03x15 - Pretense

[bunniefuu]

Please... help me...

- Still no incoming signal, sir.
- All units are Earth side.

Is it my eyes or does
that iris look kinda... ?

It's losing integrity.

Hold fire!

It's Schroedinger. The cat
I gave to the Tollan Narim.

- A cat.
- The Tollan possess the technology...

- . . to walk through solid matter.
- A technology which, by the way, ...

. . they refused to share with us.

General Hammond, I am
unfamiliar with Earth protocol.

I sent Schroedinger so
you'd know I was a friend.

It's all right, Narim. The Tollan
are welcome here. Units, stand down.

Samantha...

- It's good to see you again.
- It's good to see you too.

What can we do for you, Narim?

I am here to deliver a message
from our highest governing body.

Colonel O'Neill.

The Tollan curia request the presence
of you and your team for Triad.

I feel like I'm being served.

So, what exactly is this Triad?

An ancient ceremony of
justice. Quite honourable.

So, it's kinda like a tri-al.

I am not familiar with "trial".

Trial. It's like a tribunal. A place where
matters of justice and law are decided.

Then, yes. A Triad is
similar to your trial.

So, who's on trial?

- Ad.
- Tr... Triad.

The decision the Triad must reach
is of concern to a friend of yours.

- An Abydonian by the name of Skaara.
- What?

- It is he who requested your presence.
- He's alive, he's OK?

He is well. But he does
need your help for Triad.

Where's this taking place?

Our destination is the
new home world: Tollana.

But we sent you to the Nox planet.
There wasn't a gate on Tollana.

The Nox and the Tollan were able
to devise a way to get us there.

- Of course you were.
- Way smarter than we are.

- Very nice.
- So you built that...

- . . Stargate?
- Yes.

Way smarter than we are.

Ours is bigger.

- What just happened?
- Your weapons have been disabled.

- What?
- They do not work.

You may continue to
carry them if you wish.

You don't think you should have
told us about this before we came?

- I didn't find it relevant.
- We don't go to other planets...

. . without weapons to defend ourselves.

What do you intend to
defend yourself against?

- The Tollan have never threatened you.
- That is correct, O'Neill.

I do not feel the need to
carry a w*apon in this place.

And, sir, judging by what I've
seen in the last five minutes, ...

. . our weapons wouldn't be much of
a match for their technology anyway.

No harm will come to you.

The Tollan will guarantee it.

Is that a "money back if you're
not completely alive" guarantee?

This way.

These must be our visitors from Earth.

Welcome.

High Chancellor Travell,
this is Colonel Jack O'Neill.

Hi.

Dr Daniel Jackson.
Major Samantha Carter.

- Hello.
- And Teal'c.

We are honoured that you have
agreed to participate in Triad.

Your seeker will decide which
one of you will be archon.

Seeker? Archon?

Daniel?

With respect, High Chancellor, Narim
didn't really explain the Triad very well.

Could you please define
those terms for us?

In Triad there are two
arguing parties called seekers.

Triadic law requires one archon
who's sympathetic to each cause...

. . and one neutral archon.

The archons argue the dispute
until a decision is reached.

A seeker is like a defendant
and the archon is his attorney.

I got it.

So Skaara is our...

- Seeker.
- . . seeker?

Narim will take you to him now.

This way.

Skaara?

You.

You will pay for what
you did to my father.

It's good to see you too.

I'm very happy to see you. All of you.

What's the deal? What just happened?

The device about his chest suppresses
the Goa'uld's ability to silence his host.

The Goa'uld and host are
free to speak at will.

The device cannot be removed as long
as Klorel and Skaara are our guests.

The indicator prevents one
from pretending to be the other.

Red indicates it is Klorel
who speaks. Blue, Skaara.

Nice device. We'll take a dozen.

As you may recall from last time, ...

. . it is forbidden for the Tollan to give
our technology to a less-advanced culture.

Still got that arrogance bug, I see.

It is l, O'Neill.

Are you not happy to see me?

Yeah.

It's good to see you.

I knew you would come.

Soon, with your help,
I'll be free of this demon.

Every day I fight him.

