![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hathor_girl) wrote2014-07-25 11:48 am
Fic, Chance Meetings, Rosha/Jolinar/Martouf/Lantash, Sam/Jolinar/Martouf/Lantash, PG-13, 1/4
Title: Chance Meetings
Category: Adventure, AU, Drama
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In a universe where Earth has no Stargate program, the Tok'ra decide to send some of their people to capture Seth. During their mission they run into some familiar people.
Characters: Jack, Daniel, Sam, Martouf/Lantash, Rosha/Jolinar, Korra, OC Tok'ra, Kawalsky, Ferretti, Seth, OC Tau'ri
Pairings: Rosha/Jolinar/Martouf/Lantash, Sam/Jolinar/Martouf/Lantash
Prompt: 010. SG-1, any, in an alternative universe the Egyptian Stargate was either taken by Ra or was never discovered by Dr. Langford. There was no mission to Abydos, no SGC and Earth never met the Tok'ra. But when Garshaw & the High Council learn that the long-lost System Lord Seth is hiding on Tau'ri (Earth), a group of Tok'ra are sent by Tel'tak to find & neutralize him. Which of our favorite Tok'ra characters will go to Earth? Will they choose to make First Contact with the people of Earth, asking the human authorities to help them in their search for Seth? Or will choose to work undercover, trying to blend in amongst the strange inhabitants of this bizarre planet we called Earth? Will the Tok'ra succeed in their mission and who will they meet along the way?
Contains dialogue from "Seth".
Notes:
1) Teal'c is not in this story. I couldn't find an excuse for Apophis's First Prime to be hanging out on an Earth that doesn't have a Stargate program and isn't subjugated by the Goa'uld.
2) As you probably notice, the jobs and lives Sam, Daniel, and Jack have are sort of a mix between those we see in Moebius (for Sam and Daniel) and those we see in Continuum (for Jack). Since I don't think we were told where Daniel was working, I put him in Seattle.
3) Since Sam didn't join the Air Force, she didn't meet Jonas Hanson. She is shy and have no social life and few friends in this AU. She does get along with her brother a little better.
4) Jacob is dead, since this is nine months after Tok'ra I & II, and Jacob didn't become host to Selmak. Selmak is dead too.
Jolinar POV
I have only just put my tray with food down on the table and sat down beside Martouf and Lantash, when Aldwin comes through the door to the mess hall and walks up to us.
"Jolinar, Martouf. You are wanted by Garshaw." He says.
"Can it wait until we have eaten?" I ask, picking up a piece of carrot and popping it into my mouth. I crunch it loudly.
Aldwin rolls his eyes at me. "Yes, but she said 'as soon as possible'. You know how she is, sometimes." His expression softens. "Particularly after Selmak died. It was hard on her."
Martouf nods. "It was a great loss for us all." He dips his head.
"We must put more resources into the search for hosts. It would be better if there was at least one prospective host on each base, at all times. It is not as rare as we would want, that someone is wounded beyond the healing power of symbiote and healers." Lantash points out.
"Or we could have a sarcophagus for use in such situations." Korra suggests, joining our conversation.
"A sarcophagus!" Aldwin stares at him. "How can you even suggest it!"
"It is not dangerous if it is not misused. It could save the life of someone, one day. All we have to ensure is that it is not used except when it is truly needed."
I snort. "As someone who has had the dubious pleasure of being dependent on the accursed thing, I can assure you that is no simple feat!"
"Perhaps we should not discuss this now? Garshaw wants to talk to us, and I would like to finish my food first." Lantash picks up his fork and knife and cuts off a piece of chicken, which he eats, daring the others to disagree.
I nod. "Agreed."
"Korra. Garshaw wants you there too." Aldwin says, before walking over to one of the other tables. "And you, Whilan."
"Seth?" I wonder.
"Yes. The Tok'ra Council has been taking a Goa'uld census, of sorts. We are determining where the System Lords have positioned themselves, what domain they rule, who serves under them, and so forth. We know about most of them, but there is one Goa'uld we have lost track of. Seth. He was last known to be on the world of the Tau'ri."
"What danger is he there?" I ask. "If he is even still there."
"And why do we care? He has been hiding since before Egeria was born!" Lantash points out.
"Very true, but you all know how Egeria felt about the Tau'ri. She fought hard to stop the System Lords from going there for hosts, and it is an insult to her memory to allow a System Lord to reside there! He may be hiding now, but who knows when he decides to make his move?" Garshaw says. "Since he has not been seen for so long, it is likely he remains on such an obscure world. He is, after all, hunted by the System Lords after trying to kill Ra and take his place - and it is no secret we have tried to find him before also."
