Previously on Stargate SG-1...

"'Under no circumstances go to P4C-970. Colonel Jack O'Neill.' This looks like your handwriting."

"The Aschen, sir. They're called the Aschen."

"They don't get excited in general, General. It's like an entire planet of accountants."

"You're offering a lot more than we asked for."

"Our motives are not entirely selfless. Perhaps you offer more than you give yourself credit for."

"Uh, you understand I have to, uh, present your offer to our leaders."

"You'll find we are a very patient people, Ambassador. "

"The headline says something about a pandemic. Some sort of... I can't translate that, maybe fever. "

"Vaccine causes...what?"

"I don't know. But it caused something, because, in the span of two hundred years, the Volians went from an urban civilization of millions to an agrarian civilization of thousands. After they were saved by the Aschen. "

"'Sterility.'"

"Vaccine causes sterility. That was the headline. You wiped out most of the Volian population and turned their entire world into farmland. You'd do the same to Earth."

"When they knew we were on... to them, they launched a bioweapon."

"I had to warn you, I... couldn't wait for the Ambassador. I'm sorry, sir."

"I just hope we don't regret giving them those gate addresses."

"I don't think we will. First one being a black hole, and all. They get progressively darker after that. "

"2008"

Daniel watched as the mysterious woman in shiny white clothes walked up the ramp, approaching the inactive Stargate while smiling enigmatically back at him. And then she dissolved, transforming into a cloud of energy, like ascended beings often did. The cloud then assumed the shape of a disc, filling the Stargate as if it was open.

He took a deep breath and stepped on the ramp himself, approaching the improvised wormhole...

"Daniel!" said a firm, commanding voice. Daniel turned around and saw Colonel Mitchell in the control room, looking at him from above. The scene then disappeared, and he found himself in his office lying on his table, on top of a heap of photos depicting wall inscriptions from P5G-438. "Daydreaming again?" continued Mitchell. "This is, what, the fifth time since —"

"Since Sam left last week," Daniel concluded. "But I think there's a pattern emerging now, I can see it, elusive, out there," he stood up and started waving his hands, as he used to do when in a flow. "It's an ascended Ancient. She's trying to contact me, indirectly convey some message, no doubt related to what we have discovered rec—"

"What's with you and the female Ancients?" smiled Cam. "Oma Desala, Morgan, now this? Anyway, I've come to tell you that General Landry's calling us for a briefing."

"Unplanned briefing? Why?" asked Daniel.

"Something about Carolyn's findings on 438. She'll be at the briefing, too."

Daniel stood up, taking one of the pictures with him, and followed Mitchell out, looking onto the picture and bumping into people along the way to the elevator. Soon, it took them down, and they entered the briefing room.

General Landry, Teal'c, Vala and Dr. Lam were already sitting there.

"I'm afraid we have bad news," Carolyn began. "My colleagues and I have studied the longevity serum and some of the people of P5G-438. The good news is that the serum really does increase their lifespan and strengthen their immunity, similar to tretonin but without the need to take it regularly."

"And the bad news?" asked Vala, beating a rhythm on the table with her fingers.

"It has one unfortunate side effect: it irreversibly damages reproductive organs."

"On the inside or the outside?" Mitchell asked sarcastically.

"Both," replied Carolyn. "Those affected think their inability to conceive children is just bad luck, but they have really been sterilized. I have no idea how I'm going to tell them that."

"That sounds familiar..." remarked Daniel.

"Indeed," said Teal'c.

Vala looked at the two of them with curiosity. "Familiar? How?"

"I think he's talking about the Aschen," explained Mitchell. "That was before I joined SG-1, but I read in mission reports that the team encountered an alien race who, uh — "

"...posed as benefactors to less advanced cultures," finished Daniel. "They offered their technology, but in reality it was a way of slowly wiping them out by making them sterile and eventually extinct. We barely stopped them when they tried to do the same with Earth."

"But they are still out there?" asked Landry.