I listen. I learn.

It is time for Skaara
to choose his archon.

O'Neill is strong.

Daniel is wise.

- May I not choose both?
- You may. They may both argue.

However, they will have but one vote.

OK. What's this Triad
about? What's to be decided?

Two days ago, a small Goa'uld
vessel crashed in a remote area.

The occupant was badly
injured. It was Skaara.

We were fleeing a battle
group sent by Heru-ur.

My demon knew the
Tollans would stop them.

Which we did.

We warned them, but they came anyway.

Our defence grid was
forced to destroy them.

- So, Heru-ur
is dead? - No.

But two of his mother
ships are destroyed.

Wait a minute. You blew away
two Goa'uld mother ships?

We are not a warring people.

But our defensive technology is
far advanced of the Goa'uld's.

This weapons chatter gets my blood
pumping. Can we get back to the Triad?

Yes, of course. When our sentries
reached the crashed vessel, ...

. . Skaara asked us to free him of
his Goa'uld. But the Goa'uld refuses.

Under Tollan law we have no choice but
to hear both arguments before acting.

- And Klorel's...
- Archon.

. . archon is who?

My Lord Zipacna, we are honoured that
you have agreed to participate in Triad.

Due to your dispatch of Heru-ur's mother
ships, it appears I do not have a choice.

- We would speak in private.
- As you wish.

So...

. . when you were trying to get us to
come here and then... disarmed us, ...

. . you didn't feel it appropriate to
mention a freakin' Goa'uld would be here?

- Not to mention his associates?
- They are as unarmed as you.

- You sure of that?
- Our technology disables any weaponry.

Uh-huh.

You said there was a third
neutral archon. That's... a Tollan?

No. We have asked our friends to send
someone capable of remaining neutral.

I believe you have met.

- Lya.
- It is good to see you once again, friends.

Well, this just became a piece
of cake, a day at the beach!

An accident waiting
for a place to happen.

Mr Negative.

- Yes.
- Sir, what makes you so confident?

Because Lya is a fair and insightful
person who will vote our way.

Besides, she likes us.

Lya likes everyone. That's the Nox way.

The Nox are not in
conflict with the Goa'uld.

They saved Apophis when you
attempted to eliminate him.

So, what do we have on
this fine Goa'uld fella?

Zipacna was one of Apophis's
most loyal underlords.

I don't believe for a second he's
come to talk Klorel outta here.

- They are ready for you.
- Thank you.

Carter, you and Teal'c
keep an eye on Zippy's kids.

- Yes, sir.
- See what they're up to.

This dispute involves two sentient
beings who inhabit the same body.

Both have requested
sole use of the body, ...

. . therefore we must establish
right of priority over the body.

To whom does it belong?

Ostensibly, the one to whom it was born.

Your Eminence, I must request that
the human contingent follow decorum...

. . appropriate to such an
auspicious body as this one.

I agree. The archons will refrain
from questions or comments...

. . until their side is acknowledged.

At this time I recognise
Lord Zipacna and Klorel.

Until three years ago, the humans
on Abydos lived under Goa'uld law, ...

. . administered by Ra. Now, by that
law, they were Goa'uld property.

Lord Klorel merely took
what was already his.

- By force.
- Colonel O'Neill, please.

Sorry. Sorry.

I understand your desire
to defend your position, ...

. . and I will give you that opportunity.

I would first like to
hear Skaara's perspective.

I was born to this body, ...

. . free of the demon Klorel.

He stole my body.

On Abydos I would have married, ...

. . had children, ...

. . grown old and died.

The Goa'uld took more than my body.

He stole my life.

Human archons.

Skaara, when you were born, did
your people believe they were slaves?

No.

Just so we can all be clear, who was Ra?

We believed him to be an evil god.

So he enslaved your people
through superstition and fear?

Until you came, yes.

Tell me, do the people of Abydos hunt?

Yes.

Do they also use animals as beasts
of burden? For food? For clothing?

Yes.

- Do you also eat the flesh of humans?
- No! Never!

You make judgment that animals
are of lesser value than humans.

We care for our
animals. We worship them.

