Best Laid Plans 1

by wajag

xover SG-1 & HL. The Ancients put Immortals on Earth as part of a plan to prevent the Goa'uld from taking over the Earth. Time has a way of drifting all things from their original purpose. (moved from HL to SG-1 post)

This is a re-posting of the first story in my series Best Laid Plans. If you liked this one, you can find Parts 2-6 in the Highlander section or check under my author name: Wajag. Feedback is always appreciated!

Title: Best Laid Plans –1 Author: Wajag Feedback Address: Wajageskimo.com Rating: Adult Summary: HL & SG-1 Xover. The Ancients put Immortals on Earth as a way to prevent the Goa'uld from taking over Earth. Time has a way of drifting all things from their original purpose.

Disclaimer: I don't own Highlander, Stargate or a new car. I won't be making a profit off of this (or maybe I would own Highlander, Stargate or a new car heehee). This is a different direction from my other stories, even what I would call an alternate universe. You don't have to have read any of my earlier fanfics but familiarity with the Highlander and Stargate characters and situations would be assumed.

This is an out there sci-fi crossover between two programs that I enjoy. Please forgive in advance anything that isn't canon or technically accurate.

Premise: The Ancients put Immortals on Earth as part of a plan to prevent the Goa'uld from taking over the Earth. Time has a way of drifting all things away from their original purpose and as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men - even wise and all-powerful Ancients...

Prolog

Tremaina entered the chamber and approached the Prime. She stood quietly with her head bowed, waiting patiently for him to acknowledge her. After a moment, the Prime finished reading the data pad and acknowledged his assistant.

"Sir, the Alpha males are ready to be placed."

The Prime nodded and stood. Leading the way down the nearly empty corridors, the Prime asked, "Are the locators fully functional?"

Tremaina nodded. "And the additional data has been encoded into their brains. They're ready to be revived from the transfer process."

The Prime nodded. They entered a large chamber and walked towards an area busy with activity. The Prime smiled at the sight of the four human males lying on the examination beds. The Prime slowly walked past each of the alphas, evaluating them each against the original specifications. "We've spent so much time in creating them, they are my children now."

Tremaina nodded. "I'm afraid I'll miss them as well."

Alpha Red was dark skinned with thick, dark hair and equally dark and expressive eyes. The largest of the alphas, in height and bulk, he'd been designed with great strength and an easy disposition in mind. His laugh was easy and deep. By the standards of humans, this alpha had strong but not unpleasant features.

Alpha Yellow was smaller and more willowy. Pale skin with pale hair and vivid blue eyes made this Alpha stand out in a crowd. Alpha Yellow was designed with agility and grace in mind.

Alpha Blue was also pale skinned but with rich and silky, dark hair. Eyes that changed from brown to gold with strong emotions, served to emphasize a sharply angled, but handsome face. Alpha Blue was leaner than the Red Alpha but still as tall and nearly as strong. Alpha Blue was designed with a higher reasoning and deductive capacity.

Alpha Green was olive skinned with dark hair and expressive eyes. A slight build with strength and grace, this Alpha was designed with great capacity for compassion. This Alpha also had a strikingly handsome face.

Reaching the last bed, the Prime turned to Tremaina. "Send them through the Gate."

Tremaina nodded. Turning to the group of technicians beside the beds, she nodded again. The technicians leaned over each of the beds and injected a vial of blue liquid into each of the alphas. Soothing hands stroked the Alphas as they awoke. When they were fully conscious, they were helped up and led to the Stargate, now rippling with blue energy. One by one, the Alphas were led through the gate, quiet and still dazed.

After the last Alpha had disappeared through the gate and the gate deactivated, the Prime turned to Tremaina. "Monitor them for a lunar cycle. If they acclimate well, you can send the rest of the Watchers."

A Month later

Tremaina walked with the Prime down the corridor. "The last of the Watchers have been sent through the gate. The Watchers don't foresee any difficulties with their adaptation."

The Prime nodded. "We can only hope that this project will be successful. The Goa'uld grow stronger each century. The Immortals should be able to prevent the Goa'uld from getting a foothold on this world."

"I wish we could do more." Tremaina said sadly.

"We would be as bad as the Goa'uld if we didn't follow our own philosophies."

"Yes, but the Goa'uld have never adhered to our philosophies."

"Then we must be stronger in our resolve to not follow their example." Prime said, sad but sure.

