bungakertas (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bungakertas) wrote2021-02-22 07:57 pm
bungakertas) wrote2021-02-22 07:57 pm
Entry tags:
- anise,
- borg,
- carson beckett,
- chakotay,
- daniel jackson,
- freya,
- george hammond,
- harry kim,
- jack o'neill,
- jacob carter,
- kathryn janeway,
- malek,
- prometheus,
- replicators,
- sallash,
- samantha carter,
- selmak,
- seven of nine,
- sg-1,
- star trek,
- stargate,
- story: futility,
- teal'c,
- the holo doctor,
- tom paris,
- tuvok,
- voyager,
- zipacna
An Exercise In Futility: Chapter Five
Daniel watched as Sam returned from the gate.
He was an anthropologist. Meeting new people was always fun. Meeting a new species was excellent.
Meeting new people from an inter-species military operation on board a ship Sam had classified as a “heavily modified research vessel?” Now things were really getting interesting. Which usually meant the SGC was about to step in and take all his fun away, and possibly do something to which he would feel compelled to object on ethical grounds.
But Sam offered him a cheerful smile when she arrived and said, “General Hammond agrees with our assessment of the situation, and has authorized us to provide you with whatever aid we can in assisting you to return to your own reality.”
To Daniel’s surprise, however, Chakotay did not look pleased at this statement. “I’m sorry, but we’re not going to be able to accept your assistance.”
“Why not?” Daniel asked. He blinked when he realized Sam had said the same thing at the same time.
Another one of those glances these people exchanged from time to time went around and finally Chakotay sighed. “Our people have a rule. More like a governing principle. To respect the rights of the other peoples we encounter. We believe one of those basic rights is the right of that people to develop naturally as a society without outside interference or manipulation—even accidental manipulation. While your ship means that your people are obviously close to a point where we believe interaction with you would not be an infringement on that right, close is not good enough. I’m afraid that when we leave, I’m going to recommend to Captain Janeway that we minimize all further contact with you.”
Daniel was rendered absolutely speechless in his disappointment. The one time that the SGC was going to give him the opportunity to do exactly what he wanted exactly when he wanted to do it, and it was the other people group who shut him down. It was so frustrating that he could not, at that moment call to mind words in any of his three native languages, English, French, or the Egyptian dialect of Arabic to adequately express his unhappiness.
Much to his surprise, Malek started laughing. It was obvious none of their guests had heard of anything like a tok’ra—or apparently a goa’uld, either—when they all turned to stare at him, the echoing sound of his voice having its usual effect on those unfamiliar with it.
“You can not protect the tau’ri from themselves,” Malek said with a laugh. “They are far too inquisitive for their own good. The tok’ra have tried since we met them to get them to slow down, but it does no good. They take their little teams and race through the stargates and build ships and fight enemies far more powerful than they are. Daniel Jackson is the worst of all of them in this way.” He looked at Daniel, and Daniel was gratified to see that he was smiling, and that his criticism was not intended unkindly. “I believe he is even proud of it.”
Malek looked at Chakotay. “While your intentions are noble, you will not preserve their rights in this manner. The only thing you will do is deprive yourself of a worthwhile ally.”
“That may be the case,” Chakotay said with a nod. “And, believe me, I have a great deal of respect for exploration and discovery. But this rule it isn’t about us or our advantages.”
Daniel’s heart sank. “I’m sorry to hear that. I had hoped we might learn at least a little from each other before you had to leave.”
“It is indeed unfortunate,” Tuvok said.
After this disappointing exchange, there wasn’t really much more Daniel felt could be said, so he made all the polite noises as their guests were taking their leave and watched in disappointment as they disappeared in a sparkle of transporter beams.
Jack, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this laid a hand on his shoulder and said, “Don’t take it too hard, Daniel. There’s always other brains to pick.”
He looked at Jack sadly and finally said, “You know, they kind of remind me of the Tollan, a little bit.”
Jack squeezed his shoulder. “Yeah. Me, too.” He paused and then said, “Listen, Sam and Jacob are going to try and get Lionel to let them take one of the 302s up to get a closer look at the satellite. I can take you up, to get a look at that writing, if you like.”
