STARGATE: EXPLORER

by Lady Grey
Alpha/Beta by Jude

December 20

Daniel stood on the bridge of the massive ship, eyes glued to the vista before him. The cerulean depths of the ocean became frothy spray, the fine droplets of water fading to clear azure sky, then giving way to a darkening spectrum of blue as the great machine rose steadily through the thinning atmosphere. The Furling home world gradually receded below them, the two continents rotating beneath the hull as the Gaia gradually ascended. The starry ebony vault of space grew darker and clearer as they rose, until the planet and its single ringed moon were both visible in the same panorama.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, admiring the verdant continents, sapphire oceans, and snowy white clouds of the alien world. A pang of longing for Earth squeezed at his heart, but he tenderly brushed it away.

“Where to, Captain?” he asked, studying the commander of the Gaia, seated on his right.

“We had thought you would be the one to make that decision,” the Mountain Clan officer answered.

Daniel had been considering that a great deal over the last few hours, as he’d wandered the ship during their ascent through the sea and then the atmosphere, both to familiarize himself with the vessel's layout and to meet the crew. The Gaia held a company of two thousand, made up of equal numbers of each Furling Clan, all working together to maintain a flawless, constant operation of the gigantic craft.

He’d been amazed to find that four decks in the ship’s elegant wings stored a total of five hundred fighters, each with vastly different weaponry. That was when it had sunk in that these people really were ready to go to war with him, for the sake of a single member of an alien race.

The Furlings had told him they’d been denied justice for the atrocities committed against them, without knowing the reason why the other three races had turned against them, but for his own peace of mind, Daniel had to confirm this view of Furling history; he needed it to hear it from the horse’s mouth, from someone he knew -- providing they would agree to see him.

He stepped to the navigation center and activated the holographic star map. He’d seen one just like it in the city of Shahr and had learned how to operate it from Scout. It took him a moment to find the solar system he wanted, but once he’d located it, he touched the star with one fingertip to zoom in on the view. Then he indicated a green planet that was second from the sun.

"Do you know this location?" he asked the giant.

The Captain had been watching him bring up the star system; he shook his great head. "When we were placed on Furdani by the Ancients, we had no star maps with us. All the locations of colonies we once inhabited or visited are lost to us. We have only the astronomical data we have been able to glean from the planet's surface with our observational devices."

That was the confirmation Daniel had wanted. He'd had a notion to try to convince Jack to take a small delegation to the Nox homeworld via Odyssey or one of the other Earth starships, to open a dialogue with the Nox and attempt to reclaim the missing part of the Furlings' past. Daniel had researched the location in the Alpha database, working secretly on the right logic and emotional triggers that might persuade the General to grant such a mission, but now it seemed that wouldn't be necessary. The People had ships of their own and could now go wherever they pleased.

There were risks involved, though. He knew already this was a touchy situation; generations of unrest, confusion, and bitterness over what had happened to the Furlings at the hands of the Ancients could provide adequate fuel to start a war the Nox wouldn't fight. Daniel trusted his newest friends, believing with his whole heart that their sense of honor wouldn't allow them to take a military advantage over a pacifist race.

“Take me there,” he said quietly. “The stargate on that planet is closed to my people, and the only way there is by ship.” Turning a firm gaze on the captain, he added grimly, “I want to talk to the Nox. Maybe if I speak with them alone, they might tell me why the Ancients imprisoned and destroyed most of your people.”

The quiet murmur of background conversation from the bridge crew hushed entirely, the only sound the deep vibration of the ship’s engines through its hull and the high-pitched hum of numerous Sky Clan’s wings as they flew about from station to station.

“You are certain of this destination?” the Captain asked gravely.

Daniel nodded, then turned his gaze back to the view of the disappearing planet beneath them.

“Set a course for the Nox home world,” ordered Captain. “Prime Gaia's wormhole generator for first jump.”

He turned to Daniel to explain. "This is a test, which must be performed with every starship on its first voyage. We will not go far through subspace, because the drain on the engines would be too great. After this trial, we will only use the wormholes in emergencies."

Watching the black sky in amazement, Daniel saw a swirl of bright energy flare outward from all around the bridge. A watery fountain reached for them, stopping just short of the nose of the ship, then settled into a rippling ocean edged in light. The Gaia edged into the flattened oval wormhole, sliding down the sub-space rabbit hole and emerging into a black void.