Around 6000 BC Earth

Head Watcher Laurus checked the database again before picking up one of the fruits offered on this world. Biting into the sweet, juicy orange fruit, Laurus smiled at the data he'd been reviewing. The Alpha males were as healthy as the day they'd been delivered and adjusting nicely. As the Alphas became accustomed to this world and their purpose, they were given the freedom of the Complex. They were as well behaved as Laurus could hope for.

Per the plan, each Alpha had successfully bred and the new Beta offspring were Immortal and as strong as their sires. Even the male to female ratio was acceptable. Seventy percent of the offspring were male, and thirty percent were female.

The Ancients had carefully designed the Immortal DNA for specific and controlled breeding. Only the Alphas would be able to breed for the next two thousand years. The Beta Immortals were designed to take two millennia to mature. Only these mature males could reproduce, the females were engineered sterile. If the mortal human females weren't altered, the Immortal seed wouldn't be transferred.

The humans on this planet were a resilient and determined race. They would certainly contribute their attributes to the bloodlines of the Alphas to create strong Immortals.

Laurus smiled with parental pride as he thought of his Alphas.

Paris 2002

Methos, a.k.a Adam Pierson dropped to his knees in the dark alley. He'd just taken the Quickening of a very determined but foolish Immortal. Panting, he reached for his Ivanhoe sword and used it to stagger to his feet. Something about this two hundred year old Quickening wasn't settling. He staggered to the side of the building and looked around for any signs of a Watcher. Seeing none, he peeked around the corner of the building and into the street. Still no one was in sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, he moved as quickly as he could to his car.

Once in the safety of his car, he started it up and began to drive. Always cautious, he drove the back streets and backtracked his path several times to lose any tail he may have picked up. Finally feeling safe, he headed to his apartment.

As he collapsed into his bed, he began to shiver. This Quickening wasn't settling at all. He felt as nauseous and unsettled as when he had first taken it. Not for the first time, he wondered what in the hell he was doing in Paris. For some insane reason, he'd followed Duncan MacLeod here. Kronos had been right when he accused Methos of getting soft in his old age. Methos had missed Joe Dawson and Duncan MacLeod's company after only a month. Luckily, his skills as a linguist allowed him to find work whenever and wherever he wanted.

MacLeod seemed to be an Immortal magnet, and not all of them were friendly types. Apparently Methos was no more immune to MacLeod's attraction than all of the other Immortals, despite his five thousand years! Tonight was the first challenge he'd had in over two years. He should have stayed in Seacouver, and as far from MacLeod as he could!

Around 3000 BC Earth

Laurus paced his quarters in frustration. They'd lost contact with the Ancients several centuries ago. What could have happened? The technicians were insistent that it wasn't the equipment at fault. But what else could it have been? And what a time for contact to be broken!

The Goa'uld had come through the Stargate, just as the Ancients had predicted. Using the Immortals, the Watchers had engaged the Goa'uld and sent them back through the Stargate. Laurus was proud to be part of this project, even more so after seeing all of their work prove itself out like this. The Immortals had easily identified Goa'uld hosts and Jaffa. With their amplified strength and gifts, the Immortals were easily resistant to mind control and couldn't be killed in battle. Alpha Blue had been able to access the strategy data that he'd been programmed with, and had mind linked with the other Immortals, easily commanding them to victory. Burying the Gate was the last thing the Watcher's had done before recalling the Immortals.

Now they had other problems. The Immortals didn't want to remain in the Complex anymore. They'd seen the outside world. Suddenly their sterile quarters were too confining, access to the opposite sex too controlled. Laurus had even had to use the Complex protocols to subdue them. He'd had to track some of them down with their locators, including Alpha Blue. As part of his genetic design, Alpha Blue was extremely curious and determined to see the outside world.

Laurus sighed heavily and lowered himself into his desk chair. He looked at his hands in frustration. What would the Ancients have done? It wasn't just the Immortals wanting to explore the outside world that was frustrating him. The breeding program was moving forward, but now it was having unforeseen problems. The second-generation offspring or Beta Immortals as they were designated, had matured and were fertile now, but they were only producing half the number of viable eggs. Immortal reproduction didn't work the same way that the native human reproduction did. The mature male Immortal produced both the sperm and the ova. Over the course of a lunar cycle, the sperm and ova combined and became a fertilized egg ready for implant. When stimulated by the hormones emitted by an altered female, the male's ejaculate chemically altered and acted as an adhesive, allowing the egg to attach to the lining of the womb. The altered female then became the incubator of the Immortal offspring, delivering the child after a reduced pregnancy of six months in the normal human fashion. Artificial insemination wasn't an option because an un- altered female's natural womb lining, hormones and secretions, dissolved the ejaculate and the fertilized egg. No ejaculate, no adhesion.

