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fandomweekly2019-01-20 02:08 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2019-01-20 02:08 pm
Entry tags:
[#003] Alternatives (Stargate SG-1)
Theme Prompt: #003 – Devil’s Advocate
Title: Alternatives
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Rating/Warnings: PG / None.
Bonus: I think so.
Word Count: 999
Summary: The future of two races is dependent on Daniel being able to help Lotan see an alternative course of action that he’s not programmed for.
It’s beginning to feel like wherever they go, SG-1 encounters insurmountable problems; no, scratch that. Daniel smiles wryly to himself; it’s always been that way, ever since they first stepped through the Stargate. It’s just that recently he and Jack have been finding themselves on opposite sides of an argument with increasing frequency. Not so long ago they were debating the ethics of helping the Eurondans defeat their ‘enemy’ when they had no idea who the supposed enemy was, or even which side had started the war that had made the surface of the Eurondans’ planet uninhabitable. Now here they are at odds again.
Jack wants to blow up the ship that’s terraforming the planet the SGC’s found for the Enkarans, Daniel doesn’t believe they have the right to destroy the Gadmere’s one chance of rebuilding their civilisation, and the Enkarans are stuck in the middle. They need the particular conditions found on P5S-381, but so do the Gadmere, and the terraforming process has already begun. If it isn’t completed the Gardmere’s ship doesn’t have enough raw materials to begin again, but the Enkarans don’t have anywhere else to go either. Stalemate. How can anyone be expected to choose between the rights of two equally deserving but very different races?
In a way, it’s a relief that General Hammond has refused to authorise a military strike against the ship, but Daniel knows that won’t stop Jack for long, and he’s soon proven right. Jack is already planning to use the naquadah generator they brought with them to take out the ship. He likes the Enkarans. Hell, so does Daniel, they’re good people. Finding them another suitable planet will take too long, even if there’s another one out there somewhere with the precise conditions necessary.
The problem with Jack is that he can’t think outside the box. He sees this as an either / or situation, but surely there must be another way, some solution whereby neither race will lose out; the way Daniel sees things it’s up to him to find one. He’s the only one able to hold on to any degree of impartiality, to look at the situation objectively.
Which is what’s brought him back here to the ship.
Lotan isn’t a machine; he’s flesh and blood, created by the ship to act as intermediary between it and the Enkarans. That’s a point in his favour. Unfortunately he thinks like a machine and he has his orders, to explain to the Enkarans why they must leave. He’s no more able to think outside the box than Jack is, but Daniel’s been finding ways around Jack’s pigheadedness for years. This is no different, except that the stakes are higher. He just has to help Lotan adjust his thinking. He can do this, he has to; the Enkarans are depending on him, and whether he’s aware of it or not, Jack is too. He asked for another choice… Technically, Daniel’s just following orders.
Besides, he’s always the one who handles any kind of negotiations; talking is what he does best, but it doesn’t take long for Daniel to realise this is going to be harder than he’d anticipated.
He wants to help Lotan look for alternate solutions to the Enkarans’ problem, but while Lotan was created in their image, he’s only programmed for the needs of the Gadmere. Time to play Devil’s advocate and argue on the Enkarans’ behalf.
Lotan proves a little intractable, however. He knows what he has to do, he’s been created for one purpose, and when that purpose has been fulfilled, he will, in essence, die. Such a waste. Maybe if he just gets a taste of what it really means to be an Enkaran, sees the beauty of the planet as it is now, meets the people, it’ll help to open his mind.
Under other circumstances, the field trip might have been a lot of fun. Lotan’s curious, intrigued by nature, but there isn’t time to show him much, just a short walk and a brief visit to the village.
“I was not created to prevent their demise, Daniel Jackson.”
This is not going the way Daniel had hoped it would. “But… don’t you wish you could?” Daniel would beg and plead if he thought it would do any good, but all he can do is ask to accompany Lotan when the ship calls him back. Jack won’t be happy about that.
With the naquadah generator about to go critical, Daniel argues with Lotan for all he’s worth, pointing out to the ship’s emissary that if the Gadmere had a respect for life then recreating their world by committing mass murder would go against all they stood for. Finally, it seems he’s getting through and he presses his advantage. Lotan brings the ship to a halt, beams the bomb aboard, then beams it out to explode harmlessly overhead, and now Daniel really has to fix things for both races because there goes Jack’s only hope of stopping the ship permanently. Is this the end for the Enkarans?
“The conflict remains unresolved. I must eventually resume the transformation process on this planet or the Gadmere civilisation will be lost. Many millions of planets were scanned, to match the right conditions for the transformation. Only one met the specifications.”
There’s a sinking feeling in Daniel’s gut. That’s it then, game over. All they can do is ask the ship to hold off on the transformation until the Enkarans can be taken off, if they’ll even go. Last Daniel heard they were still intent on standing their ground.
Then it hits him; the ship scanned millions of planets and only found one that suited the Gadmere’s criteria, but…
“Just out of curiosity, were any others even close?”
The parameters needed for the transformation process had to be exact, but…
“Do any of the planets scanned by the ship match the needs of the Enkarans?”
Sometimes, if you keep trying you get the answer you want. Everybody wins.
The End
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I always liked Lotan - so great that Daniel was there to find a solution for everyone.
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Lotan was sweet, this is quite a favourite episode of mine because it really plays to Daniel's strengths and his determination not to compromise his integrity. He kept trying until he got the best solution for everyone.
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Thank you!
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Thanks for sharing it.
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