"Captain on deck!" the sergeant at arms bellowed as Dylan and Rommie came onto the command deck for the morning watch. Dylan almost missed a step. "As you were," he said, barely making it before people started to snap to attention and salute.
Rommie smirked. "Almost forget it?"
"Don't you start, Rommie."
"Mmm-hmm."
"Good morning, Commander Ratmanski."
"Good morning, Captain." Nadya handed him a flexi as she yielded the captain's podium to him. "Ship's status."
"Thank you." He read the flexi ... and then started to sneak glances up from it. Dylan wore a light blue shirt, a dark blue jacket with blue leather shoulder pads, and dark blue plants with white stripes down the pants legs. Not loud in and of itself, but compared to the command crew's conservative black High Guard uniforms -
"Commander."
"Captain?" Nadya said.
"You take the con. I ... I have to take care of something." He left the deck as quickly as he could without running.
Rommie watched him leave. She frowned, then looked 'round the deck, then down at herself.
Or, more precisely, at her red-and-blue top's low neckline.
"Um..." Rommie edged towards the door. "Nadya, I'll see you in a bit. Ok? Ok." She hurried out.
8
8
By sheer coincidence, Dylan and Rommie, now conservatively dressed, returned to the command deck at the same time, and Dylan was quicker with his 'As you were.'
"Sorry I'm late," Trance said, coming on deck in her bronze, low-cut leather battle armor. "I had quite the time getting all my things properly arranged in-" She realized she had Dylan and Rommie's attention. "What?"
Dylan and Rommie looked at each other, then turned back to the golden goddess. "Nothing," they said in unison, and made a point of going back to their work.
8
8
"Weird," the tech said as he inspected the underbelly of the shuttle Dylan had piloted back from Charon Theta.
"What?" his mate said. "You find something-?"
"No, it's just weird not having the *Maru* in this hangar," he said. "Every day, for eight months I've seen her here, and-" he stopped, reaching up into the shuttle's right-rear wheel well. "What the- there's something-"
With a loud crash, something fell out of the well and down to the hangar floor. When the tech had regathered his wits (and mentally noted that, as counterintuitive as it seemed, he had not soiled his underwear in the last five seconds), he realized he was looking at the very inert, and apparently, very damaged form of Balance of Judgment humanoid avatar 003, also known as Daniel.
"Andromeda-!" he called.
8
8
Beka became aware that she was lying on a cold surface; as she opened her eyes, blinking against the light, she also realized there was something funny on her wrists. Like cuffs.
"You're awake," a guttural voice said. "Good."
The guttural voice barked an order and something yanked on Beka's wrists, bringing her to her feet, her arms held painfully above her. As her vision cleared, she found herself facing a dais, Sam, wearing an elegant white dress, sitting on the throne, Harper standing next to her in some kind of black leather uniform ... and both of their eyes glowing.
"What..." Beka looked around, taking in the ad hoc throne room. "Sam, what the hell is this? And ... worshipping? Tok'ra weren't into anything like this."
"I never said I was Tok'ra," Ydara said through Sam's mouth, "and no one bothered to ask. How surprising that such an expert confidence woman as you would be such an 'easy mark.'"
"What ... you mean ..." Beka lunged forward with what little energy she could muster, straining against her bonds. "Are you saying-?"
"Oh, you're concerned that my host is not really your mother?" Ydara said. "That this was all an elaborate deception? Well, no, Beka, if it will put your mind at ease, you truly are Samantha's daughter. Your friends' maternity tests were nothing if not exhaustive, checking factors even I had forgot about. If Sam were not your mother, it would have been discovered. So you can take some comfort from that little truth, even if it makes things worse for you.
"You see, Rebecca," Sam/Ydara went on, descending from her throne, "what no one seems to credit the Goa'uld for is a firm belief in family ties. It was because of our influence that the Jaffa believed in absolutely unconditional love between parents and offspring. Even if it did not help us control them, neither we nor the Tok'ra could conceive of any other sort of relationship, and we took pains to promote it. So from that perspective, I was truly happy you had found your way back to your mother. I even looked forward to having you serve me.
"But, unfortunately, you are also the daughter of one of our ... how do I put this? ...one of our most persistent and irritating adversaries. I won't flatter Jack O'Neill by saying he was our 'greatest enemy,' but he cost us much, more than even he knew. There must be an accounting."
"So what are ye going to do?" Beka asked. "Kill me for the sins of my father?"
"No," Sam rumbled, "although you will pay. There are many ways to bend one of your kind to our will. Some are easy, painless. Other methods are ... more basic, painful. I have chosen the latter for you." She turned to Harper. "And I know just who to assign the task to."
Harper smiled as he picked up a golden cylinder from a table by the throne. He tabbed a stud, and an energy whip blossomed from one end of it.
"I actually like him," Sam said as Harper came down from the dais and began to circle around behind his former captain. "I'm thinking of making him my consort. How do you like the idea of calling Harper 'dad'?"
"What..." Beka stammered. "No, Harper, Sam-fight them-"
"You're wasting your breath," Sam said. She turned and headed back towards the throne.
"I know you, Harper," Beka pleaded. "I know you don't want to do this. I know-"
"You don't know nothin' about me, Boss," Harper said in his normal voice. "You never did." And in a guttural voice: "The truth has set him free."
"No." Beka returned her attention to Sam. "Sam ... Momma. Fight her! You can do it - if you're my mother, then I know you're strong enough-"
"ENOUGH!" Sam/Ydara snapped her gaze back to Beka. "Samantha's will is my will," she said, taking her throne. "Oh, she did fight me, once, but that was long ago. She has since learned not to challenge her god. As will you." She nodded to a figure Beka could no longer see. "Begin."
Beka heard the whip crackle, then felt its electric shock against her back. She'd never felt anything so painful before. "AAARRRRRHHH!" she cried. "You BITCH! I'll kill you-" The whip snapped again. "AARRGH! I don't care if you're my mother. I'll freakin' kill you!"
"Such language," Ydara lamented, "but you will learn to respect your elders." And she smiled as Harper wound up for another strike.
8
8
Kemp looked up from the figure of Daniel, prone on a work bench with dozens of cables from ceiling and wall panels plugged into open access ports in his head, torso, and limbs. "Ok," Kemp said to his assistant, "I think we've replaced all of the damaged parts. Start reconnecting his neural net."
"Mr. Kemp?" Dylan said as he and Rommie entered the machine shop. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Captain." Dylan nodded towards Daniel. "How is he?"
"Better than I thought at first. He took some heavy damage, but it looks like once he got in the wheel well, he redirected all his power into keeping his neural net active." Kemp tabbed a control panel; a screen filled with a miasma of characters and symbols. "Don't ask me what's going on in there, though. It's a real mess." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Harper picked a heluva time to quit; he would have figured this out two hours ago just from looking at him. Me, I have to plod along the old fashioned way. Andromeda must be real patient with me, 'cause I haven't been blown out an airlock yet-"
"Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Kemp," Rommie said. "You're doing fine."
"Yeah, well, anyway, we should have Daniel on his feet ... jeez, in a couple of minutes, I think, and we can find out what's going on."