"Evidently. That, er, incident with their fleet four years ago — "

"Enough, Doctor Jackson," said the General. "I've read the reports as well, there's no need to repeat it all."

"This case, however, does not resemble the behavior the Aschen displayed on Volia," added Teal'c. "These people have received their medication from an unidentified party, while the Aschen operated in the open when we encountered them."

"Are we even sure it's them?" asked Mitchell. "For all we know, a Trust agent or a Goa'uld just happened to use the same tactic."

"Nevertheless," summed Landry, "as long as the Aschen are left on their own, they pose a threat to us and our allies. SG-1, I count on you to investigate this matter — it is your next mission."

"General!" said Daniel. "We can't just dial P4C-970 and walk into their midst. That's exactly what Jack was trying to prevent us from doing with that note."

"I said 'investigate', not 'rush into a trap'," smiled Landry. "The Aschen have a confederacy. You should start with fringe planets. And you have already been on Volia."

"Chevron seven locked!" announced Walter as SG-1, now in their field uniforms, looked into the window from behind. The Stargate opened, and the MALP standing ready rolled up the ramp and into the wormhole. "We're getting a signal," he continued, turning on video feed. For a couple of seconds, an image of a blue sky with clouds appeared on the monitor, but then it immediately turned into static.

Teal'c cast an inquiring look at the Sergeant, raising an eyebrow.

"I, er, I think the target Stargate is lying on the ground, so the MALP fell back into it and was destroyed," said Walter.

"Okay, this may be a problem," Cam noted. "We'll have to climb out at the very least, and I can't really say I'm looking forwa—"

"This won't be needed, Colonel," assured Landry. "I've asked the Alpha Site to give you a more efficient means of transportation. Walter, dial P4X-650."

"Yes, Sir."

"SG-1, to the gate room," ordered the General.

As the Stargate opened again, the four explorers walked into it, side to side... and after exiting it, found themselves looking at a small vessel with an all-too-familiar design.

"Puddle jumper?" Mitchell exclaimed.

"A gift from Atlantis," said Colonel Pierce, approaching them. "Except we checked, and none of us here at the base have that Ancient gene to pilot it — I'm not sure about you, though."

Cam, Daniel and Teal'c turned to Vala.

"Uh... w-what?" she said. "It's not my fault that— "

"Maybe," answered Mitchell. "But it's not our fault either that back in Atlantis, you were the only one who thought gene therapy was cool and something to brag about. If you don't want to fly this thing, well, there's always climbing..."

"No! Anything but that!" protested Vala.

"Or we could dial 970, right now. 'Come take us, Aschen, here we are!'"

Vala sighed...

"Commander!" exclaimed a man in a very old-fashioned uniform, walking into a dimly-lit room looking like a makeshift command center. "Strange ship, flying this way! Doesn't look like Aschen technology, and it comes from where we buried the Stargate..."

"You didn't bury it well enough, it seems," the commander said grimly. "Wait for the ship to land, then bring the crew here. Aschen or not, they may still be in league with them."

He turned around, revealing who he was: Earth's former ambassador to Volia. Joe Faxon.

The puddle jumper flew over the vast expanses of crop fields and orderly forest plantations, although with the pilot being who she was, the flight was far from safe. The ship constantly tool wild turns seemingly against Vala's will, or at times suddenly nosedived; when it nearly blew off the top of a pine tree, Vala screamed and almost fell out of her seat, Cam and Daniel were thrown across the main hold, and only Teal'c, who providently fastened his seatbelt, continued looking through the windshield with little emotional reaction beyond raising an eyebrow.

"We're getting close," Mitchell announced, walking to Vala and pointing at the life signs detector he has been holding. "I get readings from that hill over there. I don't see much besides grass and rocks there, so the living things must be underground, whatever they are."

"Vala, please, just try not to —" began Daniel, just as the jumper came to a sudden stop in midair, thrusting everyone forward, and slowly, smoothly folded in its engines and landed on the ground. "...crash it," Jackson finished with relief.

