(Second bit of "The Emissary," see previous post for the opening.)
Spoiler:
The represenatatives glance at one another warily. Of them all, Kal'el seems the least open to the idea, with Major Davis shifting uncomfortably in his chair as he scans a sheet of paper with the UN emblem on it. Lya and Anise don't seem to show any emotion at all, and merely stare calmly back at the emissary. Finally, Davis says that Earth would be willing to discuss such a deal, if certain assurances were made that Tau'ri-protected planets would also be left untouched. The way he says this, however, demonstrates quite clearly how apalled he is that the UN is willing to sacrifice a dozen Jaffa worlds so quickly. Ka'lel turns on Davis at once, saying that the Jaffa, for one, will not agree to any such deal, regardless of extra terms. Ankgor continues to house over thirty million people (more currently living in exile following the siege), and the Nation has no intention of abandoning them.
Carter leans over to Daniel and mentions that Nim Shaarl looks very pleased at the internal squabblings of the Alliance. Jackson replies that he's no doubt anticipating being able to tell his leaders that the Milky Way's resistance is not a united force at all, but an ever-untrusting coalition. The Der'kal, ignoring Davis and Kal'el's bickering, turns to Anise and asks what she has to say about all this. The Tok'ra operative shrugs, saying only that if there is anything to be learned from races like the Goa'uld and Ori, it is that advanced technology and superior numbers rarely count for much when attempting to take over this particular galaxy. This piece of information seems to humble the alien for a moment, and he eyes her suspiciously.
Light-years away at the ISGC, Dr. Talbot and General Landry have arrived in the gate room. Landry seems pleased to be back in the complex and with his old co-workers, but Talbot is already demanding to know what in the world is going on. Walter quickly explains that situation on Heliopolis, and that the Pentagon dispatched Major Davis with the blessing of the United Nations a few hours ago to present Earth's list of opinions on the Der'kal invasion. He also adds that Davis seemed quite upset with some of the things he was being told to represent, particularly the fact that he was practically told to sell out the other Alliance races if it could help Earth in the long run.
Landry is apalled, asking how the US agreed to this. Walter goes on to say that they didn't have much of a choice, all things considered, but the President himself managed to get a moment with Major Davis before he left, presumably to tell him not to sell out their allies. Talbot is about to ask a question of her own when the stargate suddenly activates, prompting the defense team to take up positions around it. And that's when an emergency IDC comes through from the Alpha Site; they're under attack!
Meanwhile, the negotiations are continuing to go badly. The Nox are prepared to give up patrolling of a major trade route if the Der'kal pull back their forces from a formerly Asgard-protected planet, but the alien emissary insists on more. After all, he argues, what's to stop another Alliance species from starting to patrol that route instead, thereby making their concession moot. Kal'el and Anise glance at one another at that, as that was apparently their plan, in reality.
Seeing he is getting nowhere with the other races, Nim Shaarl turns to Major Davis and asks if he can do anything for Earth, perhaps. The Pentagon liason replies that the UN would like assurances that Earth itself will not be attacked if they make any sort of deal, but the alien warrior just laughs. He claims that Earth is of little consequence to his people, seeing as it's on the opposite side of the galaxy from their holdings and has no strategic value. SG-1 is taken aback with that, amazed that he would so willingly give up something that weakens his position. But Shaarl quickly explains that within days they will have enough ships to roll over Earth's defenses in a matter of hours, so it doesn't really matter anyway.
That's when Daniel steps forward. He asks why they're bothering to talk at all if they're so confident of complete victory, and that is a question the alien sidesteps at once, his eyes narrowing. Lya easily picks up on the tell and puts forth her best guess; the Der'kal can overrun any one of their worlds now, but within a few weeks (at their current rate of expansion) they will be spread too thin to do much of anything but play defense. That's what this entire negotiation is about, stalling for time until a larger host of ships can arrive. Nim Shaarl snarls at her, demanding she be quiet or her world will be next, but Lya refuses to be silenced. The usually serene woman stands and, for the first time, actually shouts at the alien warrior. She tells him just what his people are facing; a galaxy that has been swallowed by too many opressors to count (indicating far more enemies than we are aware of), and yet is always given back up sooner or later because it is found too difficult to tame. The Der'kal will never conquer the Milky Way, because its people will never give up on their freedom.
