"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Bisalis, land of a thousand beaches!" Nelson announced dramatically upon arrival. "The weather outside is a sunny seventy-eight degrees, or so I assume, and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Again, just an assumption."
The three of them found themselves in an underground bunker complex, with no view of the sky, much less any beaches.
Suna gave him a look filled with exaggerated patience before turning to Haley. "He does realize that there are no 'gentlemen' here to welcome, doesn't he? And no," she cut him off as he started to object, "you don't count."
Haley smiled as he feigned a shot to the heart and gave Suna a hurt look.
Nelson was spared the need to come up with a truly cutting retort by the opening of one of the bunker's doors. Two locals stepped in, both armed with what looked like miniature matchlock pistols at their waists. One of them spoke with a sort of slurred accent. "Major Ahardt? The Colonel is waiting for you on the surface. If you will come with us, please." He seemed to stretch the vowels out as he spoke, making it a little hard to understand, but not overly so.
Nelson shrugged and nodded at the ladies. "Lead the way."
Once they reached the surface, Nelson's original description proved true after all. They emerged from the top levels of the bunker to see a sprawling metropolis on one side, and a vast ocean on the other. A few islands could be seen jutting out of the turquoise and blue waters, but they all seemed to be overshadowed by the hundreds of boats moving in and out of the nearby bay. A fresh ocean breeze washed over them, and Nelson just closed his eyes and stood there, enjoying it for a few seconds.
When he finally looked around again, he saw Tony talking quietly with their two escorts, before they nodded and headed back into the bunker. Behind them, the city hummed with activity. Exotic-looking motor vehicles reminded him of the older-style Ford trucks, and the pedestrians he saw wore long flowing cloaks and robes, probably more out of fashion than of any need for warmth. The buildings themselves favored green and blue colors, but didn't quite reach as high as the skyscrapers he remembered.
Nelson had spent some time in Sydney, years before, and this city reminded him of it. Almost like an older sibling of it, in fact.
He put an end to his reverie as Tony approached them. "Boss, not that I mind a place with an ocean view, but what are we doing here? I've got a full training schedule to get back to."
"And Blake and I are still working on the Som- on the project you gave us." Haley added, too-obviously not looking at Nelson or Suna. "He'll need my help with it."
Nelson gave an internal shrug. Whatever project they were working on was a secret, but he didn't really care. Their little toys had been damn useful so far, and if they were working on something new, so much the better. From her expression, Suna didn't care much, either.
Tony nodded understandingly. "I'm sorry to pull you away from your work, but I need you all here."
He started walking up one of the nearby streets, and they fell into step behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Nelson could see a pair of similarly armed people moving apace with them.
Following his glance, Tony noticed them as well. "They're Isai security people, here for our protection. The people here know about their 'gate, but they're still not used to offworlders just walking around." He explained offhandedly. "At any rate, how much do you know about Bisalis?"
"Just what you told us in your message. A mostly ocean planet, with a post-industrial society, right?"
"Barely post-industrial." Tony elaborated for them. "There are about a hundred million people on this island chain, packed in like sardines. You saw the fishing operation they've got going in the bay. It's one of many they keep going just to feed their own people. Anyway, they dug up their 'gate a few years ago, and got it working with the help of inscriptions they found where it was buried. There are so few landmasses on this planet, and they're already facing overpopulation, so they decided to start scouting through their 'gate to find new colony locations."
"And they ran into the Goa'uld?" Suna predicted.
"That's right. They're pretty spooked, understandably. We're here primarily to share intel on the Goa'uld with them, maybe give them some pointers that might help."
"I don't get it, boss." Nelson put in, thinking about it. "If they've had 'gate travel for a few years, how come we didn't recruit from here before? I'd never even heard of this place before yesterday!"
"That's because we didn't know about it." Tony shrugged uncomfortably. "I doubt we could recruit from here, anyway. From what I was told, the Isai have had their share of internal conflicts in the past, but uncovering the Stargate put those issues to rest, permanently. They're too much of a nation, now, to recruit from here. The truth is, we're actually here to do a favor for the Tok'ra. They're the ones who are interested in this place, and they asked us to come here."
"Why? They're kinda like the Galaxy's Most Wanted. Wouldn't they want to keep a low profile?"
Tony looked around cautiously. Their escorts were out of easy hearing range, but he lowered his voice a little anyway. "You know about the original deal that Earth made with the Tok'ra, right?"
"Sure. We had plenty of terminally ill people on Earth who would probably choose to be Tok'ra hosts instead of dying, and in exchange they could help us with intel and technology."
