“If I’d had a chance to explore the artwork more completely I think I’d have a stronger —”
“Daniel!”
“Hades. Probably.”
Jack raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. “Hades?”
Daniel gestured at the columns. “Greek architecture, Greek god. There are multiple references —”
“All right, all right.” He sighed. “Hades it is.”
The woman led her group toward the entrance of the temple. Jack stepped out from behind his cover and tried for what he hoped was a friendlier smile than the one that sent the kids running.
“Hi, there,” he said. “Sorry for scaring the kids.”
She stopped a few paces away. She laced her fingers together in front of her and bowed her head slightly. “Apologies aren’t required in this case. The children know they aren’t allowed to play near the Kyklos.”
Jack looked at Daniel who said, “Kyklos. Uh, circle.” He pointed at the Stargate and Jack nodded.
The woman watched their exchange with curious eyes, but said nothing. “We’re the ones who should be apologizing to you. We have no record that you were scheduled to arrive today so we were caught unprepared. Hopefully you can forgive us this inconvenience.”
Jack glanced at Daniel again, hoping for insight, but this time he got nothing but a confused look in return. “Yes. It’s... all right. We have a habit of dropping in unannounced.”
The woman’s focus shifted slightly and Jack realized she hadn’t been looking at him, but rather over his shoulder. She’d been speaking to Carter. Carter realized it as well and raised an eyebrow, to which Jack replied with a slight incline of his head. If the leader was more comfortable talking to a woman, then so be it.
Carter said, “Even so, we hope the kids are okay.”
“They’re fine. Excitable as children always are. I am Tychia. Who are you with?”
“We’re from Earth. The Tau’ri.”
“SGC,” Jack supplied.
Tychia looked confused for a moment before her smile returned. “Ah, I see. Your dedication is admirable. And what are your names?”
“I’m Major Samantha Carter. Colonel Jack O’Neill, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c.”
“Oh,” one of the men behind Tychia said with a hint of boredom. “They’re SG-1...”
Tychia tilted her head down and lowered her voice slightly. “Be kind, Colson. There’s a reason they have the most epikos.”
Daniel perked up. “Epikos... epic?”
“Yes. And I must say, your costumes are among the best we have seen. May I?” Carter nodded and Tychia approached her. She lightly touched the edges of Carter’s tactical vest, moving her hand to stroke the material of her jacket. She shook her head in amazement. “You truly paid attention to detail. These uniforms truly look battle-worn.”
Jack was grateful he’d been spared the petting. “Well, we do what we can.”
Tychia looked at Jack, then met Carter’s eye with a knowing wink. “Your herald certainly has a long leash.”
“My... herald. Yes. I’ve been trying to curb his impertinence.”
Jack raised an eyebrow and mouthed ‘impertinence?’ Carter shrugged.
One of the men had approached Teal’c, craning his neck one way and then the other as he gazed up into his face. Teal’c attempted to remain stoic, but had to block the man’s hand when he reached up to actually touch him.
“Do not.”
The man held up both hands. “Apologies, sir. But I’ve never seen a First Prime marking that looked so authentic.”
Jack scanned the crowd, as confused as ever. Daniel looked guilty, like he knew more than he was saying, but he didn’t want to have everything spelled out in front of their new friends. “Yes, it’s about as authentic as you can get. The people who applied it pride themselves on detail.”
The local man said, “It shows!”
Carter said, “So... uh. If everything is okay with the kids, maybe we could...”
“Prepare?” Tychia offered.
“Prepare.” Carter looked at Jack. “Yes. We would like to prepare.”
Tychia nodded. “Of course. That’s why we came to escort you to town. The people will be thrilled to hear we have an unscheduled epikos. Will you be ready by this evening?”
“It’s hard to say,” Carter said. “I think we’ll have a better idea when we get to... the... preparation area.”
“Okay. Follow us.”
Tychia turned and took the hand of one child, leading the group out of the temple. SG-1 had little choice but to follow. Jack let Carter lead the way, seeing as she had been chosen as leader, and fell into step beside Daniel. Two of the locals lingered to bring up the rear. Jack didn’t want to risk having a full conversation before he knew exactly what was going on, but his curiosity was eating at him. He leaned close to Daniel and lowered his voice.
“Do you have any idea what’s going on here?”
“Uh... some.” He looked back at the men following them. “But I have a feeling you’re really not going to like it.”
Samantha Carter tried not to look over her shoulder at the colonel as the team was escorted down the hill. Obviously the village was matriarchal and, therefore, their leader simply assumed she was in charge. She’d been in enough situations both on Earth and other planets where the inverse was true that she couldn’t complain. Still, Colonel O’Neill was her commanding officer, so she had to be careful not to step on his toes. She noticed Tychia was watching her and tried to look non-threatening.
Tychia took it as an invitation to move closer. “Can you reveal which one you’ll be doing?”
Sam thought for a moment. “I wish we could.”
“Of course. I understand. All will be revealed in time.”
“Right,” Sam said. “So... you were expecting people like us to come through the Kyklos?”
