jeriendhal | "A Slight Detour" Part Six (Reply)

It was Rufus' legs that were giving Daniel so much trouble, he decided, as they walked in a northerly direction from the Stargate. Digigrade feet just didn't seem right for a biped, especially one that could pass for a Kitsune from Japanese myth if the linguist squinted a bit.

"Something wrong with your eyes?" the Vulpine asked.

"Um, no, nothing," Daniel replied hastily, nudging his glasses back into place. "I was just thinking about the Varn. Just how big of a threat are they, theoretically speaking? I'm mean, my homeworld has enough of a problem dealing with the Goa'ald, never mind… other things." It probably wasn't the best time to start talking about little things like the Replicators, the occasional alien mad scientist, invisible invaders, et al. They enough on their plate right now as it was.

"A good question," Rufus admitted, "I've never seen a Varn face to face, only their soldiers. Unfortunately they have a lot of soldiers." He paused, sniffing the air unconsciously. "Most of what I know is from history. My people, and many other races, believed them to be gods. We acted accordingly, and never questioned their wisdom. It follows that they're arrogant, but it's arrogance leavened with an intelligence that shouldn't be underestimated. They've been plotting their comeback onto the Galactic scene for literally centuries. We can't just assume that we can trip them up with their own egos, even after the Humans disproved their divinity." He frowned. "They're also dangerous in other ways. There are some in the Galactic community who look upon the days of Varn rule and only remember how comforting it was to let others make the hard decisions for them. We've been on our own for five human centuries, but sometimes I wonder how deep the old instincts hold."

"That almost makes our situation seem easier," Daniel said after a moment. "One thing about the Gou'ald, they don't lack for arrogance. But I think it's an arrogance that's always been covering an inferiority complex. I mean when you get right down to it, all they are is a bunch of parasitic slugs that need a host body to actually do anything. The whole Godhead thing is a sort of massive ego-reinforcement, from one point of view. Which makes playing up to their weaknesses a lot easier."

Rufus nodded in agreement. "I'm not sure the Varn have any weakness-- whaULP!" The foxish pilot tripped over an stone that was in their path and would have fallen to the ground if Daniel hadn't grabbed his arm.

Digigrade feet. Less surface area to provide a stable walking platform, he thought absently. Which normally would probably be compensated for by improved reflexes, but even someone faster on their feet than the human norm could have an off day.

"Are you all right?" Daniel asked.

"Thank you, I'm just fine," Rufus said, hopping on one foot briefly and flexing his bruised toes. "Too much talking, not even attention to where I was putting my feet. No permanent harm done though."

"Oh, good," Daniel kneeled down. The stone was part of a paved path, long since broken up and partly hidded by the roots of the forest that had grown around it, running roughly southeast to northwest. He pulled out his communicator and paged Jack. "Jack, I think I've found something," Daniel rattled off a description and general location of the path, "Rufus and I are going to follow it and see where it leads. Maybe we can find a clue to our missing crystals."

All right, but be careful, Jack answered, I want you to check in every fifteen minutes.

"Will do." Rufus was looking at him curiously, and Daniel shrugged, "Jack, um, worries."

"Good commanders usually do."

TBC