Outside, a pair of arms threw off a cover disguised as a patch of dirt, revealing a sloppy makeshift passage that looked like it was going to cave in at any moment. A dozen men armed with crossbows (although two of them instead had rifles roughly of 1910s design) emerged out of the tunnel and surrounded the ship.

The ship's door opened, and the SG-1 members walked out, sticking close to each other. Mitchell held a P-90 ready, shifting his aim from one native to another, while the other three carried zats.

They stood like this for a few seconds; then, suddenly, Daniel lightened up and lowered his weapon. "Let me get this straight," he said, facing the guard who looked the toughest. "You drew out the Aschen with nothing but this?"

"Drew out the Aschen?" asked Mitchell.

"They are the Volians, natives of this planet. Simple farmers. Last time we met them, an Aschen harvester—"

"Doctor Jackson? Teal'c?" interrupted a voice coming from the entrance to the tunnel.

All four turned in the direction of the voice. Faxon himself stood there, smiling. He had changed quite a lot since SG-1 lost him on Volia seven years ago; along the most pronounced features he now sported were a scar on his face and uncombed hair, along with a moustache and beard more suitable for a village elder than a diplomatic emissary. His official suit and well-kept shoes were also gone, replaced with a crude military uniform and tattered high boots.

"Okay, this explains a lot," noted Daniel.

"Step away from them," Faxon ordered to the guards, meanwhile walking closer to SG-1. He looked at all four, and suddenly his face became concerned. "Where is Major Carter?"

"Colonel Carter is not here," said Mitchell, slightly annoyed. "More precisely, she's in a galaxy far, far away. I thought you'd be more concerned with other questions..."

"Like what? You and the woman, whom I never met? I just presume you wouldn't wear SG-1 badges if you weren't trustworthy. Oh, and Teal'c, nice hair! You and Doctor Jackson have become sort of, er, heroes among the Volians, after you found that underground city. They scavenged quite a lot of lost tech from there."

Vala, knocking on the jumper's hull out of boredom, tried to reproduce Teal'c's eyebrow raise, to an abysmal result. Fortunately, nobody looked at her.

"So this is how you drove out the Aschen?" asked Daniel.

"Well, not exactly..." the Ambassador stumbled. "And don't just stand here, come in!"

The explorers followed Faxon back to the tunnel entrance; Teal'c, however, first went back into the jumper, lifted a naquadah generator lying there, and then, carrying it, caught up with the others. As they went through the damp and dimly-lit passage, which suspiciously resembled a villager's cellar with its stench, Faxon continued.

"They just left. The news about the lost city and the Aschen's betrayal spread quickly, but nobody really thought of fighting them, that would be suicidal. Then they just pulled out in their ships, and we buried the Stargate, just in case."

"You buried it incorrectly," noted Teal'c.

"Yes, thanks, we figured. But that's not the end of the story. So, for about four years, we didn't know what happened to the Aschen, or to other planets in the Confederacy, or even Earth. And then an Aschen ship crash-landed around here. Not much left of it, but the crew survived, and they were not Aschen."

"How could you be sure?" asked Mitchell skeptically.

Just at that point, they walked into the command center — as much as it could be called that. Its furniture mostly consisted of wooden chairs and tables, the latter of which were covered with pieces of paper, including a map of the area covering the largest table in the middle. On The walls were stacked with crude shovels, crowbars and other tools; in the corner opposite to the one from which the travelers entered, two workers were digging a new corridor. The man who had informed Faxon about the approaching jumper was now sitting in front of a radio, which looked way too advanced for everything else in the room.

"Believe me, they're easy to tell apart," assured Joe. "The Aschen are, like... humans, but with everything human drained out of them. These were not Aschen. They said they were from the planet Comoefo... or, on second thought, their leader is right here, so he can put it better than I. And yes, I'm taking about you, Athe," he poked the radio operator, "stand up and greet my countrymen already! And tell them about how you stole that ship and got here."

