Duality

A short ficlet about Jack and Daniel and their different perspectives


Like to thank my beta, Mickey who helped to make this story easier to read and enjoy.

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Like darkness and light, it is compassionate and fearful, loving and hateful, life-loving and glories in death, creative and destructive, caring and sadistic. These inconsistencies have shaped humankind throughout history. These dualisms burn in every human's heart, even if they do everything to suppress one side or the other, depending on their individual personality. This conflict in our soul makes us who we are.It affects what we do with the life that what was given to each of us.

Jack O'Neill watched as the flames of the burning villages painted the night sky a blazing orange and red. He wondered if it was the wind that carried the dying screams this far, or if it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. Not that it mattered, not now anyway.

He could hear the refugees murmuring and shivering behind him, and he gave thanks to every deity he could think of for being able save them, at least. One of the babies whimpered. Someone hushed the child. The smaller kids huddled by the far the reminding adults shielding them from the cold as much as from the view.

"We need to do something." Jack could clearly hear the devastation in Daniel's voice. He didn't even turn toward his friend as he answered.

"We can't. You know that."

"But this …this is a holocaust, they will execute every one."

"No, Daniel, not every one." He glanced toward the now silent refugees, they were all listening, wondering, hoping… for what? Maybe they didn't know either. His gaze met with one of the old women's, her piercing red eyes gave him the courage he needed. "This will soon stop, and this Empire will be peaceful again."

"But what will happen when others find out about this massacre."

"They won't." There was a deep sadness in Jack's voice. He wondered, briefly, if Daniel had picked up on it. With the emotional state his friend was currently in, Jack doubted it.

"How could they not? These people were killed off, brutally. Three villages can't just disappear without anyone noticing it. They just can't..." Daniel trailed off. He stared at his friend in disbelief.

"This was a riot, Daniel, a rebellion. As with every rebellion, sacrifices must be made."

"Jack how can you just stand there and do nothing. We could do something…" Daniel's gaze flickered form his friend's face to Sam's equally grim one. As she shook her head, Daniel felt like despair would shallow him. "…Anything. They were innocent." He mumbled defeated.

"Yes they were. But we can't interfere; within a day or two this rebellion will be over."

"This was a rebellion for the freedom of the people who live here. This people fight against their enslavement." Daniel declared.

Jack shrugged.

"It doesn't matter."

"How could it not?"

"Daniel you as someone who studies the past should know," Jack sighed, his sadness and anger evident in his voice and manner, "history has always been written by the winners."