In reply to Hilda (msg # 799):

"Once again, Asgard intelligence shows through." Kaspar grins around the stem of his pipe, "You have the right of it, Freyda - I just wanted an excuse so we could have a private chat to assess our current situation. As for the pipe..." Kaspar holds his smoldering pipe up, "I am an older gentleman, and back in my heyday the earth doctors had not, yet, completely convinced the general public that smoking tobacco was either dangerous or addictive. Now, in my middle-age, I find the act of smoking to be calming and helps with introspection - despite my knowledge of what it is doing to my body."

Kaspar replaces the pipe between his teeth and takes a puff, "Which is why I'm sitting over here, beneath an open window, while the rest of you sit over there. As for you, young lady..." Kaspar turns his attention to Hilda, "The line 'smoke 'em if you got 'em' is a classic old movie line from American cinema. As for sharing - as I explained, I'm an old fart who is settled in his ways, while you, my dear, are in the prime of your health, and smoking is a bad habit you should avoid!" Kaspar smiles at his own hypocrisy.

"And yes, Hilda, our hosts may have understood if we just asked for a few moments of privacy, or they might have had one or two deceitful old farts, like myself, who might wonder why we would need privacy. Perhaps we want to plan how to take all their wealth, they might think. This way, we are just a little eccentric, by wanting to eat alone. And, anthropologically, it is not an unknown habit. There are some Polynesian groups who..." Kaspar gives his head a little shake, "Well, never mind."

"Now, to our current problem. As I see it, these First, and probably the other Uplifted species they mentioned, are probably all candidates for further contact and interaction with the SGC. But before we can normalize relations we need to deal with the issue of the Goa'uld and their control of the stargate."

"So, while we have a meal, lets toss around ideas and observations."

Kaspar starts rummaging through his pack, digging up the selection of MRE's - hoping he might find a packet of borscht; he was really in the mood for some borscht. Of course, he eventually settled for its American equivalent - macaroni and cheese.

'But you lent me your pipe on the last world!' Hilda pointed out in laughing complaint. But she shrugged, letting it go; if the goddess thought it was unsafe, then maybe she should avoid it. Besides, she preferred the mushrooms and weed of her world...

'Well, I think they already know what you mean. I think they are also speaking about us in private right now. Of course they are and of course we are, there is no need for tricks.'

She gnawed on her... apple? pear? for a while, thinking. 'I am not sure we can rely on these First. If they are anything like cats, then they will open the Stargate, and then not go through.'

"I don't think it's so much that they are a cautious people," Rajip finally speaks up. "I think they have 'teachers' in the form of some holographic projection... like the Asgard on your world, Hilda... but they've known all along that the Alterans were there."

"They aren't a natural evolution, though, so the Alterans have been developing them slowly. The fact that they are even considering exploring shows that they are probably ready. We just may need to hold their hands for that first step."

In reply to Rajip Mojdar (msg # 802):

Kaspar focusses on eating his reconstituted mac and cheese, retaining a dignified silence in response to Hilda's jab at reminding him he'd shared his pipe in the past. He ponders the comments of both Hilda and Rajip concerning The First.

"Excellent point, Rajip." Kaspar says, finishing his mac and cheese and contemplating re-igniting his pipe, "In many ways, these First exhibit the qualities of a stagnant society. But, when a closer look is made, we see that they are progressing - likely being taught, as you mentioned - just at a slow pace; for easy assimilation. Unlike a truly stagnant culture, the First are willing to, as the Americans say, 'think outside the box' and consider new things. They just take their time in doing so."

Kaspar turns to Hilda, "So, as both you and Rajip have pointed out, Hilda, The First will likely be amenable to re-opening their original Star Gate, but will be very cautious in their use of it, likely responding well to any offer of aide the SGC might make."

Finished with his MRE, Kaspar polices up his trash (tucking it into a pocket of his pack), decides against another smoke, putting his pipe and tobacco back into the pouch of his tacvest, then stands.

"Hilda, if you have a moment, I'd like a word with you." Kaspar says, walking towards a place in the room that is furthest from the others, "Over here, please."

At the request, Hilda was puzzled and, of course, suspicious. 'Why not here?' she wondered, but eventually put down her fruit and rose and sauntered over to join Kaspar. 'Yes, grandfather?' she asked, feeling all too much like a girl in trouble and not at all sure why.

