Tollana, Capital City, Government Complex
It was a drab and cloudy day in the Capital City of one of the most advanced human civilizations in the Galaxy. The level of technology was readily apparent in the design and structure of the Government Complex that also housed the Stargate of Tollana, one that was built by the Tollans themselves and not the Ancients. The complex was a pristine mix of gardens, gray buildings situated on a large sprawling campus. Underneath one of the stilted wings of the buildings that allowed passage underneath a group of nine figures had gathered. The complex around the group was seemingly deserted, the reasons for this was that it was a day of mourning for a fallen leader.
"Though we should not mourn the passing of our friend Omoc, as much as we should celebrate his existence. He helped us through one of the greatest challenges in our recent history. His efforts contributed to the rebirth of our great nation as it stands today," said Narim solemnly, dressed in a strange blend between formal robes and normal attire. "He shall always be remembered."
An older gray haired woman, much smaller than Narim, dressed in elegantly cut gray robes walked forward towards a chrome podium. Her expression carefully neutral as she waved her hand over the podium, an eternal flame burst forth from it. Harry, dressed in his Alteran robes, carefully observed this woman. Her name was Travell and she was the Chairwoman for the Tollan Curia – their highest governing body. His reason for this was that he had sensed an aura of desperation around the woman, which he could not pin down the reason for. It was an odd emotion to feel at a funeral.
Sam in her formal dark blue Air Force Dress uniform turned to Narim and said, "Very nice."
"Very…intimate," said Jack with raised eyebrow and also in his dress uniform. Daniel and Teal'C had both dressed in formal black suits and ties, but had brown jackets over them to shield against the soft rain.
"Councilor Omoc was well aware that he had very few friends," said Narim solemnly. "He was not concerned with trivial relationships. In his testament he asked that his funeral only be attended by those he respected." Harry understood this, but it was clear that his friends did not.
"Umm…no offense," said Daniel uncomfortably, "but what are WE doing here?"
"He might not have shown you much warmth or affection," replied Narim, "but I can tell you, that he most definitely had a great deal of reverence for all of you."
"As do we all," said Travelle, joining the conversation with her two bulky bodyguards in high tech armor behind her. "Colonel O'Neill, please know that we have not dismissed what you have done for Tollana."
"Don't mention it," said Jack and his voice carried a tiny bit of sarcasm as he continued, "We appreciate everything you've done for us…too."
Travelle smiled slightly at his tone, clearly not offended at all. "If you are referring to our policy of not sharing technology I suggest renewing such a discussion at another time and place." It took all of Harry's self-control over his own mind and body not to stare at Travelle.
The Tollan actually sharing their technology with anyone else, he thought incredulously. Narim, who had none of Harry's abilities, stared at Travelle in open shock.
"Really?" said Jack looking surprised.
"The Tollan Curia has recessed for a day of mourning out of respect for Omoc, would you agree to coming back tomorrow to discuss this with me?" said the old woman.
Jack shared a look with Sam and said, "Sure."
"Thank you all for coming here, Colonel, Ambassador Harry," bowing her head slightly. "Narim, would you please show our guests to the Stargate?"
SG1 and Harry followed Narim away from the memorial site and walked up a nearby set of stairs towards the raised area where the silver-white Tollan Stargate sat.
"Any idea what's she's talking about back there?" asked Jack of Narim.
"I was as surprised as you by her invitation," responded Narim.
"Chancellor Travelle seemed to suggest that the Tollan Curia may be willing to share its technology," said Teal'C stoically.
"I highly doubt that," disagreed Narim, "she merely said that they would be willing to discuss it with you."
"You'd think she'd invite us back if things were status quo?" asked Daniel curiously.
"I'm not on the Curia," said Narim as the Tollan Stargate began engaging. "I really have no idea what she wishes to see you about." The Stargate engaged its subspace path with the kawoosh of waterlike plasma. "Have a safe trip home." Harry exchanged nods with Narim and stepped through the gate. After a brief disembodied ride through subspace he stepped into the SGC and walked down the embarkation ramp. He was not really surprised to see that Sam was a tad tardy in stepping through the gate. Obviously she had remained to give Narim a friendlier goodbye. It was a surprise to see her calling the attention of Jack and himself after she did eventually come through.
"Sir, Ambassador," she said. "Narim surreptitiously just handed me this." She opened her closed left hand and Harry saw a small Tollan holo device in her palm. It was usually used to record a secure holographic message and courier the device physically to its intended recipient allowing for higher signals security. The small device activated and a small version of Narim was projected above Sam's hand…a Narim that looked very concerned and grave.
"Samantha," said Narim, "I'm sorry I was not able to tell you this in person. I do not know whom I can trust. Omoc gave me a warning, and I believe it to be true. Earth is in danger."
Afterwards they had quickly asked for an emergency briefing with General Hammond to discuss this. Harry knew Narim well, despite his distaste for Tollan policy or their conduct as a society, and the man was not one to make such statements idly.
"Narim gave you no other indication that something was wrong?" said Hammond after watching the hologram again in the Briefing Room.
"No, Sir," said Sam in confusion, "everything was fine."
"For a funeral," retorted Jack sarcastically.
"You have to admit it was strange that there was so few people there," said Daniel in thought.
"Hey, you knew him…what's strange?" asked Jack with a raised eyebrow. Daniel grinned and conceded the point.