- We thank them for the gifts they give us.
- Yes, but you keep them to do your will.

- And you k*ll them to survive.
- When we have the need.

As we do with humans...
when we have the need.

If a human has the right to take an
animal and do with it as he pleases...

. . because he is a superior
being... then so does a Goa'uld.

And by that argument alone,
the Goa'uld has priority.

And the host belongs to Klorel.

- Do the human archons wish to respond?
- Yes, ma'am. You betcha.

We do, Your Eminence.

Can I go first?

Your argument is flawed
in oh so many ways.

Humans are self-aware. Animals aren't.

Animals are not because
you deem them not to be.

Just as we deem humans not to be.

What we mean is that humans have
a more advanced intelligence...

- . . than lower caste animals.
- Exactly. Just like that.

Is that not a matter of perspective?

Just like a human considers itself
more intelligent than a pig, ...

. . might a pig consider itself
more intelligent than a rat?

Speaking of rats... What's your point?

My point is that the Goa'uld consider
ourselves more intelligent than humans.

Our technology is more advanced,
our mere knowledge of the universe...

- . . is more advanced than yours.
- You stole that knowledge!

You took human knowledge
when you took humans as hosts.

Just as you took knowledge
from other species.

The Stargate isn't your technology.
You just... you took that.

As far as we know... nothing
you have came from you, ...

. . so clearly the evidence is not that
you're more intelligent, just more parasitic.

The method of gaining the
knowledge is not in question.

We were able to obtain it. You were not.

Oh, please.

Gentlemen, we seem to have wandered
away from the central topic.

Which seeker has
priority over this body?

I don't think we ventured
away from the central topic.

What we're trying to point out is that
the Goa'uld steal what they possess.

As they have, in fact,
stolen Skaara's body.

Can l... Sorry, Daniel.
Can I say something?

Skaara.

You once told me you'd rather die...
than live another day as a Goa'uld.

Why?

What I suffer each day
is worse than death.

For example?

I remember the demon...

. . stretching out my
hand to k*ll Daniel, ...

. . the husband of my sister.

There was nothing I could do to stop it.

And I have seen many more...
far worse atrocities than this.

- I demand that the human stay on topic!
- It is on topic!

You just wanna avoid talking about
all the nasty stuff he's witnessed.

The host witnesses nothing.

Since nothing of the host survives.

What are they doing?

I am uncertain.

Lord Zipacna, I'd like to
ask you a question, if I may.

- I hope I have the answer.
- I'm sure you will.

Is your host...

. . in there somewhere?

Nothing of the host survives.

Really? Then how do you explain Skaara?

What you call Skaara is
nothing but a remnant.

He can speak now only
because the Tollan...

. . used their technology
to silence Klorel.

But how could he speak at
all if he hadn't survived?

And he spoke well. His words were
not those of a remnant personality.

Carter?

- Sir, we may have a problem.
- Do tell.

We tracked a serpent guard and two
Jaffa to just outside the city limits.

We observed them locate
six Tollan w*apon sites.

We think they were disabling them, sir.

Which means Zipacna is using
the Triad to stall for time...

. . so his men can disable
the Tollan defences.

- Then take the opportunity to...
- Wipe out the Tollan.

Samantha, I hope you've not waited long.

- No. Thank you for coming.
- It's my pleasure.

In fact, I'm pleased that we
can finally be alone together.

I asked you to meet me
because I need your help.

Samantha, l...

I have missed you.

A lot's happened to me
since I last saw you.

- There is another.
- No.

Not in the way that you mean.

You see, I was blended with a Tok'ra,
and she died to save my life, ...

. . but I still have her
memories and feelings.

- And she is part of you?
- Yes.

I can't have a relationship with anyone
until I'm absolutely sure whose feelings...

. . l'm feeling. Do you understand?

You are very wise, Samantha.

May I ask, then, why you summoned me?

Teal'c and I followed the Jaffa
that came with the Goa'uld.

Why would you do that? I was sure
your people were more diplomatic.

We did it out of
concern for your people.

We think the Goa'uld are
using the Triad to buy time...

. . so that they can prepare
for an attack on Tollana.

