How to develop a butt of STEEL through copious amounts of reading [Open]

[hi_there_aliens]

After the explosive end to the conversation on the spacewalk, Daniel had wandered around in something like a daze for the next hour. What just happened? The conversation ran over and over in his head. Vala left, stormed off to his office. The mummy, not to mention the rest of the lab, was probably in danger but he couldn't bring himself to care as much as he should. First Eva, which, while not nearly as explosive, had been awkward on both their parts. He hadn't exactly made friends with Kerrigan or Midna. At the rate he was going, he'd be surprised if there was anyone on board he didn't piss off by the end of the week. Par for the course for Doctor Jackson.

He couldn't bring himself to work. When Daniel finally did sit down at the next set of artifacts, he found himself instead doodling spirals in his notes. Tapping his pencil or staring out the door. Fidgeting like an antsy kid. Anything but actually working.  The look on Vala's face right before she stormed off drifted up every single time. For a second there, it felt like real hate. It wasn't that he didn't care. It was that he couldn't fully emotionally wrap his head around a future he hadn't experienced yet. Nothing would ever be the same as being there.

He could try though.

The Media Library was one of the easier places to locate. Getting access to the files wasn't nearly as hard as he'd expected. Apparently he still had clearance to SGC files out in the middle of dimensions. There was something to be said about the government's determination to maintain classification and secrecy even with the world destroyed. You almost had to admire it.

Daniel stepped into one of the rooms and picked out a terminal. Just as the librarian said, files from 2006. A lot of them. Mission reports mostly, although he had a recommended supplemental file that he knew was his. Future his. He could tell without even reading it; the five-hundred page length attached to it kinda gave it away. Daniel frowned down at the numbers. There wasn't any way he could read all these in one day, but that's what all nighters were for. That was the good thing about college. It prepared you for long hours night after night, fueled only by what had to be deadly amounts of coffee.

The temptation to look up the rest of the files was particularly strong. He could look up other mission reports from before too, all he had to do was take a few steps back the way he came and request files. Or do a search for 'Abydos', 'Sha're', 'Apophis' to narrow it down. If only he had the name of the Goa'uld in her...

He wasn't here for her or himself. Leaving the door open for fresh air, Daniel pulled up what he guessed was Stacy's idea of a chair,  then mentally prepared himself for the long haul. Sore butt and back, here I come, Daniel thought.

...Just as soon as he figured out this terminal.

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[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard has been skulking around Stacy for a while now, mostly due to the kerfuffle on the omnicomms, although talking it through with Zouichi has calmed him down about that just a little. Mostly this has meant more scavenging work out in the city, but since he pushed a broken, three-wheeled golf cart several miles back to the Warehouse, his shoulders and lower back are sore enough to guarantee he needs to do something sedentary for a few hours.

Clearly, this means scouring the Media Library for driver's ed tapes. Just relaxing and leaving his mind easy prey to his thoughts is absolutely out of the question.

Whether or not he's doing anything suspicious, he still feels compelled to look over his shoulder and take note of every person in the Media Library, which is how he notices Daniel. Howard's not unfamiliar with Daniel's body language - Daniel looks, from the bend of his back to the tension in his shoulders, like he's preparing for a long while studying something.

Maybe an interruption wouldn't be totally unwelcome.

"Hey. How's the head?"

[hi_there_aliens]

He got it turned on. That was the only plus so far. Five minutes in and he was still fussing with this thing. Daniel usually managed computers better than this, if you defined 'this' as 'not so embarrassingly bad for a geek'... but in his defense, there were computers and then there was a Stacy terminal. Distantly, he thought he heard someone talking. Daniel squirmed, trying to extend his reach. Don't help him. He had this. Or at least he wanted to learn it himself since he couldn't count on always having a helping hand nearby.

"Oh. Hi." The archaeologist was nearly bent double trying to fiddle with the back of the computer. What came back was a few muffled curses and an 'ow' in the mix. "I'm good, it's good."

Although why the librarian was asking him about his head was- Daniel messed with a few connections, fingers jiggling cords to make sure they were secure, and yes, the power was on and- Wait, that wasn't the librarian. He drew himself up from the pretzel he'd worked himself into. Daniel's hair stuck up in a few places.