"Whatever he meant," said Sam in turn, "I'd be willing to bet that Omoc's warning had something to do with what Travelle wants to meet with us about."
"Ambassador, your opinion?" asked Hammond politely. Harry gave a sigh and stared out the window at the Stargate for a moment appearing in deep thought.
"If indeed the Tollan are considering opening a dialogue with regards to a technology exchange with Earth I would say wholeheartedly…go for it," he said, but then frowned. "However, this message of warning from Narim and Omoc's death points to something darker behind the scenes."
"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Hammond, "let's see what they have to say."
They had returned to Tollana the following day. Jack and Daniel had gone to speak with Travelle a few hours ago while Harry, Sam and Teal'C sat on a public bench near a fountain in the busy governmental complex waiting for Narim. As always when on assignment Harry was openly wearing his chromesuit, while his comrades donned standard SG field gear with no weapons.
"I want to thank you again Teal'C for the Jaffa blessing you gave my children yesterday," said Harry with a respectful nod at the big Jaffa. "My wife appreciated it."
"You are most welcome, Ambassador," said Teal'C bowing his head.
"How is Apollonia managing on Seaworld?" asked Sam curiously.
"She is doing fine," answered Harry with a sigh. "When I am not there she employs 'Nannybots' that I designed to help her out in various tasks around the house and caring for the infants and a few of the Asgard stationed there also help out when they can. Either are a poor substitute for my presence…but it can't be helped."
"I know well of this feeling," stated Teal'C with a rare bout of compassion in his voice for his fellow warrior. Teal'C was obviously referring to the fact that he missed a great deal of his own son, Ry'ac's, growth…all thanks to the fight against the Goa'uld.
An approaching Narim, dressed in his more normal ribbed gray jacket and pants with calf length boots, interrupted their conversation at this point. They stood to greet him.
"Forgive me, Samantha, Teal'C, Ambassador, my duties have not allowed me to get away before now."
"It's OK, you all right?" she asked in concern, for Narim was indeed looking very troubled.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You look troubled," insisted Sam. Narim motioned for them to follow him on a roundabout of the quadrangle they were in.
"I apologize for sending that message the way I did. There were so many extra security forces around yesterday, I really didn't know who I could trust…except you, of course."
"What situation would force you to trust strangers or in Sam's case, distant friends, more than your own people?" asked Harry with an arched eyebrow.
"I have few verifiable facts, Ambassador," said Narim, "but what I do have is enough to make me do so. Omoc's warning is enough for me to conclude that the threat to Earth exists. Omoc was not one to make idle statements."
"That is true," agreed Harry.
"He also seemed to be under a great strain lately," said Narim further.
"Which might explain the heart attack," opinioned Sam. Daniel and Jack entered the quadrangle at that point and spied them talking with Narim, they had obviously concluded their meeting with Travelle. Harry sensed a mixture of excitement and incredulousness radiating from them as they approached.
"Colonel O'Neill, Dr Jackson," said Narim, bowing his head slightly in greeting.
"What did Chancellor Travelle say?" asked Sam curiously.
"She offered us an Ion Cannon," said Jack in an astonished tone. Harry blinked at that…the Tollan offering their powerful Ion Cannons to Earth…it was unexpected to say the least. Had the Tollan finally got their heads out of the sand?
"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Narim.
"Neither did we!" said Jack.
"In exchange for trinium," added Daniel.
"That's impossible! The Curia would never agree to that!" said Narim vehemently.
"Well, apparently, Omoc was the swing vote," explained Daniel. That made weird sense to Harry. Surely some of the Tollan would have developed some foresight about changing their isolationist ways after that time when their entire defense grid was wiped out in one swoop thanks to some clever Goa'uld tactics of misdirection. The entire planet was saved only due to the efforts of Teal'C and the visiting Nox representative.
"But that goes against everything we've stood for!" complained Narim.
"Do you think this is what Omoc was so worried about?" asked Sam with a frown at her close friend.
"Of course, it must have been. As you know, another world destroyed itself because we shared technology with them. That's why we have so strongly resisted sharing our technology with more primitive societies."
"You know, we prefer 'Less Advanced' if you don't mind," said Jack archly.
"My apologies. You know what I meant. If used the wrong way, this Ion Cannon could lead you to disaster," said Narim gravely.
SGC Briefing Room, Earth
The main projection screen of the briefing room showed a pretty accurate diagram of a Tollan Ion Cannon, included in formally typed notations on the sides of the graphic was everything known to the SGC about them…which frankly wasn't much. Sam was leading the briefing, gesturing with a laser pointer and a remote to advance the digital projection of the bulbous looking cannon. Harry knew the principles behind the thing but not the specifics, it was a unique Tollan weapon and the Alteran's had never bothered using ion's in an energy weapon system.
"The Tollan Ion Beam technology is very advanced. Now, even though we've learned a lot from the weapons on our captured Goa'uld Ha'tak mothership, I don't believe we know enough to adapt this and backward engineer for mass production on Earth. And that poses a bigger problem."
"How so?" asked Hammond.
"Well, Sir. Even strategically placed in say … Washington D.C., one ion cannon provides very little range of defense coverage for a planet the size of Earth. Even if we could mobilize it, a fleet of Goa'uld mother ship could still easily strike at will." She illustrated this by displaying a red dot at the location of the US capital city and a circular radius fanned out from the dot…it barely covered the Eastern Seaboard.