In reply to Hilda (msg # 804):

Kaspar smiles at the friendly jab at his age, then speaks in a low, private tone.

"Hilda, I wanted to speak with you privately about a potential problem we may soon have." Kaspar says, "When the time comes to deal with those Jaffa back at the ship, among the strategies that we might employ will be to feel out the Human Jaffa for potential defectors; to see if we can talk them over to our side."

Kaspar raises a hand in a halting gesture, then continues before Hilda can respond, "Now, I know your history with the Goa'uld and their Jaffa soldiers and I understand your feelings towards the Jaffa in general - so I am not going to try and convince you that all Jaffa deserve a chance to deny their Goa'uld masters and live a life free of accountability for their offenses. You have too much reason and personal history behind you to ever believe that broad statement."

"What I would like you to consider, though, is the possibility that there can be a few, individual Jaffa who, if given the opportunity, will not only deny their Goa'uld masters, but they truly feel regret for their actions and are trying to take actions to repent. Much like Teal'c, with SG-1. Also, as another example to help you consider how a hated enemy can reform and become a friend, I would like to share a confidence with you. But first..."

Kaspar unsnaps his holster and draws his personal sidearm, pulls back the slide to chamber a round, then clicks off the weapon safety. He then reverses the weapon, holding it by the barrel, and offers it to Hilda.

"Hilda, I would like you to take this weapon and point it right here..." Kaspar taps himself in the middle of his chest, right over his heart, "And once I have told you what I have to tell you, I give you permission to use the weapon, or not, according to your own beliefs."

As Kaspar made his proposal, a dark and thunderous look came over the Cimmerian, pretty much as expected. She was about to protest, but held her tongue at Kaspar's gesture, waiting impatiently to say her piece.

Then she was bewildered again as Kaspar offered her his thunder-weapon, looking askance first at it, then at him. What in the name of Thor? How could she respond to this? She ignored the gun, then slowly drew her broadsword. 'Old one, I respect you too much to slay you with a thunder-weapon. I would use my family's sword, if that is your wish.' She levelled the tip of the blade over his heart, but felt no desire to run him through whatever he said, she thought. There was no honour in slaying a defenceless old man. 'Go on.'

In reply to Hilda (msg # 806):

Kaspar nods and re-holsters his pistol.

"Very well, then." He says, straightening his posture.

"Hilda, I would ask you to at least consider the possibility that - in a few cases, at least - a Jaffa can change his ways. I say this because, in every important way, I was a Jaffa."

"Oh, I don't mean I ever had a snake in my belly, as Colonel Oneill puts it, but - well, you know that the SGC is located in a nation called 'The United States', yes? And that the 'United States' is the land of the Americans? Most of the people at the SGC are American, and it is Americans that you have had the most exposure to. However, just like on your home world, where up in the mountains there are the people of your culture, and down on the plains live other Cimmerians whose culture is different, so too is the world of the Tau'ri. We have many cultures, each having their own lands and parts of the planet."

"Well, as you should also know, I am not an American. My people are called Poles, and we live in Poland. Many, many years ago - several decades, in fact - another country came to take over Poland; they were called 'The Soviet Union', or just Soviets, for short. When I was a young man I was...encouraged...to leave my native Poland and join the Red Army of the Soviets."

"Now, you may be asking yourself, 'so what?' Well, the point I am making is that the Soviet Union and the United States, for many years, were bitter enemies. We skirmished, and both sides used proxy warriors to fight their battles. We did everything to each other that we could, except actually send our own warriors out to fight with the other. We called it a 'Cold War'."

"Well, as you should know by now, the Americans are a, basically, decent people. The Soviets, on the other hand, were just as bad as any Goa'uld master ever was. Their objective was nothing less than the total domination of all humanity and control of the Earth, and they exterminated and oppressed millions of people in their lust for power. Thankfully, they ultimately failed and their empire collapsed."

"But for twenty years I was a loyal soldier in their Army. I...did things...horrible things...to innocent people and soldiers, to gain information from them that my Soviet masters wanted. I still have nightmares about the things I did. But when the Soviet power started to slip, I managed to escape back to my homeland of Poland, where I became a teacher, an educator of the young. In that small way, I hoped, I might make up for the evil deeds I had done - by working to enlighten the minds of the coming generation, that they could build a better world."

