XOVER: Changing of the Guard 5: Terms of Engagement 13/19 [PG13]
Ecolea (ecolea@wt.net)
Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:35:16 -0500
Teal'c, Daniel, Carter and Narim met General Hammond and his aide =
several hours later on the Lakwasian side of the gate. He greeted them =
all and nodded for Carter to lead the way.
"I'd like to thank you for arranging this meeting," Hammond told Narim.
"It is the least I could do for my friends," the Tolan explained. "And a =
wise decision on your part to attend to this personally. I am told the =
Gallisians consider strict adherence to protocol as a sign of civility."
Hammond smiled politely. "Protocol is the backbone of our military."
Narim nodded, smiling. "It is one of the measures we also use to =
evaluate the social advancement of any society. If your technology were =
less primitive, I'm sure the Curia would be happy to consider a trade =
agreement with your world."
"We prefer the term less advanced or up and coming," Hammond gently =
teased.
"My apologies," Narim responded earnestly.
General Hammond hid a smile of amusement at Narim's sincerity as they =
entered a wide, pink tiled courtyard filled with giant orange abstract =
statues and undulating flowers of sickly green. Suppressing a wince, the =
general let out a small sigh of relief when the Gallisian ambassador's =
aide finally appeared to lead them to the official residence where they =
would meet.
Leaving Narim and the others behind to wait, Hammond followed -- his =
aide at his heels, the man trying vainly not to stare at anything and =
everything. Thankfully, the ambassador's quarters were less garish than =
the courtyard, but still very pink. Apparently, pink considered a =
"neutral" color by the Lakwasians.
"Gallisia welcomes you," the ambassador bowed politely. "I am Ambassador =
Y'bar et Hoshmid."
"General George Hammond," he responded, equally polite then he waved to =
his aide, introducing him matter-of-factly as, "Major Lukas."
At a slight gesture from Hammond, Lukas moved to take his station at the =
entrance to the room, the ambassador's aide matching him step for step.
"Please," Hoshmid said to the general, "join me for a light =
refreshment."
"With pleasure," Hammond agreed, understanding they'd begun the =
intricate dance of diplomacy.
There was a sweet Gallisian tea and little cakes with some kind of =
citrus filling, topped with nut slivers, which reminded the general of =
almonds. He smiled with pleasure, tasting each of these, and offering =
his compliments to the ambassador -- even if the intensely sour filling =
wasn't exactly to his taste. At last his host relaxed enough to open the =
conversation.
"I was pleased when I learned you wished to meet with me, General =
Hammond. It is my hope that Gallisia and Earth might one day have most =
beneficial relations."
Hammond nodded. "It is our hope as well, Ambassador Hoshmid. But the =
purpose of this meeting is not, I'm sorry to say, for the discussion of =
trade relations. I'm here to advise you of a situation -- one of which I =
believe you to be completely unaware. It concerns my missing men, =
Ambassador. Colonel O'Neill and Captain Pierson."
The ambassador sat up straighter in his seat. "If you would explain, =
please."
"Certainly. But before I say anything, please understand that I am not =
making an accusation of wrong doing, simply requesting your assistance =
in this matter."
Hoshmid nodded acceptance at his words and gestured for the general to =
continue.
"We have evidence," Hammond went on, "from the Lakwasian archives, which =
clearly show both my men boarding the Gallisian flagship along with your =
other guests the evening they disappeared."
"They did indeed come aboard," Hoshmid agreed. "I was most pleased to =
greet them."
"Be that as it may," Hammond continued, "those same archives confirm =
that neither man ever left your ship before it departed."
A flash of terror crossed the Gallisian's face, so quickly that Hammond =
almost wasn't sure he'd seen it, then the ambassador's mask of =
professional calm fell sharply into place and Hammond was certain of it.
"I do not know what to say," Hoshmid said quietly. "I was led to =
understand that all my honored guests were escorted from our flagship. =
But I do believe you, General, for you do not seem the sort of man who =
would come to me without proof. If this is truly the case then I must =
contact Gallisia and have the situation investigated immediately. =
But..."
Hammond waited patiently for the ambassador, who seemed to grow more =
agitated by the minute, to finish.
"It has been several days," Hoshmid finally said, wiping his brow of =
sweat. "I cannot imagine why they would not have left the ship, nor =
announced their presence to one of our officers at some point during the =
journey."
"Can't you?" Hammond asked gently.
For a long moment Hoshmid's face remained calm, though his eyes offered =
a hint of desperation. "Perhaps," he agreed softly. "Yet, things are not =
always as they seem. We cannot always choose our fate."
Hammond nodded slowly then rose to leave. "I believe I understand, =
Ambassador. And I would not want you to in anyway compromise your =
position."