"Is that why you called me here?" Dylan asked.
"Not entirely," Kemp said. "I said I was plodding. I may have found something Harper might have missed, if you can believe it." He tabbed a control. A holographic life-sized schematic of Daniel appeared in the room, showing his inner workings, some components in his chest highlighted in red. "Here we have Balance of Judgment Avatar 003 in all his glory," Kemp explained, "and you can see that despite extensive damage, many vital components weren't touched. Otherwise, he'd be scrap metal. But anyway, Daniel here is pretty much hand-made, a Seamus Harper original, and I wanted to compare him to a factor model avatar, so I would have an idea of how to fix him. And here's what I found." Kemp tabbed another control; another schematic appeared next to Daniel's. "This is Judgment humanoid avatar 001-" Kemp said.
"Gabriel," Rommie said.
"Right," Kemp said. "Note the difference in the internal arrangement of his systems. And if we superimpose the hits Danny took onto Gabe..."
The red blobs appeared on Gabriel's body, and several of the internal parts began blinking in white.
"Total system shut down," Kemp said. "Basically, Harper changed the internal design from the factory standard, so those same vital components weren't in the same places they'd be in the standard design. That's why Daniel is still ticking - whoever shot him was aiming for places his vital systems weren't located at."
"So you're saying he survived because Harper built him?" Rommie yelped.
"More than that," Dylan said. "He's saying someone on Charon Theta has weapons and tactics specifically geared for fighting High Guard avatars."
"Harper!?" Rommie yelped. "I don't-"
"GOOAA-UUULD!" Daniel shouted, sitting up with quick, jerky movements, straining against the cables. "Numberslettersnumbersletters ..." He laughed. "Bigger kick than that arm band." He got on his feet, and began weaving around the room, sparks flying as the cables pulled against the ceiling and wall panels. "Errorrorrorrorro-Like the Terminator. 'I'll be bahck!' Ha ha. Livenotlivelivenotlive-not possible. Balance of Judgment notnotnotnot but amamamamamamamam-"
"Rommie!" Dylan said. "Stop him!"
Rommie rushed to the jerking android and grabbed his wrists. But Daniel reversed her grips and grabbed her hands, palm-to-palm. "Help. Me. Un. Der. Stand," he said.
The real world slipped away from Rommie as she was yanked into Daniel's VR matrix. The ride was unlike any she had experienced before - buffeted by a data stream as she raced through a landscape of cascading images and data, her ears assailed by roaring winds, explosions, voices, and -
... and she is in a room. A ballroom, she thinks, or a meeting room, at a hotel in either case. Daniel is on a platform, trying to explain a theory to the audience lounging in folding chairs. Only Daniel is different, bespectacled; his hair a wild, uncut brown mop; wearing a rumpled, wrinkled suit that looks like he may have slept in (but androids don't sleep so what is). He is explaining a theory, something about languages, ancient Egypt ... his audience won't hear any of it. When they tire of heckling him, they file out, only one man left for Daniel to try and convince, but there is only pity and sadness in the man's eyes ... but the old woman is there, near an exit, listening, genuinely interested...
doc
…outside, driving rain, drenching Daniel and his two bags. A soldier directs him to a ground car. 20th century Earth vintage. How...? He sits next to the old woman ... she offers him a job, translation, a chance to prove his theories right ...
tor
... the mountain ... under the mountain ... soldiers ... the cover stones ... Daniel correctly translates the outer track; it's Stargate, not ... inner track a mystery ... then spies a newspaper ... constellations! He has the answer. They come. He explains. They listen. 'The device.' A soldier nods ... Rommie recognizes him: Jack O'Neill ... his eyes haunted by grief and death ... why is he here? ... the blast doors open ... Daniel sees it for the first time, the Stargate ...
dan
... through the gate ... "What a rush" ... A desert world, a pyramid ... can't find the symbols to reopen it for the trip home ... most of the men taunt him, but Jack ... Why is he here? Rommie knows the look in his eyes; he wouldn't be here unless - the village, or city, greeted, feted ... the woman, exotic with black, curly hair ... the catacombs, Daniel learns the story ... seventh symbol gone ... captured, fights ...Ra ... Daniel finds the secret cargo, a bomb ...
"It was a one way mission," Rommie says. "For Jack anyway. That's why they chose him. Something happened ... I saw that look in too many soldiers who fought the Magog. He'd lost the will to live."
"Yes," Daniel says, "but fortunately, it didn't work out that way-"
i
... uprising ... battle ... Ra's funeral pyre is a short-lived blaze in the sky, destroyed by the bomb from Earth ... Daniel stays behind ... peace, love, family, belonging for the first time in his life ... 'I'll be seeing you around, Doctor Jackson.'
"If only it had lasted. I would have given my soul for it to have lasted. But it didn't."
el
... they come back ... she is taken ... he rejoins Jack, and others join them ... Sam, Teal'c, General Hammond ... a new organization, Stargate Command, and its backbone, SG-1 ...
jack
... the gate opens the universe to them ... races, places, friends, enemies... his wife is found, she dies, but he has to go on, keep traveling the stars ...
son
... it comes faster and more furious than Rommie can handle ...
...the world explodes...
sight
sound
smell
touch
taste
places
people
things
life
death
life again
and
'Do you believe in reincarnation, Jack?' Daniel and Jack are sitting on the roof of an apartment building, sipping beers, a quiet evening, a rare break in the storm.
'Garbage,' Jack pronounces. 'Lies.'
'I came back.'
'Never said the universe was perfect.' Jack laughs at his own joke, then turns serious. 'I guess this is going someplace?'
'Yes,' Daniel says.
'Ok. Let's say I believe there just MIGHT be something to it. So what?'
'Have you given any thought to what you might come back as?'
'You mean, like a cockroach or a pigeon ... ?'
'Or a machine?'
''Scuse me?'
'Many cultures believe even inanimate objects have souls. Why not?'
'Well, I guess it would be cool to come back as a Mustang convertible.'
'Or ... even ... a space ship?'
That gets Jack's attention for some reason; he sits up straighter.
'What's this about, Daniel?'
'Um...' As awkward as ever, Daniel fumbles with a note pad on the ledge next to him. 'I kind of dozed off for a moment during the briefing this morning-'
'I kind of noticed.'
'Yeah, well, when I came to, I'd drawn this.' He hands the pad to Jack.
Jack looks at the paper in surprise. '*That's* a space ship?'
'Yeah ... and I think it's me. Or will be me.'
Rommie looks over Jack's shoulder. She recognizes the ship in the drawing. It is ...
... the *Balance of Judgment* comes out of the stars, at her ... she plunges through the window into the observation deck, where Gabriel stands, arms folded ... she falls into the storms of energy boiling behind his eye ...
doctordanieljackson
Energy arced between Rommie and Daniel's hands as she fell away from him.
"ROMMIE!" Dylan dropped to her side, then raged up and got in Daniel's face. "If you've hurt her-"
"She will be all right." Daniel sounded shy and awkward, and for some reason, couldn't look at Dylan. He chuckled. "Huh. It really is like something out of *The Terminator.* Jack would have won that bet-"
"What are you ... LOOK AT ME-!"