"Howard? What've you been up to?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

Howard raises his eyebrows at Daniel, wondering if Daniel has been sojourning to his own little world some. It isn't safe to be able to be taken so off-guard. Howard believes in some degree of vigilance unless you're sure all the doors are locked and no one's there with you. "Nice hair."

And no, he isn't going to offer to help figure out the terminal - not because he can tell Daniel's got some geekish pride invested in doing it all by himself, but simply because Howard's not especially inclined to help people with their computer terminals.

He waves the data pad in his hand. "Driver's ed and stealing golf carts, if you believe that. You know, in case Stacy ever volunteers me for a Mario Kart race on one of her missions."

[hi_there_aliens]

Daniel's hand flew to his head. Sure enough, some of it stuck up at at odd angles. Not quite the mad scientist look, thank God, but it probably wasn't exactly doing him any favors as coming off as a professional or an adult in Howard's eyes. Daniel hastily brushed his hair back down.

"Mario Kart?" Daniel couldn't look any more blankly at him. What he knew of video games came from Jack and going on about Nintendo, but it wasn't his thing. He could appreciate them as for the social aspect, what they could do to the landscape of today's youth and how it might apply to various cultures, but actually playing them wasn't his idea of a good time.

Nor was hearing about them. Daniel's eyes caught on the data pad. Actually, Howard's timing couldn't be anymore perfect. Howard had to be more familiar with this technology. Maybe he could help him here. "Well in between studying up on driving stolen carts, could I borrow you for a second?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"It's a videogame. You know, little red plumber guy in a golf cart, Rainbow Road, da da da dada da?" It's been a long time since Howard's played videogames, actually, barring the trip to the arcade on Happy Happy Fun World. He keeps thinking he should get back to them, someday, but they aren't quite brainrotting enough to keep him from getting antsy and paranoid, and somehow ever since the FAYZ they've had little rapture for him.

"Anyway, I said I kiped the golf cart, not drove it. It only had three wheels. Believe me, it'd have been a lot easier to drive it." He rubs his shoulder with something of a rueful expression. It took the better part of the day to get that golf cart to the Warehouse, and Howard still doesn't know what he'll use it for yet. Maybe spare parts again.

He shrugs. "Sure. Trouble booting up the terminal? Did you check and make sure it's plugged in first?"

He's teasing Daniel just a little, but there is an insecure part of him that wants to show Daniel up some. He's not sure why, but he wants Daniel to find him competent, and he's still a bit chafed from having his medical decisions disregarded earlier.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"Hey. Doing some light reading?" Zouichi was in the area picking out a few files when he spotted Daniel going into one of the rooms. A musical or two (apparently the Master was very fond of them), some books on the caring and feeding of goldfish, various engineering texts, a film featuring a man named Clint Eastwood (who Jr. apparently thought very highly of).

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the doctor around since... Galilee, probably. He frowned slightly at the memory. Worst. Mission. Ever. In more ways than one.

[hi_there_aliens]

Daniel leafed over the cover page of the first report. 2006, and aside from who signed off it, a one general... Landry? it looked about right for an SGC mission report. Daniel barely had time to wonder what happened to General Hammond when he had a visitor. He glanced upwards. Zouchi hovered at the door, and unlike Daniel, his choice of reading and film looked looked, for the most part, a lot less serious. Surprisingly varied though. Somehow Daniel didn't picture the care of goldfish next to engineering books.

It had been awhile. Galilee, right? Probably one of the worst missions he'd ever been on. That was saying a lot when Daniel had the mission to P3X-797 compare against, when he'd spent a good portion as the Infected's chew toy. Or the mission to P4x-983, where he'd-

If Daniel had to count off every unpleasant occurrence of going through the Stargate, he'd be here all night. Glad to see Zouchi was in one piece.

"Oh yeah, 'light' reading." Daniel leaned back into the chair and indicating the large pile of paperwork. He smiled tightly. Mission report after mission report, heaped on top with a good serving of additional reading and research. "Goldfish care and engineering? That's an interesting choice in reading."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"Maybe I'm trying to invent a goldfish walker," said Zouichi, glancing over at the pile. "Actually, what happened was I picked up a few of them on that amusement park planet, and I want to make sure they're well cared for. And I'm trying to help out a little in Engineering, what with all the damage during that last Ohm attack. Mind if I ask why you're spending time going over all that paperwork?"