Kaspar gives Hilda an intense stare, "But while I served in the Soviet Red Army, I never questioned my leaders, I never objected to an order, I did what I was told to do, and I did it in the most efficient manner possible, and never gave sympathy to my victims. I wrecked them. Not because I was evil, myself, but because that was the system I had been raised in, that was the only way I knew. Obey or die, and I had never been taught any other way of life that would let me know that what I was doing was wrong. I didn't even have a choice."

"Just...like...a Jaffa. They are born to be what they are, they have no choice. For most Jaffa they never learn that there are other ways to live. But a very few Jaffa do manage to figure this out, only to then be confronted with the difficulties of how to get out of the life they are caught up in."

"So, as I said, in every important way, I was a Jaffa for the Soviets, but I found a way out and am now trying to repent my sins."

"I hope you can understand this, my dear, and see fit to giving me the chance to make good. But, if you are absolutely convinced that no Jaffa can ever be redeemed, well then, go ahead and use that sword. It's better I die, today, a free soldier fighting a horrible Galactic Evil, rather than just fool myself when I do not have the trust of those I lead."


OOC: sorry that was so long, it's been simmering for a while ^_^

Freyda sat in her chair quietly eating a small green diamond-shaped nutritional supplement. She watched the Major and Hilda walk off to talk privately she watched their actions carefully. Human interpersonal relationships seemed to be most complex in comparison to those of the Asgard. In her time with the SGC she had come to realise that intonation, inflection, body language and even the positioning of facial muscles could indicate that the words spoken by an individual mean different things. Indeed the verbal communication method known as 'sarcasm' allowed humans to convey ideas completely contrary to the words they used. She let herself dwell upon the intriguing concept for a few seconds before concluding that such study, though interesting, would have to be secondary to her current research.

Turning to the others she offers a small plate of Asgard supplements to the group. "Would you like to sample Asgard sustenance? They are an extremely efficient method of providing the required nutrients for a humanoid body to survive." Her study of the humans of earth had related that there was some social significance given to the sharing of food and shelter with those around you.

Hilda listened patiently but warily, knowing all the basics of Midgard that Kaspar told her. Then as he hinted at his own crimes, she grew concerned, disturbed, grimacing in disgust at the parallels drawn, between the Jaffa and him, and her. She was a silent for a long, long while, wondering what to say, wanting to say nothing. But she had to know. 'Tell me one thing you did.' she said at last, in a voice as cool as winter.

In reply to Hilda (msg # 809):

Kaspar is silent for a moment, thinking. When he speaks it is in a flat, almost-monotone.

"During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, there was this one Mujah Hadeen fighter who was resisting all attempts to get information out of him. Sleep and food deprivation, chemicals, nothing was working, so we had to resort to torture. We started with pulling his fingernails, and eventually escalated to electroshock. He was one tough bastard."

"But he broke. Gave us all the details of the defenses around his high-mountain village. When we had everything, I, myself, put a bullet in his head. I learned later that Command had determined the village defenses were too strong, so some Spetsnaz troops used helicopters and poison gas to kill everyone in the village."

"Another time, towards the end of my time in the Red Army, a young Chechen man was turned over to me; my unit commander had brought him in as a rebel leader. I was ordered to learn the location of a rebel armory where shoulder-fired rockets were being held. I worked on him for ten days - drugging him, torturing him, doing...unspeakable things to him. He finally died on the eleventh day, the name of his beloved on what were left of his lips. He denied being a rebel or knowing anything about rockets the whole time."

"Turns out that the young man wasn't a rebel at all; my commander was hot for the boys girlfriend, so he turned the boy over to me to get rid of him. I had my suspicions after day two, but when I was given the order to 'torture him until he talks' I obeyed without question."

"Is that enough, or do you want me to tell you of a field operation, where I rigged a car to explode and kill an entire Turkish family, including an infant?"

"I am not proud of these things, Hilda. Now that I have learned that such casual cruelty is not the only way to live, that I can stand up to those who would order such things done and say 'this is wrong, and I will not do these things! I will fight you to stop them from happening!', I feel a deep regret for what I have done. I am trying to use what is left of my life to somehow make up for my earlier faults."

"I am led to believe that this is also true of the Free Jaffa that we take into our cause. They have come to realize that the horrors they've committed in the name of a false God are too terrible to bear. They wish to stop the oppression, and end evil that is the Goa'uld System Lords."