"Dylan!" Rommie picked herself off the floor.
"I'm all right."
Dylan crossed to her. "What happened?"
"I ... I'm not sure... but I think-"
"Captain," Andromeda's screen image interrupted, "an unidentified vessel has transited to normal space in our vicinity and is closing."
"On my way." Dylan looked at Kemp. "Fix him up, then bring him to Command. I want some answers."
"You shall have them," Daniel said to the retreating captain's back, "but I don't know if you'll be prepared for them anymore than I was..."
8
8
"Talk to me," Dylan said, cutting off the sergeant at arms.
Tyr's image filled one of the screen. "I have weapons locked on the target, although in the interest of amity for the negotiations, *I* have decided to hold fire."
"Thank you," Dylan said; Tyr could play superior as much as he wanted for the moment. He was more concerned about the strange ship.
"It's High Guard," Rommie said, "but I've never seen that class before. Call letters show ... Dylan, it has *Vedran* registry."
"Life signs?" Dylan asked.
"It should have a complement of hundreds," Rommie said, "but I only detect one human ... We're being-"
A striking blonde woman, her braids looping behind her head, filled one monitor, backed by a schematic of the strange ship. "Greetings Captain Hunt..." Her gaze shifted to Rommie. "...Grandmother."
"'Grandmother'?" Nadya said.
"I am the Vedran Starship *Andromeda Triumphant,*" she went on. "You may call me Andra."
"Another family reunion," Tyr groaned.
"Must be the season," Nadya quipped.
Dylan cleared his throat. "If you don't mind?... Thank you. Andra, can I speak to your commanding officer?"
"I'm sorry, Captain Hunt, but I do not have an organic crew."
"Then how did you navigate the slipstream?" Rommie asked.
"With a map provided by the Vedrans."
"Indeed?" Tyr asked.
"I request permission for my avatar to come aboard."
"Permission granted," Dylan said.
"I'll come as well," Tyr said. "I have to see this..."
8
8
Tyr arrived first, so he was waiting at the hangar's inner airlock with Dylan, Nadya and Rommie when Andra came through, leading a small, dirty man in shackles.
"This is Mr. John Skeezles," Andra explained. "His trade, if one can call it that, is facilitating the movement of goods, products, and - most importantly - information between parties who do not move in the same circles and do not want to admit to contact with one another."
"What's that got to do with us?" Dylan asked.
Andra turned to Skeezles. "Tell them!"
His head bobbed an affirmative. "That stuff that got out about the Valentine woman and the rest," he said, "I got that to the press."
"From whom?" Dylan asked.
"That healin' lady."
"Lady Samantha's agents approached Mr. Skeezles and paid him to act as their go-between," Andra said. "She wanted to publicly discredit your crew, apparently intent on separating Captain Valentine and Engineer Harper from your ship's company."
"Why?" Dylan demanded.
"And how could she have known Harper would decide to leave?" Rommie added.
"Because she's a Goa'uld," Daniel said, coming up to them (Kemp panting along behind him, struggling to keep up).
"And so's Harper, too, I'm afraid."
"Harper?" Rommie squeaked.
"Yes, Andromeda. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm sorry."
The sad, big-eyed look on Rommie's face gave way to rage. "That snake is dead!"
"I will attend to it," Andra said. "The planet has, in truth, a planetary defense grid whose stealth technology renders it invisible to your scanners but not mine. Captain Hunt, I am releasing Mr. Skeezles to your custody. I suggest you-"
"Captain," Daniel pressed, "if you let her go to Charon Theta, she'll destroy the planet. I'm certain of it."
Rommie frowned at the other 'Andromeda.'
"But you don't have the firepower to ..." Her eyes went big again.
"A suicide mission?"
"Of course," Daniel said.
"And how would you know?" Andra snapped.
"Because I'm not willfully blind," Daniel said. "Why did the Vedrans create AIs? What advantage did they offer? Here's a thought: Would it have something to do with the fact that a Goa'uld can't blend with a machine?"
"What-?" Andra stammered. "That information is privileged. How do you-?"
"The Goa'uld conquered Tarn Vedra, didn't they?" Daniel pressed. "*Didn't they?*"
"Yes," Andra admitted, stunned by Daniel's forcefulness. "A quirk in their biology made Vedrans unusually susceptible to Goa'uld control techniques. So much so that organizing a resistance force was impossible."
"So they built an army," Daniel said. "You're just doing what AIs before ... US ... did thousands of years ago: Going on a suicide mission against the Goa'uld oppressors. Probably explains slipstream travel, too - it afforded interstellar travel by means other than the Goa'uld used, thereby avoiding their forces."
"And after the rebellion won, the winners founded the Vedran dynasty?" Dylan said. "I have a little trouble with that."
"I don't," Tyr said. "The truth is all revolutions are contests between elites. Far from rising up, the people are pawns in a greater game."
"But..." Rommie said.
"You are going to try and rescue Beka and Harper, right?"
"I am sorry, Grandmother, but my superiors have declared them casualties of war."
"Like hell!"
A klaxon sounded, rousing the crew to battle stations.
"I'm being painted by targeting scanners," Andra said, stunned.
"Grandmother-"
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!" Rommie raged.
"If you can stand there and honestly tell me you're not even going to try and rescue High Guard officers from a planet you're going to obliterate, then you have nothing to do with me. You're a disgrace to our name!"
"But..." Andra turned to Dylan.
"Captain Hunt. Please. I have no desire to fire on you. Intervene, I beg you."
"All right." Dylan turned to Rommie. "Andromeda, you sounded battle stations without getting my order first. Make a note to wait for the order next time."
"Aye, Captain."
"There."
"But ..." Andra stammered.
"Andromeda and I are in agreement on many things," Dylan said. "And one of them is we recover lost crew, no matter what."
"I'm sorry, Captain, but I have my orders."
"You'll have to get through me to carry them out!" Rommie snarled.
"Excuse me," Daniel interjected, surprisingly calm given the circumstances, "but shouldn't the interests of the SGC be considered? Strictly speaking, Major Carter-O'Neill has been compromised, and her capture should be a priority of any mission against her."
"You are correct," Andra admitted, "but unfortunately, Earth's SGC no longer exists; there are no representatives of that agency to take Major Carter-O'Neill into custody."
"You're wrong."
Daniel found himself the center of attention. He played the moment for all it was worth:
"I am Doctor Daniel Jackson of Stargate Command," he said. "Bringing Major Samantha Carter-O'Neill in is my responsibility, and I intend to exercise it."
"That is not possible," Andra said. "You are the avatar of the *Balance of Judgment.* The real Daniel Jackson, a human from Earth, died approximately three thousand years ago-"
"Yes, and I can say from firsthand experience that crucifixion is worse than it's cracked up to be. Nevertheless-"
"Wait-" Andra was a lousy poker face - if she knew how to hide her surprise, she didn't try. "'Crucifixion'? The exact manner of Daniel Jackson's death is privileged information. Outside the Royal Family, only selected officers and AIs know. So how could you know?"
"Because I was there. Because it was *me.* Would my knowing other restricted details about my life and career constitute proof of my identity?"
"It might."
Daniel extended his hand. "Ready when you are."