"Excuse me," said Daniel. "Last time Teal'c and I were here, we found a newspaper in the city — that's how we learned what the Aschen did to the Volian civilization, in fact. Any chance I can have a look at it again?"

"Everything of interest we found in the city, we brought here," said Faxon. "Newspapers, too. The natives couldn't translate them, maybe you'll have better luck."

"Where are they?"

"Library room, third turn to the right back in the corridor we just passed."

Without any more words, Jackson headed out.

Straightening the paper, Daniel leant over it, trying to discern half-erased letters in a barely familiar script. In an attempt to grab the dim kerosene lamp standing on the table, which had just went even dimmer, he accidentally knocked it over and spilled the kerosene onto the moist floor; the lamp went out, and darkness encompassed the room.

And then, behind him, it lit up again — but with a different, white light.

It was just an excuse to be left alone, was it not?

Daniel stood up and turned around. It was the woman from his dream; as it was customary for ascended beings, her features were distorted in the surrounding light and the shape remained only vaguely humanoid, and even the face was hard to see.

"Uhm... Actually, no," said Daniel defensively, folding his arms and leaning a bit back. "I was just going to stick to my job and leave planning to— Who are you, anyway?"

I am Melia, one of those of the last Atlantean Council. I am here because I am one of the few among my people who did not grow too detached from the lower plane of existence. And you, whose name means "God is my judge," I was chosen as a messenger of the Others, to declare their judgment — on you and your kind.

"So you're an Ancient?"

I am a Lantean. Do you call Americans British?

"Uhm..." Daniel stuttered. "While I get your point, I didn't expect such a... er... departure from your holier-than-thou beginning."

Melia smiled enigmatically. I remember the first time I was touched by your manners — ten thousand years ago, when Elizabeth Weir walked the floors of Atlantis, being in her very essence so very different to what we were used to. And her words implanted in me, as they did in Moros, the one you know as Merlin. That was the first time we doubted the wisdom of our non-intervention — yet were afraid to act.

"And now you suddenly aren't?" Daniel asked spitefully. "That's what you came here for — to join us against the Aschen, to go to their world and unleash a virus on them or something?"

No. I have come to stop you.

"Or that. Could have seen it coming."

I have reasons to protect the existence of the Aschen — and if there were living Lanteans here beside us, they would wholly support me.

"What? How?!" Daniel exclaimed, taking a step back.

Author's Notes

Melia is a character from the Atlantis episode "Before I Sleep", which, indeed, involved Elizabeth Weir "walking the floors of Atlantis" ten thousand years ago. She also appeared as a hologram in "Rising". I try to keep Atlantis references to a minimum, but there'll be a reference to an even more obscure Stargate source, because I'm evil like that.

"I... I don't understand, I thought you didn't interfere..." said Daniel. "I mean, you all let Anubis roam free, and now you're suddenly going to step in for just another human culture?"

Melia made a step in Daniel's direction and cast a piercing look on him. Many things have changed since then, she said. We saw how you handled the Ori — and for the first time in millennia, we suddenly felt insecure. We ignored you because we believed you posed no threat to the ascended realm; now we saw that you did. And the consequences soon followed.

"What consequences?"

As much as they don't want to admit it, the Others believe you did them a favor. But we have held, ever since the dawn of our history, that the ends do not justify the means. You not only used a weapon we chose not to, you kept it after it served its purpose.

"It wasn't my decision," protested Daniel, picking the kerosene lamp from the floor and going to refuel it. "I wanted the Ark to be destroyed. The higher-ups weren't amused."

So you obey your authorities, even when you disagree with their rulings. We do the same. The Others' mindsets are changing, slowly, but they are; for now, we have to comply. But among the first revisions of their policy, it was declared that Earthans are now forbidden to ascend. This is, ultimately, what I have come to tell you: do not expect to cheat death a third time.

"But why?" exclaimed Daniel. "This doesn't really help your cause. You are in a position of relative safety, emphasis on 'relative', and now you refuse to share your power. Don't you think this makes you no better than the Ori?"

