Just a short one tonight (but better than nothing eh?). Thank you GateSeeker 2 for the reminder - this is dedicated to you!
He kept himself well out of sight in case any more aliens showed up. He really wished he could have gone with Samantha and the others but knew he would have slowed them down – if he could even have made it down the ladder. He was feeling weak and dizzy and figured he probably would have passed out. As it was, he was having trouble keeping awake.
He thought back to what had happened on the Heptae ship. He'd been frustrated waiting with Teal'c and Daniel Jackson and had felt he should be with Sam. He wanted to protect her but also – he just really wanted to be close to her. The more he got to know her, the more he loved her.
For the first time, in a long time, Andrew forced himself to reflect on himself. He knew he could be arrogant, although it had never bothered him in the past. In fact, he'd used it to his advantage. He was a damn fine lawyer and he worked in a field where power was everything. But he also realized that somewhere along the line he'd lost that vision, that desire to make a difference in the world – that pure idealism that had taken him through college.
Instead of fighting for those who couldn't fight for themselves, for the downtrodden or the unfairly treated, he'd become a patsy for the rich, the powerful, the corrupt. He'd cared more about money and power than he had about doing what was right.
It had been the kids who had first made him realize he'd lost his way. He'd gotten to like them and to care about what happened to them. That had been the first chink in his armor. The second had been a strong, beautiful, kick-ass Air Force Colonel. She'd not only cracked his hard shell, she'd blown it to bits.
Yeah, he could admit it to himself – he was totally, absolutely in love with her and he knew he wouldn't be complete without her. She would make him be the man he was meant to be. She would fill up those cracks and make him a good man again. She was a woman who was all about helping and protecting. God, together they could make such a difference.
There was, of course, one little problem. Okay, so maybe not a little problem – more like a wonking big, six foot something problem by the name of General Jack O'Neill. He knew the man was just as in love with Sam Carter as he was. He also knew she had a history with him – which sadly gave him an advantage.
He sat for a minute and then slowly grinned. He may have started out with an advantage, but that was quickly fading. He was old (Andrew absolutely ignored the fact that he was probably about the same age as O'Neill), he was clearly sick, if not dying, and he was too concerned about saving the world to allow himself to go for her. He let rules, regulations duty and the good of the whole damn world get in the way of what he wanted. He, Andrew Fererra, was not about to do the same thing. Oh, he planned to do good – but that was after he won her. No – all's fair in love and war, O'Neill – and this was both love and war.
"May the best man win", he said softly. "And I'm afraid that's going to be me."
He continued to sit and doze, wondering what was happening down below. So far he hadn't seen anything and found his attention wandering as fatigue and weakness wore him down. Just as he fell asleep he thought about his miraculous 'save' of Sam in the alien ship. He'd seen the guard point his weapon at her and wasn't sure what to do. He turned to see whom he could get to help her – surely O'Neill would protect her – when he lost his footing. The next thing he knew he'd catapulted into her and had taken the shot meant to kill her. At the time he was furious, but when he realized he'd live, and that he was now a hero, he'd secretly chalked up one for his side.
Yup - that's one for me Jack my dear General, one for me!
It was the sound of voices that woke him up. At first he thought that O'Neill's people had come back to retrieve him. He went to push himself up and let them know where he was hidden when he realized – these weren't humans – they were Heptae.
Crap! He slowly and quietly laid back down, hoping that he hadn't been seen. He managed to peek through some bushes and counted eight of the aliens. The one who was clearly the leader walked right up to the hidden entrance and cleared away the greenery that was covering it. He then took some kind of instrument from his pocket and placed in on the hatch. In a matter of seconds Fererra could hear it open. The alien then reached down and pulled it open and signaled to his men.
Damn, there were too many of them for him to try and take them out. He watched helplessly as one after the other began to descend down the shaft. He just hoped they were watching for more arrivals.
It took him a few seconds to grasp that some of the Heptae were remaining above. Three of the aliens stayed up top and carefully began to scan the countryside. Andrew stayed well down and totally motionless, just praying he wouldn't be spotted.