"I'm not saying you should forgive all Jaffa, Hilda, in fact, it's probably a good idea to retain a little skepticism concerning Free Jaffa. All I'm asking is that you not automatically condemn all Jaffa, and just try to give Jaffa defectors a small chance to prove that they can change."

"I've changed, and I believe that they can, too."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Fri 02 Sept 2016.

Throughout Kaspar's tale, looks of horror and disgust and even fear had darkened Hilda's face. Jew clenched, she swallowed her responses away. Tau'ri war was beyond anything she'd experienced, the stuff of nightmare. How could she even judge? It was hard to hate and fear a man she already knew as a friend. A tremble shook her limbs, and it was a long, long time before she found her voice to speak, and longer still before she knew what to do. She thrust the sword at Kaspar's heart.

And stopped, the point deep enough to hurt, not to pierce the skin. That wasn't hesitation; Kaspar would know she was too good a swordswoman not to mean what she did. 'I only said "one thing", old one.' she joked, without humour. 'Tau'ri war sounds like true madness, but the ways of war are the same – all have blood on their hands, and on their faces.'

'I reached into a Jaffa's belly and pulled forth his snake, and forced it back down his throat. We all laughed as he died, but we were just angry and afraid. Later I was sick for days. We left bodies for the Jaffa to find, their eagle-symbols carved in their brows. I put adders in the bellies of the dead, as a trap for the others. I heard a story, the blood-eagle... Against weapons of thunder and lightning, our only weapon was terror.'

'They destroyed my village, my house; they slew my father and beat my mother; they enslaved me and my clan. Raped and murdered my lover. No god ordered that.' she told bitterly, needing it to be known. 'They brought a war to us we didn't even understand, beyond our simple brawling and raids and duels. I hate them for what they did, and for what they made me become.'

She sheathed her sword again, the blade sighing to a rest. 'I cannot take revenge for these people you hurt, I cannot seek revenge against all Jaffa. Though I may help others. Only those that bear the eagle of Heru'ur will I challenge. Those who pledge to the SGC I will fight beside. This I have vowed to Earl Hammond. I will not stop you if you try to find these Free Jaffa. But I will not forget or forgive, nor trust them. But do not tell me they are thralls, when they are the ones with the whips and chains.'


OOC: Hilda did, in the Briefing thread, #22 and again in #265:
link to a message in this game

"So does anyone have a plan yet for recovering our access to the Stargate?" he wondered idly to the others.

"Vasandra... are we out of range of your drones? If we are, which I'm guessing we are... then maybe the First Ones will use one of theirs to spy on the ship for us."

"I don't know that someone wasn't closer when the Jaffa shot down their mechanical bird, but I'm guessing they were operating it from here."

"On the other hand, we don't know how many of those things they have. That could have been the last one."

"On the other hand, we should be able to get back in the same way we got out. There's no way the Jaffa can monitor every room in the interior. Unless our luck is really bad and we just happen to pick the one place on the ship that they've decided to camp out."

In reply to Rajip Mojdar (msg # 812):

"That, Hilda, is all I ask." Kaspar says, resisting the urge to wipe away the drop of sweat that's slowly trickling down his temple, "Just don't kill them until we know that they are loyal to the Goa'uld and won't change sides."

'Well, I will make no vows if they are already attacking us.' Hilda pointed out lightly, now done with the matter. 'Come, I think the others are making plans without us.'
This message was last edited by the player at 01:34, Thu 01 Dec 2016.

"I will ask them about their surveillance birds," Vasandra volunteers, and heads out of the room.

She looks for Asherrra, who winds up finding her first.

"Would it be possible for you to send out one of your watcher birds and see what is happening at the ha'tak?"

"Oh, and does it have any weapons?"

"Yes, we still have a few of the watchbirds," Asherrra replies. "We do not know how to make them, though, so we are hoarding that resource a bit. The Goa'uld shot one down just the other day, so we are leery of sending out another one, but I will ask the Elders. And, no, they do not have any weapons. We do not wish to attack anyone."

"How is it that they did not shoot yours down?"

Hilda returned to the table, finding Vasandra had gone. She picked up her half-eaten piece of fruit to finish it off, asking 'Now what do we do?'

"Our options, from a practical standpoint, are limited," Rajip replies to Hilda.

