Tablets and Prophecies

Can one man really save the planet? Have millions of years of events worked in concert to bring us to this? Can one Tablet really change the course of history? Highlander crossover.

Disclaimer:Stargate SG-1 characters (Daniel, Jack, Sam, Teal'c, etc.) do not belong to me. They belong to Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products. Highlander characters (Duncan, Methos, Amanda, Joe, etc) do not belong to me. They belong to Panzer/Davis, Rysher/Gaumont Television. This story was fabricated by myself for purely entertainment purposes, no infringement is meant as I have the utmost respect for the series creators, writers, producers, and actors.

Category: Drama. This story is very character driven… But there is definitely some action, tension, suspense, in addition to being a bit philosophical. And for the heck of it, I may throw in a little romance towards the end.

Rating: PG-13, there may be some mildly foul language in a few places.

Timeline: This story starts in August of 2003. For the most part I have used the year a season aired as the actual year it occurred, give or take a few months (except for the last season of Highlander). Stargate SG-1, this story begins during Season 7. After Grace but before Chimera (don't know how Fallout would fit in because I never saw it… regardless I don't think that episode will have any bearing) Highlander, this is about five years after the series ended. I have decided to also incorporate what happened in the film 'Highlander: Endgame,' which takes place during the summer of 2002.

So to provide an overview of relevant events in both worlds
Stargate: First trip to Abydos 1996. Beginning of season 1 Fall 1997. Season 7 Fall 2003.
Highlander: Beginning of Season 1 1992. End of Season 5 Spring 1997. Season 6 Spring-Summer 1998. Movie Endgame Summer 2002.

Spoilers: Stargate up through and including Season Seven. I also borrow a few things learned from Stargate Atlantis, mainly from the pilot episode. Highlander the entire series and the movie Endgame is fair game.

Author's Notes: So this is actually the first piece of Stargate FanFic I ever wrote, and I decided to make it difficult on myself by making it a crossover with Highlander. This is a saga that has been many months in the making and I am finally comfortable with it enough to actually start posting it. I would like to send my deepest heartfelt gratitude to Jo and Ruth, who were gracious enough to take the time to Beta this story for me!

I actually have most of this story written, just working on filling in some gaps and adding some more to the mix :)

I would really appreciate anything you have to say about this story. Do you like it? Why? Do you hate it? Why? Reviews are great and serve as wonderful inspiration in the development and tweaking of a story. So please, don't be shy! You don't see me shying away and not publishing this story!

Prologue – When?

Earth

"Can you imagine the possibilities?"

"I have not."

"Where's the cake?"

"Can you get me a beer as well?"

"You've got to be kidding me Daniel!"

"Mom!"

"Cassie, I mean it… Get off the phone!"

"George, do you remember the time in Japan right after we got promoted to Major?"

"Please don't remind me!"

"Jack, I'm serious!"

"You okay Sam?"

The small smile on Sam Carter's face momentarily disappeared, as she was startled from her thoughts by her dear friend, Janet Frasier.

Sam had been sitsting on the couch just content in listening to the conversations taking place around her. Real conversations between the people she was closest to on this planet, and the whole galaxy for that matter. These weren't figments of her imagination or hallucinations – they were real conversations about non-life threatening things. Drunken nights. Archaeological theory. Food. Boyfriends.

After spending what felt like weeks alone on the Prometheus, which, in reality, only lasted four days, she relished being in the company of her friends and family: her father, Jacob Carter; the SGC's base CO, General George Hammond; the SGC's Chief Medical Officer and her closest friend, Janet Frasier; Janet's adoptive alien daughter, Cassie Frasier; and her teammates, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel Jackson.

"You okay Sam?" Janet asked again in concern.

Recognizing her friend in front of her, a smile returned to her face, "Yeah Janet… I'm okay."

"You sure?" Janet was still a little skeptical.