"Not to mention that the cannon would be quickly spotted wherever it was deployed, those things aren't exactly small," said Daniel.
"And the rest of the world would be suddenly curious how the U.S. could suddenly develop such an advanced piece of technology, you might as well do full disclosure of the Stargate," pointed Harry out. "As that cannon hardly looks like something Earth or the US military would build…too pretty."
"So, at this point, one ion cannon is likely to cause more harm than good," continued Sam.
"How many do we need to set up a proper protective net around the entire planet?" asked Hammond curiously. Sam answered by pressing the remote and more red dots appeared around the image of Earth…in the end, a grand total of thirty-eight cannons and that didn't include back-ups.
"Couldn't hurt to ask, Sir," said Jack with a grin.
"Sir, I feel obligated at this point to mention the fact that Narim is opposed to this exchange. He feels that Omac's warning is directly related," opinioned Sam.
"You believe the Tollan Council has ulterior motive that do not represent our best interests?" said General Hammond.
"Something's going on," said Jack.
"I agree," said Harry, "this sudden shift of Tollan policy is suspicious. As evidenced by Narim, if the Tollan public were to ever hear of this, the Curia would be facing a sudden, very unruly populace."
"What you're sensing as trouble could be simple political wrangling," stated Hammond.
"Perhaps," conceded Harry.
"Or we … could be walking into a minefield. Anyway, I'm ordering you proceed with the negotiation, Colonel. But…"
"If you were going to recommend that I remain suspicious and skeptical…" said Jack with eyebrows arched.
"…I wouldn't waste my time," smiled Hammond.
Jack sighed and with an incredibly weary look at the General said, "Thank you, Sir. These little chats of ours always bring me GREAT joy … and serve to … ease my mind."
Tollana, Government Complex
Harry and the rest of SG1 were met at the Stargate by a team of four Tollan security officers equipped much the same as Travell's bodyguards at the funeral. They had been barely escorted fifty meters when a grim looking Narim intercepted them.
"Greetings," he said to the team, and turned to the security guards, "Chancellor Travelle has asked that I personally escort them the rest of the way." The guards frowned initially at this, but seemed to accept it and walked away to go about their regular duties.
"That true?" asked Harry, though he sensed the lie a mile away.
"No. I had heard you had arrived back on Tollana to meet with Chancellor Travelle again." They followed Narim and Jack spoke.
"Yeah…uh, we're going to ask for a whole whack of space guns," said Jack with a happy grin.
"This is much worse than I thought," said Narim looked dead serious.
"Narim, we understand why you're concerned, but those ion cannons could save Earth one day," said Sam with a slight pleading tone in her voice.
With a sarcastic grin Daniel said, "You're just going to have to trust that we won't blow each other up with them."
"And if we do," said Jack with a grin, "we won't blame you, promise!"
"I don't think that's what Narim means," said Harry with a frown.
"You are perceptive as always Ambassador," said Narim with a nod. "Let me explain. Every Tollan has an implant that monitors his or her health." He placed a gray half-circular device on his wrist and it beeped happily and started displaying Tollan characters. "See? This is my current health data."
"I'm assuming you're OK?" asked Sam.
"Yes, perfect health. However, I am overseer of Omoc's personal property including this device, which contains his health records. After our last conversation, I decided to do some checking. As you know, Omac died of a heart attack…"
"Narim…where are you going with this?" said Jack in a suffering tone.
"Despite the fact that Omoc looked like he was under great stress, he, too, was in perfect health."
"Well, people sometimes die of heart attacks … without warning," stated Sam.
"Our implants are linked to a central system. If anything goes wrong, health officers are dispatched immediately. Now, normally, maximum response time is under 5 minutes … the night of Omoc's death, it took them over 10 minutes." Harry frowned inwardly at that…add another worrying thing to the list under 'Things that don't make sense.' Tollan medical officers were drilled tirelessly in rapid response to medical emergencies…especially when it involved government officials. He knew this government complex had its own small hospital for crying out loud…ten minutes was an eternity…a suspicious eternity.
"What are you saying?" asked Sam intently.
"He is saying that he believes Omoc has been murdered," said Harry, his lips thinning. Narim only nodded, looking gratefully at Harry for saying it for him.
Harry, Sam and Teal'C had been invited by Narim to accompany them to his house, while Jack and Daniel were escorted to another negotiation session with Travelle. Narim's house was in fact part of a multiplex apartment building. And if the size was any indication of Narim's status in Tollan society, then he was very well off indeed. Though this was in fact, not the case. Tollan society rewarded accomplishment and skill and while it was a free and just there were what was called 'super-citizens', those with superior talent and/or knowledge were elevated to positions of authority in the Tollan government. The Tollan Curia was in fact a collection of the oldest super-citizens still living.
Narim, being Omoc's apprentice (who was himself a super-citizen), was afforded that same status by the relationship of master and student. If Narim later acquitted himself well enough, he would retain his 'super-citizen' status in his own right.
They entered his rather opulent abode and they were immediately greeted by a very familiar voice.
"Greeting, Narim. Welcome home," said the perfectly replicated voice of Sam from around them, "Atmospheric control is active. Shall I prepare a mid day meal for you and your guests?" Harry allowed a grin to show on his face and his eyes twinkled in mirth; Narim had chosen his computer's voice much as he had his ship's AI's voice modeled on Apollonia…clearly there were unrequited feelings between Sam and Narim.