After all, people usually found other ways to occupy their time here. Then again, for all he knew, this could be perfectly normal behavior for Daniel; he'd been in the middle of research the first time they'd run into each other, hadn't they?

[hi_there_aliens]

"Yeah, they did a number on us. It's good you're helping out."

Daniel had to stop and try not to stare at the other man. He was messing with him. He had to be. Not the goldfish walker part, that was obviously a joke. It was the part where Zouchi thought he had to get a book on how to care for goldfish.

And because he just couldn't let the goldfish thing drop,"I don't think you need a book for it," Daniel said. Seriously, Zouichi. They're goldfish. "All you do is feed them and clean the tank."

Goldfish were the type of pet people got when they didn't want to deal with a dog or cat, or if they were trying to teach children responsibility. It had a lot to do with how low maintenance they were.

He wasn't even fully sure what he was doing with this mountain of reports, at least when it came to Vala. She probably didn't want anything to do with him, but regardless, he wanted to do this. Mostly. His butt wasn't going to be thanking him in a few hours. He sighed. "Trying to fix something that was my fault. Long, painful story."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Zouichi shook his head. "Oh, I'm not keeping them in a tank. But even from what I read so far, there are all kinds of factors you need to look out for when keeping fish. Ammonia levels, fungi, fish diseases... oh, and it's important to have adequate plant growth and shelters for the fish to hide. People think that goldfish are short-lived and disposable, but the truth is that with they can live to be ten years old or more. And over 40 centimeters long."

Uh. It was pretty evident Zouichi was really into taking care of those fish. "In any case, as their owner, it's my responsibility to see that their needs are met."

He blinked at Daniel's explanation. "Fix it...by looking at reports? How is that going to solve an interpersonal conflict?" Assuming it was an interpersonal conflict, anyway, but what else would it be about with a sigh like that? Then again, Daniel did seem to take archaeological research rather seriously. It could be about that expedition Howard had been on.

[kazenoshizuku.livejournal.com]

Izumi had been thinking on much the same lines and was searching the library for anything on the Digital World, especially Bokomon's book. When she managed to bring something up, she sighed loudly as the translator began its work.

It was only at that point she realized she wasn't alone and she was probably disturbing Daniel.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you! That was rude of me."

[hi_there_aliens]

Maybe he should close the door, but at the same time, Daniel found didn't mind the distraction every now and then. Besides, it served to remind him that yes, there was a world outside this pod and outside the mountain of mission reports. He smiled. "You're fine."

He put his hand in between one page and closed it.

"Hi, I'm Daniel."

[kazenoshizuku.livejournal.com]

"I'm Izumi," she answered, remembering to bow after a moment. "I guess you found what you were looking for?"

[hi_there_aliens]

He only just started. He was still working on the first mission report, and already had to admit some defeat. He couldn't hold off reading the research, the Ancients appeared to have far too much grounding. "I'm not sure yet. Did you need something?"

Maybe at least he could help her out if she needed it.

[spiritodelvento.livejournal.com]

"I'm just waiting for mine to translate," she answered, giving a nervous smile. "It's not in either language I speak, and I think the ship needs more time to get it finished."

[makeherblue]

His leg was doing much better than the day he almost-but-didn't fall on his head, thanks to the Master. If there was anything you could say about Stacy aside from her being a marvelous ship and a bit of a grump (or a marvelous grump), it was that she had some surprisingly decent medical facilities and that thanks to that, the Doctor was only hobbling. Hobbling badly and with an odd habit for veering into walls every now and then, but he'd learned to compensate until he healed and when the reasonable option was to sit and rest, well!

Here he was. Not resting. Not doing the painfully dull.

The Doctor limped and then poked his head into the Media Library. He knew he'd seen a flash of familiar otter tail going this way! And there was Daniel the Otter Soother, not doing a very good job otter soothing and instead poking his head into one of Stacy's info terminals as if it was the latest in academic journals. The Doctor tilted his chin. Really! He would think that little otter next to Daniel was loads more interesting than academic journals!

Why do humans take a special liking to both a good case of adventuring and the painfully dull?

"I take it you've made some progress with your dig sorting," the Doctor said as he hobbled, limped, (veered away from that wall which was getting dangerously close to a collusion), corrected his steering, and made for Daniel Jackson.

