincerely. "Just don't make me regret it."