"Well, when we filled them in on what happened to Earth, I think they kinda panicked. They probably started reaching out, looking for a replacement source of possible hosts. This place probably seemed ideal for them."
Nelson nodded slowly. "It's like a snake-head Candyland here, all right."
"How so?" Suna asked quietly, curious.
"Think about it. These people look relatively primitive, especially medically speaking, and they're crammed in here, breeding like rabbits." Nelson explained, and then paused. "Uh, that’s an animal on Earth that breeds really really quickly."
Suna smiled. "I know what a rabbit is. Many animals on Zau came from Earth, too, you know."
Giving her a wry look, Nelson cleared his throat. "Anyway, the Tok'ra need a new place to ask for hosts, because they won't just take people, and these people probably have all sorts of medical problems they can't fix on their own." He returned his attention to Tony. "What I don't get is why the Tok'ra need us to help them. Why don't they just talk to these people themselves?"
"Because of what they are." Tony said sadly. "They're self-admitted snake-heads, remember? The Isai don't see much difference between them and the Goa'ulds. Not exactly the best starting point to build trust, is it?"
Nelson was starting to understand. "So we're go-betweens? We show them how useful the Tok'ra can be, and vouch for them?"
"That's the plan, at least. I agreed to do this to help to build some goodwill with the Tok'ra, too. They're still not happy about our missions, but have agreed not to stand in our way. We need to smooth things over with them, too, if we ever hope to get help from them."
Up ahead, Nelson could see a pair of local guards in front of what looked like a squat, blue-green colored shuttlebus. Their own escorts moved on ahead and exchanged quiet words with them. "That's our ride, Nelson. The city's mayor, or Regent as he's called, wants to talk with us about the Jaffa tactics and weapons we've seen. That's why I asked for you; you've trained people to use those weapons. As for you two," Tony looked at Haley and Suna, "Another 'cab' will be here to take you to Hargrove on the north side of the city. They found a series of ruins up there, including some artifacts I want you to check out. If any of them are Goa'uld technology, I want you to identify them, and let the Isai know."
Haley nodded, and Tony and Nelson stepped into the shuttle. After their guards had shut the door, and the vehicle had begun to speed up, Nelson leaned towards him. "Boss, I get why Haley's here, but why ask for Suna? She doesn't know any more about Goa'uld devices than I do."
"Don't be so sure. She's been spending a lot of time with the Matthews, trying to get a working understanding of the tools we found on Hovak. Besides, I asked her here to keep an eye on Haley." He looked around, but their driver was behind a glass pane, limo-style. "If the Regent's any indication, these people are desperate for information. I wouldn't put it past a few of them to… pry a bit into what we know, and Haley might not be prepared for that. Suna is."
Nelson nodded, as he looked out at the coastal city speeding by.
"Actually, that reminds me. We'll be talking to a head of state, here, so be diplomatic, all right? Or as much as you can be, anyway." Tony gave him a look of exaggerated patience.
Nelson responded with his most infuriating grin, resisting the urge to touch his eye. It had healed long ago, but comments like that always made it twinge a little.
-.-
Kanus Liyan, the Isai bureaucrat who had volunteered to show them around, was a short, balding man with an unfortunate combination of excessive sweating and what looked like a very expensive suit. Unsurprisingly, the worst of the sweating had started after Suna and Haley had arrived and started asking him questions. Despite his apparent nervousness at speaking to a pair of attractive women, the short man had a mind-deadening drone of a voice which hadn't changed since they'd met.
Hargrove had stopped listening quite some time ago, but he kept a pleasant smile on his face anyway. As usual, his mind was light-years away, contemplating missions they'd set up, compiling threat assessments, and pondering the advice that the Colonel had recently given him.
Hargrove was offered a brief respite from his thoughts on that last conversation as Liyan herded the three of them into a small circular room just off of the main excavated passageways. It was only about fifteen feet from wall to wall, but a glowing red orb rested on a pedestal in the exact center of the room. The orb itself reminded Hargrove strongly of the central button on a DHD, the one which activated the 'gate after the coordinates had been entered.
"This room was excavated along with the rest of these ruins, a few years before we discovered the chappa'ai. Our scientists have examined the technology closely, but have been unable to discover the purpose for this room or the pedestal." Liyan droned on. "Several books have been written over the years, speculating on its purpose, including one which I found to be quite-"
"It's definitely Ancient." Haley cut him off. "I'll have to get Archie in here to run a scan, but I'd say it's at least a few thousand years old, based on the design." She lifted one of the Goa'uld spheres from Hovak, and slowly panned it across the room. From what Hargrove had been told, this particular one had been configured as a videocamera, or at least the Goa'uld version of one.