Tychia nodded. “Certainly. I just enjoy knowing ahead of time. It gives me something to look forward to.” She looked sideways at Sam as they continued to walk. “Your costumes really are remarkable. Do you make them yourselves?”
Sam furrowed her brow. “No, someone gave them to us.”
“I see. Well, I know a good many people who would like to get their hands on something of this quality. A few years ago, some very high quality uniforms were going around.”
Sam could only nod. The mention of imitation SGC uniforms made her think of the boot camp Apophis was running to create infiltrators. She couldn’t see any sign of barracks or training areas, but the idea couldn’t be ruled out. Daniel seemed to have some clue of what was happening and he didn’t seem concerned about anything other than raising Jack’s blood pressure. She tried not to put her guard up too high, but she did keep an eye on the men who accompanied Tychia to greet them. None of them were armed and she didn’t read any aggression from them, but things could turn in an instant.
The city stood on a cliff overlooking a steep drop to a calm sea. The landward sides of the city were protected by an imposing wall manned by sentries at regular intervals. A small flotilla of ships seemed to be following trade routes between the city and a trio of small forested islands on the horizon. The gates stood open but were flanked by armored men wearing helmets she was ashamed to admit she mainly recognized from Marvin the Martian. Each man carried a spear, the butt of which was firmly planted against the ground. The guards greeted Tychia as she approached, both men relaxing as they examined the team’s uniforms.
One of the men smiled behind the nose guard of his helmet. “Is there to be a new epikos, Archontissa?”
Tychia smiled and held up a hand to calm his excitement. “Patience, Agata. All will be revealed in time.”
“Of course.” He moved back into formation beside the gate.
“Forgive his eagerness,” Tychia said once they were inside the walls. The main road weaved through a maze of small white buildings, tracing a line up the hill to a large Parthenon-type building. Tychia led them into a town square. “It’s always a pleasure when an unknown group visits us. Repetition can become dull.”
Sam said, “So you get a lot of groups... like ours?”
“A few. Usually the same three or four groups who move along the circuit.”
“I see.”
Sam started to say something else in the hopes of further enlightening the situation, but she saw something ahead that killed the words before they could form. She pushed up the brim of her cap with her middle knuckle as if a clearer view would make the sight more believable.
“Uh. Guys...?”
O’Neill pulled off his goggles. “Whoa.”
“Oh boy,” Daniel said just under his breath.
A statue stood in the center of the square. It depicted a man holding a P90 across his chest. The design of the weapon crude but unmistakable. He wore a cap and goggles and, though his chin was too square and his nose was a bit too flat, it bore an uncanny resemblance to Colonel O’Neill. Tychia smiled proudly as the team lined up shoulder-to-shoulder so they could get a clear view of the statue.
“Do you like it? No other city on our circuit has anything quite like this. One of our artisans made it a few seasons ago. We were hoping to entice more troupes to visit our world, and with your arrival, it seems as if it worked.”
The man she’d called Colson said, “Are you certain it did? Look at them! They seem confounded. They weren’t brought here because of the statue.”
“You do seem a bit mystified.” Tychia scanned the team, her expression of happiness fading as she registered their faces. “You heard about the statue and that is why you’ve come... isn’t it?”
“No,” Daniel said, “not quite.”
Sam said, “What exactly is it you think we’re here to do?”
Daniel sighed. “She thinks we’re actors who are here to perform a play. From what she’s said so far, a play about... us. SG teams, the Tau’ri, the fight against the Goa’uld.”
Tychia’s smile was completely gone now. She looked between Sam, O’Neill, and Teal’c. “You’re not? Then... who are you?”
Jack stepped forward. “Well, ma’am, we’d be SG-1. The real ones. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Jack watched the doors to Tychia’s office being pulled shut from outside, then heard the unmistakable click of a latch being thrown. He took off his cap and tossed it onto the nearest flat surface. “I suppose it’s a better welcome than staff weapon fire.”
They had been swiftly escorted into a building Daniel assumed to be their version of city hall, and now he guessed Tychia was in a meeting with her advisors. He’d started putting the pieces together as soon as he heard the word “epikos,” but he wanted to believe he was wrong. The statue was the final confirmation. Sam and Teal’c stood by Tychia’s desk while Jack began to pace restlessly near the windows. He tried to think of a way to defuse some of Jack’s ire.
“This can’t be much of a surprise, Jack. Word of SG teams has been spreading for years. The Goa’uld have bounties out on all of us. There were bound to be worlds where people like us are celebrated as folk heroes.”
“Much like Galaxy Quest,” Teal’c said.
“Well, yes, actually. It’s the same misunderstanding, just in reverse. They think we’re actors who travel from world to world recreating missions, when we’re actually the real thing.”
Jack turned away from the view. “Okay, so we tell these folks they made a mistake and head on back through the Gate.”
Daniel stared at him. “Why?”
“Why? You ask me why? Why would we stay?”
“Jack, this is a chance to examine their culture, to — to see how we’ve influenced their artwork. Can you not see how important that is?”