It took Daniel’s vision a moment to adjust from the blinding brightness to the absolute dark of sunless subspace. The curve of the planet below them was gone, along with its pale ringed moon and yellow sun. The ship was surrounded by total darkness, then slipped out into normal space, sparkling with distant stars. 

Daniel looked at the holographic star map and saw how much distance they had covered in that leap.

They really are the Third Race, he told himself in awe, lifting his gaze to study the crew in fascination and hoping he knew what the hell he was doing.

December 23

Three Days Later

Nox Homeworld

Daniel sat at the table in Gaia's main conference room, twiddling a pen in his hands.  To his immediate left was the Forest elder. On a holographic screen in the center of the table, the other three Furling elders glowed in a curtain of light, all of equal size. Simultaneously, he and Scout were being imaged on Furdani in the council chambers, the signal transferred between the planet and the starship through a wormhole connection.

They didn't have long to talk, so Daniel didn't waste any time and told them where the ship was in orbit.  "I'm about to go down to the planet," he announced to the other three, since Scout already knew his plans. "I wanted the council to be aware I intend to discover what the Nox may know about the exile of your people."

Looks were exchanged.

"You will tell us what you learn?" asked Mountain.

A wry smile lifted one corner of Daniel's mouth. "I don't exactly have a choice in that, since I upload my memories daily, but yes. Of course I'll willingly pass on whatever information I get."

El-Riel bowed, her voice husky with emotion. "We are grateful that you mediate for us."

Scout's hands, folded on the table, moved slowly into his lap as he sat up straighter, his gaze lowered. "It is the opinion of Forest Clan that a judgment should be made against the Nox for whatever part they played in the punishment of our people. What do Grass, Sky, and Mountain say?" 

This was an unexpected turn.  Daniel sat back in his chair as his heart started to pound.  What kind of judgment were they planning to level?  Were they going to destroy the Nox, now that they knew where their planet was located?

"The clans agree," said the other three, almost in unison.

"Who will decide the nature of that judgment?" asked Scout.

The images of the three elders appeared to look straight ahead, their eyes aimed right at the human sitting at the end of the table.

"We not able," Hunter observed. "Too close."

"Too much grief," agreed Sky.

"We would not choose fairly," said Mountain with a nod.

Scout's gaze lifted to Daniel's face as well, and he spoke softly. "We cannot be the ones to choose the fate of the Nox. Only someone who is outside the circle of our pain may judge them."

Daniel was speechless. "I don't--" He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry.  "I can't-- You're asking me to judge an entire race?  How can I do that?"

The Forest elder's amber eyes narrowed slightly, studying his human friend. "I have discovered an interesting fact about you, Daniel. Do you know the meaning of your name? I was surprised to learn many of your people do not."

"Yes." Daniel nodded. "It means, 'God is my judge.' "

The images of the other elders burst out in startled laughter.

"I don't get it.”  Daniel frowned, looking to Scout for an explanation of the in-joke.

"We call the planet where you found us Furdani," said Scout, his eyes gleaming with humor. "In our language, it means, 'The Judged,' because we were condemned as criminals by the Ancients. Now, the guilt of the Nox will be weighed by one chosen by our supreme being, whom we call el. You are Dani-el, or as we would say it, el-Dani. It seems to be the will of el that you are the instrument of our justice."

"Done," said el-Riel. She made the hand gesture toward them that signified the close of the council meeting.

Mountain and Grass did the same.

"Wait!”  Daniel protested, but they didn’t give him a chance to decline. The transmission winked out, and he and Scout were alone in the conference room. He glared at his alien companion. "That was an ambush," he growled unhappily. "The council planned that, didn't you?"

For a long moment, Scout just blinked at him innocently. Then the blank mask slipped, and he grinned broadly. "You learn quickly, el-Dani." He cocked his head. "Why do you suppose we have done this?"

Daniel pushed back from the table with a sigh of resignation. "Oh, I understand completely. As Hunter said, you're too emotionally involved to decide for yourself; I'm just not sure the entire Furling race will be happy with any punishment I choose."

Scout rose slowly. "This isn't about making my people happy; it's about an impartial party naming the price to be paid. Whether or not the Nox are willing to atone for their crime is another matter entirely. If they're not, we may require your mediation until an agreement is reached. We could be here a long time, and I know you want to be on your way, to search for Zeus."

He turned away and strolled toward the conference room door as Daniel's mouth slowly fell open into an 'O' of enlightened surprise.

The other shoe had just been dropped.