Hargrove turned to their guide, who was glaring at her. "Please excuse Haley, Liyan. She's one of the best scientists we have, but is sadly lacking in social niceties." He thought he heard a faint giggle from Suna and Haley's direction. "Could you let us examine the room for a minute? I think we may be able to shed some light on what it is, at least."
Liyan, apparently mollified by his words, gave a dignified nod and stepped outside. Naturally, he continued to watch them closely from the hall, though. Hargrove stepped back over to the others. "Any idea what it is, or does?"
Haley gave him a glance that was half offended, half amused. "'Sadly lacking in social niceties?' I think you've been spending too much time with Tony. It looks like an Ancient display terminal."
Hargrove only shrugged. "Their planet, their rules, remember. It doesn't pay to upset people, especially since we're technically guests here." He looked down at the orb on top of the pedestal. "This thing could have been taken right off of a DHD, by the looks of it. Does it work the same way?"
He reached out to touch it.
"I'm sure they've already tried tha-" Haley began, but her voice died off as a multicolored image sprang into view above the pedestal. A hologram, similar in appearance to the ones Mimir had used, showed what was unmistakably a planet, rotating slowly in the air above the pedestal.
Everyone stepped back for a moment, and Hargrove reflexively grabbed for his gun, but they'd all become so used to seeing strange things happen that their surprise faded quickly.
Liyan was a different story. He rushed into the room and came to a sudden stop, staring up at the image. "What did you do?"
"I just touched it, that's all." Hargrove answered uncomfortably. "It's never done this before?"
"No! We studied these ruins for years. Many thought that this room was just decorative." Liyan looked closer, and started in surprise. "This is Bisalis!"
"Are you sure?" Suna put in.
"Of course." He moved around the hologram, and then pointed into a position a few degrees south of the equator. "This island chain is where we are right now." As his hand passed into the image, there was a visual sense of falling, and the hologram suddenly zoomed in to a close-up of the island chain itself. Liyan pulled his hand back quickly, as if burned, but the image remained zoomed in. "Did I do that?"
"I think so." Haley sounded amazed. "There must be sensors in here that can determine the position of your hand in relation to the image it's projecting. A true 3-D interface!" She reached into it, and the hologram responded to her touch as well.
Liyan examined the map with fascination. "This is incredible. We only confirmed that our world was a sphere less than a century ago! To see it represented like this, so gracefully… This display puts our most accurate maps to shame."
"That doesn't explain why it's here, though." Haley reminded them. "Or how Hargrove could turn it on with just a touch." After a second, she reached out and touched the orb. The hologram vanished immediately. She touched it again and the hologram reappeared, this time back on full-planet view. "It seems that anyone can do it now."
"Apotheosis." Suna said in a voice so faint that Hargrove had to strain to hear her.
"What did you say?" Hargrove asked. She was looking at him in a way he'd never seen before, almost as if she was afraid, but not quite.
"It's nothing. Just something I remembered." She nodded at him, looking calm as she had before. As she turned back to the hologram, though, she gave him a hand signal, hidden from Liyan and Haley by her body.
Early on, during their infiltration training, they'd set up a series of signals known only to them and a few Survivors they'd trained. Haley definitely wasn't one of them.
This one meant 'later'.
-.-
For such a young man, Regent Ala'nois was certainly impressive. Even when surrounded by people, he could easily be pointed out as the man in charge. His clothing could have belonged to anyone they'd seen in the city, but the way he wore it spoke volumes.
Tony guessed he couldn't be more than thirty years old, but the energy he displayed as he dutifully listened to his advisors, and then handed out orders was almost inspiring. He'd certainly noticed when they'd arrived, but gave no sign of it, apparently knowing that it would distract his advisors.
When the advisors finally left, the Regent turned his attention to Tony. "Colonel, it's good to see you again. I trust your tour of our fine city has been enjoyable?"
Tony gave a slight bow. "Very much so, in fact." He beckoned for Nelson to come closer. "This is Major Ahardt. We've worked together for months, and he knows a great deal about Jaffa weapons and tactics."
Nelson gave a similar bow. "It's a pleasure to be here, Regent."
As he led them into the squat blue structure they'd been shuttled to, the Regent asked a few basic questions of both of them, about the encounters they'd had with the Jaffa so far. They both responded sparingly, wanting to help, but not wanting to give too much away. He quickly seemed to sense their hesitation, and kept from prying too deeply into the details of those fights, thankfully. They'd descended several flights of stairs before he finally opened a pair of double doors. "This is where most of our work on the Jaffa problem takes place."