Ascension is open to all races seeking it; just not yours, any longer. You are reckless. At our time, we Lanteans were peaceful explorers, admiring the wonders of the universe and seeding it with life. And you bring nothing but death. You destroy ancient civilizations, unique cultures, whenever you think they pose a threat to you. You disrupt established orders, you meddle in affairs where your presence was never requested, and you scavenge technology beyond your understanding — mostly ours. To use your own language, you are no better than the Goa'uld.

"The Ori are worse than the Goa'uld!"

Melia smiled again — this time, apparently, out of genuine amusement. Tenacious as ever, Daniel Jackson. Now, I have given you a warning. You are not just hopelessly persistent, you are also ignorant. You were wrong: the Aschen are not 'just' another human culture. Abandon your campaign. Otherwise, I will help them stop you.

"And get descended faster than you can blink," Daniel smiled in return.

Even powerless, I could stop you with just three words. Three. I am not doing it right now because I want to give you a chance.

"...And then, the prisoners told us that the Aschen home planet was destroyed by a black hole," Athe continued, as Mitchell kept gazing at him with a skeptical and slightly annoyed look.

"We think they tried one of the Stargate addresses Sam and I gave them," explained Faxon.

"They had plenty of time to evacuate, though," said Athe. "They flew to Ingwoa, rebuilt there."

"What treatment did you subject the prisoners to?" inquired Teal'c.

"We, uh, just left them behind. Who knows, if we brought them to the ship we stole from them, who knows, thoy could have wrestled the controls back somehow."

"What were you trying to accomplish?" asked Teal'c.

"Spread the word. When we found out what the Aschen were really doing, we tried to warn other planets — but they blocked the Stargate, and after we took another option, we ironically landed on a planet that already knew about the sterility thing. And we crashed the ship, to boot."

"With your ship, on the other hand..." proposed Joe.

"No!" exclaimed Mitchell. "Denied. We need it ourselves for a recon mission. Why didn't you use the Stargate from here, anyway?"

"No DHD. The Aschen took it."

"Just that? Seriously?" Vala livened up. "Believe it or not, this is where we come to the rescue."

"But before that," said Cam, "did you happen to bring any Aschen clothes on that ship? We could use two sets..."

"Three, two, one — pull!" Mitchell ordered. The crowd, standing there holding the ropes tied to the Stargate, pulled them all at once; with effort, they made it standing, and Teal'c and several Volians started propping it up with stone blocks. Meanwhile, Daniel stepped out of the nearby forest; seeing what was going on, he ran to the Stargate and grabbed one of the ropes, joining the effort.

"Now, release," said Mitchell after Teal'c's group was finished, and everyone let go of the ropes.

"Ah, good old-fashioned way," commented Daniel. "That's what they actually used in Giza — I saw the photos."

"Have you found any important information in the newspapers, Daniel Jackson?" asked Teal'c.

"Uh... n-no, not really. Except for that sterility headline, just average everyday news. It did give me some practice in the Aschen language, and that's really what—"

"Now," said Mitchell, not listening. "Daniel, help Teal'c connect the naquadah generator. Joe, Athe, prepare your messengers, one for each planet on the list."

Daniel and Teal'c carried the generator to the opposite side of the Stargate and tinkered with it for a few minutes, then signaled they were ready. And suddenly...

...the chevrons began to light up.

"Everyone! Take aim!!" Mitchell shouted immediately, pointing his P-90 at the gate. The rest of SG-1 followed suit, along with those Volians whom they had armed with spare weapons from the jumper. The Stargate opened; Mitchell stared at it, breathing heavily, for about thirty seconds; but nothing came through, and it closed again, just as suddenly.

"Cam," said Daniel in a worried, doubtful tone. "I hate to say this, but... I think it might be related, er, to what I just... I mean, I think we have to abandon this missi— Cam?" Mitchell didn't listen. He just headed to the jumper, waving to the rest of SG-1 to follow. Upon entering the ship, Daniel and Teal'c remained in the back, while Vala went straight to the controls.

