Sam ran through the tunnels of the SGC, muttering to herself. This whole thing-Aurora, the battle, and all the other newcomers-was horrifying, and extremely unexpected. Too many of her comrades had died in the attack. Thankfully, none of SG-1 had bitten the dust. Yet.

After what seemed like hours later, she finally reached her lab and she quickly grabbed her laptop off the counter. It didn't take her long to get the device booted up. After setting up her equipment, she radioed Landrey.

"Sir," she said in a breathless rush, "I have to raise the planetary defenses. The ones that I used against the Ori."

In a parallel universe, Sam had encountered the Ori. She'd created a program that would not only make the planet invisible, but also would make it invincible to shots fired from space in defense. They would just pass right through it, as though it weren't there at all. Unfortunately, the power needed for this defense was equal to all the electricity in the United States. That's why there were no shield generators to disable; the power came from a country, not a generator.

The general took his time responding, and Sam began to worry that her words had been drowned out by her heaving breathing. Just as she was about to repeat her message, Laundrey's familiar voice crackled from the speaker

"Why?" he asked, his voice gruff and skeptical.

"The Death Star," she explained, still talking at light speed, "They'll destroy the planet if I don't."

"Will it take the same amount of energy?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, sir."

On the other end of the line, Landrey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to make a hasty decision, but if what Sam said was true, seconds could make all the difference. After a few seconds of pause, he responded, "I'll call the President. He'll have to make a long speech after this is all done and through."

"Yes, sir," Sam said again, her relief evident in her voice.

And, with the permission of the general, she began the procedure. It didn't take long. Once done, she began counting down on the intercom

"….3….2….1-initiating."

At her word, she turned the program on. All of the lights in the SGC except the emergency lights, dimmed and flickered. Sam closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. The program was operating. She hoped it would work.

The shuttle climbed back in to the upper levels of Earth's atmosphere, carrying Soruto with it. He was in more of a rage than when he had first stepped down on the planet. Alana was dead. The apprentice he'd trained so hard, had hand-picked from thousands of other Force adepts, was gone. Amazingly, inconceivably, unbelievably, the battle had been lost. The Sith's mouth flattened into a thin line and his eyes narrowed to slits. He'd order them to fire, whether there was a lock on planet or not.

But, back on the main deck of the space station, his plans flew out the proverbial window. "What happened?" Soruto all but screamed, staring at the empty black void where Earth had been moments before.

"I-I don't know, sir. The planet, just….just disappeared," the lieutenant stammered, confused.

"Fire!" the Sith snarled.

The lieutenant turned around to give the order, but he needn't have. All heard the conniption in his voice.

The space station fired-and missed. Or rather, shot at nothing. The laser went right through where the planet used to be. He couldn't admit defeat. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening.

"Fire!" Soruto shouted again.

Again the Death Star fired, and again they shot at nothing.

Soruto turned to the lieutenant, his gaze frigid. Without a word, the Sith extended his arm, curling his fingers. The man's eyes widened but he didn't have a chance to react. With a mere flick Soruto's hand, the lieutenant's neck snapped and he dropped to the ground.

Soruto turned to the young officer behind him. "You have been promoted to lieutenant."

The man snapped straighter and saluted the Sith, then hurried to take his post and ignored the corpse at his feet.

"Are all ships prepared for the jump to lightspeed?" the Sith said loudly. Another officer at a different console looked up and nodded.

"Yes sir, all units report ready. Shall I give the order to make the return trip?"

For a few moments Soruto stood still, eyes glued to the void of space where Earth used to hang. His campaign on Earth had failed….but that didn't mean this entire journey had to be a waste.

"There's been a change of plans. Tell the rest of the fleet to jump ahead of. We will meet them at the rendezvous site a few days late," he said, stepping to a console and punching in a new set of coordinates. "We have some….errands to run."

The bridge officers executed Soruto's orders without hesitation. The new lieutenant gave the countdown. The stars turned to white lines on the viewscreen, and then, with a burst of pseudomotion, the Imeperial Remnant jumped to hyperspace, leaving the cloaked Earth behind.