"I agree with Garshaw," Korra says. "We should capture Seth, and neutralize this lurking danger."
I roll my eyes at Korra's flair for the melodramatic.
"You want us to go to the world of the Tau'ri? Whilan asks.
"Yes. But you must be careful. No Tok'ra has been there for almost a millennium, and we know nothing of their development. What sources we have found suggests they had become fairly advanced, technologically." Garshaw says.
"Like the Tollan?" Lantash asks.
"I believe not quite, but you will see for yourself. In any case, you must assume the inhabitants have not seen any Goa'uld or Jaffa for centuries, and may not even realize there are anyone else in the Galaxy but themselves." Garshaw says.
"Naive fools!" Lantash snorts.
"Perhaps, but it will be better for everyone if you do not reveal yourself - whether they know of the Goa'uld or not, they will surely not react well to you!" Garshaw says.
"No, they will either think we are Goa'uld, demons, or something even worse. Nothing good can come of that. I agree." Korra says.
"We will take valuables that can be converted to local currency on any world, as well as non-descript clothing." I say. "I assume I have command of the mission?"
"You do." Garshaw says.
"Weapons?" I ask.
"Bring zat'nik'tels, kara'keshes, and hara'keshes, but try to acquire local weapons and use those as much as possible." Garshaw orders. "One more thing. As you probably know, the only functioning chaapa'ai on the Tau'ri is in a frozen wasteland. There are no longer an easy way to bring a ship through, so travelling from there to inhabited parts will be difficult. I want you to take a teltac instead."
Sam POV
I sleepily hit my waking clock that is beeping steadily, insisting that I get up. I can't say I feel like it. However, if I want to get to work in time (do I?) I have to get up.
I roll our of bed and proceeds to the bathroom, throwing off my nightgown on the way.
When I exit the bathroom some 20 minutes later, after a refreshing shower, I feel somewhat better. I quickly put on pants and the shirt I got for my birthday last year, from my brother. I'm not sure it looks good on me, but who cares, right? It's not like anyone at work looks at me - or if they do, I would rather they don't. Chauvinist asses that they are.
I put on my glasses and looks at the calendar. Monday, June 28th. 1999. That means I've worked for the Department of Aerospace Research for exactly one year today. Is that something to celebrate?
Not that I have anyone to celebrate with, even if I wanted to. My few friends from the university live far away, and I haven't exactly been keeping contact. While I sort-of get along with my brother, I haven't seen him since dad died.
In a week it will be nine months since my dad died. My brother and him never really started talking again, after mom died, not even when dad got sick. I don't think dad ever saw either of my brother's children. It's sad, actually.
Why am I thinking of this today? The weather outside is nice. It's summer... and I am running late. I hurry to get some breakfast, then storm out, lock my door, and run to catch a train on the metro. Doctor Hershfield will be furious if I am late.
Daniel POV
I look briefly at myself in the mirror. Okay-ish, I guess. I pull out a comb and part my hair carefully in the middle, making sure it looks even. Then I pat my new vest, and adjust my tie.
I have a job interview today. Again. It's the first outside of academia, but I have accepted I am not going to work with anything that has to do with archaeology, history, or anthropology. Not after the reaction to my book, or the lecture.
That leaves teaching one of the languages I know, and if I'm lucky, they will hire me. English as a foreign language. I can do that. I hadn't expected to live and work in Seattle, but one place is as good as any, I guess, and except for the weather I think the city seems nice.
I push my glasses up on my nose. I should probably get new ones. These keep sliding forward.
I grab a cup of coffee, and then leave for the interview.
Jack POV
"If there is nothing else, I would like to take the rest of the day off, General." I tell General Johnson.
"Ah, yes, it's your kid's birthday, isn't it?" Johnson smiles. "Charlie, right?"
I nod. "Yes, sir. It's his 12th."
"Well, I know you missed the last two, since you were on missions. So, since there's nothing important right now, why don't you get going?"
"Thank you, sir." I salute, and leave.
The last several weeks have been very busy, and I haven't been home much. At least I haven't had to take any of those missions this year. Sara hates it when I'm gone for months on some secret mission. Can't say I blame her. Being a Colonel in the Special Forces isn't the safest job in the world, and I can't talk about what I do.
At least I can make it up for her a little today. I'll go buy some gifts for Charlie, and something for Sara - and then I'll pick up the big birthday cake I've ordered.
Oh, yeah, I tell myself. Colonel Jack O'Neill can be a good husband and father!
Sam POV
I look up from my notes when Doctor Hershfield enters.
