The Fall of the Sodan
Spoilers for "Babylon" and "Arthur's Mantle"
A/N: This is my first Stargate story…but after re-watching "Arthur's Mantle" a plot bunny popped into my head and I had to write this. I just felt that the episode lacked the emotion that Cameron had to be feeling to see the Sodan village completely destroyed. And honestly did not like how the episode ended.
When he tagged along unknowingly with SG-3 and SG-22 to P96-844, Cameron Mitchell was not prepared to take in the sight before him. He should have known something serious was going down in the Sodan village, since the words 'Ori' and 'doomsday' had been used in the same sentence today. Not to mention the broken signal of a Sodan warrior pleading to be let through the gate. Then adding the extraction team to find out why Teal'c and SG-12 was an hour late with checking in…Damn, he really should have prepared for this.
The once hidden Sodan village, bursting with life, color and sounds was now forever lost. The simply crafted homes that held the soft color of the age wood were now blackened shells barely standing among the devastation. The vibrant red banners that stood out in the earthly colors in the village were tainted by the soot and ash, frayed by the flames. The Oriental-style wooden arches were now just charcoaled posts in the ground.
Cameron slowly walked pasted the unending bodies of the Sodan nation in shock. Each one had blast holes in their stomachs, a precise kill shot to their symbiotes. For the first time today, Cameron was thankful that he was stuck in another dimension. He did not need to stomach the smell of fire and death nor did he have to hide the grief that was overtaking him with each step.
His eyes barely glanced over the broken and ash-stained boundary stones that created the circle that he faked his death in the Kel Shak Lojust months ago.
As Mitchell stood back quietly in the only house that provided safe enough shelter, his anger started to overtake his grief while Teal'c briefed Colonel Reynolds and the extraction team of what had happened. Volnek… all this destruction was done by Volnek. But Cameron's anger was not toward the Jaffa that wiped out a whole civilization (expect for Lord Haikon) but rather towards the Ori…Damn bastards.
Cameron stepped out and walked deeper into the shattered village. Carts, fences, lifestock, homes, bodies…all destroyed as if an unmerciful army had swept through. One Sodan warrior lay on his back in the middle of the pathway. Cameron felt his throat close up with emotion as he stared down at Jolan's lifeless face. Here was a man that had trained him with the belief that he killed his brother, training Cameron in Jomo se telek, so he could have a fighting chance, to die as warrior.
"Why do you do this?" Jolan asked as they took a break from the Jomo se telek.
"Do what?"
"Train this hard. These are the last days of your life. I would think you would spend more time in reflection."
"Well, all I know is, the moment you accept your fate, that's when you're as good as dead. Till then, all bets are off."
"You cannot survive Kel shak lo."
"Well, no offense, but I've endured things I wasn't supposed to survive before, and I'm still here."
Cameron believed it was at that moment when Jolan started trusting him, respected the warrior's attitude within him. Jolan spared his life, when he had every right to take it to avenge his brother's death.
"Hell…" if he did kill Volnek, then maybe everyone would still be alive.
Cameron turned around to head back to where Teal'c and the others would be, when out of the corner of his eye he spotted something that made his eyes burn. He walked over to the remains of a cart to find the dead bodies of the two kids that had watched him train, filled the air with soft laughter every time Jolan threw him to the sandy ground. A few tears fell from his blue eyes as he turned away.
The Ori will pay for this.
Later, when he and Teal'c finally killed Volnek, freeing the Sodan warrior from the Ori's hold, Mitchell joked with a comment of hoping they won't miss dinner. But that was just a defense, his own Sodan cloaking device to cover up the pain he felt. The overwhelming grief for a civilization, that he personally won their trust and befriended, were completely destroyed… all but one man.