Daniel was going to have to determine a punishment that fit the crime, something the Nox would accept as a penalty for their part in the annihilation and exile of the Third Race. The present generation of woodsy little aliens might not even be aware of that history or the part their ancestors played in the tragedy, and that would make his task even more difficult. As close as he could calculate it, the Furlings had been exiled close to a million years earlier, but they had long memories and kept excellent records.

"No pressure," he said softly to himself. "I'm sure I'll figure out something. Eventually."

He put his hands on his hips, dropped his head and stared at the floor in resignation for a moment, then squared his shoulders and headed for the transporter room to make his appearance on the planet below.

One moment Daniel was standing on the deck of the Gaia, and the next he was coughing, a brisk wind ruffling his hair as he stood on a narrow paved street in the floating city of the Nox. The air was thin at that elevation, and it took him a moment to adjust and catch his breath. His eyes watered from the breeze, and he blinked to clear them.

All around him, diminutive thatch-haired aliens had come to a standstill, staring at their unexpected visitor.

“My name is Daniel Jackson,” he announced. “I would like to speak with Lya, Anteus, or Ofer.”

I won’t hurt you,” he promised, offering a gentle smile as he kept his hands down at his sides, palms out in supplication.

The crowd began to back away, gathering closer together, murmuring and whispering to one another; they looked startled at his sudden appearance, as if they’d had no warning. He'd felt sure the Nox would have been aware of Gaia's approach and that they'd be expecting visitors, but they seemed to have been caught unaware. 

Many of them began to vanish, disappearing right before his eyes. The handful that remained continued to retreat, staring at him wide-eyed and silent. No one spoke to him, but he was afraid to step toward them, sensing they might view that as a threat.

It didn’t take long for a familiar face to appear, wending her way through what remained of the bystanders, stepping into the open area between Daniel and the few others who remained. Lya’s smile was tight, and there was no welcome in her eyes, but she gave him a little bow of respect.

“Greetings, Daniel Jackson,” she told him. “What brings you here?”

“Greetings, Lya,” he answered simply. “You should know up front that I'm not here on behalf of my people, but to broker an agreement for another race. I've come for some answers. I need to know what happened to the Furlings.” 

Faces all around him went slack with shock and fear. Some of the Nox held onto one another, and more began to disappear, hiding behind their shields of invisibility.

Lya straightened, lifting her chin. “The Furlings have been gone for many centuries.” Her answer was evasive, non-committal.

He nodded. “I understand that. What I don’t know is the part the Nox played in their disappearance, or why so many were murdered, the rest forced into exile.”

Stepping to one side, she gestured to her right. “Come, Daniel. We will have some tea, and we will talk.”

Daniel didn’t figure he was going to get any straight, quick answers from these people. They spoke in cryptic hints, suggesting rather than informing. This was going to take some time and persistence. “I’d be delighted,” he told her cordially.

A swell of sadness rose up in him.  He hoped he was wrong, but if the Nox's remembrance of the past provided a different history, then the Furlings might be proved liars. Either way, he was sure he was going to get his heart broken again today. Still, he had to know.

He followed Lya, admiring the view of the city he had never seen up close. As he made his way along the street, he spied more Nox around them, many of them disappearing as he met their curious stares. He stood head and shoulders taller than everyone, and it made him feel like a giant. The woodsy smell of the Nox was as heady as new-mown grass and flowers.

The city was stunning. Gardens were everywhere, filled with colorful insects and birds. Vines clung to the sides of tall, slender building capped with drop-shaped domes piercing the sky. Verdant moss crept between buildings and irregular-shaped paving stones formed the streets and walkways. Small trees provided shade as Daniel and his guide made their way off the main thoroughfare and up a narrow, curving path to the roof of a square, three-story house.

In the middle of the rooftop patio, a circular awning floated in the air without apparent support, providing a little shade from the bright sun. Beneath the canopy was a low, round table with three cushions set around it. Daniel waited for Lya to take her seat, and then knelt on the pillow beside her.

Nafreyu, the Nox boy he’d met in the forest nine years earlier, brought out a tray with tea, cups, and a bowl of fruit. He didn’t look a day older than he had when Daniel had first seen him, still an adolescent, and Daniel supposed the Nox must grow very slowly. He knew so little about these aliens, and that saddened him.

The boy smiled, genuine delight in his dark eyes.

“Well, hello, Nafreyu,” said Daniel warmly. “It’s good to see you again.”

