We've come to the end of this little ditty, thank you for joining the ride. While this is the end of this one I'm not saying it's also the only and final apoca-fic I'll write. Who knows where inspiration will take me in the future... See you in the next fic!

Thanks to g-love78, von, antra, Saissa and Candycane for their words of encouragement.

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Three successive planets later, jumps that together took only a couple of minutes, they stop only long enough for Hailey to set the final DHD on a timed wiping of memory banks.

Then they jump for the last time, their destination untrackeable and unknown to anyone else in the Galaxy.

Their final destination is a planet so far removed from any other it makes traveling there by ship impractical, as the journey would last 10 years one-way at the maximum speed Goa'uld ships are capable of. That is IF they even KNEW of it's existence. Which they don't. The only mention of it's existence and coordinates was in the first Ancient database Jack downloaded, so Jack and Jen can be sure the snakeheads don't even know of it.

They could ask the Asgard if they'd take them in to help them with war against the Replicators and a possible later war against the the Goa'uld, especially to make the latter pay for what they did, but the truth is they're fed up, they've had enough. They're fed up with it all. With the war, the killing, the dying, the uncertainty, losing friends and losing time when they could be living, not merely surviving.

They know it could be seen as dereliction of duty, even though the only ones who could prosecute them for such a charge have been dead for so long it feels like a lifetime ago, it can be claimed they have a duty to the galaxy and that is why they should go on like this, but the questions remain:

Why should THEY be the ones to keep on denying themselves a life for others? Isn't it time for someone else to step in? The ones they swore to protect are dead, so they've released from ANY oath they've ever made, years ago, except for the vows to look after one another.

Neither are they employees of the USAF any longer, so they're not even bound by being paid for their service, which makes it not their duty or obligation anymore.

They know it's a selfish attitude, but surprisingly they don't care. It's time for them to have peace, physical and inner, it's time for them to retire from the fighting.

It's time for them to retire from the war that's been going on in the galaxy before humans had even reached the stage of homo sapiens sapiens, a war that will go on for thousands of years more, even after they're dead.

No matter what they did or how much they sacrificed, the sad truth is the SGC never changed anything and never could change anything... you kill one Goa'uld, there will be thousands more ready to step up and take his place. You get rid of one bad guy/girl and he/she will be immediately replaced by the next one, just like always new snakeheads kept popping up after they eliminated one of the old guard. And the problem was, the new ones were even more vicious, determined and ruthless than the old ones, who actually had some kind of honor codex and could be negotiated with.

There was no use, it was like fighting against the tide. At best the SGC could achieve only status quo and protect Earth from attack and they even failed at that.

The only way they could've won would be to slaughter every last Goa'uld in the galaxy and every last loyal Jaffa and it's pretty obvious that's impossible. Even if they could've done it, there's no doubt some other race would exploit the sudden power vacuum and do it's best to step in.

And most poignant: what can two people ever even hope to achieve?

What can they achieve with no backup, no resources (they couldn't even be resupplied with ammo for their old weapons or even gun oil to maintain them), against an enemy that's been around for thousands of years, the enemy that has influenced Earth's history from the beginning, took humans to other planets, has armies and fleets bigger than the mind can even imagine, personal powers that are almost magic-like and, the most important one: was powerful and determined enough to destroy Earth and everyone on it and then make it uninhabitable forever...

It's been over two years since they left their home on what they thought was only a short mission, two years spent constantly on the run and in hiding. If anyone, they are entitled to finally living in peace, undisturbed, for the rest of their lives.

The planet they're going to is so far removed from the rest of the universe it won't even matter who wins or loses the war, whatever the result will be it will never reach and influence their haven. Not only because it's so far away, but also because the rest of the universe doesn't know about it.

Haven, as they now call it (lingering superstition stops them from naming it after Earth, not wanting to jinx the planet to the same fate), was one of many planets who's existence Jack never revealed to anyone, even Hammond, he held them as his own personal secret in case things with the NID or any other agency ever got so bad he would've had to disappear. There are other planets who's locations Jack kept a carefully guarded secret, but this one has the best weather, no big predators, best living conditions...

Moving further inland they discover a small village and build a small home a day's walk away in a protected spot.

After they welcome their firstborn into the world, the first of the three they eventually end up having, they stop talking and thinking of Earth.

Thisis their home now.

THE BEGINNING

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