“Not particularly.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Mythology is one of the most important aspects of a culture, Jack. It allows you to see the world through someone else’s eyes. It’s why I spend hours trying to decipher artwork on the dead worlds we visit. Hell, it’s one of the reasons archaeology exists in the first place. To understand a people, we have to know how they see themselves, how they relate to nature, how they explain...”
“Life, the universe, and everything.”
“Exactly!”
Sam had moved closer to one of the windows. “I think we could do more harm than good by being here. There’s already a crowd forming downstairs.”
Jack grunted. “Hopefully there’s a back door to this place.”
The doors opened and Tychia swept inside. She gathered her dress in one hand as she used the other to close the door behind her. She smiled apologetically to the team as she walked to her desk.
“I hope you understand that I needed to take care of a few... details... in regard to your presence.”
“Of course,” Daniel said. “I’m sure it was quite a shock when you realized who we are.”
Tychia nodded. “I’ve dispatched our phalanx to guard the Kyklos pavilion, and more security has been placed on the towers.”
Daniel tilted his head. “Uh... why? You have nothing to fear from us, I assure you.”
“From you, no,” Tychia said. “But there can be no doubt that wherever the Tau’ri go, Goa’uld and Jaffa are certain to follow.”
Sam said, “She kind of has a point, sir. Historically speaking.”
“Especially the infamous SG-1.” Tychia sat on the edge of her desk. “I suppose you’re curious about what’s going on. A few years ago, merchants and traders began telling stories about heroes who were standing up against Goa’uld oppression. It started with a tale about Ra’s great palace in the sky being destroyed. It was said that these heroes caused him to flee in defeat before they killed him. As time passed, more stories began to be told. Soon, troupes of actors would learn the stories by heart and travel from world to world in order to spread the word through their performances. Through each epikos, seeds of hope are planted far and wide across the galaxy.”
Jack said, “So... you’re fans.”
“Aficionados,” Daniel clarified.
Tychia nodded enthusiastically. “Before the stories, it was difficult to believe there was any hope. People accepted the Goa’uld as a fact of life. The Tau’ri — you! — proved that they could be defeated. So it is an incredible honor to have you here, despite the risk your presence poses. I spoke with our arts society before I came back here and arranged a special performance this evening. I would like to invite you to be our honored guests.”
Jack looked at Daniel. Daniel shrugged. “If there is a risk of the Goa’uld showing up because we visited, it might be best if we stuck around to deal with that threat.”
“All right,” Jack said, just barely managing to keep the irritation from his voice. “Tychia, we would be honored to be, uh... honored at your performance this evening.”
Tychia grinned. “Splendid!” She clapped her hands together and stood up. She passed Jack to address Sam. “The society promised they would have something prepared by dark-two, which gives you time to relax. Dr. Jackson, if there’s anything you would like to discuss, I know our historians would love the opportunity to speak with you.”
“That — that would be amazing,” Daniel said, barely able to contain his excitement. “Thank you.”
“If you would like to refresh yourselves before the performance, we’ve set aside quarters for you here in the Hall. I can have one of the guards escort you.”
Sam cleared her throat. “And... for the record, Colonel O’Neill is the team leader. Any official discussions you wish to have should probably happen with him.”
�
�Actually,” Jack said, “you ladies seem to already have a rapport. I don’t see any reason to throw a wrench in things.”
Tychia seemed relieved. “Thank you, Colonel O’Neill. And may I say, it’s quite an honor to be in the presence of the man who defeated Ra.”
Jack tried to act unmoved, but Daniel recognized the gleam in his eye. “Nice to meet someone who appreciates good work.”
Tychia summoned the guards. “You have freedom to move about the city as you please, but I hope you consider having an escort. I don’t know if you saw the crowd gathered outside, and I doubt any of them would intend to cause you harm, but as a safety measure —”
“We saw the crowds,” Daniel said, “and we understand the need for escorts. We’d do the same thing at the SGC. Right, Jack?”
“Right,” Jack said with a tinge of reluctance. “We’d be happy to have guides to your lovely city.”
Tychia’s eyes sparkled when she smiled. “An excellent attitude!” She extended her hand to Sam. “I look forward to speaking with you tonight, Major Carter. I’m certain you have any number of fantastic stories to share.”
“Oh, a few,” Sam said.
“Then I will be certain to sit next to you at dinner this evening. As for the rest of you... SG-1.” She took a deep breath and shook her head in disbelief. She laughed and spread her arms wide. “Allow me to officially welcome you to Catania.”
Teal’c watched the Catanian guards without making them aware of his scrutiny. Their behavior was consistent with what Tychia said; they were serving as protectors, not as blockades. At one point Colonel O’Neill made a move toward an exterior door to gauge the response of their escorts. The guard quickly stepped ahead of him, peered out a window, and then allowed the colonel to continue on. O’Neill instead stopped by the window as if that had been his intent. He pretended to look out for a moment before he started walking again. The guard fell into step behind him.
STARGATE SG-1 ATLANTIS: Homeworlds : Volume three of the Travelers' Tales (SGX Book 5) Page 28