“My mother said we wouldn’t be seeing you again,” the boy told him. “Where are your friends? I remember their names. Carter, O’Neill and—”

“We will talk later,” said Lya, a note of stern command in her voice.

Obediently, Nafreyu set the tray down without another word or glance in her direction.

Daniel thought he deserved an answer to his question. “O’Neill is well.” He looked at the teapot instead of the boy’s face as he told him the rest. “Carter and Teal’c are dead. My planet… it was destroyed a few months ago. Only a few of us survived.”

Lya paled, obviously shocked and saddened by his announcement. “I am so sorry, Daniel,” she whispered, placing her hand on his forearm. 

He glanced sharply at her, wishing once again they’d been able to convince such an advanced race to help them when it had mattered. He pressed his lips together, biting back an angry retort, struggling to control his temper. He concentrated on breathing, gaze on the fruit plate, until he had his emotions in check. 

She withdrew her hand and poured the tea as Nafreyu silently moved into the shadows of the house’s interior, out of sight.  “What truth is it that you seek, Daniel?” she asked again.

“Because I have to know.” He lifted the cup she offered him and sniffed at its contents. The tea smelled like flowers – much better than Hunter’s stinky healing brew – but Daniel wasn’t thirsty. He sipped at it to be polite, then held the cup in his lap. “I want to know the Nox version of what became of the Third Race.”

A breeze ruffled the woman’s grassy hair, rustling her gauzy gown. She sipped her tea delicately, taking her time in composing an answer. “Long before the days of the Four Races, we believed ourselves to be a great people, highly cultured and civilized,” she said at last. “For millennia we had peace on our world, for so long that we had forgotten what war and violence were. We developed great science and medicine. We advanced to explore the stars, not knowing what we would find. We were bolder, then.”

“And you found the Furlings.” Daniel took another sip of tea, watching her out of the corner of his eyes rather than look at her directly.

Lya nodded, shifting a little on her pillow. “Our history says they were a wild people, filled with passion. My ancestors thought them barbarians, but they showed only an eagerness to interact peacefully.”

“You were afraid of them.”

“Yes. They were quite unpredictable.” She set her cup down and picked up an oblong bright orange fruit with long cerulean stripes down its sides, staring at it as she went on. “For centuries we talked with them, traded with them. While we were slow to expand into the galaxy, they settled worlds quickly, efficiently. They leaped into conflicts with other races. They would not hear reason.”

“You mean, they wouldn’t listen to the Nox and stay out of other people’s disputes,” he corrected, choosing a small yellow berry from the bowl.

Without confirming or denying his conclusion, Lya continued her tale. “They introduced us to the Ancients and the Asgard, and we began to make treaties with one another, sharing knowledge and culture. The Furlings had much to offer… as well as much that caused concern.”

Daniel popped the berry into his mouth and looked into her big dark eyes as she sliced the orange fruit into rounded pieces. 

“They sent ships to worlds with primitive races, healing their sick and wounded, offering supplies and technology.” Lya’s gaze dropped to the fruit as she lifted a slice to her lips and nibbled it. Tears glistened in her eyes.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me,” Daniel told her, unable to keep the trace of bitterness out of his voice. “My people do – or did – the same thing.”

She nodded. “I know. There is much in your race that is like theirs. That is why we closed our doors to you.”

“You were afraid of us, too? We offered the Nox our friendship, Lya. We tried to help you. We tried to protect you, not realizing you could protect yourselves.”  He was having a little trouble keeping his anger contained.  “It would’ve been wise of you to tell us that in the beginning.”

Lya looked away. “By helping others as the Furlings did, giving more primitive races technology when they are not developed enough to handle the responsibility of such power, their minds can be warped. They can be changed into violent creatures that love war and seek to control others.”

“There’s a responsibility that goes along with offering aid and knowledge, just like teaching a child the difference between right and wrong,” Daniel snapped. “If the Nox had taught my people how to heal, for instance, you could have maintained relations with us to make sure that power wasn’t misused… though I find it hard to conceive of a way to misuse that ability.”

She shook her head, raising her gaze to his, her eyes pleading. “It is not that simple, Daniel.”

“It never is,” he shot back angrily. He took a deep breath, clenching his hands to wrangle a little more self-control. “So what did the Nox do?”

Her smile was sad, begging for understanding. “Our history of that time is not clear. We know only that we were the cause of the tragedy that befell them. We did not take part in it other than instigating the action against them, which the Ancients carried out.”