She looked at the dialing panel for a second, then at the scrap of paper with a list of addresses written on it, then pressed a button. Outside, one of the chevrons on the Stargate lit up.

"Chevron one encoded," announced Vala in a put-on serious tone, trying not to crack up.

"You know, Vala," said Cam, "I think you've beaten this particular dead horse so much that it will soon come back as a zombie horse and tear your limbs off, just so it can rest in peace undisturbed."

"All right, all right." She pressed the remaining six buttons in silence; as the gate opened, one of the Volians standing just beside it, all wearing red armbands, went in.

"Next!"

It was a bright, sunny day — as always — in the city of Gahran, the new capital of the Aschen. Ingwoa, known as P9F-404 to the SGC, was previously of little interest to the inhabitants of Aschen Prime, as an uninhabited world infamous for its rapid climate oscillations between arid and overly moist, making it unsuitable for agriculture. Now, however, thanks to their efficient Weather Service, the Aschen adjusted the conditions to those they were used to on their former homeworld. Now they hardly saw any clouds over the course of a few years, much less rain.

And it was good.

To the Aschen, anyway. Stability was the norm of their life.

The city was divided into six identical, highly regular sections, themselves hexagonal in shape. When viewed from a landing aircraft's height, it looked like a six-petaled white flower lying on the boundless greenness of the surrounding grassland.

Aschen architecture was strictly utilitarian, but charming in its simplicity. Most of the buildings were white, with large windows and transparent floors, and this was not an artistic decision — it was done mostly to minimize lighting costs. Between them were clean wide streets and spacious grey squares with teleporters providing instant access to any part of the city — and those were so clean that they would make the finest Earth hospitals seem like village dumps.

In the center of the city, where all six sections met, stood a hexagonal skyscraper thinning out at the top, like an obelisk, at the ground floor of which was a terminal housing the Stargate itself, as well as the DHD, just in front of it. There wasn't any activity there today, though, apart from a few guards displaying signs of indifference rather than boredom; the six glass doors serving as exits were all closed, with electronic signs reading "Scheduled Maintenance" on them.

And at the very top, there was a room with a round table, with six Aschen — three male and three female — sitting at it. However, as they wore the same identical grey clothes as the people on the streets, a stranger would not be able to discern by their outlooks whether they actually held any sort of power.

"...and on this, I suggest closing the current meeting of the Directory," said one of them. "Any objections?" Nobody moved. "Unilateral."

As they were standing up, however, the loudspeaker on the ceiling activated. "Sorry to interrupt," it said in a serene voice, "there is unscheduled activity in the gate room. An unidentified ship appeared out of the Stargate and left... uh... through the wall. Your orders?"

The one who suggested closing the meeting moved his hands, apparently preparing to say something, but he was interrupted. A sudden flash blinded all six for a few seconds; when their sight returned, they saw a naked woman standing on the table — and remained unmoved, displaying no more reaction than if she was a lamp that has always stood there. Even the men.

Meanwhile, Melia — of course it was her — jumped off the table, apparently filling with excitement. "Breathing! Heart beating!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot how it felt. And you, what are you standing here for? There are intruders!"

"In this case, what would be your advised course of action?" asked another one of the six, slightly offended.

"Conceal the gate."

Author's Notes

It isn't really explained how the "translation system" in Stargate works. We're obviously meant to assume that the aliens don't "really" speak English (that would be stupid), but how what we see is different from how communication "really" goes on is left to imagination.

I like to think that the system substitutes a word into its closest equivalent in the target language — similar to the way we use the word "philosophy" for the teachings of famous Chinese like Lao Tze and Confucius despite the Greek roots of this word. Thor in Stargate is called such because that's what the mythological Thor is called in modern English, and the ancient Scandinavians would call the alien Thor (if they hypothetically could talk to him) by their name for the god.