With a sigh, the Doctor flopped down next to Daniel and rubbed at his thigh. It twinged as he swung his head around, birdlike, to focus on what Daniel was doing. The otter sniffed curiously at his feet before it tried to paw at Daniel, wanting to slither up into his lap and starting to look otter-annoyed that Daniel wasn't being much help today.

[hi_there_aliens]

He'd reached the point where he had to begin work on the massive amounts of research Future-Him did. Pulling open the massive file, Daniel plopped it down on top of the rest of the mission reports and began to read. It didn't take long to get completely engrossed in the file. All on the Ancients. The original Gate builders and, while he might not have had a name for them at the time on Heliopolis, one of the Four Races. Daniel turned page after page, picking up speed. At times he slowed down, considering something. Absolutely incredible. He knew it! There was something to be said about validating a theory, although his on the gate builders hadn't been nearly as developed as others, say, the pyramids being older than everyone thought.

At the same time, there was something slightly aggravating when it came to reading a report you wrote in the future. It left Daniel feeling just a little bit stupid. He'd start to come to an excited conclusion or hypothesis on something mid-read, numerous times... and then, sentences later or worse, just after, Future Him beat him to it. He'd completed the thought or figured it out and moved on before Daniel had even finished. It happened with enough frequency that Daniel already started to harbor the tiniest resentment the first two hours in.

Daniel's face remained buried in the work, even with the the sound of webbed feet padding in or the Doctor limping after. The small paws scrabbling at his ankle was a little harder to ignore. Daniel put an arm down without thinking. Menkaure didn't hesitate in taking the invitation. Ow. That was a mistake. Menkaure didn't mean to,and he could tell he was trying to be gentle, but the otter dug his claws into his pants and forearm, and climbed up his leg. Daniel's head jerked up, away from the research. The otter settled on Daniel's lap and resting his furred head on the crook of his elbow, glared at the Doctor.

"Some but I'm nowhere near close to finishing yet. This is for something else." Daniel didn't pet the otter. It was still a wild animal. Nowhere near domesticated, so it wasn't so much he dictated anything the otter did, as it adopted him and came around when it felt like it. If it wanted something, it would let him know. Great. Now it sounds like it domesticated me, Daniel grumbled. "I hope you brought something in way of a bribe for him. I don't want to have to separate you two."

He looked over, finally noticing the way the Doctor rubbed at his leg. "What happened?"

[makeherblue]

Bribes! Him? Really! Did Daniel Jackson honestly think he was that sort of man?

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his bribe.

Menkaure's whiskers twitched at the impressive rubber-band ball presented to him, those beady black otters eyes of his glittering, and then snap, he'd sunk his little fangs into it and pulled the ball to himself possessively. To show how pleased he was with his new toy, the otter turned on Daniel and headbutted him in the chest, trying to shove the rubber-band ball at him in that "look, human, make yourself useful" way. Lovely fella. The Doctor reached out to scratch the otter behind his ears and glanced up when Daniel asked about his leg.

"Took a tumble or five," the Doctor said. He had to wonder though -- if he'd landed on his head, would he have regenerated into that ginger woman, like his clone? Daniel would like him in ginger, he thought. The human seemed sensible like that. "Now what's this? Ancients and gates and dusty tech, and are you sure those calculations are right?"

The Doctor pointed at something on the terminal, cocking his head to the side as he studied at Daniel had been reading. It looked terribly dry to him.

[hi_there_aliens]

Where did he even get that- you know what, Daniel didn't want to know. The Doctor was one of those people who would never stop baffling him until the end of time. Asking questions only lead to answers or more questions that didn't make sense. He was just going to go with it. It wasn't like he hadn't given Jaime an apparently bottomless sporran (one that he was just the tiniest bit jealous of), so he had the technology and know-how to make a giant rubber band ball appear out of his pockets.

Looked like the bribe passed the otter's test. Daniel watched, breath held, as the Doctor put his hand out to pet the animal. Then let it out in a little sigh of relief once the Doctor retained his hand. Daniel pushed the rubber band ball back to the otter. He wasn't up to figuring out if they even played fetch. Sorry Menkaure, but Daniel was on a mission.

"Down a flight of stairs?" And five times? Considering the man wanted to hunt a otter through Stacy's bowels, he shouldn't even feel surprised anymore.

