Life Goes On
I'd like to thank my friends, and fans, who were patient with me. Even so Stargate SG-1 has ended, I know their adventures never do. I hope you enjoy this AU of SG-1.
It was another day, another world, far from the one he had left, far from the people he left behind. They left behind a dying world that had fallen into the hands of the Ori after their attempts to remain religiously free, failed. Peace, at any cost, was more important. Putting an end to war and gaining the potential for mystical powers? Most of the human race was waiting with open arms when the Priors visited.
The team, and a lot of others who banded as a loose group of 'resistant fighters,' fled through the Stargate. Moving from gate to gate, they both tried to find a place free from the Ori and to convert those enslaved. Some of their fighters had fallen, others taken as examples of 'false teachers' and others choose to settle down where they were welcomed and start anew. But there were always the few who kept going, hoping to find a better place.
It had taken many months to finally find a place both free of the Ori and willing to take in new strangers. Upon exploring the ruins and libraries, Daniel had learned it was one of the few protected planets the Asguard still had. It was that excitement that fueled his explorations beyond the walls of the advanced city. Cameron had joked it looked like a small New York, with three moons.
It became a base for the small remaining group of Earthlings as they continued to do what they did best: explore. And sometimes get into trouble.
It was one of those times of trouble that made Daniel step back from exploring, step back from living, as his friends commented. It had only been a second, he recounted. A slip of her hand, his fingers untwining from hers, her long fingers tickling his palm as it faded from his grip. In his dreams she is silently screaming. In reality it had sounded like a bomb went off around him.
And so it was another day, another world, far from the one he had left, far from the people he left behind. He sat alone in his home, a gift from the Plantanions, when the Earthlings had settled down. It was four houses from where Cam and Vala were living. A block from Jack. Next door, was the now vacant home of one Sam Carter. Teal'c had gone on another mission with Jack, and he was alternating between homes.
A knock sounded through the house, and Daniel vaguely looked in its direction, down the hall from the kitchen. As another knock came, he went back to staring down his coffee mug. It taunted him, begged him to drink his third cup. Next to it sat an untouched waffle, something that he made while he was on autopilot earlier in the morning. He heard two birds chirp outside, and a dog barking in the distance… almost like Earth.
Except here there were three moons.
Sam had always loved to lounge on his back deck they'd built and stare at the moons, making up stories of aliens, wars, and a group of warriors who wished to save it all. Stories of them. In their former glory, Daniel thought bitterly.
"I see you," Cam's voice broke into Daniel's silent, moping world. He knocked on the window on the back door. "Common Daniel, that coffee is getting cold. I think coffee is best with friends."
With mug in hand, Daniel simply got up and walked to the window, looking at Cameron with a stony face. He stopped at the window, and looked at the man who had led them on resistance missions on many planets. Cam knew when to defer to Sam's intellect and experience, but he had led the majority of missions. He had lead the last mission Daniel had been on. The last mission Sam had been on.
"Hey buddy," Cam said, looking back at Daniel with concern.
Daniel simply placed the mug on the counter, and pulled the blinds shut, blocking Cam out from his view. He didn't have the energy to deal with the younger man. He wanted to stay in his cocoon of sadness and self-pity. Sam was his best friend. Sam was his confidant. She was the one he went to when he had needed to bounce ideas off of someone who could keep up. She was the one whom he would seek out if he had an extra cup of coffee left. And she did the same. The escape from Earth had once more bonded them closer.
Ignored Cam's pounding and rattling of the handle, Daniel turned back to the living room. Maybe that place would be quiet. As he sat in the room, staring at the closed curtains, they rustled and Daniel gave a half smile as he called Sam's cat, Schrödinger the Second, over. The orange tabby gave a small meow and turned into a gray tabby, as it came closer to him.
"For a planet that feels like Earth, it sure has odd creatures," he said petting the cat. The fur went through a bright hue of pink and yellow before it settled into a radiating orange.
As he pet Schrödinger, Daniel's mind started to go back to the day he had brought the cat to his house. Biting his lip he sank deeper into the plush couch. Finally, the emotions subsided and he got up. Schrödinger protested and followed as Daniel lifted a key from the wall and unlocked the basement door.
Clicking on the light, he descended into what had been the 'War Room' before he had left the team. Maps, star charts, Stargate symbols, surveillance photos and some gear lined the walls. Carefully he took out the document he needed from its slot in the wall and spread it out on the large table. He switched on the overhead lamp and the green peppered schematic map sparkled. It reminded him of the ink used on the US dollar bills.
Taking out a pen, he continued to map out his next, and possibly last, mission.
The mission the others had seemingly abandoned.
The mission to bring Sam Carter home.