Daniel considered, for a moment, rejecting this blatant attempt to cheer him up and decided not to. “All right.”
By the time they’d reached Prometheus, Sam and Jacob had secured permission and were prepping their glider. When Jack was likewise granted permission, Teal’c and Mitchell both affected very hurt and disappointed attitudes at not being able to be his pilot. Daniel was not the least bit impressed, since he put on a show of sulking that was much more convincing.
They were just heading into the 302 bay when Daniel’s radio started sqwaking. “Simmons to Dr. Jackson.”
Daniel clicked his talk button. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“SG-1 is wanted in the briefing room, by Colonel Pendergast’s request,” Simmons said.
“What for?” Daniel asked.
“We received a distress call and are trying to decide how to respond,” Simmons answered.
Daniel glanced at Jack, who shrugged. So they all restored the gliders to an at-rest state and headed out for the briefing room. When they arrived, Daniel was quite surprised to see the screen at the far end of the room was turned on, showing them another conference room. An unfamiliar woman was sitting at that table next to Chakotay and Commander Tuvok.
He wanted to start taking stock of the window into this other ship, but he stifled the impulse when he looked around the room. Pendergast and Caldwell were seated at the head of the table, looking very serious. Malek, Jacob, and Anise had entered right behind SG-1 and were finding chairs.
“So, what’s up?” Jacob asked, as they all took their seats.
Colonel Pendergast said, “This is Captain Janeway, from Voyager. She is with her two senior officers in response to the distress call we’ve just received.”
Pendergast turned and pressed a button on a remote control he held. The screen in the briefing room wall shifted and one of the last people Daniel ever expected to see in a distress call appeared on the screen.
It had been since before he had Ascended that he had seen Zipacna. The last he'd heard of that snake, he was leading the attack against the tok'ra on Revanna. Though, on the upside, he certainly didn't look like he was riding high in his transmission. The usually arrogant and smug goa’uld now had absolute terror in his blue-eyed gaze as he said, “If there is anyone who can hear this message, my ship is under attack by Replicators and an unknown assailant who called themselves ‘Borg.’ They easily overwhelmed my jaffa and I have been forced to seal off the pel’tak. However, the Replicators are already attempting to force their way in and may do so at any moment. I demand immediate assistance.”
Pendergast clicked the remote and the screen showed Voyager again. Then he turned back to the rest of the table.
There was silence for a moment. Finally, Jack said, “So…when’s the parade?”
“How can you say that?” Chakotay asked. “That man was dying!”
“…That’s what I meant,” Jack said. “Besides, we just had the ship repainted. I don’t want to scratch it.”
“It is indeed most excellent news,” Teal’c agreed.
Daniel, noting the appalled looks on the faces of the Voyager crewmembers, decided he’d better try and explain, “You have to understand, Zipacna—the man in the transmission—is a member of a race called the goa’uld, who have killed, enslaved, and genetically manipulated humans, jaffa, and several other races in this galaxy for the past several millennia. We’ve been fighting a war with them for several years now. Zipacna, in particular, once argued in favor of keeping my brother-in-law enslaved to the goa’uld Klorel as a host.”
“While I’m willing to accept, for the moment, that all of that is true,” Janeway said, “I’m afraid that I can’t simply sit idly by and ignore a distress call. Starfleet regulations require us to respond to distress calls we receive. We’re going to have to do something.”
“While I’m not sympathetic to Zipacna, sirs,” Sam said, breaking in, “I am a bit concerned about his mention of Replicators. I don’t know what would happen if they got their hands on Borg technology, but the Borg were obviously more advanced than Prometheus. I think that this is a concern.”
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. “What are ‘Replicators?’”
“Well,” Sam said, wearing that familiar expression that Daniel knew meant that she was trying to sort out how best to express her thoughts quickly but completely, “they’re a mechanical race of beings composed of little blocks, which can be arranged to form many different shapes, depending on what they need to do. They travel the galaxy, searching out new materials and technology for the purposes of replication.”
