XOVER: Changing of the Guard 5: Terms of Engagement 3/19 [PG13]
Ecolea (ecolea@wt.net)
Wed, 19 Jun 2002 00:04:25 -0500
Chapter 4
Nothing was said of course, and Methos watched Narim as he took his =
place in
the observers' gallery a short time later. The other man looked faintly
stunned as he stared down at O'Neill, now sitting at the center of the
council table, blithely ignorant of his new place in the universe. Of =
all
the great races in the Alliance the Ancients were by far the oldest. =
Which
in turn gave their words more weight, power and respect among not only =
the
other members, but also all the worlds within their jurisdiction. For =
any
other man -- even he, Methos silently admitted -- such a role might be =
too
heady. Too overwhelmingly tempting to play god and lose sight of the
Alliance's goals. But Jack had an inner core of moral strength, which =
held
that responsibility, accountability and fair play were virtues that =
could
not, and should not be denied. In that way, he was more Tok'ra's heir =
than
ever Methos had been in all his long life.
And it wasn't, Methos realized, that Jack was any more or less moral =
than
say, MacLeod. But that O'Neill did not allow personal honor to interfere =
in
making the ugly and sometimes amoral choices, war often necessitated.
O'Neill somehow knew, instinctively, that one man's morality was often =
the
cost of the enemy's defeat. And if honor suffered for the welfare of the
greater good then so be it. This was something Jack understood =
implicitly
and accepted as the price being who and what he was.
The great hall settled into silence as the last of the council members
arrived. When Thor gave the opening statement, no doubt in deference to
Jack's inexperience with such things, Methos grew thoughtful. During the
night, he had requested and received the records of the last dozen or so
council meetings. He had recently begun to wonder just how much the rest =
of
the Alliance had known of Inanna's treachery in regards to Tok'ra. =
Enough to
at least be suspicious of her, he guessed, given that, unlike her late
husband, and now Jack, Inanna had never been accorded the center place =
at
the table. And she had been a desultory member at best -- neither caring
much for either the proceedings or the other Alliance representatives.
Not surprising, Methos thought, given the nature of the conference in
general. From what he could deduce it appeared to be more of an update =
on
the planets still under Alliance protection; recommendations regarding =
those
now deemed in need of such, and a rubber-stamping process for those =
who'd
achieved a measure of technological success to be politely ushered on =
their
way.
The first order of business was a review given by the Asgard of all the
worlds they had determined did not need to be reviewed. Those with races
that had, through natural disaster or for self-annihilation, become =
extinct.
And those which, given their social and technological development were =
too
primitive to be anywhere near ready for galactic self-determination, =
were of
little interest to the proceedings. For long minutes the dome above =
whizzed
with individual images of each of these planetary systems until Methos
looked away simply to keep from getting dizzy. But this, of course,
explained the functional, rather than decorative nature of display =
above.
When the catalog of planets was complete and the council had voted to =
accept
Thor's recommendations, the council moved on to a more thorough review =
of
those worlds whose technological advancements made them worthy of a more
in-depth discussion.
Not surprisingly, there were quite a few. As part of the process, the =
Asgard
had assigned observers, whose job it was to evaluate each planet's =
current
status and potential growth. One by one these assessments were given and =
as
the morning droned on Jack looked increasingly bored -- while Methos =
waited
patiently, supposing Earth fell into this particular category.
Eventually, and at long last if Jack's expression was anything to judge =
by,
the conference broke for what Thor described as a period of =
contemplative
sustenance. In other words, Methos thought sardonically, lunch. Without
waiting for O'Neill, Methos headed out to catch Narim before the Tolan =
could
emerge from the visitors' gallery.
"You had a word with Thor, I take it?" Methos asked without preamble as =
he
confronted the man.
"With Lya," Narim admitted quietly. "She and the representative of the
Furlings were advised by Thor of your duplicity in regards to O'Neill =
and
the changes made to his cellular structure. My cooperation has been
requested."
Methos ignored the insult. "And will you cooperate?" he asked silkily.
Narim nodded once. "I will. As will the Tolan Curia. But Methos," he =
added
as O'Neill approached. "I believe you underestimate the colonel."
"Is it me," O'Neill asked as he joined them, "or is mindless blather a
universal concept?"
"It's you," Methos grinned. "I, for one," he lied happily, "found the =
whole
process utterly fascinating."
