It had been a few days since his best friend had passed on. Ed had been at the bar since then, drinking away his sorrows. He knew his friend was in a better place now, but he couldn't help but feel selfish and missed him. He gazed into his drink, not seeing it. He is lost in thought, replaying the events of the past few days over and over in his head.

It seemed like everything had gone wrong since his best friend, Gordon, had died or whatever. First, a Goa'uld is in control of lieutenant Dann. Then, an attempted assassination of Colonel Ry'ac of Chu'lak. Gordon leaped to save Ry'ac's life by taking a plasma blast to his chest: Ed put his wife Kelly Grayson to put in charge of the ship while he was bereaved.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" the Orlix asked, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine Orlix," Ed replied, downing another shot.

"It's just, you've been here for a while and you've been drinking a lot. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I appreciate your concern, but as I said, I'll be fine. I just need some time to process things."

"I understand. If you need anything, just let me know."

It wasn't fair! "Why Gordon?" he muttered into his drink. "Why did this have to happen?"

He's mumbling to himself, and when Ry'ac and Charlotte come over, they could hear him muttering why Gordon had to die.

"Captain?"

Ed turned to see who had spoken to him. It was Ry'ac.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Ry'ac asked.

"No, not at all," Ed replied, gesturing for him to sit down.

Ry'ac sat down and ordered a drink for himself. Then he turned to Ed and said, "I know how you're feeling, Captain."

"How could you possibly know how I'm feeling?" Ed asked, surprised.

"I know because I've been through something similar myself," Ry'ac explained.

"What happened?" Ed asked, curious. "Well, it's a long story," Ry'ac began. "But the short version is that my friend ascended to a higher plane of existence, and I was left behind."

"Ascended?" Ed repeated, not quite sure he understood. "Gordon told me Oma help him to ascend."

"last time I heard of Oma, she was battling Anubis," Ry'ac said. "She must lose the battle to have Anubis to have presence here in this universe."

Ed was silent for a moment, digesting this information. Then he asked, "The parasitic race takes the name of Egyptians gods, why is he here?"

"Don't know," Ry'ac replied. "We have to interrogate Lieutenant Dann before my doctor extracts the symbiote."

"Is Gordon alive?"

"He's not alive in the way that we are, but he's still out there somewhere."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked. "How do you know that he's not just gone forever?"

Ry'ac sighed. "I can't explain it in a way that will make sense to you," he said. "But I know someone who has experience in this matter. I know that the Alterans who ascended convene in a corporeal matter in this universe without the others knowing about it."

"Hey, Charlotte," he said, his voice sounding tired and worn out.

"Hey, Captain," Charlotte said, sitting down next to him.

"Are you ok?"

"Just trying to drown my sorrows, I guess," Ed replied.

"I'm sorry about Gordon," Charlotte said, reaching out to touch his hand.

"Yeah, me too," Ed said, his voice breaking. "But Ry'ac has been helping me to understand that he's not gone. That he's just on a higher plane now."

Ed felt a wave of hope wash over him. Maybe there was still a chance to see his friend again. "Thank you for telling me this, Ry'ac," he said.

"You've given me a lot to think about."

"Don't mention it, Captain," Ry'ac said.

"I just hope that you can find the peace that I have."

"That's right, Ed," Ry'ac said.

"And in the meantime, we're here for you. You're not alone."

Ed nodded, feeling grateful for his friends. Slowly but surely, he began to heal, knowing that his best friend was always with him, in spirit.

"Thanks." Ed continued to drink, his mind swirling with memories of his friend. He laughed, he cried, and he did everything he could to try and push the pain away. But it didn't work. It only made him feel worse. He was about to order another drink when he heard someone calling his name. He turned to see who it was and saw a ghostly figure of his friend.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Ed asked, surprised.

"I came to check on you. I know you're hurting and I wanted to help."

"But, you ascended. You're not supposed to be here."

"I know. But I couldn't just leave you alone. I care about you too much."

"But, what about the other? Aren't you supposed to be there?"

"Yeah, I am. But I can visit here from time to time. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I appreciate that, but you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I know you will. You're a strong person. But if you ever need anything, just call for me and I'll be there." With that, the ghostly figure of his friend faded away.

Ed sat in silence for a moment, contemplating what had just happened. He knew his friend was gone, but it was comforting to know that he was still looking out for him.

"Captain, are you okay?" Charlotte asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Ed replied, coming out of his reverie.