- Why do you think that?
- They tampered with your weapons.

Impossible. They are made
of an impenetrable alloy...

- . . and protected by security codes.
- Narim, ...

. . they were doing something to them.

We asked Lord Zipacna
about your accusation.

He denied it and he was quite offended.

Well, that's a shocker. I hope
you didn't take his word for it.

Our experts have been unable to find any
form of tampering on any of the cannons.

Carter?

- Maybe they were painting them, sir.
- I see no paint.

Sorry. It's an Earth military expression.
It means marking them as targets.

Nor do I see any markings.

There are ways they can target
the weapons without leaving a mark.

If so, the instant one of
these cannons is att*cked, ...

. . the rest will automatically locate the
position of the attacker and destroy it.

Unless they're all
taken out simultaneously.

If that were possible, why
did the Goa'uld Heru-ur...

. . not do so when he pursued Klorel?

Maybe he didn't have a contingent on the
planet targeting the weapons in advance.

He didn't do it because
it is impossible.

It would take but one of these devices to
protect us from a Goa'uld mother ship, ...

. . and we have many more than that.

Our technology is superior in
every way to theirs... and to yours.

My, aren't we cocky?

Colonel, if this is an attempt to
influence the outcome of Triad, ...

. . it is a feeble attempt indeed.

This is not intended as anything other
than an attempt to help your people.

I hope so. But understand, if you continue
to pursue this matter in any way, ...

. . l will disqualify you
from Triad and replace you.

Skaara will be represented by
someone else. Is that understood?

- With protest.
- Now, ...

. . you will return to
Triad in the morning...

. . and you will not mention
this matter any further.

Just stay away from Zippy and
his gaggle of Goa'ulds, OK?

I know the Goa'uld,
O'Neill. They will attack.

But I don't see a choice here.

If we pursue the issue, Skaara will
be represented by God knows who, ...

. . then we won't stand a chance in
hell. I'm not gonna let that happen.

I must disagree with you
in this situation, O'Neill.

We are faced with the loss of Skaara
- one individual

versus the death of many
Tollan. And possibly ourselves.

That's assuming the Tollan can't defend
themselves, which is a false assumption.

They did bring down two mother
ships. I think they'll be OK.

The Tollan have not been
at w*r in many generations.

They do not think strategically.
I believe that to be a fatal flaw.

- Their naivete could be their downfall.
- That is correct.

Allow Major Carter and myself to continue
monitoring the Goa'ulds in case of...

Excuse my interruption.

The Triad resumes.

You've got your orders. Stand down.

Teal'c.

This is highly inappropriate of
you to come to me during Triad.

I assure you that I would never intend
to influence your decision in any way.

I wish to speak to you
concerning another matter.

You must not mention Klorel or Skaara.

If you do, I will be forced to
report the matter to the Tollan.

Understood.

What is it, then?

As you are aware, I was formerly
in the service of the Goa'uld.

If this is designed to bias
me against the Goa'uld...

I would never do such a
thing, nor do I feel the need.

I am here in direct violation of
an order given by Colonel O'Neill.

- Go on.
- I am convinced that the Goa'uld...

. . are planning to destroy all the Tollan
w*apon installations simultaneously...

. . thereby preventing them
from ever returning fire.

The Goa'uld will then attack this
world which will be defenceless.

Why do you tell me this?

I believe that you and I are the only
ones capable of preventing this tragedy.

You and l? Teal'c, you are a
strong warrior, but I am of the Nox.

If you've learned anything of us,
you know that we defend ourselves...

. . through illusion and
mastery of the mind.

Precisely.

I apologise for my tardiness.

We will resume.

Lord Zipacna has asked
us to reconvene early...

. . because he wishes to make a challenge.

Tollan law does not provide for a
penalty of death. Is that correct?

It is.

Then I wish to point out
the futility of this Triad.

A Goa'uld needs a host to survive. This
is a biological fact beyond our control.

If you award priority to Skaara, then
it is as a death sentence for Klorel.

Of course, if you flip that
around, you got Skaara on death row.

Yes.

But as you proved earlier
in Triad, the host survives.

Yeah...