Andra took his hand; both androids closed their eyes. Nothing happened for several minutes. Then they opened their eyes; Andra released Daniel's hand and shuffled back, visibly shaken. "This..." she stammered, "this is impossible. You can not be-"
"Anyone other than who I claim to be, the reincarnation of Daniel Jackson," Daniel said. "You've seen my memories; Andromeda can verify their authenticity."
"It's true," Rommie said. "He has Dr. Jackson's memories."
"Barring evidence to the contrary - which you won't find," Daniel pressed, "you have no choice but to recognize me as the last surviving member of Stargate Command, and my right to apprehend one of our rogue members, Major Samantha Carter-O'Neill, also known as Ydara."
Andra was visibly torn. "My mission parameters do allow me wide latitude in choosing the means to perform my missions. But I do not know if I can make a radical change without authorization from my superiors."
"Oh, I'm sure they'll understand," Dylan said.
"Especially given that the SGC would have been a natural ally," Daniel put in.
"But if you are really concerned," Tyr said, "cede operational command of the mission to the good Captain Hunt. You can always blame him if things go wrong."
"Yes..." Andra mused. "Yes, that will work. Thank you, Regent Anasazi. Command of the mission is yours, Captain Hunt. I will return to my ship and await your orders." She spun on her heel and left.
"What do you know?" Tyr said. "A self-interested machine. Perhaps there is such a thing as artificial intelligence after all."
"The regent really wants my internal defenses to malfunction, doesn't he?" Rommie quipped.
"That's enough, children," Dylan said, crossing to Daniel. "Thank you. But if this is a scam-"
"It isn't," Daniel said, "although I wish it was. As Jack O'Neill might say, reincarnation sucks."
"Be that as it may," Tyr said, "what now?"
"Dylan to command," Dylan said. "Reverse course-we're returning to Charon Theta. Alert the Nietzschean fleet and the *Andromeda Triumphant* of our actions."
"Aye sir," a voice said from the air. "Changing course to nearest slip portal."
"Very well."
"My former captain has a plan?"
"Yes, Tyr, I do..."
8
8
"You wanted to see me?" Dylan said, entering the machine shop. He found Daniel leaning against a wall by the entrance, already dressed in battle fatigues, Rommie lying on an inclined table in the middle of the room, stripped to her underwear, mechanical arms from the walls and ceiling poking in access ports in her arms, legs, and chest.
"Go ahead," Daniel said. "Tell him-you won't like it, Dylan."
"What won't I like? Rommie?"
"I've beefed up our internal defenses and our auto-repair systems," Rommie said, her eyes on the ceiling. "With luck, Samantha's weaponry won't have such an adverse effect-"
"Tell him the part about Harper. You really won't like it, Dylan."
"I'll be the judge of that, if you don't mind, 'Dr. Jackson.' Rommie?"
"I've added additional buffers to further step down the data transfer rate in my I/O channels," Rommie explained. "That should make it safe for me to use Harper's dataport to access his body's nanobots and program them to-"
"She's going to use the dataport to access Harper's mind," Daniel interrupted. "She hopes to help break his mind free of the Goa'uld's control by a direct confrontation."
"Rommie? Is that true?"
"Yes."
The mechanical arms finished their work, retreated to their slots in the walls and ceiling, and the access panels in Rommie's body snapped shut, leaving not so much as a seam to belie her appearance as a beautiful human woman. The table came to a vertical position, and Rommie stepped away from it.
"Daniel was right-" Dylan said, "I don't like it. Even if you can do it without frying Harper's nervous system, you'll be putting yourself on the Goa'uld's home turf. He could shut down your systems with a stray thought."
"I will have to confront the Goa'uld and get past it to access Harper's nanobots," Rommie said as she pulled on her BDU.
"Are you sure this is the only way?"
Rommie turned to Daniel. "Will you excuse us? Please?"
"Um..." Daniel pointed at the door. "I'll just be...uh..." He left.
"I liked him better when he was trying to kill me," Dylan said. "Well, Rommie?"
"Dylan, I have to do this."
"Why? What are you trying to prove?"
"I'm not trying to...Dylan, Harper has given more of himself to me than any organic has given to any AI, ever. Yet every time he's been at risk, I've been, at best, a bystander, at worst...Dylan, I *have* to do this. All right, maybe I am trying to prove something, if only to myself, that I deserve to be this ship's AI, that I can do what I was meant to do, serve and *protect* my crew. I know you can stop me with an order. I'm asking you as ... as a friend, not to give that order."
Dylan looked at a point over her head and sighed. Then he looked down at his ship's avatar. "All right. But let me be clear: This is not a suicide mission; you won't prove anything if you destroy yourself. The mission objectives are to disrupt the Goa'uld operation and extract Mr. Harper and Major O'Neill. If your plan A doesn't work, go to plan B. No unnecessary risks. Understood?"
"Aye, captain."
8
8
Out in the corridor, Daniel watched Dylan leave the machine shop, then straightened up as Rommie came over to him. "I take it he didn't talk you out of your plan," Daniel said.
"No," Rommie said.
"I see... Uh, Rommie, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, but ... uh, I was worried about you."
"I know. And thank you for your concern. Having said that, would such concerns have prompted Jack O'Neill to change some of his plans?"
"No." Daniel smiled slightly. "We pulled some real bone-headed plays, I can tell you that."
"I'm sure," Rommie said, smiling sweetly. "So, now that we understand each other, let me remind you of something: I am the dominant system on this mission. If you don't obey my orders-"
"You will rip out my innards and use them for target practice."
"Exactly." Rommie's smile widened. "Don't you love it when sentient beings can understand each other so well?"
She held the smile as she headed down the corridor.
Daniel leaned back against the wall. "Memo to self: Next time a strange old woman in the back of a limo offers you a job, tell her you have a previous engagement."
8
8
"We are in the Charon system," the pilot said after the *Andromeda Ascendant* and its escort came out of slipstream. "Coming up on Charon Theta."
"Very well," Dylan said. "Andromeda?"
"Activating sensor upgrades..." Andromeda's screen image said. "I have identified the planetary defense grid. Sensors indicate the satellites have locked onto us."
"Open a channel."
"Aye."
"This is Captain Dylan Hunt of the *Andromeda Ascendant,* calling Major Samantha Carter-O'Neill and the symbiote Ydara. We are here to arrest you and secure the release of Seamus Harper and Captain Beka Valentine. You can surrender and come quietly, or we can do this the hard way. The choice is yours."
Sam's face quickly filled the monitor. "Dylan!? What's going on? What's this all ab-"
"You can drop the act, Sam. I know what you are and what you're doing, and I'm going to put a stop to it. Now."
Sam's eyes flared. "Come ahead, fool," she said in Ydara's voice. "What's another dead hero?" She left the screen.
"The satellites are firing their missile batteries," Andromeda reported.
"Defensive missiles!" Dylan barked. "Return fire! All ships, commence attack."
The *Andromeda Triumphant* lead the way, blazing a trail through the swarm of missiles, she, her 'grandmother,' and the Nietzschean ships targeting the defense satellites, even destroying one or two. But it was only a matter of time before they started taking damage ... as Dylan had expected.
