Azdak
Summary
Azdak is the leader of the village of P8X-412, a planet formerly under the control of the Goa'uld Qetesh and now under the control of the Ori.
Character Biography
Azdak is the village leader on the planet designated by the SGC as P8X-412. This planet fell under the reign of the Goa'uld Qetesh for many years. Even after she died, the small mining outpost still believed in their god. Qetesh's last host was Vala Mal Doran. When she discovered the villagers were still faithful to "their god", she pretended to be Qetesh, accepting the worship and naquadah from the planet's inhabitants while she got back on her feet. Her most fervent disciple was Azdak.
Azdak also appeared to have a personal relationship with Vala as Qetesh. Not only did he administer the village in her absence, when she was there, he saw to her personal needs, including planning entertainment such as a play put on for her and SG-1, or, in past visits, rubbing her feet, a memory which later disgusted him after he discovered Vala's deceit. When another villager, Vachna, started speaking of the rival religion of the Ori, Azdak was vehement in his defense of his "one true god", Qetesh. Only the intervention of Teal'c and Col. Cameron Mitchell prevented Azdak from physically attacking the man.
Azdak was equally vehement when he discovered Vala was not truly a god after all. He threw her in jail, spit on her, and planned to execute her. Luckily, Azdak saw reason. Col. Mitchell and Teal'c convinced him to try Vala for her crimes, and they held a "Mal Doran", a trial where, for once, the villagers, not their "god" was the judge. Azdak once again proved his reasonableness when, after discussion with an aide, he took Daniel and Vala at their word that Vala was not the same person as Qetesh, and tried her only for those crimes she had committed in the four years she was without the symbiote, and not for the mass murder and torture the Goa'uld had committed. He was an extremely eloquent speaker in prosecuting the case against Vala to the villagers.
When the Prior of the Ori interrupted the Mal Doran, Azdak closely observed the verbal battle between the Prior and Daniel Jackson. When the Prior and other villagers left, he ordered the Mal Doran ended. He explained to Daniel that the Ori was a bigger issue than what to do with Vala. As he pointed out, the Prior's promises of knowledge and enlightenment were very tempting as a salvation to the poor village that he was barely holding together from season to season. In the end, he and the other villagers sentenced Vala to life imprisonment instead of execution.
When Vachna was again taken ill, Azdak allowed Vala to be released so that she could help him. Seeing the use of her technology convinced him that the village should fight the Ori. He commuted Vala's sentence, though still planned to seize all of her possessions as retribution for her crimes. This decision was his last act before collapsing. The Ori had sent an unknown disease to plague the planet, Vachna was only the first victim. The SGC sent their medical staff to help, but could not find a cure, and the plague would reinfect a victim even after he or she had been healed by the Goa'uld healing device.
Though Vala healed Azdak several times, he continued to get the illness. He wanted to give up in the face of this unrelenting disease, but Daniel convinced him to hang on. Finally, Azdak could no longer fight and became the first and only patient to die from the Ori plague. Vala mourned his death. When the other villagers submitted themselves to the will of the Ori, Azdak was resurrected during the Prior's mass healing.
Episodes
Related Characters
- Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Teal'c
- Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell
- Administrator/Prior of the Ori
- Vachna
- Vala Mal Doran
Related Articles
Actor
Article written by Aurora Novarum
--DeeKayP 15:47, 29 Aug 2005 (PDT)