After a few minutes he hadn't hear any shouts or movement so cautiously raised his head. The three remaining guards were seated around the hatch. One of them had set up some kind of equipment – but it was pointed out into space rather than towards the SGC. He could only think that it was some kind of communications or monitoring device. He prayed it wasn't a weapon.
After another 15 minutes he began to get stiff and jittery at the same time. He hated having to stay totally still and wondered if he could do it for much longer. He also knew that the people down below would be expecting him to watch their butts. With a sigh, he realized he didn't care that much for them – except for the kids of course (the non-Heptae ones anyway) and definitely for Sam. It was up to him to do something about these damn aliens – but what?
Well, the first thing he had to do was to find better cover. The bushes might hide him from sight, but they'd do nothing to stop a weapon if someone decided to shoot him (again!). With a quick look around, he spied a large bolder about 50 feet to his right. He figured if he was careful, he could crawl over there without the aliens seeing him. He knew it was going to be hell, though, especially wounded as he was.
It took almost an hour and by the time he arrived he was covered in sweat and felt like he was ready to pass out. Still, he'd managed to do it without the aliens being any the wiser. He allowed himself to rest for a few minutes and then looked out from behind the boulder. He could clearly see the three 'look-outs' and their contraption, whatever it was. So now he'd better prove that he was as good as he'd claimed to O'Neill. This would give him another opportunity to show himself as a hero to Sam Carter.
Taking careful aim with his zat (he loved these weapons) he shot one and then a second Heptae. Both of them fell over, writhing on the ground. Unfortunately, the third managed to dive to the side and was now firing at him from a small grove of trees.
Andrew knew the aliens would soon recover from the shot so, careful to stay out of sight of the third Heptae, and with a small grimace, he shot the two downed aliens a second time and then, quickly, a third. He felt sick to his stomach, but knew he was battling for his planet – hell, for the entire human race.
The third alien had moved as he shot his companions and had drawn closer. He continued to fire at Fererra's position and the lawyer was afraid his weakness would eventually be his downfall. He stayed behind the rock, wondering if his slow reflexes would allow the weapon to find him.
He knew the other guy was moving closer. He could tell by the shots. He tried to keep himself alert, but the stress of having to crawl with a serious wound and the additional trauma of killing two men, made him extremely dizzy and increasingly shaky.
Andrew, this may be it! You may not get a chance to go after the 'fair damsel' after all. The bad guys seem to be winning.
Hell – since when did you ever give up, he asked himself. Just think of the guy as a smarmy public prosecutor and go for the jugular! He waited till the next shot – which he could tell was coming from a close distance, took a deep breath, and rolled out from behind the boulder. He raised his zat and shot in the direction of the alien. At least, he hoped it was where the alien was hidden.
There was a 'thud' and then movement. Standing up as quickly as he could – not even thinking that it could be a trick – Fererra ran over. The alien had definitely been hit by his zat although from the look of things it hadn't been a direct hit, as he was getting up rather quickly.
The alien rolled over onto his stomach and pointed his weapon at Andrew. The two protagonists shot at precisely the same moment, although only one of the shots hit its target. That one lay dead – the other knew he was lucky to be alive.
"Where are we going Jack?" Daniel asked as he followed O'Neill down the corridor. He, Sam and Teal'c all looked at each other, worried about how bad the General looked.
"Are you sure you're supposed to be up and around Sir?" Sam asked, almost at the same time.
"Indeed O'Neill, should you not be resting in bed?"
"Don't have time folks. We gotta get this damn thing resolved once and for all. As for the Doc – she knows what I'm doing."
"But Sir, you're sick."
"Just tired Carter, I told you. The Doc knows exactly what's wrong and she let me outta there. Do you think she would have done that if she thought it was serious?"
"Only if you bullied her O'Neill", Teal'c said partly under his breath.
Jack turned to his Jaffa friend in pseudo-surprise. "Teal'c, since when have I ever bullied the Doc?" He was trying desperately to act normally but was finding it increasingly difficult. He just needed to keep going – just a little while longer O'Neill.