"Just a little more..." Dylan said as the Command Deck rocked under his feet and sparks flew from panels. Then the deck echoed with a particularly bad hit. "That's it! Launch the escape pods! All ships, retreat."
As the *Andromeda Ascendant* peeled away from Charon Theta, her wake quickly filled with a swarm of escape pods. All but one of them were empty, of course, with transponders broadcasting false life signs. The one remaining pod also had a life signs transponder ... and three androids crammed into it.
"ECM units operational," Andra said. "Avoiding enemy missiles."
"Primary LZ selected," Daniel said. "Setting course."
"I'm comin' to get ya, Harp," Rommie whispered. "Just hang in there..."
8
8
"The enemy ships are retreating," one of the Jaffa manning Sam's war room, not far from the throne room, reported.
"So soon?" Harper/Sedara said, skeptical.
"The *Andromeda Ascendant* has launched escape pods," the tech went on.
"Now I know that was too easy," Harper rumbled. "Hunt is up to something." He came up behind the Jaffa and studied the tactical graphic. "That group of escape pods, there - they seem to be on a course to land near us. Nicely done, 'Boss.' Destroy them."
"They are under the range of the nearest satellite."
"Then fire anti-aircraft missiles at them as soon as they are in range."
"Yes, sir."
8
8
"Altitude, 30,000 meters," Daniel said. "Decelerating ... twenty-nine thou-"
"I'm detecting missile lock," Andra said. "We are coming into range of their AA batteries."
"Right on time," Rommie said.
"They're firing..." Andra went on.
"Wait for it.."
"...missiles have acquired target... closing ..."
"...stand by..."
"...impact imminent..."
"NOW!"
Daniel blew the hatch, and all three androids exploded out, arcing away from the pod, just before the missile destroyed it. They were far enough way to be untouched by the blast, but close enough to mingle with the debris cloud, and use it to mask their free fall to the ground ... 27 kilometers below them.
And closing fast.
8
8
Beka winced against the light as the door to her cell creaked open; she rolled over on the floor as Sam entered, flanked by four guards.
"Good morning," Ydara said with Samantha's vocal chords. "I thought you'd like to know the *Andromeda Ascendant* attempted to mount a rescue, but we repulsed it. So we will not be distracted during to today's lesson." She turned to her guards. "Bring her."
8
8
"Admiral Zhukov reports my forces are in position," Tyr said as he and Dylan boarded one of the *Andromeda's* shuttles. "We can move in as soon as the defense grid is down."
"Good." Dylan's eyes traveled over the lancers checking over their weapons in the passenger seats - he saw that Trance and Kemp were checking over their own bags - until he spotted the man in the pilot seat. "Sid!?" Dylan yelped. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sid said. "Even if Rommie and company get the grid down, you will still need the best star pilot in the galaxy to pull this off, but she's one of the people we want to rescue. So you will have to do with the one who taught her how to fly."
"A prudent choice, I would think," Tyr said, plopping into the co-pilot's seat and doing systems' checks.
"Oh, fine," Dylan said. "And I suppose your son, Tamerlane, is going to be our flight engineer?"
Just then, a Nietzschean boy darted forward with a small component in his hand, tools hooked to his belt. "Father! I've replaced this faulty relay."
"Well done, my son. Now go and make sure our point defense lasers are ready."
Tamerlane raced to the rear of the ship.
"He's good with mechanical things," Tyr explained.
"Uh-huh." Dylan found an empty seat among his lancers and sat down. "You know what? I'm going to sit here and not worry about the Universe going insane, because there's nothing I can do about it anyway."
"What's got into him?" Sid muttered.
8
8
The three androids' AG harnesses kicked in to break their falls when they were only half a kilometer above the ground. They landed a dozen meters from each other, in a small field surrounded by trees.
"All right," Rommie said, pointing. "The compound is ten kilometers that way. Andra-"
Daniel sneezed. Loudly.
"What was that?" Rommie demanded.
"Allergies," Daniel sniffled.
"You're an android - you can't have allergies."
"I had them in my human life; maybe I brought them along."
"Well, compartmentalize them and get with the program!"
"Compartmentalize them? Oh, yes ... there. Done."
Rommie kept her incredulous gaze fixed on the male android. "Andra. Take point. Daniel. Cover the rear. And PLEASE don't give me a reason to shoot you. The paperwork's a bitch."
"I'm never going to get paid," Daniel muttered as the androids started running.
8
8
"We have a problem," Harper said, entering the throne room. Sam looked away from the beaten and bloody form of her daughter, hanging limp in her shackles.
"What?"
Harper crossed to a control panel; it lit at his touch. "I had to recalibrate the sensors to find them, but three energy signatures are coming at us through the forest at one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour."
"What...High Guard androids? How?"
Behind them, Beka started chuckling. "You're in for it now," she said with a grin. "If Rommie knows what you've done to Harper, then you can just forget it. She can't be reasoned with, she won't be bargained with, she absolutely will not stop until she gets in here and rips your head off."
"We will see," Samantha/Ydara said. "Alert the Jaffa; send more guards to the defense grid's computer core. That is their most likely target."
8
8
They felt the weapons lock onto them just as they got within sight of the compound.
"Incoming!" Daniel shouted.
The three androids ducked behind trees, a blur of motion, barely avoiding the barrage of Jaffa energy bolts.
"So much for doing this quietly," Daniel observed. "What now?"
Rommie drew her force lance, her face a mask of determination. "We do it loud!"
8
8
From the throne room, Sam, Harper and Beka could hear the sounds of weapons fire and shouting. And then a loud explosion rocked the room, making the lights flicker.
"Nice to see ya, Rommie," Beka muttered.
"The defense grid is down," Harper said in the Goa'uld's voice, consulting the monitor. "And I show three intruders moving quickly through the compound."
"Why don't you welcome them?" Sam asked.
Harper smiled and hefted a rifle. "My pleasure."
"Wait-" Beak said. "What-"
Harper patted his rifle's clip. "Anti-android ammo. Something I invented to pass the time here." He turned to leave.
"NO!" Beka shouted after him. "You can't-" Beka turned to her mother. "Sam, or whoever, you can't do this. Harper loves Rommie. If you make him kill her, you'll destroy him."
Sam's eyes flared as she smiled. "I prefer 'break' to 'destroy,' but you've got the general idea..."
8
8
"Captain," Andromeda's voice called, "the defense grid is down-"
"That's it! Tyr, order in your troops. Sid, launch!"
"And away we go," Sid said as he worked the shuttle's controls.
8
8
"Is it just me?" Daniel said as they move across the lawn, force lances at the ready. "Or is there something suspicious in that all resistance suddenly evaporated?"
"It's just you," Rommie snapped.
"No," Andra said, "he's right-this is too-"
Just then, several meters away, Harper came around the corner of a nearby building, leveling his rifle. "
Take cov-" Andra started.
Harper's first shot caught Daniel in the leg. Sparks flew and he stumbled, but he still managed to keep up as the three androids made for a nearby ditch. But Harper's next shot caught Rommie the back. As her body erupted, her arms and legs flailed, smoke and sparks pouring out of her, and she fell to her knees.