"We can try to get the First Ones to unbury their gate and then use it to return. Or we can stay here and chit-chat with the First Ones until the cows come home. Or we can assault the ha'tak to get control of the gate on the ship."

"I suppose, a fourth option is just to explore this planet some more."

"As near as I understand things," he then says to Kaspar, "the Jaffa and Goa'uld on the ship don't know who we are or where we came from because we've cut off their communication with whatever world they came from. Even then, they might not know."

"There are two factions, controlled by two different... System Lords, for lack of a better term here. One is dead. His Jaffa are all near-human... at least that we've seen. The other Goa'uld is currently on the ship with, as far as we know, no way to return or control the ship. His Jaffa are all the gator-heads."

"We represent a third faction that neither of them were previously aware of."

"If we interpreted events correctly, the Goa'uld on board somehow managed to sabotage. e the ship by dumping the fuel, forcing it to crash. The ship was bringing another gate to this world to better transfer the mined naquadah back to wherever."

"So the Goa'uld on board expected to find resistance from the other Goa'uld, which is why he brought so many of his gator-Jaffa. He didn't know about the slime. Since they immediately went to engineering, it seems reasonable that they brought a supply of naquadah with them. Not a full tank-worth, of course, but enough to activate the ship, probably to fly to the naquadah mine and get more."

"So his plan was probably threefold--eliminate competition, steal a ha'tak along with the gate, and claim the mine."

"We became a spanner in the works for his plans."

"Hilda naturally wants to attack the ship. I can't say that I disagree with her. It still seems like the best option."

'The cows will not come home.' Hilda answered firmly. 'They must be led by the herdsman.' She frowned. 'Anyway, I do not see how the cows affect our plans.'

She considered the situation and options as Rajip described them. 'Já, we must return to Midgard by the Ring of Stars, and report back to Earl Hammond. We cannot demand these First ones dig up their Ring, so we must return to the ha'tak and use the one there. Let the ettins inside see us, and they will not falsely suspect the First ones of stealing the key.'

In reply to Hilda (msg # 819):

Kaspar ponders the suggestions of the two younger members of the Team. After a few moments, he begins nodding.

"Alright. I can see that the possibility of assaulting the ha'tak may not be as difficult as I'd first thought it might be."

Kaspar raised his right hand and began counting off points, "First, after that initial firefight when we fled the ship, we've seen no sign of pursuit by either Jaffa group. It is probable that they think we were just a small detachment from the leader of the Gator-Jaffa. Second, we don't know how each of those groups reacted to meeting the other - one side may have killed the other, both sides may have joined together, or both sides are still facing each other over their weapons."

"So, no matter what, we need to find out if the Human Jaffa are still around. Vasandra's drones may be able to get us that answer. If they are still around, we need to find out if they've joined the forces of the Goa'uld. If not, I think we might be able to convert them to our side. With them, I'm fairly sure we can take the ha'tak."

Kaspar pauses and frowns for a moment, "I'd like to assume that those Gator-Jaffa might be dupes of the Goa'uld, like the Humans - and maybe it's just my Human prejudices, but it's probably a given that those gator-guys actually enjoy their jobs. We'll see, I suppose."

"Well, we'll need to inform the Elders of our decision, of course. And, since it took us most of a day to get here, we should probably plan on staying here overnight, and leaving in the morning."

Hilda for a moment, before suggesting 'I can spy on those "human Jaffa" in the forest. If I hear them speak of their plans, this will tell us what we need to know... And no, I shall not attack them, first.' she added for Kaspar's benefit. 'But if they are our enemy, we can lure and ambush them.'

In reply to Hilda (msg # 821):

"Sounds like a good plan." Kaspar nodded, "Now we should bring Asherrra in and tell her to inform the Elders that we'd like to stay overnight, then leave in the morning to return to the ha'tak."

'Do you think they will have rooms and beds for us?' Hilda wondered, frowning. 'These cat-people might only sleep on cushions and in boxes and things.'

The First Ones don't have beds like humans are used to using, but they have a kind of chaise lounge and divans with cushions on them that function as sleeping platforms.


The First Ones also maintain a reasonable diurnal life style. They don't prowl at night any more, but they do 'catnap' so don't sleep for 8 hours. They study during the night when they wake up since there isn't sufficient light for them to perform most of their chores and jobs.

When you wake up in the morning, a meal is served.