AN: After the last few updates, I got a healthy appreciation as to why the SG writters simply ignored the issue with local languages, unless it was a major plot point like translating ancient and figuring out how to find various deus-ex-machina items. Withot those issues, we might have gotten a preliminary trade deal in place this chapter. While realistic, those issues significantly slow down the pacing of a story.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Star Wars, or Stargate movies, TV shows, games, books, or comics. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not for sale or rent.
Chapter 2: Making deals with the Devil...
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Part 5
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29 May 1996
Project Giza complex
Cheyenne Mountain
United States
Milky Way galaxy
General West stood in the control centers, surrounded by specialists and various interested parties. Most notably, the Deputy Secretary of State was here to oversee, but for obvious reasons, not participate, in the coming negotiations.
Henry Hayes looked around, absorbing everything with ill-disguised interest.
"We're ready to proceed. Dr. Carter and her team at Area 51 wrote a program to account for interstellar drift. As of two hours ago, it managed to do so on the address Perun provided for us." General West spoke aloud for the record. "First, we're sending a probe robot, complete with cameras and environmental sensors. Depending on what we see through it, I'll either give the mission a green light, or abort it. Dial the gate."
"And so we make history," Hayes whispered.
"As long as we're here to learn from it," West answered quietly.
A quickly designed improved buffer and holding system ensured that this time the gate powered up with barely a tremor felt in the command center.
"Chevron seven locking in! We've got a connection, it's working!"
Everyone could see that. The gate activated with a whoosh sound and its usual light show.
"Deploying MALP."
Down in the gate room, two specialists guided something that would fit in as a probe on either the Moon or Mars, just bigger up the ramp. Its comparatively large wheels slowly carried it to the gate and through it.
"We've still got telemetry!"
"We can't make anything of it…"
"Three-point two seconds, mark! We've got a visual!"
The MALP was outside, either on a hill or raised platform. Its cameras showed blue skies with the odd ragged white cloud.
"Panning the cameras… Fuck me, are those humans?!"
One camera swung down. The first new thing it caught was the pointed tip of a tall golden-colored tent, then the rest of it, complete with two human-looking beings standing guard. They appeared to wear medieval armor and staff… At that point, a dark-skinned man clad in a different stripe of metal armor came out of the tent. He had a webbing on his armor that was not too dissimilar to what many of the troopers in the base wore. He also had a large, rifle-shaped weapon held on straps to his chest.
"Ceremonial guards, and actual security," O'Neill concluded.
The man kept heading towards the MALP, and as he approached, they could make more details. There were a few round objects held by his harnes, almost certainly grenades of some kind. Pouches, a sheathed knife, and a strange silver device hung off his belt.
If it wasn't for the odd bulky armor, and strange equipment, he would have fit in among most militaries on Earth. Curiously enough, the man had a black stylized tattoo of a hawk on his forehead. That was something that became visible only when he walked almost up to the MALP.
He spoke something to the machine, using an unfamiliar tongue, then waited for a response.
"Get Jackson up here on the double!" West snapped and an Airman ran to fetch him.
The man waited for a few more seconds and repeated his words, then raised an eyebrow at the MALP.
"I'm here, what do you need…" Jackson trailed off as he saw what everyone was starring at. "He's human!"
"Either that or the next best thing, Doctor. Can you translate?"
"Run back a recording…"
The otherworldly soldier sighed and slowly repeated his words.
"Huh, that's an odd way to speak it, but then again it has been a very long time…" Jackson shook his head. "Ta'uri – first… first people? First worlders? People of the First World, I think that's what he calls us and it's a title. I'm pretty sure he just invited us to come through."
"Let's not disappoint our new friends. General? As far as I can see, there is no present reason to delay the mission." Hayes gave his approval.
"I agree. You're on point, Dr. Jackson. Make us proud."
"Diplomatic team, you're clear to deploy."
Soon, the twenty strong teams, including various specialists, and small security detail, pilled up into the gate room. One after another they went to the rippling energy contained within the Stargate. After a brief pause, stepped through, writing their names in history.
In the command center, everyone eagerly waited for their arrival. Three-point two seconds later, the first human from Earth to step a foot on an alien planet flew through the gate like a sack of potatoes. Two of the MALP's cameras immortalized their hard landing, showing in good detail that they were covered in frost. Yet another camera recorded the alien Human's reaction, and if the stunned expression on his face was anything to go by, such arrival was far from the ordinary.
A moment later, a second body flew out of the Stargate and landed on the first one just as it was stirring up.
"So much about making a good first impression. Are those poor bastards all right?!" Hayes demanded to know.
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Site Beta
abandoned Goa'uld world
Milky Way Galaxy
As soon as he stepped into the silver energy pool, Colonel O'Neill beheld a sea of stars streaming past his eyes. The short trip felt like a roller-coaster from hell, that threw you in the middle of Alaska, at the height of winter. He shivered, struggling with a bone-deep chill when someone else came out of the door and landed on him with breath-taking force.