"ROMMIE!" Daniel screamed.
"Go!" Andra shoved Daniel into the ditch. She soaked up three more shots from Harper as she grabbed Rommie by the arm and pulled her to safety.
Daniel had already pulled a small repair kit from a uniform pocket and began working on Rommie with the small tools. "You came through that well," he said to Andra.
"My systems have been upgraded to better absorb battle damage," Andra explained.
"Oh, and how thoughtful it was of the Vedrans to share that with us."
"But ... they haven't."
Daniel rolled his eyes. Andra's programmers had apparently decided sarcasm no longer had a place in AI personas. "Never mind."
"There's a squad of Jaffa approaching from the Southeast," Rommie said, turning to Andra. "Hold them off. Then secure the LZ for Dylan's shuttle."
Andra hesitated.
"Go!" Rommie hissed.
Andra went, successfully avoiding more shots from Harper.
"How am I?" Rommie asked.
"Not good -" Daniel started.
"Having trouble, my beloved Rom Doll?" Harper taunted in the Goa'uld's guttural voice. "Why not come out and let me fix you?"
"I need you to earn your keep," Rommie hissed. "I need a tactical analysis. Is there a way out of this without killing Harper?"
"I've run ten of those in the last 6 seconds," Daniel whispered. "No. It's him or us." Rommie closed her eyes for a second.
"I know. That's not what I came here for." She opened her eyes. "Cover me. And DO NOT fire unless I order you to."
"What are-"
"You have your orders."
Rommie clambered out of the ditch, got to her feet. She leveled her force lance at Harper.
Harper took aim at her.
Rommie dropped her force lance; it hit the ground with a solid thump.
"What...?" Harper said, puzzled.
"Go ahead," Rommie said, shambling forward.
"Shoot me if you can."
"Pick it up!"
"No."
"Pick up your-" Harper winced, then spoke in his own voice: "Rommie? What are you ... get out of-" Another wince, and the Goa'uld returned: "I'll drop you where you are, then, I'm warning you-"
"It's not easy, is it?" Rommie said. "You've made the same mistake everyone makes: You think he's the weakest of us. In fact, he has more strength than even he knows. As you're learning. He'll fight you with everything he has-"
"And lose! It's only a matter of time before I override him and pull this trigger."
"Then I'll die and he'll live, a trade I'll gladly make."
"Foolish ... KEEP BACK!"
Rommie finally bumped into the rifle's muzzle. She yanked it out of Harper's hands and tossed it away, then grabbed Harper by the collar.
Harper/the monster inside him smirked. "Well done, an impressive display. But even without Harper's expertise at my disposal, I can tell your systems are crashing. Even if the *Andromeda* is sending you all the power she can spare, the fact is you're dying. How many minutes do you think you have?"
"Enough to finish this." Rommie clamped her other hand on Harper's dataport and closed her eyes.
'This must be my day for unusual VR entries,' Rommie thought as she flew through another tunnel like the one into Daniel's mind, but more fluid, not remotely mechanical. It spat her out into a dark, tortured sky, thousands of meters above a blasted cityscape of shattered building and lifeless earth. She slowed, hovering in the air for a moment, then dropped like a stone. Her impact was almost as loud as a small nuclear explosion; although she seemed to be intact, the impact crater must have been a hundred meters across.
Rommie picked herself off the ground and dusted herself off. "This looks like Boston," she mused, "but worse than it really was. An impression of Boston, perhaps."
"Very good," the Goa'uld voice said. The clouds boiled above her, forming into the contours of Harper's face, the image filling the sky from horizon to zenith; lightning flashed in his eyes. "Well, well, well, you were actually foolish enough to come in here. Welcome to my nightmare, 'Rom Doll;' I don't think you're going to like it!"
Energy blasted out of the Harper face's eyes and sent Rommie flying. She didn't know how far (as if that mattered here); it felt like dozens of kilometers at least. She bounced and rolled and finally came to a stop against some rocks. She rolled over, looked over the rocks as she picked herself up -
- and saw her own VR matrix? No, the walls were blurry, indistinct - another impression from Harper's memories. Before she could react, a brilliant star descended out of the faux VR sky and stopped meters above the ground, hovering between two walls of data files. Rommie squinted - she could make out two figures inside the star: Herself and Daniel's predecessor, Gabriel, naked, kissing passionately, their bodies losing detail and blending into a single energy form. Then she became aware of someone standing just to her right ... Harper. As he had been during that incident, in a t-shirt, work pants, and tool belt. He looked up at the star form with a hurt look on his face, then looked down below it, his eyes not focusing on anything. His hands convulsed into fists for a moment. Then he broke into scan lines and vanished.
"No," Rommie breathed, "that didn't-"
"Oh, yes, Andromeda," the Goa'uldHarper's voice rumbled, "he knew. I suppose you weren't aware of him because ... you had something else on your mind. But he knew. And that's why this made sense to him..."
The world melted around her, and she found herself in a machine shop aboard the *Resolution of Hector,* Harper and ... herself standing before a panel displaying a schematic of Remiel, the *Balance of Judgment's* second avatar.
"I..." Harper said, finally tearing the words out of himself, "I love you."
The other Rommie snorted disdainfully. "Well that's the most pathetic thing of all. I might as well ask you to love an amoeba."
"No!" Rommie shouted. "Those words didn't come from me-"
"The words, no," Goa'uldHarper growled, his face filling the monitor. "But the sentiments behind them? The contempt for him? You're telling me that was ALL an invention of the Judgment AI? Or could it be that after living within your mind for two years, he'd picked on some feelings you have for your little pet that you simply don't voice because you'd hurt his feelings?"
Rommie didn't answer.
"WELL?" the face demanded.
Rommie whispered something.
"What!?"
"It's true," Rommie repeated "I-I do have ... problems with Harper. But that's not all there is to my relationship with him. I care for him; I feel closer to him than any-"
"SPARE ME!" Another eye blast sent Rommie flying. She found herself outdoors again, lightning filling the sky, wind and rain tearing at her. She hit the ground hard.
But Goa'uldHarper was there. "You didn't stop him from being infected by the Magog," he accused. "You utterly failed to find a cure for him. You've broken his heart at every opportunity. You didn't come here to save him; you came here to prove you're not the failure you fear you are. Well, you're wrong!"
He kicked her, sending her another hundred meters. Rommie tried desperately to get back on her feet, but the best she could do was get on her hands and knees, clutching her stomach in pain. "Look at you," Goa'uldHarper said, advancing on her, untouched by the storm raging around them. "So haughty and proud, fancying yourself the perfect High Guard soldier. And yet you leave nothing in your wake but chaos, pain, and death." He reached down and grabbed her collar; Rommie winced as he roughly pulled her to her feet. "You want to save your friend? Then do the only thing you can't possibly mess up, Andromeda: Lie down and die."
His free hand sent an energy blast into her chest; Rommie went flying again. She found herself bouncing and rolling headlong down a rocky hill side. She hit the bottom of the slope with a THUD as loud as a thunderclap; the mud rippled with her impact; then all was still.