Narim for his own part looked slightly embarrassed and a wry grin formed on his face. Sam's initial reaction was confusion, which turned to a grin as she shared a look with Teal'C, who merely cocked his head.
"No, thank you."
"Narim…" said Sam with an arched eyebrow.
"Yes, Samantha?"
"…is that my voice?"
"I'm sorry. I … was hoping you didn't notice," said Narim grinning rather self-deprecatingly.
"Colonel O'Neill asked us to find proof of Omoc's murder. Should we not begin?" said Teal'C stoically.
"I really do not know where to start. The fact is there hasn't been a murder among the Tollan for as long as I can remember," said Narim with a rather helpless shrug.
"Means, Motive and Opportunity," said Harry in an obvious tone.
"Right," said Sam, "good show that, but we don't really need the Means or the Opportunity of the Murder, we need to find out the motive."
"Then why would the Curia kill one of its own to ensure that a technology exchange would take place between Tollan and Earth?" supposed Harry.
"They need the Trinium that desperately," said Sam with a shrug. "Narim, is Tollana really that short on Trinium?"
"We are approaching a shortage level," confirmed Narim with a nod, "but I think if we need to deduce a motive from the Curia, we need to look at their session records, which is made public as a rule of law." He walked over to a computer terminal mounted in the wall and pressed the characters in the screen in a sequence and soon enough what looked to Harry to be minutes of Curia meetings started to scroll down.
"Can you translate it for us?" asked Sam. Narim nodded and with a few touches of the screen the more familiar Terran characters appeared; allowing them to read it.
"That is too much information," said Harry after a few moments of speed-reading, "We need to do a keyword search for a specific topic."
"What do you want to search for?"
"Ion Cannons," said Sam after a moment's thought.
"Okay, search topic Ion Cannons last 6 months," said Narim, inputting the parameters of the search. This thankfully did limit the amount of information considerably, but it was still a lot to go through. After ten minutes of reading, whereby Narim and Sam had moved over to a couch where another computer terminal was to divide the information between them so they could cover more ground in less time.
At this point, Daniel and Jack turned up, having successfully followed Narim's rather complex instructions on getting to the multiplex apartments.
"What'cha reading there guys?" asked Jack.
"Tollan Curia records," answered Teal'C, while Harry remained focused on the screen.
"Don't wreck it for me," said Jack sarcastically.
"What did Travelle say?" asked Sam.
"We got the guns."
"That can't be true!" said Narim in astonishment. A feeling that Harry mirrored.
"All of them?" said Sam.
"Over time as we deliver the Trinium," said Jack.
"I've got something!" announced Harry, tapping the screen in front of him to pause it. "Two months ago there was an unscheduled test of Ion Cannons. And Omoc filed an official protest."
"Yes. I remember it well," said Narim with a frown of thought. "We were supposed to have an evening meal together. Omoc was late. He was VERY angry when he arrived. He spent the entire time ranting about the unfairness of random testing on the Tollan people."
"I don't understand … why is this important?" asked Daniel, looking confused.
"We're looking for any motive the Curia may have had in…murdering Omoc," said Harry, scratching his chin contemplatively.
"This can't be!" said Narim, looking astounded and horrified as he stared at the screen.
"What?" said Jack in alarm.
"According to this record, the Curia meeting adjourned in the late afternoon. Omoc came here straight from the meeting, I'm sure it was well into the evening."
"So?" said Sam, not understanding the problem.
"That means there are at least 2 hours of notations missing from these records," said Narim, sounding outraged.
"A slight omission?" said Jack shrewdly.
"That's not possible," said Narim shaking his head.
"Narim, if the Curia could commit murder, they can certainly erase a couple of hours from the public record," said Sam in exasperation.
"You don't understand our laws! For the highest members of our government to deceive the people … as strange as it may sound, it's an even more heinous crime than murder, it's …" he paused, "it's unthinkable. At the time, I thought it was strange that Omoc would be so upset over an Ion Cannon test."
"If the Curia wanted to cover up details of this incident … why leave Omac's protests on record?" asked Daniel.
"Because an official protest of Tollan policy is filed with every level of every branch of the government. It would be impossible to erase it without a conspiracy of massive proportions reaching far outside the Curia," explained Narim.
"Therefore we need to know what happened in those two missing hours," stated Harry.
In the end, the team came up with a two-fold strategy of determining the truth. Sam would go back to Earth to accompany the first shipment of Trinium, whereby she would introduce a barely detectable radioactive isotope to the shipment. This would allow the team to discover what the Trinium was actually being used for. The other plan, which would run concurrently, was to somehow infiltrate Travelle's office and see if any incriminating evidence could be found in her computer. Of course, Narim's reaction to hearing of this plan was decidedly not positive.
"Do you realize what you've done by involving me in this? Just KNOWING what you've done …" said Narim angrily.
"Hey! You involved yourself in this when you sent us that warning," snapped Jack in response.
"Warning you that your world is in danger is not the same as committing treason against my own government!"
"If your leaders are involved in something and they committed murder to cover it up, what you're doing is NOT treason!" said Daniel strongly.
"What I am doing is nothing!" said Narim angrily, though it appeared he was directing it all towards himself.
"Then help us Narim," said Harry intently. "We need to somehow get into Travelle's office."