The Watchers also discovered that the third generation or Capa offspring weren't born Immortal. After a few experiments, they found that Death triggered the dormant energy. The third generation offspring became Immortal after they revived from this first death. The Watchers discovered that they had to trigger this energy at a properly mature physical state or the offspring remained at an immature growth stage. Immature Immortals would never achieve breeding status and would be unable to protect themselves or fight the Goa'uld. They lost several crops of the Capa offspring until their research yielded these results.

The emotions were also amplified in the Capa offspring. The Reds were becoming bullies, more aggressive with others. The Yellows were prone to anger and hysteria, the Greens were forming strong attachments and if denied, becoming depressed. While the Blues were bored with the restrictions of the Complex, becoming rebellious and difficult to control. Was it something indigenous to the planet or was the bloodline being diluted by the native stock?

Laurus was torn from his thoughts when the power suddenly shut off, a warning klaxon blared throughout the Complex. With a struggling noise, the power came back on line. Laurus activated the view screen and saw the image of his assistant in the command center. "What's happening?"

His assistant was struggling to control his hysteria. "One of the Yellow Capas had a sword, probably hidden after they fought the Goa'uld. He stalked and attacked Alpha Blue. In the scuffle, Alpha Blue took the sword and decapitated the Capa."

"What! Is Alpha Blue alright?" Laurus exclaimed. This was a catastrophe! Immortals weren't programmed to attack each other!

His assistant continued. "There's more. When the Yellow Capa lost his head, he released a power surge. It hit Alpha Blue and took out our power grids. We're running on auxiliary now. Sir, the Yellow Capa didn't come back! He's really dead!"

"How is Alpha Blue?" Laurus' tears fell un-noticed from his eyes. They'd lost a Yellow Capa!

"Damaged. He's in the infirmary now. We've put the others in lock down. We have technicians doing a search for more weapons now."

"I'll be right down." Laurus staggered to his feet and ran as fast as he could to the infirmary.

Laurus headed immediately to the infirmary and spotted the diagnostic bed with a crowd gathered around it. He looked at the Alpha on the bed. Alpha Blue rested quietly, gravity restraint bands on his torso, arms and legs. The monitor lights indicated that he'd been heavily sedated. By all outward appearances he was fine. When a doctor injected him with a stimulant, his eyes opened and the damage could be seen. Laurus gasped at the confusion and fear in the Alpha's eyes. This Alpha had been designed for intelligence. Curious and analytical, his personality had developed into a pleasant and companionable one. He was well liked among the Watchers and other Immortals.

"What's wrong with him?" Laurus asked.

"Physically, he's fine. He recovered from the power surge with his genetics and health intact. He can still be used as a breeder but I'm afraid his memory's been damaged. His higher brain functions are all active but he shows no signs of recognition. In fact, he's in a primitive paranoid state right now. He still retains the knowledge of objects. He was able to operate the infirmary door and was almost out of the infirmary before we subdued him." Taking a deep breath the doctor continued. "His locator has also been destroyed, it wasn't designed to take a power surge like that. We won't be able to repair or replace that. In fact, with his paranoid state, you'll need to keep him confined, possibly even restrained during breeding."

Laurus shook his head. "What a loss."

The doctor cleared his throat again. "I've analyzed the data from the Yellow Capa. All of the Immortals are susceptible to decapitation, even the Alphas. It will permanently kill them. The power that was released appears to be the energy latent in their cells that allows for regeneration. The power surge at death was transmitted to Alpha Blue. It appeared to target him exclusively although there were other Immortals nearby when it was released. We don't know why, perhaps it was a residual control influenced by the Yellow Capa that died."

Laurus' assistant spoke up. "The Immortals are very upset over this. There were too many that witnessed the Yellow Capa's death. They know he didn't revive. We've had to confine and sedate several of them, especially the other Alphas. We've seen several emotional outbreaks demonstrating extreme stress. We need to establish some damage controls sir."

Laurus nodded. "Keep the Alpha Blue sedated. I'll check on him again in the morning." He watched as the Doctor complied and released the bed restraints. Shaking his head sadly, Laurus headed to the control room with his assistant to try to get everyone calm again.