Jack grimaced, shaking his head in disgust. "So," he glanced nervously =
at
Narim. "You still pissed off at us?"
Narim frowned slightly. "If you mean, am I concerned with your ruse, the
answer to that would be no."
"Glad to hear it," Jack breathed, looking relieved. "It's not that we're
trying to pull a fast one here, it's just that..." he shrugged.
"I'm not qualified to vote on matters that might ultimately affect the
entire universe," Methos finished neatly as another of the ubiquitous
Lakwasians appeared to lead everyone to where the food was being served.
"And you feel that Colonel O'Neill is?" Narim asked as they followed =
with
the rest of the delegates.
Methos glanced at Jack and smiled. "Exceptionally well qualified."
O'Neill remained silent as Narim stared at him thoughtfully.
"In matters requiring courage and honor," the Tolan finally spoke, "I =
have
no doubts. But there are other concerns being discussed among the
delegates."
"And?" O'Neill asked casually.
"They are concerned that an allegiance to Earth and the duties of the
Alliance are mutually exclusive. That a council member from so primitive =
a
world, and one that is still under protective status, gives too much =
power
to those who might seek to use the Alliance to further their own goals."
"Typical political paranoia," Methos scoffed as they found places in the
banquet hall the Lakwasians had prepared. "Earth has no grand designs on =
the
universe and Jack is quite capable of voting impartially on matters =
which do
not concern Earth.
"Perhaps," Narim agreed. "But they are concerned that O'Neill, being
subordinate to others, will take direction from them."
O'Neill frowned. "I don't know about the Furlings, but Thor and Lya are
subordinate to their own governments."
"True," Narim agreed again as the Lakwasians began serving. "But those
governments are already powerful in their own right and their altruistic
nature known and accepted throughout the universe. And while Earth has
achieved much respect through her goodwill towards others, it is still a
concern among the less trusting delegates."
Methos shrugged. "Then they'll just have to wait and see that they're =
wrong,
won't they?"
The discussion turned to other matters while they ate. Mostly talk about =
the
history of the Alliance and its various members. Safe subjects silently
agreed upon.
"So, what do you know about the Gallisians?" O'Neill finally asked when =
the
meal was over and they were headed back to the conference hall.
Narim shook his head. "Very little, Colonel O'Neill. Our ships have had
occasion to come into contact with them only recently. And while the
Gallisians have achieved some technological advancements in the last
century, the Curia has decided that they are not yet ready for Tolan
technology."
"Not even medical technology?" Methos asked bluntly. It had long been a =
sore
point for him when it came to discussing the Tolan with Daniel that,
although the Tolan were human, they refused to share even that knowledge
with those they deemed less advanced.
Narim looked sad for a moment. "Much as we would like to help every =
world in
need of medical knowledge, the truth is we fear even that might cause =
untold
grief and hardship. What would happen to a world if we supplied such
knowledge and they were incapable of sustaining the millions or billions =
of
inhabitants, which might otherwise have died? Would we not then be
responsible for seeing that they had the wherewithal to survive? Such a
circumstance would certainly necessitate the giving of even more =
knowledge.
And how much technology is too much? It is a risk we cannot take."
"It seems you've got a hypothetical problem to answer every question,"
Methos commented.
"As long as they remain hypothetical," Narim responded almost tartly, =
"the
Tolan can live with that."
"Fair enough," Methos smiled amiably. "Far be it for me to criticize =
those
who would prefer to sit back and watch rather than get involved and be
forced to make those difficult moral choices."
Narim frowned at what sounded vaguely like an insult, while O'Neill =
rolled
his eyes.
"Ignore him," Jack told the Tolan. "Pierson has delusions of being an =
amoral
bastard."
"It's a hobby," Methos shrugged.
Narim's brow rose in consternation. "Then perhaps we should all be =
grateful
that O'Neill is the one to sit on the council."
"Exactly," Methos smiled broadly. "And you would do well to pass that =
on."
***
Several hours later, Methos left the conference hall somewhat disturbed.
"You seem troubled," Lya asked as she and Jack finally joined the =
Immortal.
"That last category," he responded. "Worlds whose technological =
advancement
has reached noteworthy levels. I'd assumed Earth would be considered =
among
them, but the discussion's been closed."
