Ruin
"Do you not see even stones yield to the power of time, lofty towers fall to decay, and the rocks molder away? Temples and statues of the gods go to ruin, nor can the gods themselves prolong their date or get reprieve from fate"
Lucretius
Prologue
The sun burned down on the hot sand as the wind scratched irritably across it. Time and again in this great expanse some creature sought to make its mark, whether it was a scorpion tracking tiny prints in the sand or a jackal searching for food. Marks were made and then washed away. The desert reigned eternal. Save for the blowing wind, silence held the desert, but in one small corner of the desert a new sound reigned, the thunder of voices joined in unison, a cry of defiance, a cry of determination, a cry of victory.
Two figures stood on a high dune, unnoticed by the roaring crowd below. They watched as a band of alien warriors were surrounded by a horde of simple desert folk provoked at last to raise up arms. Nearby a battered craft sat smoking and smoldering in the sand.
"Frak!" hissed the man, "The timing couldn't have been worse! I can hear that maniac laughing a galaxy away, how could this happen! Can we get to the other gate?"
"It is buried in ice! Any efforts to remove it could alter the flow of history immeasurably, especially now that the goa'uld will be trying to return through it. We were outmaneuvered, "Answered the woman beside him, "Even our greatest tactician couldn't out guess the evil we face, he is the Lord of Lies, the great deceiver, how can we hope to oppose him?"
"Sheba get a hold of yourself!" urged the man turning and gripping the woman's shoulders, "Even now he still has power over you! We must think!! "
"I'm sorry." Replied Sheba shaking herself, "its been so long and yet still I…" she gave a violent shudder. "Enough of that, Starbuck we must tell the others, ask for their help. There are too few of us left here."
"The others!" scoffed Starbuck, "This is all their doing, they confuse love of free will with apathy! They won't see the menace we're up against until its too late!"
"We must ensure than, that that does not happen." Stated Sheba resolutely, she paused suddenly as if struck by an idea, "Iblis may have just miscalculated, he has gambled that by dividing our forces he may cripple us one at a time, but if there is anything my father has taught me, it is to never leave an enemy for dead. Do you remember what he used to say about heroes?"
"'Old heroes never die, they just fade away.'" Answered the Starbuck confused then realization dawned.
"What would happen if these heroes didn't just 'fade away'" mused the woman, "They would be free to exercise their "free will" of course."
"Lady I think you might just have something up your sleeve." Said the man slowly with a lop sided grin, they both turned and watched a man and a woman stumble from the alien craft below. "But what about Apollo, and Athena? What about your father? They're smack in the middle of whatever Iblis has cooked up on New kobol, they're behind enemy lines!"
"There are few things in the universe more dangerous than my father behind enemy lines." Commented Sheba catching Starbuck's eye. Slowly he began to smile as he realized what she could mean.