Therefore, the Translator Microbes(tm) favor the word "Directory" because it thinks that's what describes the Aschen executive council the best. And as a bonus, if you read the Wikipedia article on the historical French Directory, it gives a clue to the origin of the Aschen as planned in this story — assuming you haven't figured it out already.

Teal'c and Cameron went closer to the cockpit, where Vala and Daniel were sitting. All four were now wearing grey Aschen clothes.

"That's deep..." muttered Mitchell, looking at the Stargate sinking into the floor. "So Vala, got any more dumb ideas? Maybe we can drill through the ground? Or Daniel can ascend and pull it out with his awesome powers? Or maybe we could surrender and politely ask the Aschen to let us pass?"

"Actually, this sounds— " began Daniel, but Mitchell interrupted him. "It's not a suggestion. Being bored to death is my least favorite kind of torture, thank you."

"Hey, I didn't know!" Vala exclaimed defensively, flying the ship over the streets farther away from the terminal.

"Oh, of course you didn't!" said Cameron mockingly. "'No worries, it's a simple recon mission! We'll just fly there and back!' And now we're stuck here. Four of us, with one jumper — we're expected to help the uprising how?"

"We aren't expected to! We're just expected to make it out of here alive!"

"The Aschen are not trying to stop us," noted Teal'c. "If attacking was their intention, their technology would have allowed them to deploy considerable forces here already."

"Well, what do they intend?" Vala asked impulsively.

"Their ship has no weapons," said Melia, jumping off the table and walking towards the nearest teleporter in the room, still naked. "Therefore, surrendering is their only option."

"We shall kill them," said the presiding Aschen.

"Oh, no, you don't! I'd do this myself when I had the power, if I really wanted to. I let them live in the first place because I hope to resolve this peacefully, while I still can."

"Excuse me, but—"

Melia stepped onto the transporter platform and put her hand on the touchpad. In a moment, she and that one Aschen were teleported into a small square room whose walls were entirely covered by control panels of the sleek, simplified designs the Aschen were known for.

"But the Directory is in charge, not me," Melia finished for him. "I know this, Wossan, and I know more about your society than you realize."

"You..." Wossan stuttered, then touched his mouth in slight surprise, as if what he had just said was unexpected even for him. "You have the TTU gene, yet you are showing deviant behavior. Who are you?"

"A non-Aschen... strictly speaking. And it's not called the TTU gene. Now shut up and watch while I'm tracking them."

As the puddle jumper was flying towards an inactive screen, attached to a pole in the middle of yet another city square, the screen suddenly turned on. However, the people on the streets almost completely ignored both the screen and the jumper itself.

A single teal-colored string of unintelligible glyphs, probably letters, appeared on the screen. Teal'c looked at Daniel questioningly.

"Uhm... one moment..." said the linguist. "Two letters, followed by the digit one. If that's 'SG-1'... then that word in the end would be 'to exit'... 'SG-1, land... here and'... uhm... Ah, yes, makes sense. 'SG-1, land here and leave the ship right away'."

"Over my dead body," said Mitchell.

"They call us SG-1... interesting." replied Daniel.

As they flew past the screen, the ship's communicator started speaking. "That was an order," it said in Melia's voice, softly but threateningly. Daniel, recognizing the voice, made an involuntary arm movement and hit a crate with his elbow.

"You're not among those I take orders from," Mitchell said angrily.

"First things first, Melia," said Daniel, coming to his senses. "You have descended."

"Yes."

"Because the Others would stop you otherwise."

"Yes."

"Huh? An Ancient, since when?" asked Vala, turning to Daniel for a few seconds, which nearly resulted in the ship crashing into the next building on the way. Vala desperately steered all the way to the right, barely dodging it.

"But why the Aschen of all people? As much as I hate to admit it, we've disrupted established orders in the past, and you chose this particular moment to intervene. Why?"

"I thought you would have found out before, Daniel Jackson. Apparently, I overestimated you," said Melia.

"Excuse me," intervened Mitchell, who was visibly growing annoyed by this conversation, "but what's with all the vagueness? Does it come as a racial feature?"

