A/N Disclaimer; do not own anything or affiliated with the Stargate franchise. Just like to play with the characters. No copy right infringement intended.

Set a few years after Continuum and the wraith attack on earth.

The events of P78-259 was one mission that broke them. Not just their mental state but their spirit. It had been many years since he went off world on a mission. This routine mission was supposed to be simple; no hitches no up-coming alien invasion, nothing. Yet this is exactly what had happened. the worse happened. No one ever expected this. The Tauri have become a formidable race, a force to be reckoned with. They became the fifth race. Yet today this hour, this minute, this second, the Tauri were reduced to ashes.

Fires raged remnants of building's that once stood strong and proud. Trees and life which was once flourished in abundance; now obliterated as far as the eye could see. There was nothing left. No life, no hope, no light; everything was destroyed in this one, well planned calculated attack. Years of protecting and fighting for the Tauri home-world had been in vain; they had failed.

The only movement for miles around was from the smoke that still remained unscathed, deviant, unending. For the world had broken. Seeps of molten rock now spluttered through the cracks within the earth, desiccating any sign that there had ever been a civilisation residing here, destroying what was left of the one that had thrived...

"Oh god Jack!" Carter screamed, her heart, her soul destroyed at the sight of her home. She fell down, hard hitting the cold metallic floor of the The Hammond.

"We'll fix it Sam, we'll find a way... There has to be a way." His voice broken, his throat was so constricted he could barely talk himself. He grabbed her, held on to her tightly. He feared she too would fall to the earth's fate. "Teal'c get us 'outta' here!" Jack commanded, regaining a mere ounce of strength.

He didn't look at Teal'c, Lt General Jack O'Neill knew his brother would do anything to protect him and that of Sam. He'd known he'd be the only person strong and capable enough to get them away safely and fast.

There weren't many places they could go, the Alpha, Beta and Omega sites were surely to be compromised. The unknown enemy had been privy to the fact they existed at all; Heck Jack had been the one that told them. He couldn't let go of Sam, he knew that she would focus all the blame onto herself. Of course they was nothing they could have done, they were completely oblivious. It had been years since they had come face to face with an enemy, years of making nothing but friends. Until that is they met this one secluded race.

"Sam. Jack's right! We will find away, but we cannot do it without you," Daniel exclaimed, trying to bring the military side to surface. They needed her, there was no doubt about it. "Jack, let's take her to your quarters she needs to come down from her shock..."

"Argh come on, we all do. That was our home Daniel!" Mitchell spat, he kicked a nearby console, damaging it with brute force. "What the hell do we do now? There's nothing left."

"Cam, we will find a way." Daniel tried to calm the situation down. He was losing his patience, his anger too residing to the surface.

"And how do you suppose we do that, huh. Everything's gone! It's all gone!" Cameron spat again his face bulged with anger, he couldn't contain it any more. "Everything is gone and it's our fault, Daniel, how the hell can you be so calm about this?" His shout echoed though the whole empty ship.

"I am not calm. Far from it, I vetted these people damn it. I'm angry so, so angry." Daniel waved his hand through the air, slashing it. "I cannot sit here and do nothing! I want to fix this. No I NEED to fix this. I want to save our home. I want to destroy these vile beings. But, I cannot do that alone. There's no time to grieve. I'm going to save these people. I have too." Daniel breathed a breath he didn't know he was holding. Tears now flowing freely down his cheeks.

"Daniel is right," Carter gasped, her voice still trembling. "We can't fight and get angry at each other; we are all that's left. I don't know how or why but we are going to find out, we are going to fix this." Sam got the strength she needed Daniel was right; he broke her from her resolve. Jack kept her upright, never leaving her side. "We have to." Sam's voice started to trail of, as her tears once again fell.

"Teal'c take us to the former Tollan home-world. They will never look for us there. Vala, you stay with Teal'c, Daniel you too. Colonel Mitchell you head to your quarters and calm down..." Jack's voice becoming stronger now. slowly the military he has always been, broke through the turmoil.

"But Sir." Cameron protested.

"That's an order!" Jack glared at him. The military might not exist any more, but it is needed here on this ship. "Carter you need to rest." he looked around and waited for any further protest. When there was none he continued. "Shift change in eight hours, Cameron you relieve Teal'c. Daniel search through the data base, look though everything to do with these beings, find out what we missed. We missed something."

"Yes Sir." Cameron obliged.

"Sure Jack." Daniel acknowledged.

"As you wish, O'Neill." Teal'c confirmed.

"Of course." Vala agreed silently.

"Right then hop to it, we've got an entire galaxy to save." Jack looked down at his wife, she was still shaking. He knows she'd place sole blame on herself. "Come on Sam, you need to rest that brain of yours, we are going to need it." Jack rubbed her shoulder and ushered her out of the room.

"Sam." Daniel shouted back for her. "It wasn't your fault, you... We couldn't have known... We'll fix this, all of us. You are not alone in the blame." Daniel gave her a sympathetic look.

There's nothing he could say to her that she didn't already know herself deep down. The trouble was that she needs to believe it and Jack was right. She's the only brain power here. She's the only one that could save the entire FIFTH RACE.

To be continued...