“Replication to what end?” Tuvok asked.
“None. They just keep replicating,” Sam answered.
“That is an illogical goal,” Tuvok pointed out.
Daniel broke in. “They were originally created as a toy by an android whose programming was…imperfect. It’s not logical, but it’s what they do.”
“If they’re toys, why are you so concerned?” Chakotay asked.
“Because they escaped the toybox,” Jack said, completely unhelpfully.
Pendergast gave Jack a dirty look. “The android that created them lost control of them at the time. She made them learning technology, so when they acquire new technology, they learn from it. Incorporate it into their own. That was several years ago. They’ve since…evolved.”
“At this point, the Replicators are a serious threat to the most advanced race we've met, the Asgard,” Sam said, picking up the tale. “Their technology makes ours—and yours, to be frank—look like child’s toys.
“Colonel Pendergast,” she said, turning with the air of someone coming to a vitally important conclusion, “I think that if the Replicators have a reasonable chance of acquiring new technology from the Borg, we would have to consider this a serious threat. I believe we need to respond to this distress call immediately.”
Daniel noticed that the faces of two of the Voyager personnel had gone stark white and Tuvok had adopted an expression of distant concern. “Captain Janeway?”
Janeway looked to Colonel Pendergast. “The Borg are a race not unlike your Replicators. When they encounter a new species or technology, they assimilate it into their Collective. And their technology is very advanced. If Replicator technology is as advanced as you say, they cannot be allowed to assimilate it.”
Jack groaned. “Fine! Fine. We’ll go rescue the goa'uld. But only because we don’t want the Replicators to take over your evil Borg and become some kind of…Super Bug.” He broke off mumbling, “Just when we had ol’ Zippy over a barrel, too…”
“I’d like to recommend you take two of my officers with you. Mister Tuvok, my Security Chief, and Seven of Nine,” Janeway said, ignoring Jack’s grumbles.
Pendergast looked at her curiously. “Oh?”
“Lieutenant-Commander Tuvok is one of the most brilliant and analytical minds I have ever had the pleasure to know,” Janeway said, “and Seven of Nine, as a former Borg drone, possesses unique insight into their methods and habits.”
Pendergast shrugged. “All right. Why not?” He paused and then said, “But, in the spirit of cooperation, I’d like to recommend the same. Major Samantha Carter is our foremost expert on the Replicators, and Daniel Jackson has a great deal of experience with the goa'uld.”
Thanks to a lifetime of practice hiding his emotions behind a diplomatic face, Daniel did not give away his shock at hearing his name. If anyone on SG-1 could be called an “expert on the goa’uld” over the other team members, it would obviously be Teal’c. Not to mention the three tok'ra on the ship who knew the goa'uld from the inside with their genetic memories. But for two SG-1 members who were assigned to learn as much as possible about alien technology and people over a short period of time, whilst raising the fewest eyebrows possible? For that, he and Sam were the logical choices. He suspected Tuvok and Seven of Nine were of a similar, equally unspoken, mold.
Janeway exchanged a glance with her two officers. The three of them appeared to hold a rapid-fire, non-verbal conversation. Finally, Janeway said, “Very well. We agree. I’ll have Seven and Tuvok beam over immediately,” Janeway finished.
Daniel left the briefing room nearly dancing the whole way down the hall. He was going to go see the alien ship and the alien people and interact with the alien culture! If it weren't for the goa'uld, the Replicators, the Borg, and the looming threat of potential galactic destruction hanging over them, the day would be absolutely perfect.
*~*~*
Author's Notes: My supposition that Daniel has three native tongues is taken from Daniel Jackson's Diary by Aniais Nin, which is lamentably gone from the interwebz (though I have managed to scrounge a copy for myself). While there's a lot about that story that is obviously not canon compliant, and while I am not a slash fan, it was an incredibly hilarious story outside of the slash and I did like it quite a bit. I think the bit with the cow was my favorite. That or the caffeine poisoning.
Parts of this scene I wrote just for the fluff. Teal'c and Mitchell pretending to be hurt and Malek being all nice about humans. We don't get a lot of fluff in the show, so every so often…
He was an anthropologist. Meeting new people was always fun. Meeting a new species was excellent.