"You Earthans are far too reckless. Ganos Lal—"

"Morgan Le Fay trusted my judgment, Melia," said Daniel. "You should too."

For a good thirty seconds, the communicator remained silent. Only the sound of the engines was heard, besides the sounds of Vala frantically bashing the controls.

"You assume too much," Melia said at last, in a quiet voice with undertones of sorrow. Then the signal vanished.

Melia turned away from the console. Wossan, for some reason, had already left the control room. She took the transporter back to the Directory meeting room. Four of the six Directors had now left, with only two remaining: Wossan and a blonde woman with a sharp haircut. In addition, the room now featured guards armed with handguns, two of whom immediately grabbed the Lantean's arms and bent them behind her back.

"Before you start performing your experients on me," Melia said calmly, "I should point out that I know all about their tactics, not to mention the impending anti-Aschen uprisings on colony worlds, and can minimise the inconvenience costs."

"Release her," ordered Wossan. The guards let go of her arms and stepped away.

"You should at least get dressed," suggested the female Director.

"Why. Jakase?" asked Melia.

"Your current lack of attire is nonconformist."

"Oh, please! I am Councillor Melia of the Atlantis Council, from the planet Lantea in the Pegasus galaxy. I'm ten thousand years old, and I've spent most of my life as an energy being on a higher plane of existence, witnessing secrets of the universe whose very existence would drive you mad — and you expect me to conform to the ridiculous living standards you Aschen have secluded yourselves in to disguise your lack of cultural identity?"

Throughout this little rant, which used the full range of facial expressions Melia was capable of, she waved her arms energetically. The Directors were visibly touched — more so than Aschen would be expected to, at least. Wossan rolled his eyes, and Jakase raised both eyebrows and opened her mouth for a second.

"You wasted more time on this speech than you would spend actually getting dressed," Wossan pointed out.

"Fine. I'll get one of your unimaginative uniforms. I'm feeling a bit cold anyway. The emotional overload must be wearing off."

"We should act in the way the enemy least expects," suggested Teal'c.

"You could all shut up for a minute and let me concentrate, that's what I least expect right now!" complained Vala.

"Wait, wait, wait," said Daniel. The sign on that building over there says 'Library'. We could—"

"No," said Mitchell sharply.

"But if we—"

"No. Nothing that's not directly related to getting out of here, and fast."

"Hey, nobody said about getting out fast!" exclaimed Vala. "If you wanted fast, I'd just fly up. Into space."

"Daniel Jackson is right," said Teal'c. "Knowing one's enemy is a necessary component of victory, and our knowledge of the Aschen is severely limited."

"Plus we could find out why Melia is on their side," added Daniel.

"Because she's a self-righteous jerk with a grudge against us?" theorized Vala.

"Well, as much as she taints Ancients and oxygen-users in general by association, which is to be expected of one of the Others, I'd say there must still be a reason—"

"Enough," said Mitchell. "Daniel and I will get into that library. Vala, stay here and put the ship in stealth mode."

"How in the world do I do that?" asked Vala.

"Figure it out. If Sheppard is smart enough to do it, then so are you. And stay in the ship. Teal'c, stay with her."

Teal'c nodded.

"No offense," Mitchell continued, "but your Jaffa mark will stand out and I don't see any of them wearing hats, so that's out of question too."

The jumper disappeared. As before, none of the Aschen around paid any attention. A few minutes later, Cameron emerged out of thin air in a quiet, seemingly deserted yard adjacent to the library. Daniel followed; he was now without his glasses.

"So what now?" asked Daniel. "We just waltz in through the front door?"

A small service door right next to them opened, and a guard walked out of it. His handgun — teal and white in color, more resembling a pistol-shaped spray nozzle than a weapon — was attached to his belt, and he was carrying a small rectangular device no bigger than a lighter in his hand.

"I thought not."

To be continued...

Yes, there was a Star Wars reference in there. Out of all Star Wars movies I could reference, you didn't expect that one, did you?