There's a long moment of silence as everyone stares, shocked, at the now visibly-angry Nox woman. But then Nim Shaarl begins to laugh, and says that her old friends the Furlings were more-than-willing to trade freedom for safety.
At the Alpha Site, personnel are streaming through the stargate in duos and trios pouring out of the corridors. The facility shakes repeatedly as orbital bombardment begins to chew away at the mountainside, and the lights flicker on and off. Gunfire can be heard from outside as UN troops try to hold off landing Der'kal ground forces, but it's clear the fight has been lost. Somehow, the aliens found the base and were able to bring enough ships to seriously hurt them, even though they haven't attacked a single world since their defeat two weeks ago over Ankgor.
As the last of the personnel get through to Earth, the base commander runs to a nearby computer and arms the self-destruct, then moves to run through the gate. But an enemy soldier is already in the doorway, and the alien cuts off his escape path with a stream of plasma. The commander (Cpt. Sheffield, from "Covenant") draws his pistol and fires a few rounds back, but it's clear he can't fight his way out as even more enemy soldiers appear.
Back at the ISGC, Talbot and Landry watch the open wormhole anxiously. No one else is coming through now, and the personnel from the Alpha Site are being ushered to the infirmary. After a moment, plasma blasts begin to arch through the gate and slam into the wall opposite, and Talbot goes to order the iris shut--but Landry grabs her wrist before she can and, staring her in the eye, tells her to wait. They both watch the gate for a second longer, and she goes to shut it once more, but then Cpt. Sheffield comes staggering through, collapsing to the ground just in front of the gate's ramp. Now the iris closes, and just in time, too, as the self-destruct goes off and slams into the blast shield, saving the base.
On Heliopolis, both Shaarl and Lya are standing now, glaring at one another across the conference table. The alien declares that her homeworld will burn for such insolence, and that not one woman or child will be spared. But she doesn't seem to care, almost daring him to try something. SG-1 is quite confused now, not knowing what has come over their old friend, but are even more shocked when Nim Shaarl pulls out a communications device of some kind and manages to shout something into it before he is roughly grabbed by a group of marines.
Immediately, the voice of Veman can be heard shouting that the Der'kal warship is approaching and powering weapons, and Carter (being the ranking officer there) gives the okay to fire the defense grid. The ion cannon shoots first, sending three blue pulses into the enemy shields and actually knocking it slightly off-course with the impact. Then the Asgard satellites lock-on and fire, too. Within seconds, the enemy ship's shields fail and the entire cruiser goes up in flames, exploding a moment later.
Shaarl is taken into custody, dragged roughly out of the conference room for ordering an act of agression against Heliopolis. Anise and Kal'el rise, saying that they must report this to their respective governments, but SG-1 and Major Davis head over to Lya, asking how she knew he was planning something. But she merely replies, shaken, that she didn't; but his damning the memory of the great race the Furlings once were was too much to bear... and now she wonders just what did happen out beyond the galactic rim. How well can you ever know an ally, she asks, how can you ever know what they'll do when it all seems lost?
To that question, no one has an answer.
Some time later, Major Davis and SG-1 arrive back at the ISGC to a visibly-happy Walter. He says that the UN is very pleased with how they handled themselves, even though they didn't do much more than watch the proceedings. When Mitchell asks where Talbot is, Walter replies that she's still with General Landry, probably taking him home. As the team turns to go, though, he calls them up to the control room, showing them a subspace transmission they just recieved from a Tok'ra relay station; it shows a rough and blurry image of a massive starship exiting hyperspace near a cloaked Tok'ra scout ship, surrounded by dozens of Der'kal cruisers. The identity of this vessel and the ramifications of it is clear at once... the Der'kal's new supership has arrived.