8
8
In the real world, Daniel, crouching next to Harper and Rommie with his force lance drawn, turned and looked as Rommie winced and sparks flew from her back, the only activity since she and Harper had shut their eyes. Then all was still again.
"Someone please tell me that's a good sign," Daniel said, turning his attention back to searching for the enemy.
8
8
Rommie lay in the mud, the rain pounding down on her. She could hear/feel Goa'uldHarper coming for her, to finish her off, but even if she could find the strength to fight him, she didn't think it was worth it.
'...'
The monster had been right, of course.
'...mm...'
Her career - her whole LIFE - was a catalogue of defeats and disasters, her decks crowded with the ghosts of fallen crew members. It amazed her that her latest little crew hadn't gone to their graves long ago, but they couldn't thank her for that. When Harper had been infected by Magog larvae, living his worst nightmare, what had Rommie done for him? Nothing.
'...ommi...'
At best a bystander; at worse, the author of his misery. *All* their miseries. Better to give up, to lie down and die. Dylan would find another AI for his ship, a better one-
'ROMMIE!'
"Harper?" Rommie rolled over onto her hands and knees. She looked down into a puddle, at her reflection, and it morphed into Harper's face - the REAL Harper's face.
'C'mon, Rom Doll! Get up. Kick that guy's butt!'
'I can't, Harper ... I'm sorry ... I'm not good enough ... I'm a failure...'
'LIKE HELL! You're the freakin' *Andromeda Ascendant,* the baddest ship in the Known Universe (and incidentally, the love of my life). You've had bigger bastards than this schmuck for breakfast and had room for five more just like him. You can take this creep; I *know* it! So get up and show 'im what you're made of, Rom Doll.'
Rommie looked down into the image of Harper, and she felt it - his love, his strength, pouring into her, as Harper gave more of himself to her than anyone ever had. No questions asked, no conditions set.
'Thank you.'
Goa'uldHarper was standing over her. "Any last words?" he asked, a fireball blazing in one hand.
"Yes." Rommie sprang to her feet and lunged at the monster, his skin and clothes rippling like water as her hands plunged through them into his chest. "SCREW YOU!"
Goa'uldHarper writhed in pain, crying out. Then his body broke into chunks and Rommie found herself holding a Goa'uld snake, but where in reality they were a few centimeters long, this one was as big as a python. Lightning tore through the sky; wind and rain blasted her; the monster wrapped its tail around her throat. But none of it fazed her.
"You're the failure," Rommie snapped. "Accessing Immuno-enhancement nanobots. Programming Goa'uld biosignature parameters-" A loud buzz echoed from everywhere at once. "Dammit!" Rommie shouted, her strength starting to flag again. "He's blocking me-"
"Got yer back, Rom Doll," Harper's voice said from the clouds. "I see where you're going. Loosing the nanobots of war! Sayonara Snake Head!"
The Goa'uld screeched in pain as its body flashed, then broke into static and vanished.
The storm stopped; the clouds rolled back, and the sun took its proper place in the clear blue sky.
Rommie fell to her knees, as triumphant as she was exhausted.
8
8
Rommie and Harper opened their eyes at the same time. "Harper?" Rommie asked hesitantly. If her gambit hadn't worked -
"Rommie?"
That one word was all she needed. "Harper, Harper, Harper," she said, pulling him into a hug, smiling. She kissed him on the cheek, and then pressed her cheek against his. "Little engineer ... I've got you, I've got you ... The Goa'uld is in a coma. Trance should be able to safely remove it."
"Good." Harper winced. "Rommie? Let's not ever do anything like that again. Not without dinner and dancing first, anyway."
Rommie almost laughed - there would be time to remonstrate with him over his behavior later.
"Throw in that overhaul I've been needling you about," she said, "and you might just have a-"
She felt the weapons lock before even Daniel was aware they were being fired on. She shoved Harper to the side and took the jaffa energy bolt square in the chest. Ordinarily, she would have shrugged it off, but not after all the damage that had been inflicted in the real world and in the VR matrix: Sparks flew from her chest as she slumped to the ground.
"NO!" Daniel screamed, firing furiously at the shooter, a lone jaffa on a nearby rooftop. His armor sparked and he fell back, out of sight.
Harper had already fallen to Rommie's side. "No... Rommie..."
"Here," Daniel said, handing Harper his tool kit. "Android first aid kit-"
"Go," Rommie said.
Daniel just looked at her.
"Find Samantha and Beka," Rommie went on. "You have your orders. Move!"
Daniel patted Harper's shoulder. "Do what you do best, Pygmalion." Then he took off on a run.
8
8
Beka flopped to the throne room's floor when Sam released her handcuffs from the ceiling chains. Then Sam backed up, aiming a weapon at her daughter. "Get up," she ordered in the Goa'uld voice.
Beka unsteadily got to her feet. "Where ... where to now?"
"We're taking a little trip. You might enjoy it; I seem to recall it was quite a rush ..."
8
8
"Oh, DAMMIT!" Harper sat back on his knees. "Rommie, I'm sorry - I can't-"
"It's all-"
"Over here!" a voice shouted behind him. High Guard and Nietzschean soldiers quickly swarmed over Harper and Rommie. Harper held still - a prudent move with a dozen guns in your face - until Dylan came over.
"Mr. Harper?"
"Hey, Boss. What's up?"
Dylan smiled. "He's all right; let him go. Mr. Kemp?"
Kemp bent over Rommie, furiously making repairs. "Almost there..." A loud SNAP, and Rommie suddenly had a little more spark in her. Kemp pulled back from her, and started to go over her with a diagnostic scanner. "Not the prettiest repair in the world, but she should last long enough to get her back home."
Tamerlane poked around Kemp and peered at the android. "More than long enough, I should think. Are you going to fix that burr in her right shoulder, too?"
"That's been there," Harper said. "I'll get to that when I re-tune her fine motor skills. That friggin' snake burned out those subprocessors."
Kemp frowned down at his scanner. "I should just throw this away. Or sell it. Paperweight, anybody?"
"Save it for a rainy day, Mr. Kemp," Dylan said, crouching by his ship's avatar. "Andromeda? What did I tell you about unnecessary risks?"
Rommie smiled. "Define 'unnecessary.'"
8
8
"So that's a Stargate," Beka said, leaning on a crate near it, still handcuffed, covered by Sam's guards.
"Yes," Sam/Ydara rumbled, moving to the dialer. "The network is up again at last."
"Leaving so soon?" Daniel's voice floated down from all around them. "A shame. You've lived through so much history over the last 3,000 years, Sam. You could at least give me a capsuled summary of what I missed before I was ... well, 'rechristened' would be as good as term as any."
Something in Daniel's voice made Sam's eyes flare.
"So ... it really is you, Scholar." She nodded to her men; they fanned out to search for the source of the voice.
"As pesky as ever I'm afraid."
"Well, you are too late to stop me from leaving," she said, keying in an address. "My daughter and I are taking our leave of this place; you won't be able to deal with my men in time."
"I don't have to."
"What are you-?"
Sam pressed the red, central activation key, and it bounced out of the dialer; Sam caught it. Of course, the gate did nothing.
"The 'Sun Makers' was one of my favorite *Dr. Who* stories," Daniel said. "Look behind you."