Inside, they could see a stark contrast to the dark stairs and corridors they'd taken to get here. This room was large and well lit, considering how new electricity was to these people. At least a dozen people could be seen from the doorway, and they were all dressed much less ostentatiously than the people he'd seen on the city streets above. Once he'd stepped inside, though, Tony could also see what was unmistakably a cage in a nearby corner.
The walls of the cage looked like clear plastic, probably highly expensive, given their level of technology. A pale, well-built man rested in a sitting position on a cot inside, his eyes closed. He was dressed only in a pair of loose-fitting pants, but he seemed completely at ease despite that. Three armed guards around the cage came to attention when the Regent entered, but he waved them down, and they returned to looking at the caged man.
Tony started when he noticed that the prisoner wasn't actually human. Up close, he could see a five-pointed star tattooed on his forehead, and the edges of a large, x-shaped mark on his stomach.
Noticing his interest, the Regent stepped up next to him and lowered his voice. "Some time ago, one of our scouting teams ran into a Jaffa patrol on one of the worlds we'd started to explore. They fought fiercely but our team defeated them, killing all but three. Several of our people were killed, and another died days later in the hospital, but they brought the surviving Jaffa back here. The other two prisoners committed ritual suicide before we understood what we were dealing with, but for some reason this one didn't. We still don't know why."
The Jaffa remained perfectly still, sitting in an almost zen-like position. If he was breathing, it was so shallowly that Tony couldn't quite tell. Tony had heard of the meditation they used, called kel-no-reem, but he'd never seen it happen.
"I don't recognize the tattoo, boss. Whose is it?"
"A pentagram is supposed to represent the Devil, Ahardt. This guy worked for Sokar." He looked over at the Regent. "The Goa'uld named Sokar died over a year ago, but we know that he had a great many Jaffa on many different planets. Sokar was big news. He had so many ships and troops that he threatened to overthrow all of the other Goa'uld put together. When he died, there was a great deal of fighting over his territory and armies, but most of them now work for another Goa'uld named Apophis. All the same, I imagine there are still some of his Jaffa out there who don't know he's dead, yet."
Ala'nois looked back at him quizzically. "How is that possible? From what we know, every Jaffa serves a Goa'uld, and would kill or die in his name. If their master dies, no doubt word would spread far and wide."
Almost imperceptibly, the Jaffa’s eyes flicked up at Tony, and then back down to the floor again. Tony wasn’t even sure he’d seen it.
"Not necessarily." He explained, distracted. "Jaffa live to be well over a hundred, usually, but Goa'uld can live way longer than that. They've been known to abandon Jaffa populations, just like they do with their human slaves, when a planet isn't useful to them anymore. This guy probably wouldn't have found out until his symbiote matured and he needed another one."
There it was again. The Jaffa twitched, just barely. He could hear them!
So much for soundproof glass. Tony reflected. I wonder just what kept you from killing yourself like your team did.
"Yes, we still know very little about the interactions between Jaffa and parasite." Ala'nois continued over his thoughts. "Studies of their bodies can show us only so much, and we can't learn how to effectively kill them without more information."
"So you've studied him for… how long now?" Tony casually asked.
"He's been in that cage for almost two years."
Nelson kept his face mostly calm, but Tony could tell he was shocked. He felt some of it, himself. Still, they had a job to do here. "The Tok'ra could definitely help you with that, Regent. They know the strengths and weaknesses of a symbiote better than anyone, I'd imagine."
Ala'nois looked at him sharply, but then his face relaxed slightly. "You may be right."
Tony's radio suddenly crackled, and he responded. "Marcus here."
"Hargrove here, sir. We've definitely got something over here; the Isai are buzzing like bees over it."
Tony looked up at Ala'nois. "I've got the Regent with me here, Hargrove. Tell us what you found."
"Looks like some kind of planetary monitoring station, sir. Haley found indications that it's been in place since long before the Goa'uld brought humans here. There are sensors off the coasts of most of the islands, and a bunch on the sea-floor as well, and most of them are still active! Haley thinks that the Ancients built them to study marine life that evolved on this planet."
The Regent's face was hard to read, but by now Tony could tell that even he was curious. "It seems we have even more to discuss than I thought, Colonel."
-.-
The Colonel had stayed with the local leadership to continue briefing them on the Goa'uld threat, but with his permission, Hargrove had brought Archie in to help with the investigation of the Ancient artifact. After speaking with him in private for a moment, Hargrove had left him to begin his scans of the ruins. Hopefully, he would find more Ancient technology here that the Isai had similarly missed.