Narim heaved a great sigh and rubbed his hands through his hair. The man looked as if he was looking deep within himself to find the right thing to do. The team allowed him his space and didn't press him further. Eventually he met Harry's eyes.
"There is one chance. Only the highest-ranking members of the Curia would have access codes to the building where Travelle's office is located. Omoc was among them."
"And you have his personal effects?" said Sam.
"His code would be in the data device. You just have to reactivate it," explained Narim.
"OK," said Jack with a lop sided grin, taking command, "Daniel, Carter, Ambassador, go with Narim. Check out Travelle's office and see what you come up with. Teal'C and I'll track the Trinium." He turned to the Tollan. "Um, that's the thing that lets you go through walls, right?" He pointed to the gray gauntlet that covered Narim's forearm with the Phase Shift Device on it.
"Yes," said Narim with a confused frown, wondering where Jack was going with this.
"Gotta couple extra laying around?"
"That would be a severe violation of…" but Narim was interrupted.
"Good," said Jack as if Narim had said nothing, "How about weapons?"
"Colonel O'Neill…" said Narim looking disapproving of being strong-armed.
"Just incase," said Jack with a disarming grin.
"You know our security sensors disable …"
Teal'C interrupted his objection this time, "The weapons of your security forces remain unaffected."
Government Complex, Chancellor's Office.
They had to wait for a few hours before they could be sure Travelle was out of her office. Narim, Daniel, Sam and Harry stood in the darkened corridor just outside the locked door. In their infiltration of the building Harry had manipulated the minds of those who saw by projecting his Aura of Disinterest at a much higher level than normal, so it would cover the others as well. Any security officer or government worker who saw them as they walked though the building simply didn't pay enough attention to see the highly suspicious group of four people moving towards the executive floors of the building.
Narim stood at the numerical security keypad that stood on an artfully designed little podium next to the opaque glass doors of Travelle's office. He hesitated before entering the keycode he had obtained from Omoc's data device. And looked grimly at the others.
"If this doesn't work … security will be here in seconds."
"We've got your back if we are discovered," said Harry with a grin. In the course of the past few days, Harry's estimation of Narim had increased in leaps and bounds as the man showed his colors finally. Omoc's strict tutelage had seriously hampered him it seemed, and now that he was on his own the true man was finally coming out of that Tollan superiority complex.
Narim nodded and typed in the code. The pedestal flared green and everyone heaved a sigh of relief as the double doors to the office opened automatically.
"Way to go, Omoc!" said Daniel, looking impressed at the foresight the deceased Tollan had.
The four infiltrators closed the door behind them and rushed to the main desk in the minimalist, yet well appointed office. Narim sat down at the desk and a semi-circular transparent screen rose up impressively from the desk and a touchpad keyboard. Harry stood behind the Tollan and began reading the data files that Narim brought up. Sam and Daniel stood on the other side of the desk, anxiously awaiting their response.
Narim immediately referenced the missing two hours of the Tollan Curia.
"Here! This is a private communication sent to our chief of science and technology just after the meeting," said Narim reading it eagerly. Harry stared at the Tollan characters and his eyes widened at what he was reading.
"There was no random Ion Cannon test," said Harry grimly.
"It says a Goa'uld ship entered orbit, and that the Ion cannons fired in defense…" said Narim in astonishment.
"Ineffectively," said Harry closing his eyes. The day had finally come when the Tollans would rue their arrogance.
"What?" said Sam startled.
"I don't see how that could be! Our ion cannons have always been successful against Goa'uld mother ships!" said Narim.
"Maybe this Goa'uld has developed shields to defend against them," opinioned Sam.
"That would be catastrophic! We have no other weapons capable of defending Tollana on a planetary scale!" said Narim.
"It also says that despite the attack the Goa'uld left peacefully," said Harry.
"Yeah, right!" said Daniel sarcastically.
"Why would a Goa'uld mothership impervious to your Ion cannons just leave?" asked Sam in confusion.
"There must be more," insisted Narim and began typing, but sighed in frustration, "No other records of communications mentions a Goa'uld ship."
"It must have been discussed off the record after that," said Daniel contemplatively.
"Well, we know the ion cannons are useless if they won't defend against a Goa'uld mother ships anymore," said Sam, looking disappointed.
"Which explains why Travelle was willing to give us as many as we wanted," said Daniel dryly.
"Were there any scans done of the Goa'uld ship?" asked Harry intently. Narim's fingers danced on the keyboard as he searched.
"Why would you want to see that?" asked Daniel.
"If I can see a sensor profile of the shields I can begin to deduce how it was constructed and in turn find a weakness in them," said Harry.
"There were scans done," confirmed Narim, "but according to this they've been archived and compartmentalized. They aren't in this computer." Harry cursed in Alteran angrily.
"Let's see if we can find out what the trinium's being used for," suggested Sam. Narim nodded and his fingers began to dance again, data and files flashed across the screen at impressive speed until Harry saw something.
"Stop! There…" he pointed to the file directory. Narim accessed it and it expanded to show a brief video file of what looked to be a multi megaton explosion.
"Wow," said Sam with wide eyes.
"It's a weapon of mass destruction," said Narim grimly. The video file faded out to show a virtual diagram of a sophisticated warhead that's design just screamed 'Tollan' to his mind; the rounded organic shape, the crystals, the metallurgy, everything.