"You were somewhere else?" Ry'ac said.

"I was…" Ed tries to explain where he was but couldn't get the word out.

Charlotte nodded in understanding. "He visited you."

"He did," Ed said, his eyes unfocused as he gazed into the distance. "He did."

Lieutenant Dann was pacing around his cell, his hands running along the edge of the forcefield that kept him contained. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. He had to know if it was there. And it was. The forcefield shocked him and he yanked his hand back, shaking it to get rid of the tingling sensation.

The security guard watching him from the other side of the forcefield frowned. "Don't do that, sir. You'll only hurt yourself."

Dann ignored him, his mind racing. He had to find a way out of here. He couldn't let them question him. He didn't know what they would do to him if they found out the truth.

The door to the brig swooshed open and Dann tensed, turning to face it. Ry'ac and Commander Grayson strode in, their faces stern.

"Lieutenant Dann," Commander Grayson said. "You're being placed under arrest for the murder of Gordon Malloy."

"He's dead, that's sad," Dann said, his voice trembling. "It wasn't me that killed him."

"Then who did?"

Dann's eyes glow and his voice deepens. "I didn't expect an insolent fool to figure this out."

Grayson asked. "Who are you?"

"How dare you speak to your god," Dann raises his arms. "Tell me, Jaffa, how did you find me?" Dann asks Ry'ac.

Kelly Grayson turned off the forcefield that was holding the prisoner back. She aimed her energy pistol at the prisoner and shot him, only stunning the prisoner. The holographic doctor shimmered in the brig and scanned the prisoner.

"What is it, Doctor?" Kelly asked.

"The prisoner has a parasitic life form at the brain stem," the doctor said.

"Can you remove it?" Kelly asked.

"I can," the doctor said. "But it will be difficult. The parasite is bonded to the host's nervous system. If I remove it, the host will likely die."

"Can you put the host into a coma?" Kelly asked.

"Yes," the doctor said. "But there's no guarantee that he'll wake up."

"Do it," Kelly said. "I'll take responsibility for the decision."

A FEW HOURS LATER

The holographic doctor was cleaning his medical instruments and checking on his patient in the med bay. He had just extracted a Gao'uld symbiote from its host, Lieutenant Dann of the Orville. It had been a grueling 2 hours, but it was finally over.

He went over to the lieutenant and scanned his vitals. He was relieved to see that the man was going to be all right. He then began to sing a favorite tune of his, "Rondine al Nido".

As he sang, he couldn't help but think of the many other patients he had treated over the years. Some of them had been easy cases, while others had been very difficult. But no matter how difficult they had been, he had always been able to help them.

"How are you feeling, Lieutenant?" the doctor asked.

"I'm feeling better, thank you," Dann said.

"Good, good," the doctor said. "You gave us quite a scare."

"I'm sorry," Dann said. "I didn't mean to."

"It's all right," the doctor said. "Just be more careful in the future."

"You have some sweet vocal cords. What is that you're singing?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a little song I like to sing.

"Sweet, It's beautiful. What's it called?

"Rondine al Nido. It's about a bird that falls in love with a human.

"Bird huh, that's odd but so romantic."

"Yes, it is. But it's also tragic. The bird can never stay with the human, and eventually has to leave."

"That sounds sad."

"Yes, it is. But even though they're apart, they still love each other."

"Awesome sauce, That's sweet."

"Yes, it is. Now, let's see how you're doing."

"I feel a lot better, thank you."

"Good. The symbiote is gone and your vitals are stable. You should be able to leave the med bay soon."

"That's great news. Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome."

the communication system began to alert him that someone was trying to communicate. He press a few buttons and he smiled. It's the federation, General Carter from the other side of the portal.

"General Carter, it's good to hear from you," the Doctor said.

"Likewise, Doctor. I'm glad you're well," General Carter said. "How is Charlotte?"

"She's alive and well, but I'm sorry to say that we have some bad news. It seems that the Goa'uld is in this universe."

"That's impossible," General Carter said. "The Goa'uld was destroyed hundred of years ago."

"Apparently not," The Doctor said. "Anubis somehow appeared in this universe and we were able to extract the symbiote from its host.

"That's not good,"

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I'll contact you when I have more information."

"Be careful, Doctor," General Carter said. "We'll send reinforcement as soon as the Supergate is completed."

Authors Notes: Sorry guys, i have been busy with my business and the stress of trying to get customers into my store.