"Yes," Lya smiled. "Had Earth been a protected planet prior to this =
meeting
then certainly it would have been discussed with the others. But Earth =
has
only just received protective status. And while all senior members of =
the
Alliance may offer such status to worlds of their choosing, it requires
ratification by the full council to complete the process."
"You mean we could lose it?" O'Neill looked ready to explode.
"That is highly unlikely," Lya gently pointed out. "It is merely a
formality. No world has ever been excluded from protection once a treaty =
has
been signed. And Earth has in no way violated the agreement. Discussion =
and
accreditation of newly protected worlds will take place in the morning."
The colonel breathed deeply and nodded. "That's good to know."
They walked in silence for a time, heading back to their quarters, until
Methos finally spoke.
"I've been meaning to ask," he said to Lya. "Why wasn't Earth already a
protected planet? And why did it take a second attempted invasion by the
Goa'uld for the Asgard to make the offer?"
"Not all primitive planets are under Alliance protection," she explained
thoughtfully. "Only those which are considered in danger from outside =
forces
that would seek to destroy them before they have reached maturity. When =
the
Alliance was first formed in response to the Goa'uld, Earth was already =
an
occupied planet and could not be offered protection. Tok'ra's attacks
against their forces weakened Ra and the other System Lords so that once
Earth rebelled against their rule they chose to leave rather than quell =
the
uprising. With the Goa'uld gone and your Stargate buried, there seemed =
no
need for any such protections."
"And Tok'ra wasn't around anymore to make the offer," O'Neill surmised.
Lya inclined her head, allowing the possibility. "As to the second
question," she went on. "The Asgard delight in observing the growth of =
many
worlds, but they are also wise enough to know when not to interfere. =
Apophis
was only one System Lord with a small fleet whose objective was to =
invade
and enslave, not annihilate. The greater System Lords did not =
participate,
nor were they aware of his plans."
"So what?" Jack asked indignantly.
"It's like this," Methos interjected, trying to explain. "If the city of
Paris declared war on the entire country of Spain it would be up to the
French government to stop it. Not up to Spain to attack Paris unless the
French refused to curtail the locals. In this case, we're Spain, a =
sovereign
entity being threatened by a single element within a larger nation."
"Just so," Lya agreed. "And the Asgard were unaware of the new danger =
the
Goa'uld represented, since at the last conference Earth was classified =
with
those whose status did not require discussion. Even they cannot leave
observers on every world that is of interest to them."
"Right," O'Neill muttered, looking slightly chagrined.
But Methos had to smile. "A thousand years ago," he commented wryly, =
"I'd
have had to agree with that estimation -- if I'd even dreamed that such
things as space flight might one day exist."
Lya gave him a puzzled glance but continued. "It was only after the =
Asgard
became fully aware of your unique advancement that they took a greater
interest. And when the System Lords joined as one to destroy Earth, the
Asgard deemed it appropriate to intercede."
"A wise decision," Methos sighed as they reached Lya's quarters. "And =
not
just for our sake. It's never a good idea to let your enemies learn how =
to
form a united front. Gives them all sorts of dangerous ideas."
"The Goa'uld are young," Lya said softly. "And will perhaps learn better
someday."
"The Goa'uld are predators," Methos corrected just as softly. "Lucky for =
the
universe they don't have a pack mentality. The Asgard are wise to keep =
them
from acquiring it."
Without responding Lya bowed politely, wishing the men a goodnight =
before
retiring.
"You'd think," O'Neill commented as they walked away. "With all that
advanced knowledge and wisdom that they'd get more savvy, not less."
Methos only shrugged. "The Nox would be a lot less complacent if they =
were
facing an enemy capable of penetrating all of their defenses."
"Agreed," Jack sighed. "So, you think we have anything to worry about in =
the
morning?"
Methos shook his head. "Nope. Sounds just like what she said. A =
rubber-stamp
with Approved engraved on it. Public discussions are just a way of =
making
everyone feel they've participated in the decision making process. But I =
do
think it presents a unique opportunity."
"How's that?"
"As an inhabitant of Earth," Methos suggested slyly, "you can abstain =
from
voting."
Jack nodded slowly. "Then no one can accuse me of showing favoritism. =
Good
thinking, minion." He clapped Methos on the shoulder, smiling. "Keep =
this
up, Pierson, and I guarantee one day you will achieve the coveted status =
of
Assistant Arch Fiend."
"Give it to Daniel, the horns make my nose look big."
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