"I'm just lucky to have all you guys in my life," she reassured her. Sam recognized the questioning look on her friend's face and tried again to reassure her, "Honestly Janet… I just liked listening to you guys talk!"

Janet studied her friend and decided that they needed a more private environment to carry on their discussion. She angled her head towards the kitchen before standing up. Sam discreetly followed her to the kitchen.

Janet stopped in the kitchen, but Sam shook her head and led them out to the patio.

They observed the night in silence for a few minutes. Rather Sam observed the night and Janet observed her friend.

She finally broke the silence, "What really happened out there Sam?"

Sam lowered her head in resignation. She had to tell someone eventually. "While I was out there, I started to hallucinate…"

"Yes, you told me that…" Janet cautiously agreed.

She nodded her head, "But I never told you what they were about… I was having conversations with people… With my friends…"

Janet almost asked her who, ready to analyze what her subconscious had been trying to tell her. But she held back when she saw the struggle on Sam's face, she realized that she would tell her in her own time.

"I spoke with Daniel, Teal'c, my father, and…" Sam stopped herself before she said 'Jack.' "And with Colonel O'Neill."

Another silence settled on the friends.

"What'd they say?" she quietly asked.

Sam shrugged her shoulders with an uneasy smile, "You know, the usual… Get moving. Bugging me with questions… Go save yourself…"

As soon as she uttered those words she saw the multiple levels on which she could take that piece of advice.

"Sam?" Janet questioned when she saw her friend losing herself in her thoughts.

Sam looked at the petite brunette and sent her a smile in the hopes of appeasing her concerns.

After a few more moments of silence, Sam turned to her friend with a serious expression on her face. "Janet, do you think our fight against the Goa'uld will ever end?"

Janet rocked back on her heels. "I hope so."

"Do you think it'll be in our lifetimes?" As Sam waited for a response she begged her friend with her eyes for an honest response. But what she was really looking for was hope.

Janet looked at her friend sadly, "I don't know Sam… Every week I think we're getting closer to defeating the Goa'uld… And then the next week we learn of another System Lord."

Sam nodded her head, she knew her friend was right. Who knew when the war was going to be over? "We keep winning battles but the war still goes on."

"Yeah."

Sam looked up at the stars and imagined how many of them were suns to planets they had visited. She was always amazed by the night sky, and now that she had traveled across the galaxy, her awe was only stronger and deeper. Before she had merely been amazed at the fact that she was seeing two times at once. Looking around at the surface she lived and felt the present, but when she saw a star twinkle she knew that something had happened hundreds if not thousands of years earlier. Now when she looked up she knew that there was in fact life out there, it was no longer speculation.

What made Earth so lucky to have been able to go on for so long with out the threat of the Goa'uld attacking? What had made them forget that it was on this planet that the Goa'uld had taken humans as hosts? Made them forget that Earth was their original culling ground for populating the galaxy with humans?

Not that she was complaining, but in their journeys they had seen so much suffering and struggle because of the Goa'uld. She felt so lucky to be from Earth.

But were they lucky now?

Eight years ago, they had opened a Pandora's Box of sorts. And since then they had been fighting a war across the galaxy. A war that most of the inhabitants on this planet knew nothing about.

As she thought about it, a part of her envied those people. They lived their lives and made their own decisions on how to live. They didn't worry about the impending doom of the planet. Their concerns were limited to the safety of their family and what they would have to do to provide for them.

She wasn't so lucky. In her tenure with the SGC she had had the fate of the planet relying on her intellect and ingenuity. She worked and sacrificed so that the other six billion people on the planet would have one less thing to worry about, and have the opportunity to live another day without the fear of slavery or total annihilation. That was her duty.

And it cost her. And all those around her at the SGC had also sacrificed so much on behalf of their planet. On behalf of the future of their planet.

"Are we kidding ourselves thinking that we can take on the Goa'uld? I mean we've only been fighting them for less than eight years. What makes us think that we can do what no one else in the galaxy has been able to do in over ten thousand years?"

TBC