Daniel looked at the screen, which had one of the reports, one of the very classified, top secret reports open, and one of which the Doctor was about to look at fully.

"Uh, never mind this," Daniel hurriedly switched the screen to something else, like just the cover of one of the reports. How he even got Ancients and a gate system off of the screen from a less than a second glance was impressive. Not to mention a little frightening. "Actually, I was hoping to get some advice on something. All hypothetical, I mean."

[makeherblue]

The Doctor frowned at Daniel. "Ravine," he corrected the human. Don't be silly, Daniel.

He didn't think that screen looked much like a Nevermind. Neverminds, in fact, were always more interesting than they looked in his experience and the more someone Neverminded a Nevermind, the more and more curious the Doctor got. He did love his Neverminds! The Doctor swiveled to give Daniel a reproachful look, but decided to humor the human and give him a chance to get all the hypothetical advice he wanted. The Doctor hooked one leg over the other, like a skinny spider trying to get comfortable with more legs than it knew what to do with in the first place, his fingers folded together in his lap as he tossed his head.

"Okay. Hypothetical advice! On this Nevermind of yours or something else? Maybe a Hypothetical Nevermind. Lucky for you I happen to be certified in Hypothetical Nevermindedness!" The Doctor said with a straight face. "Several times over. I got bored."

Add that in with several lives under his belt and a general distaste for the usual academia and there you had it -- a full mastery of Underwater Basketweaving and Hypothetical Nevermindedness. The otter seemed to believe him at any rate. Menkaure gnawed on the rubber-band ball, only giving him a brief glance as if there was no point arguing just what a Certificate of the Hypothetical entailed.

[valaunbound]

It was hours and hours later when Vala appeared in the Media Library. Her cheek was healed now and despite the fact it was late, or early depending on your perspctive, she was exhausted and couldn't sleep. So here she was in search of mindless entertainment to pass the time instead. She'd spent the whole day since their confrontation wandering around the city aimlessly, convincing herself that she'd always managed just fine without Daniel Jackson and she didn't need him now any more than she had for years before she'd ever met him. She'd also cried much to her annoyance, the tears only serving to irritate her by how she was letting the situation chip away at her usual resolve.

Being vulnerable and letting her emotions govern her actions wasn't going to help anyone she'd decided, much less herself. And none of it was actually Daniel's fault. In the moments of clarity that her calming solitude had provided she could see that. Perhaps it was best if she just shut herself off completely.

Vala just wasn't prepared to have her methods tested quite so soon, and even from this distance the recognisable screen layout that Daniel's slumped figure was absorbed in was obviously him validating her story via SGC reports.

"Checking up on me?" Vala interjected dryly as she neared the terminal.

[hi_there_aliens]

Vala needed to leave him alone. He was busy. Daniel nestled further into his arms, as if his shoulders alone could provide an anti-Vala shield. See? They said 'go away'. Right there on his shoulder blades. Couldn't she see he was taking a five minute break here? Daniel's eyes were crossing on the reports and the flickering screen, so he just wanted a good five minutes to rest them. A hazy, half asleep sense of time piped up that this wasn't exactly five minutes but he was thinking that part of his brain could shut the hell up. It was five minutes.

Sighing a little, he pushed his face and arms into the keyboard, trying his best to sink back to sleep. Not exactly comfortable, but it was that or go find somewhere to lie down. Five more minutes and back to the grind.

'Vala needed to leave him alone.' Vala, the slow part of his brain helpfully reminded him.

The only thing more effective in lighting a fire under him would've been gunfire going off overhead. Vala. As in, Vala, the last person he wanted to see what he was doing. The archaeologist jerked up with a snort. He blearily flailed at the terminal, hitting a button, any button. Maybe she didn't see anything- he wasn't- The screen switched to something else that wasn't SGC related. But not something innocent like he'd wanted like a documentary. The room seemed to pick up on his brainwaves, something he thought he'd requested off to the librarian, and went to what Daniel instinctive retreated to as a safe place. There the screens stalled, because it couldn't decide which he preferred. The computer compromised and settled on both. The screens all went to the same image; Abydos with Jack's living room half in and half out of it in a surreal landscape.

