A/N - Just thought I'd throw in how i'd gotten the title for this chapter: I saw it on some girl's shirt at school and though it sounded interesting. It's probably from something like a movie or a band, but i'd never heard it before...I just thought it was cool. Part of the plot for this chapter was actually developed after I read the phrase "the kiss and the courage"

Part IX: The Kiss and the Courage

"So here we are…on a ship…again…" Jack gestured around vaguely at his surroundings.

Thor regarded him in the way only Asgard could. "This trip will not be very long, O'Neill."

"I know," Jack shrugged. "I just wish we'd get something out of this."

"What, freedom for the galaxy isn't enough for you?" Sam snapped from where she sat against the wall. A second later she added, "Sir."

Jack looked over to Daniel and winced. Both had noticed how grumpy Sam had been since their departure, though she couldn't be blamed.

"Is something wrong, Major Carter?" Thor asked.

Sam looked up. She was working on loading her P90 with the newly developed naquadah bullets that supposedly were able to kill Riven. "I'm still trying to figure out what Pluto meant about me being Kharon's weakness."

"Maybe he's got a thing for blondes." Jack suggested jokingly. Sam glared at him so hard that he took a couple steps backwards. "Ok ok, I'm sorry, Carter, sorry."

"With all due respect, Sir," Sam said. "I don't really need that right now."

"Ok," Jack said, suddenly serious. "It's just my way of whistling in the dark, you know that…I'm sorry, ok?!"

"Jack…" Daniel said warningly through gritted teeth.

With one last look at Sam, Jack turned and went to see what Teal'c was up to.

Jack re-entered the main control room of the Asgard ship to hear a faint beeping. "What's that all about?"

Sam turned from where she and Daniel stood looking at the main screen. "Sir, the Riven ship just came into sensory range…Thor was right, it is about the size of the Prometheus."

Jack turned around to face Thor. "And how long before we can beam in there?"

"A little while longer," Thor replied. "You may want to check your equipment. We will only have a brief time in range before they see us and open fire."

Sam began checking that everything was strapped to her vest, and Daniel left to put his on. Jack took this opportunity to talk to Sam.

"Carter?"

Sam looked up. "Yessir?"

"I'm sorry."

Sam nodded.

Jack was hardly prepared for the second Thor beamed them aboard the Riven ship. One minute they were on the Asgard vessel, the next, standing in what appeared to be a storage closet.

"Ok," Jack said. "Daniel and Teal'c, when we get the generator down, you two are going to have to keep it down, ok? Make sure no one gets in there while Carter and I go kick this Kharon's slimy grey ass. Got that?"

"Indeed." Teal'c bowed his head.

"Great," Daniel looked around, his hand tightening on his gun. "Which way?"

"We'll take a left when we get out of here." Sam explained. She turned to Jack. "Sir, do you know the way? Or should I take point?"

"After you," Jack said with a sweeping gesture of his hand towards the door.

Sam went out into the hall. SG-1 moved stealthily and did not encounter any Riven for a few minutes. The first two they did encounter were apparently "tech crew" and were busy fixing something in the wall when the four humans appeared.

Letting out strange squawks, the two Riven turned and started advancing on SG-1, but Sam and Jack each fired once and the two Riven fell, dead instantly.

"Sweet. These naquadah bullets really do the trick." Jack said appreciatively as he stepped over the bodies. They continued on.

At the end of a corridor Sam gestured for them to stop.

"What is it, Carter?" Jack hissed.

"Sir, there's a group of Riven just…standing there." Sam squinted. "It looks like they're talking or something."

"Can we get around them?"

Sam moved back in the hall, out of sight of the Riven. She shook her head. "No, Sir. They're blocking the exact path we need to take to get to the generator room."

"It would appear that our only course of action will be to engage them in battle," Teal'c said.

"Great, I can always do with some more stuff that results in the bam with a bang-o," Jack grinned cheekily, earning him a reproachful glare from his 2IC. "Whistling, Carter, just whistling in the dark…"

"Sir!"

"Right." Jack gave himself a little shake, as though to regain composure. "Come on, we'll hit these guys guns blazing."

