Author's Notes: I intended Standing to be complete in itself, but people kept writing me asking for more. I tried to explain to them the story was done; it was up to them to take it wherever they wanted from there. One of them shocked me when she replied she couldn't…I'd assumed we all carried the stories we liked on (or revised them if we didn't like the endings, etc.) in our own imaginations. The thought that some are incapable of what to me is as natural as breathing was…disconcerting and very sad. I had only the vaguest idea of how the rest of the story would unfold but fleshed it out for her. So this one is dedicated to those who need more and can't supply it for themselves…
Disclaimer: Purely for fan purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
In the Aftermath of the Rebellion-Earth
The Standers' Rebellion was fought and won without Earth's involvement, consent, or even knowledge. The Aschen had been a welcome presence on the planet, promising protection from the Goa'uld and prosperity and health to everyone. And then, without a word of explanation or promise of return they were gone.
When Daniel Jackson activated Sam's machine on top of Cheyenne Mountain, he'd assumed it was some sort of communication device or maybe a homing beacon. He'd never considered it was a weapon; never thought his friends would drag him into a battle he had no desire to fight. When its soft, pulsing hum filled the air around him, he hadn't been sure what he should do. He hadn't expected it to emit an audible signal and considering he was aiding and abetting a known enemy of the state he found it more than a little disturbing. He'd built the thing and started it, but he hadn't meant to sign up for a prison term. He backed carefully away from it, but not too far because he was still hoping he'd hear from Sam.
The unexpected chirping of his cell phone doubled his heart rate. He breathed a sigh of relief when he answered and heard Teal'c's calm voice. But, it didn't last. His friend was calling to report the strange exodus of all the Aschen from the planet.
"That's odd," he said, trying to sound casual while looking with growing alarm at Sam's machine. "Are we looking at a full scale evacuation or a call to battle stations?" he asked. 'It's a coincidence,' he told himself. 'It can't be the machine.'
But, he knew it was. He had trusted Sam. It had never occurred to him she might ask him to paint a big, red target on Earth. And he tried not to believe that was what she'd done even now. He sat down in a discouraged hump next to her machine, but he couldn't convince himself to disconnect its power source. Deep down, he still trusted her. But, he'd have a lot to say if he ever saw Jack O'Neill again.
The next call was from the President. He was needed at the Travel Center. The StarGate had been activated, and they had received a coded transmission on the Center computer. He was to report there immediately to begin work on the translation. He was given clearance back into the abandoned SGC where the Aschen had installed a travel pad in the early days of their time on Earth.
Leaving the device still humming away, he was there within minutes of the call. Security met him at the pad and rushed him to the command center where he found General Hammond dressed in the casual clothes of his retirement and Teal'c in the robes of Chulak. He glanced down at his own sweater and jeans. They had come a long way from the SGC.
"What do we have?" he asked. He desperately wanted to tell the general of the machine he'd left running back in Colorado, but he bit his tongue. If it was the biggest mistake of his life, he didn't want Teal'c or the general drawn into his complicity.
"You tell me, Son," Hammond drawled. "The computer techs have managed to decompress the data stream, but we're not sure what language we're looking at. Get to work on it right away."
It didn't take Daniel long. The computer had not recognized the code, but he did. He had devised it years ago trapped in a cell along with the rest of SG-1. It had simply been an exercise to keep the monotony of imprisonment from driving him mad. Jack had spent the time snapping his watch cover and snarling at everyone, Teal'c had kelnoreemed, and he and Sam had played with numbers and letters to make a code known only to them. The one he was staring at right now. Amazing they'd both remembered it...more or less. There were a few things he had to guess at where either his or Sam's memory must have failed, but the message was clear enough when he was done.
Moments ago the Standers' Army initiated an attack against
the Aschen Confederation. You are asked to stand down and not
interfere in any way. This conflict does not involve you.
The Aschen are not the benevolent allies they appear. An
indictment against them is included in this transmission.
If, after you have had time to verify the facts we present,
you believe it would be of interest to your people to meet
with us, word may be left for us at (a set of coordinates followed).
The Stander Worlds will be seeking ways to minimize or repair
the damage caused by the Aschen. We believe you would be an
ally of great importance in this endeavor and offer you our
hand in friendship and mutual benefit should you wish to receive it.
Daniel felt sick. They had used him to strike a blow against Earth's one chance to defeat the Goa'uld and maybe get Sha're back. His anger and hurt over that was worse than his fear of Sam's machine being found and traced back to him. The discovery of the machine could lead to his imprisonment or even execution, but what did that matter? He had been betrayed by his friends and in return he had betrayed his world. With a sinking heart, he quickly set up a program to decode the large volume of material sent with the message, made excuses to the general, and rushed back to the Mountain.
There he found that the machine had apparently deactivated itself. He stared at it a long time as he replayed Sam's recent visit to the SGC. Despite everything, he couldn't believe she'd changed enough to destroy Earth's chances against the Goa'uld...not without good reason.
He carefully dismantled the device and secreted it away in his apartment. Sooner or later, he expected someone was bound to track down the pulse. When they did, it wouldn't be difficult to link him to it-the President had reached him at the Mountain after all!
The pulse had indeed been noted by several satellites and relay stations around the world, but in the confusion following the Aschen 'disappearance', questions which should have been asked weren't. The pulse was presumed to have been a worldwide warning signal the Aschen themselves had sent in response to the Standers' attack. No one even bothered to pinpoint its location.
In the following days, the SGC was reestablished and given control of the Travel Center until arrangements could be made to move the Gate back to Cheyenne Mountain. General Hammond was reinstated and ordered to try to trace the whereabouts of the Aschen and track down the 'evidence' the Standers had sent to verify its accuracy.
Tracing the Aschen proved to be impossible. Their 'homeworld' where SG-1 had first encountered them was deserted, no sign of them could be found on the planets the Standers had given them coordinates to verify their information, and they had no clue where else to look. The Aschen had been tightlipped about so much, but only now in retrospect did Earth realize how much.
Proving the evidence, however, was all too easy. Earth had come within a hair's breadth of disaster. Their hopes for a decisive blow against the Goa'uld were dashed. The Aschen had abandoned their technology, but without more knowledge it was next to useless. Deploying the bio-weapon without their expertise would be potentially too disastrous to contemplate. Perhaps in time, as they were able to access the Aschen computers and learn more, that option would still be available. For now, Earth was left just as vulnerable to the Goa'uld as ever.
The threat hadn't changed, but the political situation on Earth had been turned upside down. The world now knew of the StarGate and of worlds outside themselves. Though the power struggle over the Gate continued off and on, the revealing of the SGC worked in favor of the United States retaining control of the Gate. The world was fascinated with Gatetravel and was much more interested in seeing it continue than the fight over who got to control the strings. They basically wanted the program to just get on with it. Within the SGC, things quickly reverted to normal operations, albeit with civilian and government observers along for the ride.
The world was not as pleased with the Standers. The danger from the Aschen was past before they even knew it existed while the Goa'uld were still a very real and present danger. The general consensus was it was fine these unknown Standers had rid the world of the Aschen threat, but couldn't they have waited until the Goa'uld had been defeated? The distrust that should have been aimed at the Aschen was instead aimed at the Standers.
Earth felt they were best left alone. After the deceit of the Aschen, they could not take the Standers' offer of peace and mutual aid as gospel fact. Better to let it lie. Any race capable of defeating the Aschen was a potential threat to Earth.
That philosophy held true until the Goa'uld threat increased and threatened to swallow up Earth only weeks after the Aschen were eliminated. Suddenly, contact with the Standers was worth considering after all.