Meeting new people from an inter-species military operation on board a ship Sam had classified as a “heavily modified research vessel?” Now things were really getting interesting. Which usually meant the SGC was about to step in and take all his fun away, and possibly do something to which he would feel compelled to object on ethical grounds.
But Sam offered him a cheerful smile when she arrived and said, “General Hammond agrees with our assessment of the situation, and has authorized us to provide you with whatever aid we can in assisting you to return to your own reality.”
To Daniel’s surprise, however, Chakotay did not look pleased at this statement. “I’m sorry, but we’re not going to be able to accept your assistance.”
“Why not?” Daniel asked. He blinked when he realized Sam had said the same thing at the same time.
Another one of those glances these people exchanged from time to time went around and finally Chakotay sighed. “Our people have a rule. More like a governing principle. To respect the rights of the other peoples we encounter. We believe one of those basic rights is the right of that people to develop naturally as a society without outside interference or manipulation—even accidental manipulation. While your ship means that your people are obviously close to a point where we believe interaction with you would not be an infringement on that right, close is not good enough. I’m afraid that when we leave, I’m going to recommend to Captain Janeway that we minimize all further contact with you.”
Daniel was rendered absolutely speechless in his disappointment. The one time that the SGC was going to give him the opportunity to do exactly what he wanted exactly when he wanted to do it, and it was the other people group who shut him down. It was so frustrating that he could not, at that moment call to mind words in any of his three native languages, English, French, or the Egyptian dialect of Arabic to adequately express his unhappiness.
Much to his surprise, Malek started laughing. It was obvious none of their guests had heard of anything like a tok’ra—or apparently a goa’uld, either—when they all turned to stare at him, the echoing sound of his voice having its usual effect on those unfamiliar with it.
“You can not protect the tau’ri from themselves,” Malek said with a laugh. “They are far too inquisitive for their own good. The tok’ra have tried since we met them to get them to slow down, but it does no good. They take their little teams and race through the stargates and build ships and fight enemies far more powerful than they are. Daniel Jackson is the worst of all of them in this way.” He looked at Daniel, and Daniel was gratified to see that he was smiling, and that his criticism was not intended unkindly. “I believe he is even proud of it.”
Malek looked at Chakotay. “While your intentions are noble, you will not preserve their rights in this manner. The only thing you will do is deprive yourself of a worthwhile ally.”
“That may be the case,” Chakotay said with a nod. “And, believe me, I have a great deal of respect for exploration and discovery. But this rule it isn’t about us or our advantages.”
Daniel’s heart sank. “I’m sorry to hear that. I had hoped we might learn at least a little from each other before you had to leave.”
“It is indeed unfortunate,” Tuvok said.
After this disappointing exchange, there wasn’t really much more Daniel felt could be said, so he made all the polite noises as their guests were taking their leave and watched in disappointment as they disappeared in a sparkle of transporter beams.
Jack, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this laid a hand on his shoulder and said, “Don’t take it too hard, Daniel. There’s always other brains to pick.”
He looked at Jack sadly and finally said, “You know, they kind of remind me of the Tollan, a little bit.”
Jack squeezed his shoulder. “Yeah. Me, too.” He paused and then said, “Listen, Sam and Jacob are going to try and get Lionel to let them take one of the 302s up to get a closer look at the satellite. I can take you up, to get a look at that writing, if you like.”
Daniel considered, for a moment, rejecting this blatant attempt to cheer him up and decided not to. “All right.”
By the time they’d reached Prometheus, Sam and Jacob had secured permission and were prepping their glider. When Jack was likewise granted permission, Teal’c and Mitchell both affected very hurt and disappointed attitudes at not being able to be his pilot. Daniel was not the least bit impressed, since he put on a show of sulking that was much more convincing.
They were just heading into the 302 bay when Daniel’s radio started sqwaking. “Simmons to Dr. Jackson.”
Daniel clicked his talk button. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“SG-1 is wanted in the briefing room, by Colonel Pendergast’s request,” Simmons said.