"It is not my position which concerns me," Hoshmid responded. "But =
O'Neill... His presence on the Council... It has changed everything."
Hammond raised a brow curiously, but let the comment pass. It wouldn't =
be polite to interrogate Hoshmid -- especially when Narim could probably =
answer most of his questions regarding the conference. "Thank you for =
your time, Ambassador. When can I expect to hear from you?"
"As soon as I have news I will contact you," came the response. Though =
to Hammond it sounded as if Hoshmid had already given up hope of ever =
finding O'Neill or Pierson -- alive, that is.
Hiding his concern, Hammond accepted his words at face value and =
departed; ignoring Major Lukas as the aide fell into step behind him.
"General?" Daniel asked hopefully as Hammond returned to the courtyard.
"I believe we have a serious problem, Dr. Jackson. That man is worried =
-- and not just about O'Neill and Pierson taking an unauthorized =
excursion on his ship."
Chapter 22
Jack woke at the sound of Methos' key unlocking the door. He stretched =
and checked his watch, then remembered he'd used it to make the timer =
for the bombs. Have to requisition me a new one, he silently grumbled. =
He recalled seeing the Gallisian equivalent of a time piece, but none of =
the ones he'd looked at had any of the extra special features covert ops =
could provide.
The smell of warm food wafted across the room as Methos entered.
"Certainly took you long enough," O'Neill groused, standing as the =
Immortal set the food down on one of the tables and removed his coat.
"I had a look around," Methos shrugged. "You're right, this place does =
come alive at night."
O'Neill frowned. "Tell me you didn't meet up with another Immortal."
"Nope," Methos grinned. "And there are no temples, cemeteries or shrines =
of any sort in the immediate area. But," he added as the colonel joined =
him at the table. "I did hear some interesting gossip."
"Gossip," O'Neill stated blandly as he tore open one of the plastic food =
sacks. "I take it this has something to do with the Goa'uld?"
"It might." Methos shrugged, sounding uncertain. "Could also be some =
has-been science fiction writer's imagination working overtime."
O'Neill listened closely as between bites of food Methos reported what =
he'd overheard about Nolly Ulkurt's suspicions.
"Sounds like a wacko," Jack commented around a mouthful of what might =
have been the Gallisian version of a hamburger.
"That was my first thought," Methos agreed. "But he could be on to =
something. The Goa'uld not only need hosts, but Jaffa to carry their =
young. If I were planning to conquer a world and I wasn't a System Lord, =
but one of the lesser Goa'uld, I'd pick a place just like Gallisia. Make =
a deal with someone in the government to share technology then quietly =
snatch a lot of people. Just a few here and there at first, using some =
sort of indoctrination technique to make sure they stayed loyal to me. =
Then more as time passed and I felt secure. I'd take the ones society =
isn't interested in -- like the homeless or criminals. Use them to start =
building a power base. Eventually, I might take men and women with =
families, or their children as hostages. Key players, mostly. Again, =
just a handful at first. By the time my unsuspecting allies figured it =
out, I'd have a strong enough force with ties to this planet that my =
foothold would be secure."
O'Neill nodded thoughtfully. "Only one problem with that scenario. The =
average snakehead can't help playing god -- it's like an addiction to =
being worshipped. The Gallisians are too sophisticated for that."
"Now they are," Methos agreed. "But what if I were to unleash a =
bio-weapon? Wean down the population to manageable levels. Destroy their =
government and social structure then re-educate what's left of them?"
"Or just bomb them back into the Stone Age," O'Neill nodded.
"I'd never do that, but a Goa'uld might be fool enough to make that =
move. Would certainly ruin any chance of using the Gallisians' advanced =
skills to build my own fleet of ships, create more Jaffa and rise in the =
power structure of Goa'uld hierarchy until I was next in line for System =
Lord."
"Maybe a System Lord who'd accidentally die in his malfunctioning =
sarcophagus?" O'Neill raised an eyebrow. Methos smirked without =
responding. "Dawson was right," Jack chuckled. "You are one calculating =
son of a bitch."
Jack grinned as Methos' eyes gleamed with pleasure while fractionally =
bowing his head in acknowledgment.
"Y' know, it's a good thing you're on our side. Otherwise, I'd have to =
kill you."
Methos smiled widely. "Why thank you, Jack. For the first time in =
centuries I feel truly complimented!"
O'Neill could only shake his head, chuckling softly. "So," he finally =
said, leaning back in his seat, pushing the remains of his meal aside. =
"How are you planning to make contact with SciFi Guy?"
When Methos told him O'Neill nearly fell out of his seat laughing.
"A street mime?"
"Performance artist," Methos sniffed disdainfully.