Later that night, Alpha Blue revived from the sedative and escaped. In his paranoid state, he'd accessed the database, shutting down power and releasing all of the Immortals from their quarters. In the confusion, he easily slipped outside the Complex and disappeared into the surrounding countryside. Taking advantage of the power being off, most of the other Immortals left the Complex. Fear and confusion on the death of the Yellow Capa had them scattering in all directions and running from each other as soon as they were outside.

Laurus spent the following months and years trying to track them down again. His Watcher staff numbers weren't sufficient to track and return his running and fearful charges. After meeting with the project leads and advisors, they'd come up with an alternate plan. Those that could be located were returned to the Complex. This included three of the Alphas. Alpha Blue was still missing. The Betas and Capas that couldn't or wouldn't return without resistance were tracked and monitored with the use of their locators. As time went on some of the located Immortals resisted being returned to the Complex. Others had their locators disabled after they took the power of another Immortal. With only a small number of Watchers, Laurus decided that only the subjects capable of breeding were to be tracked and subdued, and held only long enough to breed. The Immortal offspring were tagged with re-designed locators, capable of withstanding an Immortal's life essence or Quickening, and released when they were old enough to take care of themselves.

Laurus wept in the privacy of his quarters. How could it all have fallen apart so fast? They'd proven the project was a success with the removal of the Goa'ulds, and destroyed the project with the death of the Yellow Beta and the damage to the Alpha Blue. Now he'd lost everything but the breeding program, and it was severely compromised. At least they couldn't breed on their own, but the Immortals weren't going to be easy to trap and breed.

This could be the end of the entire project! How could they protect this planet from the next infiltration of the Goa'uld? They were already seeing reduced numbers in the Immortal offspring, without controlled breeding, the numbers would rapidly decline. They certainly couldn't make the altered females readily accessible to the mature males!

Worse, the Immortals knew how to truly kill each other. He could only hope that the Alpha males would remain accessible. From the Ancients, they had received extra enhancements making them leaders, giving them strong feelings of responsibility and commitment. He could only hope that they would use that skill on their offspring or by remaining with the project.

And what about Alpha Blue? He'd engineered his own escape even when damaged. Without a locator, the chances of finding him were very low. This was a crushing blow to the project, that bloodline had proved especially capable and genetically sound. Luckily there were mature Blue Betas still available.

Out of habit, Laurus prepared a project update to transmit into space. They may not have heard from the Ancients, but protocol still required he keep them informed of the project. Sadly, he wished not for the last time that they hadn't lost contact with the Ancients!

Alpha Blue had been running for nearly a year. He ran himself to exhaustion before collapsing, resuming his mad flight as soon as he recovered. But no matter how fast or how far, he couldn't outrun the nightmares that plagued him. Vivid dreams of a light so bright that he was blinded, followed by such excruciating pain that left a mind numbing darkness. The nightmares always left him shaking in fear, his body soaked in sweat.

He didn't stop running until he came upon a group of friendly nomads. Fascinated by his pale skin and unusually colorful eyes, they took him in and fed him. The compassion and friendliness they offered freely calmed his chaotic and fearful mind. He stayed, and over the years his mind became clearer while his past remained clouded and blank. Gradually the nightmares disappeared until he could refer to the years he suffered from them as the Dark time. The nomads were honored by this gift of the gods. He didn't age, he healed rapidly from injuries, he found water and food for the tribe when no one else could, and had the knowledge of healing. They named their gift from the Gods, Methos – the Lost One. For surely the Gods would want him back, if only he could find his way back into the heavens.

Paris 2002

It had been nearly a week since Joe had seen Methos. There'd been a Quickening not far from the bar a week ago, but no Watcher had seen it. The Immortal that had been killed had slipped his Watcher in Germany; they'd been surprised to find him here. One more time, Joe picked up his cell phone and dialed Methos' number. Still no answer. Grabbing his coat, Joe headed to Methos' apartment. Something wasn't right if the old man hadn't come by to bum free beer.

When Joe arrived at Methos' place, he struggled up the stairs and knocked at the door. He could see the old man's car in the parking lot. Not hearing anything, he pounded on the door harder and called Adam's name. Still not hearing a response, he pulled out the spare key that Methos had given him and opened the door.

The apartment was dark. He could see the answering machine blinking rapidly, probably with all the messages he'd left. Joe looked in the kitchen before heading for the bedroom. As he approached the bedroom he could see a lump on the bed. "Methos?"

He hurried when he heard a muffled moan. When he reached the bed, he pulled back the covers. What he saw caused him to pull out his cell phone and immediately dial Mac's number. When it was answered he said, "Mac, I need you to come over to Adam's place right away."