“What for?” Daniel asked.
“We received a distress call and are trying to decide how to respond,” Simmons answered.
Daniel glanced at Jack, who shrugged. So they all restored the gliders to an at-rest state and headed out for the briefing room. When they arrived, Daniel was quite surprised to see the screen at the far end of the room was turned on, showing them another conference room. An unfamiliar woman was sitting at that table next to Chakotay and Commander Tuvok.
He wanted to start taking stock of the window into this other ship, but he stifled the impulse when he looked around the room. Pendergast and Caldwell were seated at the head of the table, looking very serious. Malek, Jacob, and Anise had entered right behind SG-1 and were finding chairs.
“So, what’s up?” Jacob asked, as they all took their seats.
Colonel Pendergast said, “This is Captain Janeway, from Voyager. She is with her two senior officers in response to the distress call we’ve just received.”
Pendergast turned and pressed a button on a remote control he held. The screen in the briefing room wall shifted and one of the last people Daniel ever expected to see in a distress call appeared on the screen.
It had been since before he had Ascended that he had seen Zipacna. The last he'd heard of that snake, he was leading the attack against the tok'ra on Revanna. Though, on the upside, he certainly didn't look like he was riding high in his transmission. The usually arrogant and smug goa’uld now had absolute terror in his blue-eyed gaze as he said, “If there is anyone who can hear this message, my ship is under attack by Replicators and an unknown assailant who called themselves ‘Borg.’ They easily overwhelmed my jaffa and I have been forced to seal off the pel’tak. However, the Replicators are already attempting to force their way in and may do so at any moment. I demand immediate assistance.”
Pendergast clicked the remote and the screen showed Voyager again. Then he turned back to the rest of the table.
There was silence for a moment. Finally, Jack said, “So…when’s the parade?”
“How can you say that?” Chakotay asked. “That man was dying!”
“…That’s what I meant,” Jack said. “Besides, we just had the ship repainted. I don’t want to scratch it.”
“It is indeed most excellent news,” Teal’c agreed.
Daniel, noting the appalled looks on the faces of the Voyager crewmembers, decided he’d better try and explain, “You have to understand, Zipacna—the man in the transmission—is a member of a race called the goa’uld, who have killed, enslaved, and genetically manipulated humans, jaffa, and several other races in this galaxy for the past several millennia. We’ve been fighting a war with them for several years now. Zipacna, in particular, once argued in favor of keeping my brother-in-law enslaved to the goa’uld Klorel as a host.”
“While I’m willing to accept, for the moment, that all of that is true,” Janeway said, “I’m afraid that I can’t simply sit idly by and ignore a distress call. Starfleet regulations require us to respond to distress calls we receive. We’re going to have to do something.”
“While I’m not sympathetic to Zipacna, sirs,” Sam said, breaking in, “I am a bit concerned about his mention of Replicators. I don’t know what would happen if they got their hands on Borg technology, but the Borg were obviously more advanced than Prometheus. I think that this is a concern.”
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. “What are ‘Replicators?’”
“Well,” Sam said, wearing that familiar expression that Daniel knew meant that she was trying to sort out how best to express her thoughts quickly but completely, “they’re a mechanical race of beings composed of little blocks, which can be arranged to form many different shapes, depending on what they need to do. They travel the galaxy, searching out new materials and technology for the purposes of replication.”
“Replication to what end?” Tuvok asked.
“None. They just keep replicating,” Sam answered.
“That is an illogical goal,” Tuvok pointed out.
Daniel broke in. “They were originally created as a toy by an android whose programming was…imperfect. It’s not logical, but it’s what they do.”
“If they’re toys, why are you so concerned?” Chakotay asked.
“Because they escaped the toybox,” Jack said, completely unhelpfully.
Pendergast gave Jack a dirty look. “The android that created them lost control of them at the time. She made them learning technology, so when they acquire new technology, they learn from it. Incorporate it into their own. That was several years ago. They’ve since…evolved.”
“At this point, the Replicators are a serious threat to the most advanced race we've met, the Asgard,” Sam said, picking up the tale. “Their technology makes ours—and yours, to be frank—look like child’s toys.