Daniel managed not to turn and look, saving himself from digging a deeper hole. Not that he wasn't in one already as it was. Thanks Stacy. You couldn't make me look anymore guilty, Daniel groaned to himself. Folding his arms, he straightened up and tried to regain some of his dignity. He was also going to ignore the incriminating screens behind him.

His glasses sat crookedly on his nose as Daniel brushed back his hair to face her, his voice guarded. "Vala." No, he wasn't exactly corroborating her backstory here, he was trying to understand context. There was a difference. Maybe if he played it off, no, he wasn't doing anything here. "What are you doing here?"

[valaunbound]

It seemed that Vala's shutting herself off completely idea had manifested itself via regressive behaviour. It hadn't been a planned tactic, certainly not on a conscious level but default coping mechanism for Vala, at least one that came easily, appeared to be an overtly blasé innuendo driven nonchalance. Not that Daniel would know how she'd been for those first few months at Stargate Command...or maybe he did. His lethargic reaction time to escaping the screen had given her ample time to know for sure he was reading mission reports. So even though she didn't know exactly which report he'd been reading, it had fuelled her theory with enough credence to make two and two equal a cynical five.

Vala pushed the glasses on his nose straight by pressing one finger against the bridge, her attention on the screen behind him however. Jack's cabin was familiar, but not the desert scenes. She was apparently mindless to any rules of personal space or whether their current relationship status allowed the intimate gesture.

"Falling asleep on the job are we? Do I really bore you that much, Daniel? I can see how Jack's place and a backwards desert planet would be preferable."

[hi_there_aliens]

Vala apparently did know enough about his future to know what Jack's place looked like if she could easily recognizing it as such. Another doubt wavered.

He was still blinking the sleep from his eyes when Daniel went still, taken aback, as Vala leaned over into his space like she did it every day. She was pissed at him, so what was this, trying to make him uncomfortable? More like trying to get under his skin. Daniel sat up straighter. Maybe he was at fault here, at least partially, but he wasn't about to get intimidated either, no matter how angry she was. And he was trying to fix this here, or at least, do something! He opened his mouth to say something, to tell her that or something, at least ask her to get out of his face when he closed his mouth just as suddenly. Daniel's eyebrows rose as one when Vala lifted a hand and... simply pushed his glasses back into position. She didn't lean back.

Daniel fiddled with his glasses, even though she'd settled them on his nose perfectly fine. It hadn't escaped his notice that Vala didn't quite draw back her hand, instead let it hover near his face enough to feel the heat her fingers. Blue eyes searched her own for several long seconds, trying to get a read on what she was doing. Usually he thought he could read people. Most of the time he could. Vala though, he never fully knew what she was thinking under there, and especially right now.

Did she bore him? If anything, Vala wasn't boring. Not here and not in the reports so far. Aggravating, surprising, frustrating, interesting, but never boring. Daniel looked to the closest screen. Sure enough, there was Jack's living room trying its best to merge with the Abydos pyramid and desert, and sure enough, he was wishing he could go in there. He should have locked the door.

"Boring isn't what I'd call you," Daniel muttered. His voice grew just a little stiff. "That's not a backwards planet. I'll have you know that the people there are incredible."

[valaunbound]

She did do it every day, at least she had done it every day until she'd arrived on Stacy. Why was she the one who had to compensate for their time differential? It had taken enormous restraint and self awareness on Vala's part to desist for the past couple of months, maybe things would be easier if she just relaxed and did what came naturally. Damn the consequences. Daniel had learned to cope with it once, he could do it again.

The initial invasion of his space had been deliberate, preconceived - but not the glasses. She'd barely been aware she'd even done that. So if he was trying to read her at that moment, she wasn't particularly aware of where her hand was or what she was doing - she was more engrossed in peering at the screen as if she could look behind it and see exactly what he'd been reading prior to his hasty equivalent of hitting the escape button.

"Oh and what would you call me?" She hadn't interpreted anything into the choice of images being displayed, not given it any thought at all beyond them being a convenient cover up. So she failed to recognise the defensive note in his tone and briefly considered that Daniel thought most alien cultures were incredible, at least the peaceful ones. Vala chose to perch on the edge of the desk beside the keyboard, leaning against it and facing Daniel. It also made her hand dangerously close to the keys, a fact that she was aware of.

"So where are you up to? Got to any of my devastatingly heroic acts yet? Or maybe you think I've already doctored all the reports."