Haley and Liyan were busy trying to dissect the particulars of the holographic map they'd discovered, and Hargrove took advantage of the situation to pull Suna aside. He made sure no one was within earshot before he spoke. "Ok, Suna, what's going on?"
Suna also looked around, and lowered her voice to match his. "You remember the word I spoke?"
"Yeah, apotheosis. What does it mean?"
"It's part of a very old legend from my people. My grandfather told me of it when I was little. The story tells of a group of warriors from Old Zau who went on a quest, in search of their destiny. Some versions of the story say that the quest was a hunting trip for a legendary beast, and others say one of them was seeking a lost love, or an heirloom that had been stolen. In every version, though, only four of them made it to the end of that quest, and each was touched by the hand of their gods. They were all struck down, put into a sleep so deep it seemed they were dead, but one of them awoke. His name was Akou, and he had undergone apotheosis."
Hargrove shook his head. It seemed like any old superstition, but after all he'd seen, he was hesitant to rule anything out. "He was changed, somehow?"
"It's said that one who is touched by the hand of the gods, and survives…" She hesitated, with that almost-afraid look reappearing on her face. "It's said that he becomes as the gods themselves. That he gains some of their power."
"I guess that's the Zau version of 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'." Hargrove thought about it. "How does the legend end?"
"Akou used the power he'd gained to awaken his friends, and they eventually returned to Zau, after many more adventures on the way. It was Akou who united the original clans and forged the first Zau kingdom."
"And you think that these 'gods' who tested him and his friends were the Goa'uld?"
Suna shrugged. "It's possible. The story has been passed down through many generations, so it may have changed a great deal, but isn't it also possible that those gods were the Ancients?"
Hargrove felt a chill. "Wait, if you're saying what I think you are-"
"Think about it, Hargrove!" She urged. "When that device activated, you were put into a death sleep! When you awoke, you had been changed. You remembered voices, and faces that no one else had seen, and now you can use a power that the Ancients left behind. A power that no one else could use! Do you truly think that this is just a coincidence? You have undergone apotheosis, just as Akou did in ages past!"
"Whoa, just a minute. You're jumping to conclusions here, Suna." He ran his hands through his hair nervously. "I don't know anything about Zau legends, but I am sure that I'm the same person you've always known. I haven't been transformed, or anything like it. Just because I don't have another explanation for what I can apparently do, doesn't mean that everything in that legend is now happening to me. You yourself said that it's been retold countless times, and could have changed a lot!"
Suna took a deep breath, and her expression relaxed a bit. "You're right. I can't assume that it's true, but by the same token you shouldn't assume that it's not! If it is true, and you have been changed…" She hesitated again.
This time, he got it. "You're afraid that things will change between us!"
He almost laughed with relief, barely catching himself in time. It wasn't surprising that something he'd had so little practice with would be so hard for him to understand. He'd been so concerned with figuring this whole thing out that he hadn't considered how this apotheosis theory of hers would impact their relationship. "Suna, no matter what has happened, or will happen, I'm still the same person. I'm still the guy who nearly swallowed his tongue trying to give a public speech to your people; still the person who almost fell off a rock in surprise when you kissed me. I still have a hard time expressing my feelings, and I still want to take things slowly. I'm still Hargrove, no matter what's happened, understood?"
Suna slowly nodded, blinking back tears. "Akou had a wife before he left on the quest. The story tells of her patiently waiting for him, only to be cast aside when he returned. He still cared for her, but he cared more for his new destiny."
"Well, I don't care what the legend says. I'm not him, and it'll take more than some ten-million-year-old piece of junk messing with my head to change the way I feel, ok?" He took her head in his hands, and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.
She lunged forward and hugged him fiercely, in one of her usual bear hugs, and he heard his ribs creak warningly. She could exert a very strong grip for someone her size. He patted the back of her head comfortingly, realizing that for once, it didn't feel awkward to do so.
"Major!" Archie came trotting around the corner, and came to an abrupt halt upon seeing them in such close proximity. He gave an uncomfortable cough, and Suna let go reluctantly.
Hargrove held her gaze until she nodded at him, and then turned to Archie. "What is it, Pyrta?"
Archie looked down the corridor, to where they could still hear Haley talking with Liyan. "I performed the scans you requested, and found something very disturbing." Keeping his eye on the corridor, he beckoned them both forward to show them his wrist-screen. "I need you to arrange a private meeting with the Colonel and Regent immediately!"
As usual, most of what Hargrove saw on the tiny screen was incomprehensible, but he nodded anyway. "I need to give them an update on the planetary monitoring station anyway. I'll ask the Colonel if the two of us can see them a bit early."