And so they did, taking the Riven by complete surprise. In seconds however the ships internal defense system activated, even as the last Riven fell. Weapons hidden in the walls began firing at SG-1, and they all ducked into side passages to get out of the line of fire.

Jack wiped his hand over his forehead. "Well that was-"

"Sir!" Sam shouted, grabbing Jack and pulling him down so he was laying flat on his back. Looking up he saw what looked like a blue laser line pass above him. He rolled onto his back just in time to see it slice right through Teal'c staff weapon, which the Jaffa had left sticking up in the air.

SG-1 got to their feet. Sam turned, and swore. Jack turned too. Another laser, red this time and in a crosshatched pattern that filled the entire hall was coming at them.

Jack just had time to say, "Resident Evil, anyone?" before Sam pulled him into the other hallway.

They made a break for the door at the far end, making it through and shutting it just as a loud explosion came from the other side.

The room they'd come out into must have been at the core of the ship. It was round, and huge. The ceiling was high above their heads and there appeared to be no floor save for a walkway around the edge, and smaller walk ways leading to a huge hexagonal pillar that hung in the middle. Below the walkways, all that stood between them and the empty void of space was a glimmering air-lock shield.

"We must have been farther into the ship than I thought," Sam said. "This is the generator room."

Jack was eyeing the metal walkways with distaste. "Is this a good time to mention that I really hate walking across things I can see through? Especially when they're over a big…black...emptiness…"

Daniel too, was examining the walkways that led to the main generator core. "Let's just hope we get across before the defense system kicks in…it looks like these walkways can retract."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "We should each take one walkway and get across as fast as we can. We'lll be able to deactivate the defenses from there."

They all stood before one of the walkways. Jack gingerly put his hand on the thin metal railings that ran on either side. They swayed slightly.

"Ok," Jack said. "Move it!"

They all started running across the walkways. No sooner had they started then there was a rumbling of machinery and the walkways gave a shudder. Everyone moved faster. Teal'c was the first to make it across, then Jack, then Daniel.

"Carter, what's the holdup?!" Jack cried, seeing Sam stopped.

"Sir, my P90's caught on the railing!" Sam cried desperately.

"So unhook it from your vest!"

"Sir, I might – "

"DO IT!" Jack roared as the walkway Sam was on began retracting. Hurriedly she unclipped her P90 and charged, leaping across the gap. "Carter!" Jack ran over to pull Sam the rest of the way onto the central platform.

"Thank you, Sir." Sam said, breathing heavily.

"Anytime." Jack waved at the banks of screens and keypads. "So, where do we start?"

"We need to deactivate the primary internal defensive systems, the external defensive systems and the hyper drive engines as well as block all power outputs so they can't re-rout anything." Sam said.

Jack stared at her blankly. "Just tell me what shiny buttons to press, ok?"

Sam grinned. "Leave it to me, Sir."

In a short while the only lights in the ship were the dull red and yellow emergency lights. Sam had left the security cameras and surveillance system running so Daniel and Teal'c could see if anyone was approaching the generator room.

"Ok, this switch here retracts and extends the platforms. You see any Riven coming in and you withdraw them." Sam explained.

"Right," Daniel nodded. "And you're sure they won't be shooting at us?"

"They don't have handheld weapons on ships." Sam said. "Because the internal defenses take care of that. But we've just disabled those."

"Great." Daniel looked nervously at Sam and Jack. "Well…good luck, you two."

"Thanks, Daniel." Jack grinned. "Come on, Carter, let's see you kick this guy's ass."

The ship had taken on a definitely eerie feeling. As Sam and Jack left the generator room, they noticed that all the hallways seemed to have suffered major explosions. Lights hung askew and walls were blasted apart.

"I must have triggered something by accident while I was disabling the system…" Sam muttered.

"No complaints from me," Jack said. He gestured with his gun at several fallen Riven. "The more of these guys we don't have to deal with, the happier I am." They continued walking.

They hadn't destroyed all the Riven, however. As they rounded a bend they found themselves facing a group of the sinister aliens. The one in the center was taller than the others; unmistakably Kharon. Jack opened fire immediately, not noticing through the barrage that Kharon vanished. When all the guards lay dead, Jack pulled Sam into a tight alcove in the wall.