"OK, where does the Trinium come in?" asked Daniel wearily.
"Trinium is required to house the device that generates our phase shift technology," explained Narim.
"Are you saying this bomb is being made so that it can go through anything?" surmised Daniel.
"Theoretically, Yes. Of course, that must be it. This weapon is intended to replace the ion cannon in defense of our planet," said Narim.
"A Goa'uld would never just drop by and leave, allowing you to have a look at his new shield technology and possibly give your people time to develop a means to penetrate it, Narim," said Harry with a disappointed sigh at the man's naivety.
"What else could …"
But Narim was interrupted as the doors to Travelle's office opened abruptly and the woman herself came striding in briskly with six security officers in tow, all with their Tollan disruptors raised and trained on each of them. Sam and Daniel raised their own Disruptors in a flash, but Travelle spoke before anyone could even think to pull a trigger.
"Please. Lower your weapons, the building's full of security," said Travelle imperiously. The security officers had them obviously outnumbered so Sam and Daniel reluctantly relinquished the weapons. The officers ushered Harry and Narim away from the computer into the center of the room and backed off to get a clear line of fire. "What do you think you're doing, Narim?"
"What do you think you are doing … Chancellor?" said Narim with disgust. Instead of answering Travelle looked up to her desk. A tall handsome looking man had appeared there from a concealed entrance behind the desk. He had light brown skin with long black hair tied into a ponytail and a classically handsome face. He wore elegant brown robes with embroidered designs that looked straight out of the early Egyptian dynasties. The first clue as to the man's less than good nature was the distinctive golden glint of a Goa'uld Ribbon device on his right hand, the second was the palpable sense of malevolence and glee that radiated from the man like a foul color of light (at least to Harry's perception), the third was the overly bright eyes of the man…showing the clear presence of a symbiote within the man. Harry looked at the designs on the robes closely and frowned in confusion…how could this be?
"She is doing what she must, to preserve your world," spoke the Goa'uld in the characteristic distorted voice. Harry saw Travelle look down in genuine shame. Sam and Daniel looked appalled at what was happening. Everything was almost clear now.
"Thoth," stated Harry with clear displeasure written on his face.
"Ah, so you know of me, Ambassador," said the Goa'uld in a pleased voice.
"I know enough to know that there is no way that you are here at the behest of the System Lords," said Harry, his face then split into an amused grin, "considering that they banished your snakey little ass out of Goa'uld space for hoarding new technologies that you discovered and/or developed. Oh, and let's not forget that little attempt you made on Ra's life at the height of his power, tsk, tsk." Thoth's eyes flashed in anger at the reminder of his little failure at grabbing the title of Supreme System Lord from his former Master Ra. Harry knew that Thoth fancied himself many things, but he was first and foremost a scientist and linguist (he developed the written Goa'uld language), but his ego, like those of all Goa'uld, was too big for his own abilities. His tactical and military skills were marginal at best, but he was cunning, sneaky and very clever. The Tok'ra would have loved to be able to get their hands on him.
Narim turned to Travelle in anger at this point and said, "How could you do this?"
"I have done nothing alone, Narim. The Curia is acting in the interest of Tollana," said Travelle earnestly.
"You murdered Omoc!" said Narim in disgust.
"Not to mention betraying every single allegiance you have ever made!" said Harry, looking at Travelle with disdain. The Curia had just spat in the face of the Asgard, Tok'ra, Earth, and the Nox by dealing with the Goa'uld.
"Had we not done what we did, there would be no Tollana to speak of!" retorted Travelle.
"And there won't be if you do not fulfill your promise, Chancellor," said Thoth with a smirk.
"Rest assured, we will deliver as promised," said Travelle confidently.
"You and the Curia are NOT in power to make such deals on behalf of the Tollan people! We would rather fight and DIE … than trade our technology to the Goa'uld!" said Narim, now looking beyond incensed.
"I wonder … would you be so quick to make that decision if you were in my place," said Travelle with a sneer.
It was at this point that Harry decided that he had had enough of playing possum. He met Sam's eyes and blinked three times. She nodded. Sam abruptly grabbed Daniel and rushed forward to distract Thoth…meanwhile, Harry had grabbed Narim and pressed the phaseshift gauntlet, activating it and faster than the security officers could react ran through the nearest wall in a blur of movement.
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Harry and Narim appeared abruptly in a rather secluded corner of the quadrangle, which was shielded from view by a grouping of large plants and shrubbery; a slight displacement of air heralded their arrival.
"What was that?" asked Narim with groan, shuddering at the feelings of apparition.
"No time to explain, and I doubt even you would truly understand the physics behind it," said Harry softly, looking around. He helped Narim forward and they managed to leave the quadrangle unseen; it helped that Harry had his Aura on full power of course. He cast his mind's eye about looking for Jack and Teal'C and managed to intercept them, as they themselves were also stealthily moving about, clearly trying to avoid security officers. They met under the stilted wing of one of the government buildings, thanks to a staircase leading from a higher level and the position of the sun, it was almost cast in complete shadow.
"Daniel Jackson and Major Carter?" asked Teal'C looking concerned at only seeing two of them.
"We were caught by Travelle and the Goa'uld the Curia have ventured into a bargain with," said Narim grimly. "I managed to escape with the Ambassador's help. But the entire security force of Tollana must be looking for me … and you for that matter."
