Cleaning Up After The Ancients - Chapter 98

Chapter 98 - ⅃̷̖̓ö̶̗́ƨ̷͉̍Ɉ̷̺͊ ̴͈͂M̵͇̆ɘ̴̑ͅm̴̧͒ơ̶̱ɿ̷̬̚ì̵̡ɘ̴̬̐ƨ̶̬̄

A bend in the ɔ̴͔͠ĺ̶̨ɘ̶͇̉n̴͍͛Ɉ̶̼̋ɒ̷̡͠ɿ̷̦̒ layer drew Ganos Lal's attention to the side of the room right as the rooms newest guest finished synching to her phase state. Not exactly unexpected given the way things were spiraling, but she had rather hoped she would have more time.

“Melia.” She greeted the other Ascended.

“Ganos.” Melia returned, walking up to study the shadow of the stasis unit for a moment before glancing over to the shadow of Eventus as he doggedly searched through Janus's notes. “I thought you said you had things under control?”

Ganos was glad she was currently projecting a humanoid form, since it meant she could roll her eyes. “I reminded Eventus of that which he already knew in an attempt to direct him towards where Moros rests.”

Which was almost all she could do given the restrictions they were under.

Melia scoffed, turning away from the oblivious man to stare Ganos in the eye. “Yet instead of following the clues Moros left in that cave of his, Eventus ignored them to stumble upon the one location no one of this era should be anywhere near.”

“The maintenance corps was always a direct instrument.” Ganos countered primly before turning an accusatory glare on the other woman. “Something we all forgot to take into account in our rush to take advantage of the opportunity his survival presented us with.”

Contrary to what the man believed, they had been barred from returning to Atlantis even as Ascended till after the city had risen to the surface. A cruel joke of their own designs as even a single d̶̟̊ɿ̴̡͝ɘ̴͍͂ɒ̴͖̀Ɉ̶͎̉ʜ̸̯̉ within the city ships shield would have triggered enough sensing arrays that power would have failed years before the humans arrival.

“Did you forget to take that into account?” Melia challenged, radiating doubt in Ganos's general direction strongly enough that she was half surprised Eventus himself didn't feel it. “As much of a disaster as Janus can be, it would be foolish for those of your position not to consider the value he might provide the mortals in their coming fight against the Ori's followers.”

Ganos walked over to rest her hand on the shadow of the stasis unit's surface. “If that were the case, it would not have been one who knows of Janus’s danger that found their way here.”

After all, with Doctor Weir alive and whole it would have been the most simple of acts for the humans to point the damaged Scientist at their enemies.

“And look.” She continued, dramatically gesturing to where Eventus was in the process of transferring the lab’s files to a removable data crystal. “For all Eventus’s differing beliefs, even he finds Janus’s final work beyond the pale of acceptability.”

With those last words Ganos stepped diagonally into the Ɉ̶̬̋ʜ̶͉̚o̶̼͛υ̸͓̌ϱ̴͊ͅʜ̴̯̎Ɉ̴̰̀ ̸̢̇ƨ̶̆͜Ɉ̵͖͆ɿ̴̳̿ɘ̷͓͋ɒ̷̜́m̵͉̀, letting its energies carry her to the ϱ̶̯̆ɒ̷͇͛l̵̩͠ɒ̷̘́ɔ̸̯͌Ɉ̸͓̇ï̶͉ɔ̵̱̾ ̷̯̊ɔ̸̛͈ɘ̶̺̿n̷̞̓Ɉ̸͇̓ɘ̵̐ͅɿ̶͈̐q̶̟̇o̶̼͠i̷̗͑n̴̟͆Ɉ̷̳͐. Stepping into the established conceptual space, she glanced over at the newest addition to the diner, a small self contained wrestling ring where the pair of Oma and Anubis continued their eternal battle before shaking her head and heading to her usual booth.

“Your usual Miss Lal?” The accented voice of the new arbiter inquired.

“Yes.” Ganos said, offering the man a smile. “Thank you Kasuf.”

She still wasn't sure why Oma had marked the newly Ascended man to take her place as the Diner's arbiter over any of her more experienced followers. Though given the enigmatic woman's past choices Ganos was coming to suspect that his lack of experience with the Ascended way of doing things may have been the point.

Kasuf nodded and left, and mere moments after a large man with an eyepatch and long grey beard slid into the seat opposite of her.

“Ganos.” He greeted her with a curt nod.

“Odin.” Ganos returned similarly. “How fares issues at the border?”

The man shrugged, his conceptual body flickering between Human and Asgard for a moment before solidifying again. “The Ori continue to send out thought probes in search of information to feed their servants, and my Einherjar continue to hunt down and destroy them before they can pass into other galaxies and do so.”

About what they had expected then, the Ori's vampirism might make them singularily more powerful, but even without the Others, their own numbers would make a direct confrontation pyrhic at best.

A series of loud thunks rang out from the ring, and Ganos glanced over to see Oma in the midst of slamming Anubis's head into the floor.

“If we both stepped in we could end him for good.” Odin growled, the words alone enough to make the atmosphere of the Diner suddenly tense as the Others in attendance turned their attention on them.

“We could.” Ganos agreed sadly as she turned away from the spectacle. “But it is not our place to interfere in such punishments.”

Mostly because the Others would stop them if they tried, and as cathartic as the attempt might be, their current work was far too important to risk either of them being temporarily sidelined in punishment. 

Kasuf returned and set a plate down in front of her. “Your omelet.” He turned to Odin. “And anything for you?”

“I have no desire for false sustenance.” Odin said simply.

“Then I will leave you to your talk.” Kasuf returned with a smile, turning to leave only to pause mid step and look back over at her. “My son-in-law, does he continue on his path?”

“Doctor Jackson is as he always was.” Ganos admitted, though she supposed that wasn't exactly answering the other man's question. “But he does not walk his current path alone.”

Not by choice of course, but Vala took after the Le Fay persona she was descended from in many ways that left Ganos glad she had left most of that behind when she rejoined the ranks of the ascended after putting Moros to sleep.

Smiling slightly, Kasuf bowed his head in thanks for her words. “That is good. After the last time he was here, I had begun to worry his obsession in justifying that which was past would forever drive him away from what might be gained in the future.”

With those words he walked off towards the kitchen, leaving Ganos to turn back to Odin, who seemed to be studying the arbiters back with a contemplative look on his features.

“He has chosen the path of neutrality.” She reminded him. “We should not test that given all the plans that might revolve around him remaining on it.”

Odin grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back in the booth.

Sighing, Ganos ate her omelet, knowing there was no point in rehashing the argument that would inevitably follow by continuing down that particular subject's thorny road.

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Author’s Notes: Ascended politics are complicated to write, not the least because the Stargate writers mostly used them as an inconsistent dues ex machina. That said, it was an interesting challange threading the line between useless do nothings and beings that are taking what unseen actions they can.