"Sir?" Sam gave him a questioning look.

"I'm all out of naquadah bullets," Jack said. "It's all down to hand to hand. You sure you're ready for this?"

Sam glanced out into the hall. A long piece of pipe with jagged ends lay against the wall. She nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." She was staring out into the hall, not really seeing.

Jack put a hand under her chin, turning her face back towards him. "Hey, I'll be right behind you, watching your six, ok?"

Sam nodded. "I have to do this myself, Sir. As much for personal reasons as others."

"Much as I'd like to say you're not supposed to let personal feelings get into things like that, I won't, because I can't really talk about that." Jack said. "But if I see you getting the crap kicked out of you, I'm not just going to stand by and wait."

"I know."

Jack put a hand on Sam's arm. He could feel her shaking slightly. "You're frightened."

"To tell you the truth, Sir…I'm terrified." Sam said, echoing the words she'd spoken in the infirmary so long ago.

Jack stared at her, watching the emotion swirl behind those blue eyes. He slowly leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "That's for wanting to see you again." He kissed her again, and Sam responded, causing the kiss to quickly grow more passionate. A sudden noise caused Jack to pull away. "And that," he said quietly. "Is for courage."

Sam moved down the hall, metal pole clutched in both hands, and the comforting knowledge that Jack was right behind her in her mind. She eventually came out into a meeting of hallways, a large round area with corridors branching off in all directions and a single, yellow emergency light burning in the ceiling.

Sam stood there, looking around. The only sounds were the rushing of blood in her ears and her own heavy breathing. She couldn't see Jack, but she knew he was there, waiting. Somehow this thought gave her courage.

"Can you here me, Kharon?!" She challenged. "Are you out there?"

The Riven appeared so suddenly in one of the corridors that Sam jumped when she noticed him. His huge yellow eyes were fixed on her.

"You speak with a brave tongue, Samantha Carter," Kharon said, his words hissing out between his long teeth. "But I sense fear in you." To Sam's surprise, he held out one hand to her. "Do not fear, I will not harm you."

Sam snorted, forcing her voice full of bravado. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"I do not intend to kill you," Kharon said. "But if you do not tell your friends to restart the generator, I will kill them. Even that one who thinks he's so cleverly hiding in the shadows."

"You didn't want to kill me?" Sam could hear her own voice trembling.

"No," Kharon's voice was soft and quiet, sounding like a snake slithering through the shadows in the night. "Come back to me, Samantha Carter, and your friends won't suffer the horrible fate that I have in store for them."

Sam stood rooted to the spot, letting her fear be present on her face, letting Kharon think she was too terrified of him to do anything. He walked slowly towards her. Sam let the metal pole lower from the defensive position it had previously been in. Kharon walked slowly around her, and Sam turned, keeping him in view.

"This isn't so difficult, is it?" Kharon asked when he was a few inches from Sam.

"No." Sam whispered. Then suddenly brought the pole up, smashing it against Kharon's head. It didn't seem to damage him except that he reeled backwards letting out a howl of rage.

Turning fierce eyes on Sam he charged, knocking Sam back against the wall. Jack had just stepped out and was behind Kharon when the Riven stood up and stumbled back, the pole rammed into his side. Letting out snarls he pulled it out, then turned back to Sam who was slumped in a daze against the wall.

"HEY!" Jack shouted. Kharon whirled around, and hit Jack hard across the chest with the metal pole. The colonel crumpled, winded, only able to look up as Kharon advanced on him, the pole raised, jagged end pointed downwards.

And then suddenly Kharon was forced to the side and down as Sam leapt on his back, digging her knees into his spine. The two fell with a crash to the ground, and before Kharon could throw Sam off she'd grabbed his head and twisted it sharply. There was a loud crack, and then nothing. Sam let go and stood up.

"Wow," was all Jack could say.

Sam stood in the middle of the room; breathing heavily, sweat beading on her forehead. She pulled out her radio. "Daniel, Teal'c, lets get out of here."

To Be Concluded….