"Uh … back up to that Goa'uld bargain part," said Jack expectantly.
"The Tollan Curia made a deal with a Goa'uld. His name is Thoth."
Jack turned to Harry with raised eyebrows.
"Thoth is a banished Goa'uld, a scientist in as much a Goa'uld can be one. The Tok'ra hasn't heard from him since he was cast out of Goa'uld space in an Al'kesh and a few loyal Jaffa over twenty years ago," explained Harry.
"And now he's back, making a powerplay," said Jack.
"Possibly," conceded Harry, "though I doubt it. Think of Thoth as an…oh…an egghead if you will, very brilliant but militarily stupid, at least in comparison to the other Goa'uld out there."
"Somebody bigger is pulling his strings," concluded Jack and turned back to Narim. "So what kind of deal did the Curia make?"
"This Goa'uld's mothership has a new kind of shield this is impervious to our Ion Cannons. For the first time, Tollana is vulnerable to attack," said Narim grimly.
"There hasn't been an attack," snapped Jack.
"No, to prevent our destruction, the Curia has agreed to build weapons for the Goa'uld," said Narim in disgust.
"We have seen these weapons. There are a great many," said Teal'C stoically.
"What exactly can they do?"
"They are explosives of great power that utilize the Tollan phase-shift technology. They will be able to pass through any solid matter prior to detonation."
"Like…an iris?" asked Jack warily.
"As you've witnessed before, I've used our technology to walk right through the barrier that protects your planet's Stargate," said Narim earnestly.
"We must not allow Thoth to obtain possession of these weapons," said Teal'C.
"Then we must destroy them," said Harry simply.
"How?" asked Narim. Harry pointed into the distance at the far side of the Government complex…where a large Ion Cannon was mounted on a small building. Narim sighed and looked rather forlornly at the Cannon. "Travelle's right … it's not so easy when the fate of your planet is in your own hands."
"Narim …," said Jack with a frown.
"Look, The Goa'uld will attack Tollana if the delivery is not made … You are asking me … to destroy my own world!"
"I am asking you not to destroy Earth and God knows how many other planets to save your own ass! I'm asking you to do the right thing, and you know it!" said Jack angrily.
"Narim," said Harry and placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I said we would watch your back, and I meant it. The instant Major Carter and Dr Jackson are free and we return to Earth, I will get my ship and return to Tollana as fast as possible. I can't make any guarantees however."
Narim sighed explosively and looks towards the Ion Cannon in the distance.
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"That must've hurt," said Harry wryly, as Narim moved a Healing Device over his left wrist…where his Tollan Health Implant had been.
"I wouldn't put it above Travelle using it to track my location," said Narim darkly, putting the device away and watching Jack and Teal'C in the distance sneaking off towards the weapons depot. "We must hurry." Harry nodded and they also moved away from their former hiding place. Moving about and mingling with the flow of pedestrian traffic in the complex they headed towards the Ion Cannon that had a sightline on the weapons depot. When they reached the small building and stopped next to the door leading inside Harry asked, "How many?"
"Three," responded Narim.
"Wait here," ordered Harry and casually went inside. The control room for the Ion Cannon above was, like all things Tollan, spacious, shiny and pretty. Wide banks of control panels lined the room and large one-way windows allowed the operators a nice view of the grounds outside and the capital city of Tollana beyond. The technicians inside were dutifully working on the computers, even as it was clear to Harry that their sensors to space had been disabled…clearly indicating that the Curia didn't want word to get out that Goa'uld motherships were most likely above them waiting to rain death and destruction, unless this weapons deal went forward.
"Have a nap, guys," said Harry, gesturing with a sweep of his hand. All three techs let out deep sighs and slumped in their chairs…fast asleep. "Narim…"
The man in question came in and closed the door behind him. He was startled at first at the sleeping technicians, but evidently reigned in his own curiosity. He pushed away one of the technicians who slumped to the floor and took his place, his hands immediately dancing over the controls.
"Scanning the weapons depot," announced Narim. "Good…it seems our diversion was successful, security is swarming the place in a great concentration….there…I believe Colonel O'Neill and Teal'C has just been apprehended…four lifesigns are on their way towards Travelle's office."
"Can you get passive sensors to space on-line?" asked Harry urgently. Narim worked a few moments and gestured to a console to his right for Harry to use. Harry worked quickly and soon a hologram appeared in front of him showing a diagram of the Tollan planet.
"Eight!" said Narim in shock. "Eight Goa'uld motherships are orbit."
"Whoever Thoth is working for clearly doesn't want anything to go wrong," said Harry grimly, he typed in a few more commands and the screen was replaced with scrolling passive sensor data on the Goa'uld ships above. Harry was…astounded, the more and more he saw…it was uncanny, and impossible.
"What is it?" demanded Narim, seeing Harry expression.
"These shield modulations…if I didn't know how good Tollan sensors were I would think these readings were false…but it's as clear as day, the modulations are based on Ancient principles," said Harry aghast.
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know," said Harry, struggling to come to terms with it "…somehow, a Goa'uld out there has discovered an Ancient ship or basic database…and basing new technologies off it." Harry slammed his fist in anger on the console and started cursing in Alteran. Had Oma been there, she would probably have been washing his mouth out with soap. "Destroy the weapons."
