Joint Mission to Aessuma (The One With the Shiny Rocks)

By Nomad
June 2010

Spoilers: General for SG-1 season ten, basic premise of SGA.
Disclaimer: The Stargate franchise belongs to many people, none of whom are me. Characters, settings and concepts borrowed for entertainment value, not profit.
Author's Note: Written for the prompt, "Teyla and Vala, conflicting mission reports."

Mission Report, Teyla Emmagan: Joint mission to Aessuma with SG-1 to study potential new power sources and strengthen trading ties with the Aessu people.

Mission Report, Vala Mal Doran: That one where Sam and Rodney wanted to look at the shiny rocks.

On our arrival through the Stargate, we were greeted by Talmum of the Aessu, who wished us peace and prosperity, and introduced us to his wife Gyane and their two daughters, Nym and Teppa. They agreed to escort our group to the Mountains of Sky and invited us to visit their marketplace to see their people's trade goods.

We walked through fields for ages. It was hot and itchy. Why does the standard uniform only include boots? I think we should get mission sandals. I saw some very nice sandals on an internet site, but Daniel cancelled his credit card before they arrived. Can I requisition a credit card? I feel that it's important I should have a source of funds in case I become stranded on Earth.

Gyane explained to us that only women are permitted to enter the marketplace on Aessuma, as the Aessu believe that men are too impulsive to be trusted with important purchasing decisions. Doctor Jackson's request to accompany the group as an observer was denied, and Vala Mal Doran's suggestion of a possible compromise was eventually deemed unsuitable. It was decided that Vala and I would visit the marketplace with Gyane, while Colonel Carter would accompany the men to the mountains where her technological expertise would be more useful.

Sam refused to wear a dress to go into the marketplace. Daniel did too, even though I told him he'd look very pretty.

We visited the home of Gyane, where she generously allowed us to choose from among her trading dresses. The Aessu wear flowing dresses as a sign of status when trading: the excess material signals that the wearer possesses sufficient wealth that she can afford to be wasteful with her purchases if she chooses.

Gyane clearly knows what she's doing when it comes to market shopping. Skin-tight clothes are so awkward for concealing bulkier items under. Flowing skirts are really much more practical, although they do make it harder to make a quick getaway.

We examined the goods for sale in the marketplace. The Aessu produce several varieties of vegetables in abundant supply, and the chief grower, Marsati, proved friendly and amenable to forming trade relations. The local kael-root can also be used to produce a potent sweet vegetable wine, but this may be unsuitable for importing to Atlantis in large quantities.

Bonded with an old lady farmer over suggestively shaped vegetables. I took some photos of the best ones to show Sam. Then everyone got cheerfully drunk on something called kaelut that makes your gums go numb. I think they wear those frouffy dresses so you can't see much when they keel over sideways into the bushes.

The Aessu do not have a very high level of technology, but they create many fine decorative goods that may be suitable to trade to other worlds. Cloth, coloured thread, and other craft materials would likely be well-received by the market traders. We exchanged chocolate and other small things from our packs for various items in order to promote goodwill.

Lots of pretty things, but no precious materials. Bought Ronon a bone knife and a hat for Teal'c. Caught Teyla buying three hideously ugly necklaces; suspect she intends to tell her teammates they're part of an Athosian custom next time they annoy her.

Shortly before our visit to the marketplace was to be concluded, we received a radio transmission informing us that unfortunately the potential power source in the mountains had been a false reading caused by local wildlife. Doctor McKay and Colonels Sheppard and Mitchell had accidentally disturbed the creatures in the course of their explorations. Colonel Carter informed us that there was no serious cause for concern, but nonetheless we elected to rejoin our teammates.

Got a radio message that we should rejoin the others. We could tell it was going to be good from the way Sam was snickering.

Colonel Carter explained that what had appeared on the initial survey to be crystals were actually the shells of a colony of hibernating creatures. The arrival of Doctor McKay and his companions had woken the colony and caused them to swarm, forcing the team to retreat to a safer position.

Cam and the boys got chased up a tree by a bunch of giant snails.

Uncertain whether the colony could be dangerous, we felt it would be safer for our teammates to hold their position until Doctor Jackson could contact Talmum and discover what the locals knew about the creatures.

We sent darling Daniel to find the locals while the rest of us sat back to point and mock.

Fortunately, it emerged that the danger posed by the colony was minimal. Doctor McKay raised concerns about the potential toxicity of the fluid secreted by the creatures, but Talmum assured us that no bad reactions had ever been recorded among his people.

Snails were harmless herbivores. Locals thought it was hilarious.

The Aessu graciously allowed our teammates use of the village spring to wash away the traces of the creatures' secretions, and I am confident that this incident has, if anything, only strengthened the ties of goodwill between us and the people of Aessuma.

We promised we'd send them copies of our photos.

Report Ends