Miles away, General Landry is walking back to his front door, thanking Dr. Talbot for a nice escape from the dull life of forced retirement. She smiles back, then turns somber, thanking him for making her wait that extra second for Cpt. Sheffield. Landry smiles back, saying that the sign of a true leader is one that can make that hard call... and now at least she knows she can.
Carter leans over to Daniel and mentions that Nim Shaarl looks very pleased at the internal squabblings of the Alliance. Jackson replies that he's no doubt anticipating being able to tell his leaders that the Milky Way's resistance is not a united force at all, but an ever-untrusting coalition. The Der'kal, ignoring Davis and Kal'el's bickering, turns to Anise and asks what she has to say about all this. The Tok'ra operative shrugs, saying only that if there is anything to be learned from races like the Goa'uld and Ori, it is that advanced technology and superior numbers rarely count for much when attempting to take over this particular galaxy. This piece of information seems to humble the alien for a moment, and he eyes her suspiciously.
Light-years away at the ISGC, Dr. Talbot and General Landry have arrived in the gate room. Landry seems pleased to be back in the complex and with his old co-workers, but Talbot is already demanding to know what in the world is going on. Walter quickly explains that situation on Heliopolis, and that the Pentagon dispatched Major Davis with the blessing of the United Nations a few hours ago to present Earth's list of opinions on the Der'kal invasion. He also adds that Davis seemed quite upset with some of the things he was being told to represent, particularly the fact that he was practically told to sell out the other Alliance races if it could help Earth in the long run.
Landry is apalled, asking how the US agreed to this. Walter goes on to say that they didn't have much of a choice, all things considered, but the President himself managed to get a moment with Major Davis before he left, presumably to tell him not to sell out their allies. Talbot is about to ask a question of her own when the stargate suddenly activates, prompting the defense team to take up positions around it. And that's when an emergency IDC comes through from the Alpha Site; they're under attack!
Meanwhile, the negotiations are continuing to go badly. The Nox are prepared to give up patrolling of a major trade route if the Der'kal pull back their forces from a formerly Asgard-protected planet, but the alien emissary insists on more. After all, he argues, what's to stop another Alliance species from starting to patrol that route instead, thereby making their concession moot. Kal'el and Anise glance at one another at that, as that was apparently their plan, in reality.
Seeing he is getting nowhere with the other races, Nim Shaarl turns to Major Davis and asks if he can do anything for Earth, perhaps. The Pentagon liason replies that the UN would like assurances that Earth itself will not be attacked if they make any sort of deal, but the alien warrior just laughs. He claims that Earth is of little consequence to his people, seeing as it's on the opposite side of the galaxy from their holdings and has no strategic value. SG-1 is taken aback with that, amazed that he would so willingly give up something that weakens his position. But Shaarl quickly explains that within days they will have enough ships to roll over Earth's defenses in a matter of hours, so it doesn't really matter anyway.
That's when Daniel steps forward. He asks why they're bothering to talk at all if they're so confident of complete victory, and that is a question the alien sidesteps at once, his eyes narrowing. Lya easily picks up on the tell and puts forth her best guess; the Der'kal can overrun any one of their worlds now, but within a few weeks (at their current rate of expansion) they will be spread too thin to do much of anything but play defense. That's what this entire negotiation is about, stalling for time until a larger host of ships can arrive. Nim Shaarl snarls at her, demanding she be quiet or her world will be next, but Lya refuses to be silenced. The usually serene woman stands and, for the first time, actually shouts at the alien warrior. She tells him just what his people are facing; a galaxy that has been swallowed by too many opressors to count (indicating far more enemies than we are aware of), and yet is always given back up sooner or later because it is found too difficult to tame. The Der'kal will never conquer the Milky Way, because its people will never give up on their freedom.
There's a long moment of silence as everyone stares, shocked, at the now visibly-angry Nox woman. But then Nim Shaarl begins to laugh, and says that her old friends the Furlings were more-than-willing to trade freedom for safety.
