SG1-16 Four Dragons by Diana Botsford Page B

connection which could help Daniel escape.
    If Daniel could find a way to speak to him alone.
    As the Jaffa removed the dish covers, Daniel silently prayed live Goa’uld symbiotes weren’t on the menu. Just the memory of the System Lords cannibalizing their living relatives gave him the creeps.
    Yu handed Daniel a small square glazed ceramic plate. “Eat. Then we continue.”
    Daniel took the offered dish, relieved to find cooked, somewhat familiar foods. He bit into a puffed ball of dough, its center filled with heavily seasoned meat drenched in a molasses sweet sauce. Using a pair of gold chopsticks, Yu dug into a bowl of fried fish no larger than minnows.
    After devouring his second meat bun, Daniel noticed Lao Dan had stepped back by one of the screens, standing next to the jade sculpture. As Yu took up a bowl of syrupy fruits, Daniel decided to take advantage of the Goa’uld’s distraction and try to speak with the Jaffa one on one.
    “Can I get up and stretch my legs?” he asked. “Might help me stay awake.”
    His mouth full, Yu nodded his assent. He attacked the food with single-minded ferocity. Daniel stood up and, though his legs were shaky from sitting so long, he managed to appear casual as he joined Lao Dan.
    No more than two feet in height, the roughly hewn jade sculpture depicted a robed woman with what appeared to be her three sons. In one arm, she held a baby. At her feet, a small boy clutched her free hand, one leg tentatively raised as if walking his first steps. Beside them, an adolescent boy waved toward something, or someone, in the distance.
    Daniel turned toward Lao Dan and asked, “Is the statue very old?”
    The Jaffa’s eyes lit up. “As old as my master’s reign amongst the Tau’ri.”
    “Really?” Daniel bent down, pretending to study the statue closer. He glanced over his shoulder. Yu was almost finished with his meal. Daniel would have to hurry if he hoped to make some sort of connection with Lao Dan. He’d have to say something that might stir up sympathies. Something that would speak to what the Jaffa might secretly crave.
    Freedom.
    “ Shel kek nem ron ,” Daniel whispered. I too shall die free , the code greeting between rebel Jaffa.
    Lao Dan’s eyes widened, lending hope to Daniel that he’d hit home. The Jaffa bent down beside him.
    “The water is held captive by the river’s banks. Yet it is free, is it not?”
    Daniel did a double take. “I beg your pardon?”
    “Water is soft and weak, but it can move earth and carve stone. Harmony is the way of my ancestors, Dr. Jackson. To work against the ways of the universe would disrupt that harmony.”
    Lao Dan stood up, gesturing for Daniel to do the same.
    “And you think it’s harmonious to serve Lord Yu?” Daniel asked softly, unable to believe his ears. He stepped closer to Lao Dan, struggling to keep any harshness from his voice as he whispered, “Do you have any idea what he is? What he and his kind have done to countless millions across the galaxy?”
    “The ways of wu wei may be foreign to you, though — ”
    “Wait,” Daniel interrupted. “ Wu wei . That’s part of Chinese Taoism. It means action through inaction or something like that.”
    “So my ancestor wrote in the Tao Te Ching. ” With a brief smile, Lao Dan returned to Yu’s side and began to collect the empty dishes.
    My ancestors? The Tao Te Ching was a sixth century B.C. book of Taoist philosophy, a philosophy of peace that was still fairly popular. On Earth. Not some Jaffa legend handed down from warrior to warrior.
    A wheel clicked into place in Daniel’s mind. A memory of the Tao Te Ching . More importantly, a memory of its author: Lao Tzu.
    Also known as Lao Dan.
    Daniel returned to his seat as the Jaffa removed the tray. With a bow, Lao Dan departed, leaving Daniel more puzzled than disappointed. Though he hadn’t succeeded in gaining a potential ally, there was something going on here, some tie to Ancient China that went beyond the