"Carter. I have a job for you." Hershfield says.
"Of course, sir. What is it?"
"You will be going to the University of British Columbia. We have just entered into a cooperation with some of their researchers, and you will be representing us for the next year."
"Uh, I don't know what to say... I'm flattered, but..."
"Good. We can't spare anyone else. Can you leave tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Is he crazy? Get ready to leave for a year - tomorrow? But I guess this is an opportunity I can't say no to. "Well, yes. Of course. Sure, I can leave tomorrow."
"Good. Talk to Jane. She has a folder for you with all you need."
I nod. "Okay. Well... then I guess... I better go prepare."
"Yeah, do that." Hershfield says, already half-way out the door.
Feeling nervous, but excited, I go to talk to Hershfield's secretary Jane, and pick up the folder with stuff. Then I guess I will be going home to pack.
Jolinar POV
We have spent several days scanning the world of the Tau'ri, looking for clues to Seth's whereabouts. Our scanners have picked up several traces of naquadah, places that without doubt contain Goa'uld tech, as the world is known to have no natural naquadah deposits.
During these days we have also been monitoring their transmissions, in the hopes of learning enough to better blend in. I must admit there is a lot of transmissions, of many different kinds, and some of them are very... unusual. It soon became clear to us that some of them are fictitious, and presumably made for entertainment. Others are clearly educational.
Then there are the 'news' reports - there is a lot happening on this world, and much of it is terrible. Many places humans are behaving like the Goa'uld, enslaving and suppressing each other, and committing acts of cruelty we thought only Goa'uld were capable of.
It is... informative, I suppose. Shocking as well, not in the least to our hosts, who thought humans could not behave so. My sweet Rosha has had a brief time of despair, feeling there is not even a reason to fight the Goa'uld, when the humans will be worse to each other than the Goa'uld are. I can see what she means, but I have hope that humans can learn to be better, whereas Goa'uld have genetic memory and the sarcophagus working against them.
Regardless, we have all talked about it, and our dedication to the Tok'ra cause has not wavered, and we will fight to end the Goa'uld tyranny in the Galaxy - and all other kinds of tyranny.
I am getting tired of running scans of this planet. The transmissions from the humans are a distraction, of course, but we are all getting easily irritated from being trapped in this teltac for so long. The journey here took a week, and now we have monitored the planet for four days!
We have learned one thing - our 'non-descript' clothing that would be good on almost any world, will look decidedly odd here! Dependent on the region we end up in, of course.
First thing we need to do when we land will probably be to acquire different garments. Fortunately, it seems as if gold and gemstones is as valuable here as anywhere else, or even more so.
"Jolinar!"
I turn my head and smiles at Martouf. "Yes, what is it, Martouf?"
"We believe we have found Seth."
Relieved, I get up. "Show me."
I follow Martouf to the other room, where he, Korra, and Whilan have been poring over the data we have collected.
"Ah, Jolinar." Korra says, looking up. "Look here." He points at a map of the continent the Tau'ri call 'North America'.
"What is there?"
"It was one of the places we found when we scanned for naquadah. As you know, we deployed ground-based scanners around each of those locations, and yesterday the one there intercepted a transmission from the local law-enforcement. The transmission was mildly interesting - some people had laid siege to the place and tried to attack it. They had failed, and been driven off, and the law enforcement had had to capture those who had attacked the place." Korra explains.
"Reasonably enough. Why is that of any interest?" I ask.
"Any sort of altercation connected to one of the places where there is naquadah would seem of interest, would it not?" Martouf smiles at me.
"True enough," I concede. "So? I assume you have more."
"Yes. The altercation was apparently of interest to the locals, so one of the 'news stations' made a short program about it, and that included a summary of what was known about the place and the owner of it." Martouf says.
"It turns out it is a compound owned by a religious cult. The leader calls himself 'Seth'. The news station interviewed former acolytes, and they described this Seth as having magical powers and the ability to heal. They also claim he has murdered several members in fronts of the others. In addition, several of them stated they had seen the cult leader's eyes glow!" Whilan tells me, looking smug.
~We got him!~ Rosha whispers excitedly in my mind. I agree with her. We have found Seth!
We landed briefly in another area of the world below us, where the clothing we are wearing are not so out of order. There we bought clothing more resembling what is worn in North America, and also exchanged some of our valuables to the currency used there, which is called 'dollars'. We are now ready to land nearer to Seth's compound, and find a way to apprehend him without being discovered and captured by the locals.
I look at my three fellow Tok'ra, smiling fondly at Martouf and Lantash. I kind of like the clothes they are wearing. Something called 'jeans', a 't-shirt' and a jacket, and 'sneakers'.