At the Alpha Site, personnel are streaming through the stargate in duos and trios pouring out of the corridors. The facility shakes repeatedly as orbital bombardment begins to chew away at the mountainside, and the lights flicker on and off. Gunfire can be heard from outside as UN troops try to hold off landing Der'kal ground forces, but it's clear the fight has been lost. Somehow, the aliens found the base and were able to bring enough ships to seriously hurt them, even though they haven't attacked a single world since their defeat two weeks ago over Ankgor.
As the last of the personnel get through to Earth, the base commander runs to a nearby computer and arms the self-destruct, then moves to run through the gate. But an enemy soldier is already in the doorway, and the alien cuts off his escape path with a stream of plasma. The commander (Cpt. Sheffield, from "Covenant") draws his pistol and fires a few rounds back, but it's clear he can't fight his way out as even more enemy soldiers appear.
Back at the ISGC, Talbot and Landry watch the open wormhole anxiously. No one else is coming through now, and the personnel from the Alpha Site are being ushered to the infirmary. After a moment, plasma blasts begin to arch through the gate and slam into the wall opposite, and Talbot goes to order the iris shut--but Landry grabs her wrist before she can and, staring her in the eye, tells her to wait. They both watch the gate for a second longer, and she goes to shut it once more, but then Cpt. Sheffield comes staggering through, collapsing to the ground just in front of the gate's ramp. Now the iris closes, and just in time, too, as the self-destruct goes off and slams into the blast shield, saving the base.
On Heliopolis, both Shaarl and Lya are standing now, glaring at one another across the conference table. The alien declares that her homeworld will burn for such insolence, and that not one woman or child will be spared. But she doesn't seem to care, almost daring him to try something. SG-1 is quite confused now, not knowing what has come over their old friend, but are even more shocked when Nim Shaarl pulls out a communications device of some kind and manages to shout something into it before he is roughly grabbed by a group of marines.
Immediately, the voice of Veman can be heard shouting that the Der'kal warship is approaching and powering weapons, and Carter (being the ranking officer there) gives the okay to fire the defense grid. The ion cannon shoots first, sending three blue pulses into the enemy shields and actually knocking it slightly off-course with the impact. Then the Asgard satellites lock-on and fire, too. Within seconds, the enemy ship's shields fail and the entire cruiser goes up in flames, exploding a moment later.
Shaarl is taken into custody, dragged roughly out of the conference room for ordering an act of agression against Heliopolis. Anise and Kal'el rise, saying that they must report this to their respective governments, but SG-1 and Major Davis head over to Lya, asking how she knew he was planning something. But she merely replies, shaken, that she didn't; but his damning the memory of the great race the Furlings once were was too much to bear... and now she wonders just what did happen out beyond the galactic rim. How well can you ever know an ally, she asks, how can you ever know what they'll do when it all seems lost?
To that question, no one has an answer.
Some time later, Major Davis and SG-1 arrive back at the ISGC to a visibly-happy Walter. He says that the UN is very pleased with how they handled themselves, even though they didn't do much more than watch the proceedings. When Mitchell asks where Talbot is, Walter replies that she's still with General Landry, probably taking him home. As the team turns to go, though, he calls them up to the control room, showing them a subspace transmission they just recieved from a Tok'ra relay station; it shows a rough and blurry image of a massive starship exiting hyperspace near a cloaked Tok'ra scout ship, surrounded by dozens of Der'kal cruisers. The identity of this vessel and the ramifications of it is clear at once... the Der'kal's new supership has arrived.
Miles away, General Landry is walking back to his front door, thanking Dr. Talbot for a nice escape from the dull life of forced retirement. She smiles back, then turns somber, thanking him for making her wait that extra second for Cpt. Sheffield. Landry smiles back, saying that the sign of a true leader is one that can make that hard call... and now at least she knows she can.
))
get the rep
The United Nations has decided that, so long as Earth itself is safe, the rest of the galaxy is expendable. In an odd role reversal, the former IOA nations are the only ones who really take issue with this (US, UK, France, Russia, Canada, etc.), with the exception of China.
Thanks! It'll be a walk in the park ... a very scary park, filled with monsters who are trying to kill me.
I like the yellow ones.
OH CRAP!!!
You need someone dumber than you are.... You may have come to the right place.
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