Sam spun to see her guards unconscious in a heap, Daniel facing her with his force lance drawn.
"It's over, Sam."
"Nothing is ov-"
"I wasn't taking to *you.* I know what it's like, Sam. To think you've gone too far, that even if you want to, you can't stop." He edged closer to the woman who had been his comrade in another life. "But that's not true. You can fight your way through the madness, through the anger. You can be free, you can come back to yourself." He raised his free hand. "All you need is the hand of a friend."
Sam blinked; her eyes cleared. "Daniel?" she said in her own voice.
Daniel smiled. "Yes, Sam, it's me!"
"Daniel..." She took his hand, and pressed her other hand against his chest ...
... the hand with the PALM DEVICE against his chest ...
"FOOL!" Sam roared as an energy blast sent Daniel flying backwards, sparks flying from him and his force lance. The lance rattled to the floor as Daniel crashed into some boxes and crates.
"Twice in one day..." Daniel groaned. "Wonder if androids get hazard pay..."
Sam's eyes flared as she advanced on the badly damaged android.
"Your new body's maker should be credited, Scholar, for building you well enough to survive my first attack." She aimed the palm device at him. "This time, you will not be so lucky. Fare-"
"HEY!'MOM'!"
Sam turned to see Beka barely standing on her feet, Daniel's otherwise inert fully deployed force lance in her hands.
"Let's go!" Beka challenged.
"Foolish cow," Sam/Ydara spat. "This can end only one way for you."
Beka grinned a death's head grin. "If I'm goin' out today, I'm doin' it on my feet where you can look me in the eye. Let's do this."
"As you wish." Sam raised the palm device. Beka felt the warm energy begin to build up between it and her head ...
... and then subside. Sam's whole body shook as she began to turn the palm device away from her daughter ... towards herself ...
"Beek-aaaaaaa..." Sam rasped.
"Momma?" Beka hadn't planned on saying it - it just slipped out.
"Help ... mmmeeeeeeee..."
Beka rushed to her mother and helped her move her arm the last few inches, to press the palm device against its wearer's chest.
The lethal instrument flared one more time.
Both women - mother and daughter - cried out in pain and triumph.
And collapsed in a heap.
"Nooo..." Daniel said.
Beka pulled herself to her knees. "Hey-" She took one of Sam's hands in both of hers. "Sam? Momma? You with me?"
Sam opened her eyes and looked up at Beka. "I can't feel her anymore."
As Daniel crawled over to them, pounding feet announced the entrance of Dylan and his troops, Tyr, Trance and Kemp rushing to their crewmates, Rommie and Harper supporting each other as they hobbled in.
"Whaddya know," Sam said, "it's the cavalry."
"The symbiote is dead," Daniel said, passing a hand over Sam's body. "We have to - sarcophagus. Beka, we have to find her-"
"No," Sam said firmly.
Daniel just looked at her.
"Please, Daniel," she said, "if that really is you in there, let me go."
Daniel finally nodded, a single tear betraying his emotions.
Sam turned her attention back to Beka. "Guess we won't have that night on the town."
Her anger spent, Beka couldn't stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. "Are...are you sure...?"
"I've lived longer than I'd ever wanted to. I'm ready to go." She smiled. "But I got to see my baby girl before the end. And I'm very proud of you."
Beka couldn't speak, only smile through her tears.
"You ... you take care of yourself ..." Sam looked away from Beka, and focused on the empty space. "Hey..." She went still.
"Sam?" Beka managed. "Momma?"
No answer.
Beka's sobs were the loudest sound in the Universe.
8
8
"Hey, handsome," Rommie as she and Kemp came up to Harper's bed in medical.
"Hey." Harper looked up at Trance. "Wow. My favorite babes are both here. I must be in big trouble."
"Not yet you're not," Rommie said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Keep it up, however, and that will change."
"On the plus side," Trance said, "the Goa'uld left a parting gift of sorts: Your immune system is now stronger than it's ever been. It's still not up to par. But it should be many, many more years before we face a crisis like the one we just had."
"Cool," Harper said. "Kemp, I see ya got Rommie all up and running again."
"Actually we all pitched in, Chief," Kemp said."Even found some glitches you might have missed."
"What, you mean you took care of that flutter in her right eyelid?" Harper said as he and Rommie smirked.
"Eeeyeah," Kemp said.
"And that phase variance in her right optical sensor?"
"Uhhh..."
"And that wobble in her left kneecap?"
"THAT we found!"
Harper grinned. "Take it easy, Kemp; I'm just raggin' on ya."
"Yeah, uh, ok. Glad to have you back, Chief."
Rommie looked over her shoulder at Kemp. Pointedly.
"Uh..." Kemp said. "Yeah, I'll go now and, uh..."
"Thruster quad four," Harper said. "Felt a little bumpy when Andromeda put herself in that barbecue roll."
Kemp smiled and shook his head as he turned to leave. "Yeah, it's good to have you back, Chief. Quad four. On it."
Trance smiled at the interplay. Then noticed the looks from Harper and Rommie. "Yeah, I'll go and, uh ..."
"Dye your hair?" Rommie said.
Trance wrinkled her nose at Rommie but left.
"You didn't know?" Rommie asked Harper.
"Know what?"
"In her original, purple form, Trance was not a natural blonde."
"Didn't know that. Android sensors?"
"Female persona. Same difference." Her smile faded. "How are you doing?"
"Well, you heard Trance-"
"That's not what I meant."
Harper looked up at the ceiling. "Jeez, Rommie ... Before I left Earth, I ... I did stuff, I was ... different. I had to be to survive. And I didn't always like who I was."
"And the Goa'uld brought all that back."
He nodded.
Rommie gripped her engineer's shoulder. "I know what it's like, Harper, believe me. If you ever need to talk about it, you know I'm always with you, even if this body isn't present."
"I know. You can always talk to me too, Rom Doll."
"I know." She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "You rest now."
"You just got here! I know, always with me, but where are ye goin'?"
"To a funeral for a friend..."
8
8
Sam's funeral was with full military honors in one of the missile launch bays, her casket positioned for loading into one of the launch tubes. Tyr, Sid, Daniel, and Tamerlane were in attendance; Dylan lead the ceremony, and (of course) made a moving speech. But Beka felt like she was sleep-walking through it, in one ear and out the other.
An honor guard removed the Commonwealth flag from the casket, folded it, and handed it to Beka. Then, to the strains of "Amazing Grace," the casket rolled down the track and into the launch tube. The deck rocked ever so slightly as it was shot out into space.
Beka found Daniel standing by a window, looking at the tiny, gleaming star that housed Samantha Carter-O'Neill's mortal remains.
"Throne for your thoughts," Beka said.
"Hmm? Oh. Hello, Beka. I was just wondering if my funeral will be anything like this, or if I'll just be broken up into scrap and shot out an airlock during a waste dump."
"Why shouldn't you have a good funeral? You did a stand up job back there, Daniel."
"Yes, I did, and despite the outcome, I was glad I could help. But in all the excitement, we've forgot that I am a terrorist, a murderer, and worse; and it probably won't be too long before SG-1 is once again an historical curiosity with no living members..."