Daniel felt a little ill, shaken by her confession. Maybe the Nox hadn't participated in the extermination, but they'd started it. They'd been responsible for the Furlings being all but erased from the galaxy.

“What about the Asgard?”

“They chose to remain somewhat neutral.”

“Somewhat?” Daniel was outraged by her phrasing, but struggled to keep his voice dispassionate. She was spooked enough as it was. He could see the fear in her wide eyes, warring with incredible sadness etched onto her face, and a heavy burden of guilt in her slightly bowed head and drooping shoulders. 

Lya looked back at the simple clay cup that held her tea. “The Asgard were great mapmakers. They charted the entire galaxy and knew every world where the Furlings lived. They shared that information with the Ancients.”

A little thrill of elation lifted Daniel's spirits. If the Asgard once knew where the original Furling colonies were, that data was somewhere at the Alpha or in the Odyssey's database, downloaded by the Asgard themselves for posterity. Locating the information could take a long time, but at least it wasn't completely lost.  That joy didn't last long, as the sweet aftertaste of the tea and fruit turned bitter in his mouth. “Then what happened?”

“The histories of that era are unclear, as my ancestors intended it to be. You see, the fate of the Third Race was an event that would never be spoken of or recorded by the Nox; it was our greatest shame.”

“So you don’t know what happened to the Furlings?”

“The knowledge of what became of them has been lost to us. To all of us.” She fell silent, her chin lifting in stubborn defense of her people. "Our ancestors came to regret the part they played in what was done. That is all we know for certain, but I am sure they believed they were making the right decision. It is the way of the Nox to choose the best path."

Daniel couldn’t speak.  Hating what he’d just heard, his throat closed up as he fought to swallow his disappointment and grief. 

Lya gazed at him with righteous self-assurance. “What happened to the Third Race changed us forever,” she told him with a trace of bitterness in her soft voice. “We withdrew from the alliance, destroyed all our settlements on other worlds, and returned here, to our ancestral home. We closed ourselves off as penance.”

“It’s not enough,” Daniel ground out, memories of the survivors' accounts of the holocaust searing through his memory. “Do you have any idea what they went through?”

She shook her head, her gaze lowering to the plate of fruit on the table. “We do not want to know.”

Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could they not want to know the results of their betrayal? How could they turn blind eyes to their own past, and wipe it out so completely?

For a moment, he just sat there, unable to think of anything to say to Lya.

He wasn't accustomed to words failing him so thoroughly. Then he reached into the thigh pocket of his black trousers and brought out a small silver jar. Daniel set it onto the table with a solid thump and glared at her, demanding silently that she meet his eyes. He was horrified, outraged, aching.

“What is that?” Lya asked, glancing timidly from his face to the container, shrinking back as if it were a bomb.

“Your legacy,” he told her harshly.

Daniel had gone through the Furling stargate to Alpha colony many times prior to leaving Furdani onboard the Gaia, and every time he’d arrived back on the aliens’ planet, he couldn’t help the lump that had risen in his throat as he’d stepped in the ashes of his teammates and so many millions of Furlings. One day, he had gathered some of them up into this jar, and always carried it with him afterward. He’d even made his own contributions, so he’d never forget.

“What does it contain?” she asked, finally looking back at him. 

His eyes prickled, and he blinked to clear his vision. “Blood, tears and ashes,” he whispered. " My blood. My tears. The ashes of my friends, from two worlds. What happened to Earth and the Furlings might have been prevented, if the Nox had really done what was best and lent those in need a helping hand."

He stared at the little urn, shining softly with reflected sunlight. “Too many others have paid the price of your people’s fear, Lya. The Nox engineered the murder of billions, using the Ancients as your weapon. There’s still a price to be paid. The Furlings are in need of justice. Your people have a great debt to pay.”

Lya sighed and nodded resignedly, dropping her gaze to her lap again. “They were by far the most visionary of the Four Races, Daniel. Masters of change. They had the capacity to become the most powerful race of all, and we destroyed them.”

“Not completely.”

She smiled a little, lopsided and wry. “Then they have survived, and you have found them,” she concluded, meeting his eyes with a flicker of relief in her expression. “This is good news.” She sat a little straighter and lifted her chin. “And now they sit in judgment of us. I will carry their decision to my people, and we will prepare for death.”

He shook his head. “They aren’t going to kill you. They aren’t going to do anything to you, but the Furlings have appointed me as their arbiter.  I have a sentence for your crime.”