We concede this point.

Therefore, if you award priority to
Klorel, both host and symbiote live.

Yeah. One lives freely.
The other lives as a sl*ve.

We would put forth that life
as a sl*ve is not life at all.

And if you wanna save both lives,
give us Skaara and you take Klorel.

The Tok'ra can put him in
another host for all I care.

Who, Colonel? Perhaps
you would volunteer?

Uh...

No.

Perhaps you could find someone
who would choose to be a host.

Narim, what is the meaning of this? You
know Triad is held as a closed session.

Your Eminence, please adjust your
viewer to the orbital observatory.

A Goa'uld mother ship?

Yes. It approaches Tollana.

Explain.

My vessel comes in anticipation
of our victory in Triad.

It is merely coming to take us along.

Why not take a Stargate
like the rest of us?

Not that it is of your concern, but
there is no Chaapa-ai where we are going.

Then gate to where there
is one and get picked up.

Your Eminence, if our intentions were
hostile, we would have att*cked already.

Even so, your ship's arrival is premature
and in violation of Tollan space.

I must warn you that if
your ship moves any closer...

. . before the conclusion of Triad, our
automated defence system will destroy it.

The Goa'uld rest our case and we are
prepared to vote. Therefore, Triad is over.

Triad is over when all
parties agree, Lord Zipacna.

Do the human archons have
any further arguments?

Nope. I think the Goa'uld made
our case for us quite nicely.

No further arguments, Your
Eminence. We are prepared to vote.

Nox archon?

Yes.

Then bring in the seekers.

Klorel and Skaara, you can
both hear the Triad's ruling?

Yes, Your Eminence.

I can.

Human archons, may we hear your vote?

We find in favour of Skaara.

Goa'uld archon.

In favour of Klorel.

Big surprise there.

Nox archon?

After careful consideration, ...

. . l believe that both Klorel and
Skaara have the right to live.

But living as a host, with no
will of one's own, is not life.

Therefore, only one
may remain in the body.

To that end, I award priority to
the original owner of the body.

Skaara.

Yes! Now get that
mother ship outta here.

We will summon the Tok'ra
to come to Tollana...

. . to assist in the removal
of the Goa'uld Klorel.

He will be removed from the host, ...

. . and, if he survives, will be sent
to the Goa'uld world of his choice.

I have locked the detachment device.

Skaara, you have priority control
until the Goa'uld is removed.

Prepare yourself.

The Tok'ra will arrive
as soon as possible.

And congratulations.

Thank you.

Lord Zipacna, you are dismissed...

. . with our thanks.

Ha'tak.

Ree nok, Ha'tak.

Hey!

Nice. Let's go!

Skaara, wait here. Just trust me.

How's that superior technology looking?
Security system serving you pretty good?

- The ion cannons.
- Got a dead lock on all of 'em.

I hate when people
waste my time like this.

Where's Teal'c?

Colonel!

Cover!

- I must inform Travell.
- Zipacna's escaped through the Stargate.

Well, that's the least of our
prob... Where have you been?

I must inform you that I have disregarded
your orders concerning the Goa'uld.

Please explain.

- So what's going on here?
- I have requested Lya's assistance.

- You hid one of them.
- That is correct.

Travell explained it would take but one
of these to destroy a Goa'uld mother ship.

It should have already fired.

Well, it hasn't.

Let's take cover, huh?

Very nice.

You disregarded my warnings.

Mine, too. Well done.

If you were my subject, I would
be forced to discipline you.

However, you are not one of my subjects.

It could not have been done
without the assistance of Lya.

I thought the Nox were pacifists.

I only hid the w*apon.
I did not fire it.

Ah.

Pretty fine line you didn't cross.

Yes, it is.

So, we basically saved
your whole planet, right?

Yes.

Are you therefore indebted
to us in any modest way?

I suppose that is the case.

So how about giving us the plans
to build one of those ion cannons?

You have been told our
policy. That has not changed.

The Tok'ra have completed the procedure.

Yeah?

- What will become of Klorel?
- He will be sent to a Goa'uld world.

- To hell with him...
- O'Neill!

Much better.