Before Jack could do anything else but groan, a third person came through, adding to the pile-up.
Then the armored stranger was there. He easily pulled Ferretti and Kowalski off the Colonel, just in time for Dr. Jackson to fly through and unwittingly tackle him. Fortunately, there wasn't a fifth body flying face-first through the gate.
Jack finally found his feet and helped the shacking Jackson to get up.
The only bright side was that the locals might be indeed friendly. If they weren't this disastrous entrance would have been the perfect moment for them to strike, instead of trying to help. For once, O'Neill wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Colonel O'Neill, are you all right?" General West demanded.
"We're more or less intact, sir. It was a bumpy ride, and it delivered us half frozen. If you still intend to send the rest of the team, I recommend that they enter one at a time and wait for us to move them away from the landing zone." O'Neill suggested.
The Colonel looked around while waiting for an answer and raised an eyebrow at the man who aided them.
Ferretti and Kowalski took position near the Stargate, ready to catch whoever flew through next. With a bit of practice, they managed to catch two out of three people before they could hit the ground.
If their host's grin was anything to go by, they weren't going to forget this first impression. At least it wasn't a hostile first contact, and that was the important point, wasn't it?
O'Neill kept one eye on Daniel, as he talked gibberish with the locals while observing the world they found themselves in. At a first glance, it appeared that they could be in a forest clearing somewhere up north, perhaps in Canada. A few more ceremonial guards and a handful of soldiers made their way to the front of the large tent, but remained there, making no threatening gestures. They just curiously observed the Diplomatic team. Jack's first impression was that they had parity in visible combat personnel, however, that wasn't saying much.
"Colonel, we're invited to set up at the tent and wait for Lord Perun's arrival. From what I gather, he is a busy man running his realm and couldn't spare the time to wait for us here for a week or two."
"He is not here then?" Jack inquired.
"That's my understanding. If he is on this planet or will arrive through the gate when we stop using it…" Daniel shrugged.
"Do ask, your new friend. You look very chummy together."
"The language is fascinating! The way it has evolved, yet I can get most of what he is saying is just unreal!" Jackson gushed.
O'Neill resisted urging to pat him on the head, at the impersonation of a, particularly eager puppy. Nerds.
"General, did you get that?" Jack asked, addressing the MALP.
"In hindsight, it sounds legit, especially if we end up negotiating directly with their head of state." O'Neill recognized the State Department man's voice.
"Get set up and we'll call you regularly to confirm your status. Good luck and God's speed, Colonel.
Soon, the whole team was through and the gate shut down. As soon as it did, Telmak went to a nearby odd pedestal no one paid much attention to and began fiddling with it. Behind them, the Stargate immediately lit up.
"What the hell…" Jack exclaimed.
Telmak shouted something over the commotion caused by the Diplomatic team.
"Colonel, I think he's about to summon Perun," Jack interjected. He slowly walked to the local and looked at the pedestal. "Huh, that's interesting. We don't have something like this, do we?"
Jack and a few more people warily clustered around the Telmak to take a good look.
"That's one large remote, I guess." Woolsey declared after observing the device.
The gate behind them came to life, barely missing the now mostly inert MALP. Telmak pulled out a silver sphere from a pouch on his belt and threw it through the gate, then jabbered something at Daniel.
"Lord Perun should arrive as soon as he has the time available." Daniel dutifully translated.
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Part 6
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Site Beta
abandoned Goa'uld world
Milky Way Galaxy
It was time to put forth one hell of a performance. I walked through the Stargate, accompanied by a proper honor guard.
Two Jaffa clad in traditional plate and chain mail took point, followed by four Custodes gleaming in their polished golden armor. Another such group walked behind me, making up for a proper backup in case of trouble.
A few moments of discontinuity followed, making me almost feel one with the Force, then my feet touched the rough stone of the platform at the destination. The first thing I noticed, was the backs of my guards. The second was what got their attention – a large, crude droid covered with all kinds of sensors. From what little I could recall, this indeed looked like the MALP of Stargate fame and infamy. I gave the thing a wan smile in case its cameras still recorded and walked past without a second glance.
My Jaffa had sent the right message capsule I noted. There were even twenty new signatures I could sense under the large tent, taking shelter from the midday sun. My Jaffa looked relaxed, and not a little bored, at least until they noticed my arrival, which fired up their divine fervor and put steel in their spines.
"Jaffa, Kree. Keep to the defensive perimeter." I let my Honor Guard disperse around the tent and entered inside.
The Earth party consisted of a ten-man security detail, a man who could be only Daniel Jackson, surrounded by tissue papers, a few other vaguely familiar faces I couldn't quite place, and a handful of complete strangers.