Genuine surprise dawned on her face. “What? They-- they have no demands? How? How can this be?”

“It seems they have a better sense of honor and justice than I do.” Faith in his new friends welled up in Daniel’s soul, and he smiled at her smugly. “My decision is this--  the Nox will return to traveling through the stargate. See with your own eyes how other races suffer and die, witness their struggle against oppression from others. Render aid with healing, and offer helping hands where they're needed. Learn the difference between those who seek to improve and those who want to own, and learn to face your fears. You didn’t need to be afraid of the Furlings, then or now.”

He got to his feet, glancing at the little silver urn, then back at Lya as she also rose.

“Please convey to the Furlings our sincerest apologies and heartfelt wish for forgiveness,” Lya murmured, offering him a slight bow, hands crossed over her chest. “Your sentence will be carried out. It is just and fair, and too long overdue.”

She raised her gaze to his and reached out to touch his arm. “You should know, Daniel, that the Nox are a dying race. Our numbers are few now.” She gestured toward the skyline of the floating metropolis surrounding them. “This city is the last place where we may be found.”

Somehow, that didn't surprise him, but it did make him sad.

There was peace in her dark eyes, serenity in her slow smile. “This journey will hasten our extinction, but that is inevitable. It is good that our candles may provide light in the darkness. Thank you, Daniel.” 

“I’m sorry, Lya.”

“As are the Nox,” she admitted. “Farewell, Daniel Jackson.” 

"Goodbye, Lya." Daniel touched the communication device curled around his left ear. “Ready to return to Gaia,” he called to the ship, still in orbit above the planet.

A moment later he was on the transporter deck, surrounded by stiff-faced Furlings.

He cocked his head, eyeing the ship's commander and the Forest Clan elder. “You could wipe them out now, you know,” he stated, testing them.

"You know we will not," said Captain. "There is no honor in it."

"What did the Nox tell you?" asked Scout, his eyes hooded, dangerous-looking, but intensely curious.

Daniel shook his head. "That portion of their history has been left intentionally vague, Scout. They don't know why it happened, just as their ancestors wanted. I'm sorry I don't have more to tell you."

Scout's chin lifted. "And their penance?"

“You’ll be seeing them out there,” Daniel announced. "It's time they faced their fears and found out what it's like to be in the shoes of those they refused to help."

Scout and Denali exchanged a knowing glance. Other officers nodded in agreement and turned away, returning to their duties, passing the word as they went through the ship.

“The punishment fits the crime,” said the captain with a slow smile to his Forest Clan cousin. He turned to Daniel, gesturing toward the corridor that would take them to the bridge. “Our next destination, friend?”

“Yeah.” Daniel stepped off the transporter pad and followed them down the hallway. “Where, exactly, are the worlds loyal to Zeus, and how long will it take us to get there?”

Scout chuckled. “Not long enough, soondah. I'll begin your training after you've finished your business with the captain. Then we'll devise a plan for bringing justice to your lost world.”

Daniel frowned in concentration, searching his memory for that alien word. He’d been working hard on learning each dialect of the Furling language, but they were complex. Some had sounds he had difficulty articulating, but he understood the language much better than he spoke it.

“Okay, what’s that word mean? I can’t remember.”

“Soondah,” repeated Scout, enunciating carefully. “It's what we call young people just beginning their training in the arts of war.” He clapped Daniel on the shoulder playfully. 

“I’m not some kid, you know,” Daniel pouted.

But in a way, he knew he was. These people had so much to teach him, and he was only beginning his education with them. They would be taking him on great adventures, and this time, he had the opportunity to go wherever he wanted. He could research ancient cultures and learn about alien societies. He wasn’t being pressured by any government or organization to find advanced technology or weapons. The Furlings already had all that, and they were lending their aid to the people on Alpha. Soon, the Nox would, too.

He could become the explorer he’d wanted to be ever since the first time he’d stepped through the stargate. Somewhere out there, he was sure the reason for the Furlings’ imprisonment had been recorded, just waiting for someone to find it. Lya had said the People had settled many worlds, but none had yet been discovered by the SGC. That was something he might help them do, recover their lost past.

First, though, he needed to hone his combat skills and then track down Zeus. 

That was going to take a lot of work, and might well cost him his life.  It was a price he was more than willing to pay.

End Chapter 18

Visit the Stargate: Explorer Live Journal page and share your thoughts.

Email Lady Grey