This is a mission unlike any we have been on before, and it is taking place on the world of the Tau'ri. Just like when we went to buy clothing, I can feel an excitement among us all, to be going out on this world. So much started here.
It has changed and become much different than other worlds, though, and there are many many more people. There is also no knowledge of the Goa'uld, or indeed life on other worlds - aside from some people who believe and are considered crazy. It can be a very dangerous place, so we must be very careful. From what we have been able to learn, pretending to be Goa'uld will not help us - quite on the contrary, no one here must know we are not human. We would be imprisoned, experimented on, killed... if they found out.
"Prepare for landing! Is the cloak engaged?" I call out to Korra, who is currently manning the pilot's seat.
We have landed our teltac in a forested area, and made sure it is well hidden. Even someone with Goa'uld scanners would not find it, unless they know where to look exactly.
"Well, good luck to us all!" I give them all a wry grin.
Martouf pulls me in and give me a kiss. "Don't worry, Jolinar. I'm sure we will be successful."
I roll my eyes at his optimism, but give him a fond smile. He rarely go on missions, and I do not know why he believes this one will go well. I have an unpleasant sense of foreboding, that we will not all be returning home from this mission. It is my responsibility to make sure that my gut-feeling does not become reality. I give Martouf a quick kiss, then I dip my head, giving Rosha control.
"The city called 'Seattle' is in that direction." Rosha points. "The distance is about six and a half iteru. Around sixty-five of the Tau'ri kilometers, or around forty of their miles."
"It is confusing that they use several units of measurement like that." Korra grumbles.
"I believe it depends on the... country." Martouf says. "They use miles here, do they not?"
"Yes, and apparently almost nowhere else." Whilan agrees.
"If you are finished discussing Tau'ri peculiarities, perhaps we can get started?" Rosha comments. "It is early morning, but even keeping a good speed, it will take us until evening to reach 'Seattle'."
"Why go there at all? Is not the compound somewhat to the north of it? Should we not go there directly?" Korra says.
"Yes, it is indeed north of the city. More than 13 iteru. We need more information, which we can safer locate in a larger city, with more people. We also need time to learn how to blend in to this strange culture, so that we will not appear too differently to the locals." Rosha explains patiently.
Korra is an experienced undercover operative, but he has almost always pretended to be Goa'uld, so this is a very different situation for him!
Sam POV
I am exhausted! Three days ago I didn't even know I would be going here, and today I am in Vancouver, in my new apartment. I have subleased my apartment in Washington DC to a friend of my brothers. I packed as many of my books, my clothes, my laptop, and other stuff that I could into my car, and off I went. It's a good thing my boss took care of work-permits and stuff.
This apartment is smaller than the one I had in DC, small as that was too. I guess it is a good thing I didn't get that kitten my brother wanted me to have four years ago. It is much happier with him and his family, I am sure.
The people I am going to work with seems nice. Nicer than the ones I am used to, actually. I think I am going to like it here - it is not like I had any sort of social life in DC that I can miss.
Here - I am invited to a party of some kind on Friday. That is, tomorrow. One of my coworkers is really nice - and attractive. I wonder if he has a girlfriend? Not that I think he would be interested in me, of course.
I have talked a bit with one of the other women at work, Talia Richards. She is about my age, and she seems nice. Maybe we can become friends? I haven't had friends since college, and preciously few then.
In any case, I apparently need to go shopping. Talia suggested I wear a summer dress, and I guess the weather is right for that. Of course, I have no clothing that is even remotely suitable for any sort of celebration.
Talia is the one hosting the party - at her parents holiday cottage in upstate Seattle. Almost everyone from work is coming - this is the yearly summer party. Some other people will come too, so I suspect the party is quite a big thing - one of those events I usually prefer not to go to, but if I want to get to know the people here, I don't feel I can stay away.
So, shopping today, part tomorrow.
Daniel POV
I'm still somewhat surprised I got the job. I mean, I'm qualified, academically, of course. Or over-qualified, but I don't have much experience teaching.
My boss is nice. A young woman about my age, and she doesn't care that I'm ostracized from academia. Her husband is in the Air Force, so she doesn't see him much. I got the feeling she was feeling lonely and might be looking for more than a friend. While I'm flattered - women don't usually go for me - I am not interested in anything with a married woman! That only leads to problems.
She has asked me to accompany her to a party that her sister is hosting, since her husband doesn't have the time. I'm not sure it's a good idea to go, but I also don't want to turn down my new boss. It's a mess, but I'll probably end up going.
Next >>