“Colonel Pendergast,” she said, turning with the air of someone coming to a vitally important conclusion, “I think that if the Replicators have a reasonable chance of acquiring new technology from the Borg, we would have to consider this a serious threat. I believe we need to respond to this distress call immediately.”
Daniel noticed that the faces of two of the Voyager personnel had gone stark white and Tuvok had adopted an expression of distant concern. “Captain Janeway?”
Janeway looked to Colonel Pendergast. “The Borg are a race not unlike your Replicators. When they encounter a new species or technology, they assimilate it into their Collective. And their technology is very advanced. If Replicator technology is as advanced as you say, they cannot be allowed to assimilate it.”
Jack groaned. “Fine! Fine. We’ll go rescue the goa'uld. But only because we don’t want the Replicators to take over your evil Borg and become some kind of…Super Bug.” He broke off mumbling, “Just when we had ol’ Zippy over a barrel, too…”
“I’d like to recommend you take two of my officers with you. Mister Tuvok, my Security Chief, and Seven of Nine,” Janeway said, ignoring Jack’s grumbles.
Pendergast looked at her curiously. “Oh?”
“Lieutenant-Commander Tuvok is one of the most brilliant and analytical minds I have ever had the pleasure to know,” Janeway said, “and Seven of Nine, as a former Borg drone, possesses unique insight into their methods and habits.”
Pendergast shrugged. “All right. Why not?” He paused and then said, “But, in the spirit of cooperation, I’d like to recommend the same. Major Samantha Carter is our foremost expert on the Replicators, and Daniel Jackson has a great deal of experience with the goa'uld.”
Thanks to a lifetime of practice hiding his emotions behind a diplomatic face, Daniel did not give away his shock at hearing his name. If anyone on SG-1 could be called an “expert on the goa’uld” over the other team members, it would obviously be Teal’c. Not to mention the three tok'ra on the ship who knew the goa'uld from the inside with their genetic memories. But for two SG-1 members who were assigned to learn as much as possible about alien technology and people over a short period of time, whilst raising the fewest eyebrows possible? For that, he and Sam were the logical choices. He suspected Tuvok and Seven of Nine were of a similar, equally unspoken, mold.
Janeway exchanged a glance with her two officers. The three of them appeared to hold a rapid-fire, non-verbal conversation. Finally, Janeway said, “Very well. We agree. I’ll have Seven and Tuvok beam over immediately,” Janeway finished.
Daniel left the briefing room nearly dancing the whole way down the hall. He was going to go see the alien ship and the alien people and interact with the alien culture! If it weren't for the goa'uld, the Replicators, the Borg, and the looming threat of potential galactic destruction hanging over them, the day would be absolutely perfect.
Author's Notes: My supposition that Daniel has three native tongues is taken from Daniel Jackson's Diary by Aniais Nin, which is lamentably gone from the interwebz (though I have managed to scrounge a copy for myself). While there's a lot about that story that is obviously not canon compliant, and while I am not a slash fan, it was an incredibly hilarious story outside of the slash and I did like it quite a bit. I think the bit with the cow was my favorite. That or the caffeine poisoning.
Parts of this scene I wrote just for the fluff. Teal'c and Mitchell pretending to be hurt and Malek being all nice about humans. We don't get a lot of fluff in the show, so every so often…
- Voyager Discovers an Alien Satellite and Accidentally Finds Out What It Does
- The Tok’ra Ask to Borrow Prometheus for a Scientific Field Trip
- Many Meetings are Met and Many Questions are Partially Answered
- A Vessel Has Been Detected. Prepare for Assimilation
- How Dr. Daniel Jackson, the Peaceful Explorer, Had an Excellent Day Indeed
- Infinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations: Observations On Interaction With Humans
- The Battle For Voyager’s Main Engineering
- Attack With The Army You Have, But Give That Army All The Guns And Ammo They Can Carry
- Traps And Resistance
- Sometimes A Pilot’s Job Is Counterintuitive
- All Days Are Good Days To Witness The Death Of A False God