"Whatever," Jack grinned. "In the meantime, I'll be out getting us some =
computer gear." He twitched his head toward the wall where the access =
lines remained hidden. "If SciFi Guy does have any useful information I =
want to be able to follow up on it. We need to get cracking here, =
Pierson. I want to know which Goa'uld we're facing and how to get past =
any security and at that gate."
Methos nodded. "That may take some doing. The Gallisian government seems =
as protective of their secrets as we are. I heard talk about off world =
trade, but nothing about a stargate. I get the feeling the general =
populace believes they're still using ships."
"Maybe they still are," O'Neill acknowledged. "But where there's a =
Goa'uld, there's a gate."
"True," Methos agreed worriedly. "But why would Hoshmid want to discuss =
a trade relationship via the stargate if he's been ordered to keep it =
secret?"
"Because his Goa'uld master wants it that way?"
"Perhaps," Methos nodded grimly. "The Goa'uld that manages to destroy =
Earth would certainly gain the favor of the System Lords. But then," he =
asked quietly, "why was it Lya, and not Hoshmid, who suggested our two =
worlds ally?"
Chapter 23
Security Officer Nordovic waited in silence as his captain reviewed his =
findings.
"You found traces of DNA?" Grenkos asked, very much surprised.
"Yes, sir. We did. Human DNA."
The captain looked shocked. "Every member of this crew has been =
accounted for Nordovic."
"Yes, sir. But..." Nordovic took a deep breath and went on. "The =
findings don't imply that any of the crew were in the pod bay, or that =
anyone was hurt in the blast, just that Human DNA was found as part of a =
substance used in the making of what we believe to have been a bomb."
"A bomb?" Grenkos asked. "How does one make a bomb using a substance =
containing DNA?"
Nordovic tried not to smile as he thought of the two ambassadors cooking =
up this particular brew. "Uhm, I believe the substance utilized was =
urine, sir. When mixed with other equally less volatile substances it =
can be used to create a form of explosive."
Grenkos looked appalled and insulted. "Are you saying a bomb made out of =
piss is what blew a hole in my ship?"
Nordovic desperately tried not to laugh. "Yes, sir," he choked. "That's =
exactly what I'm saying."
Grenkos frowned. "I don't find this the least bit amusing, Nordovic."
"No, sir!" he responded, quickly getting his emotions under control.
"Good, because a security breach like that could cost us both dearly, if =
you catch my drift."
Nordovic nodded, relieved as the private communicator on the captain's =
console suddenly lit up and Grenkos moved to answer it.
There wasn't much of a conversation to overhear, only Grenkos' =
expressions as he listened, responded in the affirmative, and finally =
removed his earpiece.
"By the tits of the seven sisters!" Grenkos spat as he rose to pace the =
room.
"Sir?"
"That was Sub-Minister Pashti. We had intruders aboard. I'm guessing it =
was they who made that bomb in order to escape undetected, Nordovic."
"That's not possible, Captain. Our security systems would have alerted =
us."
Grenkos waved a hand in dismissal. "Our security systems would be no =
match for an Ancient, Nordovic. Even that..." he seemed to stiffen at =
the thought, "that...thing...would have to agree."
"An Ancient?" Nordovic feigned shock. "But why would--"
The captain glared and cut him off. "Don't be a fool, Nordovic! =
Ambassador Hoshmid sent word that the Earth people have evidence their =
men never left the ship. And you watched the Council proceedings, same =
as I did."
Nordovic nodded. "I assumed Ambassador O'Neill's statements were the =
cause of our abrupt departure, sir. And I've since heard that he and =
Ambassador Pierson were missing. Of course..." he added with a hint of =
nervousness, "I assumed the Goa'uld had something to do with it."
Grenkos sighed deeply. "As did we all, Nordovic. But it seems the =
Earthmen must have discovered what the creature so assiduously attempted =
to hide. Its very presence among us," the captain waved a hand =
dramatically, "must have rung out like a bell. Who knows what powers =
such a being as O'Neill may have at his disposal?"
Now that was taking the theorizing a bit too far, Nordovic thought, =
considering the ambassadors had blown their way off the ship using a =
urine bomb and an escape pod, despite their seemingly magical =
resurrection. Still, he let it pass, hopeful this meant any further =
investigation of his part in this mess might be averted during the =
search process.
"I cannot answer that, Captain," Nordovic finally responded.
"You weren't meant to," Grenkos muttered distractedly as he pressed the =
comm button and called for more security officers. "I'm sorry, =
Nordovic," the captain said gently as the team entered, "but I have my =
orders. Gentlemen, please place Chief Security Officer Nordovic under =
arrest."
"On what charge?" one of the men demanded even as Nordovic desperately =
shook his head trying to stop his friend.
"The charge is Treason," Grenkos answered quietly. "And may God help us =
all."
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