"Greetings Tau'ri!" I proclaimed in a typical Goa'uld fashion, including the glowing eye special effect.
"Greetings, Lord of Thunderdome!" Daniel spoke back. He was earnest, that much I had to give him.
"It's Lord of Thunder," I explained slowly. If we couldn't get proper communication going, there wouldn't be much I could get done during this first meeting. So much about hoping to expedite a trade deal.
The people who I guessed were supposed to be the diplomats, looked between the glory that was yours truly, and Daniel, looking for a cue to intervene.
"Lord Thunderer?" Daniel tried again, in broken Goa'uld.
I pointed at myself with a thumb. "Perun, Lord of Thunder."
Jackson imitated my gesture. "Daniel Jackson. Speaker of tongues."
"Daniel Jackson, translator." I corrected him while fighting the urge to roll my eyes. I needed a proper diplomatic department to deal with trivial things like these. It was too bad that I lacked the qualified personnel for it.
"I'm getting the general meaning of Perun's words, however, we have a lot of ground to cover until we can be sure of the details," Daniel told his party in English.
I put a valiant effort in not giving away I knew the language, even if I hadn't used it in a very long time. Instead, I imperiously raised an eyebrow.
At that point, Daniel ushered the ambassadors to introduce themselves. They followed their example, pointing at their chest with a thumb and announcing their titles. I had to struggle to keep my composure when Daniel tried to translate. The disconnect is frankly hilarious.
Ambassador Steven Mycroft was the only one who didn't get his title mangled.
Legal and technical adviser Woolsey got somehow turned into High Councilor of Law, the menial servant Woolsey.
Cultural Attache Sonia Kostenkov, became the next best thing to a highly educated concubine.
I had to painstakingly explain what Daniel told me, before asking him straight if this was an Earth tradition.
"Do you gift concubines when first meeting foreign leaders?" Frankly, at that point, I wasn't entirely sure if this was merely a translation gaffe, which was only to be expected, or if I was dealing with a timeline, where Earth was very different. The following explanation got both the cultural attache and Jackson red like well-cooked lobsters.
We spent the next half an hour trying to convince each other through Daniel's slowly improving translation, that we all wanted peace, prosperity, without necessary an attachment of following the American Way TM.
Another half an hour went on, where we tried to agree on exchanging cultural information. Just to be a troll, I did my best to request cultural information on their view on space. Who knew, someone might be dumb enough to send me a copy of Star Wars…
To give credit, where credit is due, in the time we dealt with innate, basic things, Daniel's capabilities as translator increased by leaps and bounds, and we could slowly and painfully begin discussing an important matter.
"Trade," I informed the Ambassador succinctly after a short recess, the Earth team used to contact their people and reassure them we didn't eat them or something like that.
"Trade? As in exchange of goods and services?" Daniel repeated.
"Trade." I nodded firmly.
"Lord Perun wants to begin preliminary trade negotiations," Daniel explained.
At that, the whole Earth party perked up.
"What can we offer them that we can afford to trade?" Mycroft asked.
"Let's hear what he wants and is willing to offer first," Woolsey suggested.
"We're interested in trade," Daniel told me, for once making perfect sense. "What you offer? What do you want?" And then Jackson ruined the good impression by painfully mangling his next words.
"Agricultural aid – machines, additives to make the soil fertile. Mining equipment. I can offer technological examples, theories you don't have, information to make exploration of the galaxy safer. Limited amount of advanced materials for study."
"Does that include weapon technology?" A much younger and larger Colonel O'Neill spoke for the first time since my arrival.
Daniel grimaced at that but did translate.
"Jaffa, Kree!" I barked at one of the honor guards, holding a standard staff weapon. "A demonstration, and a gift of goodwill."
I stood up, took the offered staff, and exited the tent. The Earth soldiers pilled up behind me, eager to watch the show. I activated the staff, which opened up with a hiss and aimed at a spot on the ground a hundred meters away or so. A fist-sized pulse of glowing plasma shot from the end of the staff, and quickly sliced through the air, before striking the ground. The resulting explosion blasted open a respectable crater for a handheld weapon. I switched the staff into a safe configuration and offered it to O'Neill.
"A gift!" I proclaimed loudly. "An elegant weapon of tradition, meant for a more civilized era."
"What's next, a lightsaber?" One of the soldiers exclaimed.
Oh, only if they knew that making one was on my to-do list…
After that stunt, we tried to bargain in earnest, however, translation issues slowed down the negotiations significantly.
In the end, all we agreed on was to exchange cultural information during a meeting in a week. By then, the Ambassador assured me that his government would have decided if they would approve a trade deal with me. At that point, we should return to the negotiation table.
As parting words, I suggested that Dr. Jackson might return earlier to practice speaking with the security detail I would keep in place, to maintain the security of the meeting area.
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