Narim didn't hesitate, he inputted the commands and they heard the Cannon above moving on it's actuators, aiming itself and then a massive blast of crackling blue energy shot out and with a massive roar and rattling of the window panes the weapons depot exploded in a rapidly expanding shockwave of debris and fire.
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It was merely the prelude to the coming destruction. Orange lines of energy began to rain down onto the planet from the orbiting Ha'taks. Tollans were running everywhere to find some measure of safety in shelters and perhaps even to ships in the hope to escape into Hyperspace; but that was a futile gesture as the blockade of Goa'uld ships covered every exit vector from the planet. Six people ran towards the Tollan Stargate. However, one of them began to slow down, causing the rest to stop.
"You must hurry straight to the Stargate," said a heavily breathing Narim.
"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Sam.
"My actions have forced my people in a battle we may very well loose. The least I could do is stay and fight with them."
"Take this," said Harry, handing Narim an Asgard Jewel Device. "It'll allow me to find you and communicate. My ship can only handle a maximum of four thousand evacuees, so gather as many people as you can!" shouted Harry above the roar of weapons fire and explosions.
Narim nodded and gestured for them to go. Harry, Daniel, Teal'C and Jack ran towards the Stargate. Harry made a twirling gesture with his hand towards it and a subspace path immediately established itself and settled into stability. Jack pressed his GDO code into the device on his wrist and it blinked green. Sam sprinted to rejoin them and they all ran through the open event horizon.
The instant they were back in the SGC, Harry turned to Jack. "Tell Hammond what happened. I'm going to Tollana by ship." Before they could even say a word, Harry was enveloped by white light and vanished.
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Eight hours later…in orbit above Tollana
The Achilles burst out of Hyperspace over the Northern pole of Tollana. Multiple launcher tubes that dotted the circumference of the great ship wasted no time in flinging out sixteen missiles at once. Small hyperfast sublight engines powered the missiles, that due to their small relative mass could make the things go at half the speed of light. Harry specifically designed their warheads for their job…removing Death Gliders from space like a massive flyswatter.
The Death Gliders that were going to and fro the blockading halo of Ha'taks and the planet surface were completely caught off guard as sixteen relatively small artificial suns came into existence briefly and with a massive flash in all light spectra, blinded the pilots who only a few nanoseconds later were obliterated into their constituent atoms.
The Achilles swooped on the nearest Ha'tak with multiple salvos from the emitter ring. Yellow solid beams of energy lanced out and crashed into the shield of the mothership.
On the bridge of the Achilles sitting in the Control Chair, Harry sat contemplating the results of the strike. Whereas before, he could have obliterated the Ha'tak…now he had only reduced its shield strength by thirty percent. Clearly the Alteran inspired shields were making a difference.
But Harry did not name his ship Achilles for his nostalgic sense of history. The Ha'tak he had attacked fired a volley in return…with a thought the Achilles went into a fast roll, dodging most of the orange energy weapons and only catching some on his forward shields…which weakened by eight percent. Harry fired another salvo of beams, concentrating them on the bridge of the Ha'tak and gave a mental order to his AI. The result was seen a moment later as a flash of light appeared next to Harry's control chair and a thoroughly disheveled and dirty Narim materialized.
"Hi there, Narim," said Harry grimly, and with a thought triaxelated his phased particle beams into a different spectrum and launched another salvo of beams which finally managed to penetrate the shield of the Ha'tak and sliced off the top third of the pyramid ship…which a moment later exploded.
"Harry," nodded Narim, looking around at the virtual bridge in awe. The Achilles shuddered as three Ha'tak came into range and started to fling orange plasma energy into the shields.
"Your people are being beamed aboard as we speak," said Harry, and this time eighteen hypermissiles speared forth. Their warheads were laced with weapons grade naquadah and potassium (essentially the weapons that were currently carried by the F-302s)…the results were marginal. Six missiles each bracketed one of the three Ha'taks and massive orbs of white light appeared against the shields of the motherships, with visible shockwaves traveling in all directions…the shields on the Ha'taks were reduced by 35 percent.
"Back to the drawing board on those things," said Harry unhappily.
"How far are we with the evacuation?" said Narim anxiously.
"Halfway done." Yellow beams lanced out at the Ha'tak's now in pursuit of the Achilles as it surged further away from the gravity well of the planet. "Enough of this," snarled Harry and focused all weapon power into a single energy lance and narrowed the area it would hit by fifty percent. A beam shot out and hit the bridge area of the Ha'tak, but Harry focused and kept the energy flow constant. It looked as if someone had drawn a line from the Achilles towards the pursuing Ha'tak…and finally the shield generators on the Goa'uld ship had to yield to high-energy physics and exploded. A snap launch of a hypermissile obliterated it. For the next twenty minutes Harry played a constant game of hit-and-run tactics…almost playing sheepdog to the group of Ha'tak. This was possible due to the high level of speed and maneuverability of the Achilles. Darting in, making slashing runs against the Goa'uld, all the while beaming up more people. Finally…
"OK, I've got four thousand one hundred people squeezed on board," announced Harry. "My shield strength is at forty percent…it would be risky to stay…"
But he was cut off when Narim said angrily, "GO! Just go!"
Harry winced and nodded. Knowing that the man next to him had for the second time in five years witnessed his world being destroyed; the first, due to their own mistake in sharing technology with a neighboring planet and now to the Goa'uld. The Achilles made a massive sweeping turn and jumped into Hyperspace.
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