"Jack, you always bully the Docs – whether it was Janet, or Warner or Brightman or now Doc Lam."
"Okay, then since when have they let me get away with it?"
"Good point Sir", Sam conceded. "Okay then, back to Daniel's question – where are we going?"
"We're going to see an alien about a little matter of getting the hell off our planet."
"Do you think we can make them go Sir? I mean, I know we have their leader and his son, but surely the rest of the aliens won't simply leave because of that?"
"I don't know Sam, they might", Daniel spoke reflectively. "From what I've been able to gather about them, they have an almost spiritual view of their leader the H'ptari. His son seems to be held in even more reverence. Added to that are their stories and prophecies and they may do anything to save them."
"I hope so", Jack answered as he stopped and rested for a minute. He really wanted to bend over and drop his head into his hands, but knew that his team would probably have him back to the Infirmary in less than a second if he did that. He contented himself with simply stopping and trying to breath.
They finally made it to the cell block, where Fererra had indicated the prisoners had been taken. Ian, or I'anari – or the H'nru – was still being kept upstairs. They were leery about putting him together with his father.
"Peters, everything okay?" Jack asked the young airman as they arrived.
"Yes Sir General. I'm checking on them every five minutes Sir", he answered eagerly.
"Were they checked carefully for hidden weapons or other devices?"
"Yes Sir. Colonel Reynolds has everything they found, including their clothes." When the General looked at him in curiousity he blushed. "They were given other clothes Sir."
O'Neill simply nodded. "Okay, open H'ptari's cell – just keep your eye on him and shoot him if he so much as twitches his nose!"
"Yes Sir!"
Jack stood in the doorway of the Heptae leader's cell. He looked over at the man – or alien – who was the cause of so much destruction and death. He was too tired, too numb to feel anything – not anger, not hatred, not even disgust. All he knew was it had to end now.
"You think you have won O'Neill", H'ptari spoke softly. "But my people will still be victorious. We will still control and then destroy your earth."
"Maybe", Jack answered. His companions, who stood right behind him, were surprised at this. They were sure Jack was going to spit in the face of their enemy. Instead, he seemed strangely lethargic, not something they were used to from O'Neill.
"Maybe", he repeated, "but your people will lose too. They'll lose their leader, they'll lose the H'nru, their hope – but above all, they'll lose the chance to change – to do something good and not evil. You can destroy us, but you'll be destroying your future as well."
H'ptari laughed, the madness now fully in control. "Our future will be secure, you will see. You can not kill the H'nru – he is protected by H'olaru - the spirit which gives life - and puny humans can not hurt him."
"No? What about the Gammal?" That stopped the alien dead. His face lost all color and his breathing quickened.
"The Gammal? It is not here. It cannot harm my son. That is only a legend, a fantasy."
The four teammates all wondered why H'ptari looked so worried if he only believed it was a fantasy. Teal'c was the first to speak.
"He is here. The Gammal is present."
"What? You lie – there is no such being."
Jack took a step into the cell, and then another. By the time he'd walked to within five feet of H'ptari, the Heptae leader was gasping and had fallen to the ground. He clutched his chest and looked in terror at Jack. The General stood for another few seconds – for the first time feeling some emotion towards this man who had cost them so much. Finally however, he backed away and stood again in the doorway.
"You, you - " H'ptari gasped. "You are the Gammal?"
"So I've been told."
"NOOOOOO!" He screamed. Collapsing on to the floor, the leader put his head in his hands. "We are doomed. WHY?" he looked up towards the sky, many floors above. "Why are we being punished?" he asked some unknown God or divine being.
"Probably because you are wicked", replied Daniel. "You are murderers and have killed millions of innocent men, women and children. You and your people are evil."
"No! We did what we had to do to survive."
"No you didn't", Daniel went on. "You did it because you got pleasure from it. You enjoy hurting people. Well, the 'Gammal' is now here and you are done!"
There was silence in the little cell for a long time. H'ptari no longer knew what was real and what was only the voices in a fevered mind. If it was true, if this human was the Gammal, then he and his son, and the hope of their people were dead. He lifted his head slowly.
"What do you want from me?"