"What's wrong Joe?" MacLeod asked in an alarmed voice.

"There's something wrong with Adam. He's pretty sick."

"He can't get sick...I'll be right over!" The hint of panic in Joe's voice drove adrenalin through Duncan's body.

Joe put away his phone and headed into the bathroom to get a cool washcloth, turning lights on as he went.

Duncan arrived half an hour later and let himself into the apartment. Joe called to him as soon as he saw him open the door.

"In here."

Duncan hurried into the room. Joe was sitting on the edge of the bed wiping Methos' forehead. Duncan was alarmed at the shape the old man was in. Methos was pale, almost translucent. He had deep shadows under his eyes and his body was wet with sweat. His body was curled into a fetal position and he trembled continuously. Duncan checked Methos eyes; they were rolled back into his head, his pulse thready and weak.

"What happened?" Duncan asked looking at the Watcher.

"I have no idea. I hadn't heard from him all week. He wasn't answering my calls. There was a Quickening a few days ago but we never saw who took it. Do you think that was it?"

"It was him, but there shouldn't be any reason for it to leave him like this. The Quickening wasn't that big."

Joe and Duncan took turns watching the older Immortal. After making a quick trip out for supplies, Duncan hooked up an IV to keep Methos hydrated. After a couple of hours, he got stronger, uncurling from his fetal position. The tremors stopped too. By the end of the second day, his skin returned to normal and he slipped into normal sleep.

It was after midnight when Methos finally woke. He looked around, blinking in the moonlight. He could feel the buzz of an Immortal and after a second, recognized it as Mac's. Spotting Mac in the chair next to the bed he said in a strained voice.

"Mac?"

"Methos!" Duncan jumped from the chair and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened? What are you doing here?" Methos, asked still dazed and confused.

"You've been unconscious for a couple of days. What happened? Do you remember?" Duncan asked, his voice full of concern.

"I took a Quickening. There was something wrong with it, it wouldn't settle. It still hasn't settled." Methos tried to sit up, "I think I'm going to be sick!"

Duncan quickly grabbed for a garbage can that was sitting beside the desk. He got it to Methos' bedside just in time. In a few minutes, Methos lay back on the bed, taking the glass of water that Duncan offered him.

"What's wrong Methos, do you have any ideas?"

Methos lay limply in the bed. He rolled his head so that he could look at MacLeod without any effort on his part. "I don't know. In the last few centuries, Quickenings have been getting harder and harder to settle, maybe I've just taken too many."

"That's impossible..." Duncan said disbelieving.

"We have no way of knowing do we? I'm the oldest - I get to be the guinea pig. I know I've taken more than any other Immortal. You know the Watchers keep track of that kind of thing. Kell didn't have half of what I've taken. Too many years as a Horsemen racked up the headcount I'm afraid."

"But why would that make you sick, Quickenings just add to your power." Duncan said trying to understand.

"They don't, we weren't meant to take them." Methos said absently. Then stared at Duncan in shock. His voice got softer as he spoke. "I don't know how I know that, but I do."

Around 1000 BC Earth

Laurus addressed his senior staff quietly. "We've lost Alpha Red and Alpha Yellow." He continued at the murmurs of shock that rippled around the table. "They were hunted and attacked by their own Betas while trying to talk some of the younger Immortals back into the Complex. This is a tremendous loss for the project. The Alpha Green is in protective confinement and the Alpha Blue hasn't been seen in millennia."

In the oppressive quiet of the room he continued. "The Immortals in the field continue to hunt and kill each other. With the Alphas nearly gone, we can't lose any more mature males. So far we've been successful at keeping the breeding program going but we can't keep up with the numbers we're losing to the hunting. Science Director Garen has an idea."

Clearing his throat, Garen began. "I've come up with a program that will insert compulsions into the minds of the Immortals. I've tested the compulsions on each of the generations and it's been successful. I believe it will reduce or at least, slow down the hunting. We can insert the compulsion when we collect the Immortals for breeding. As the Immortals communicate with other Immortals, these compulsions phrased as rules or laws will be passed from one to the other. The teachers will hand it down to the students."

At their continued silence, he continued, "We can collect and program the non-breeding Immortals when they pass through our checkpoints. The stun and control drugs we use should make it easy for us to collect the majority of them. There will be a few that escape us, but if they're hiding now, they're not hunting."

"What are the compulsions going to be?" One of the senior staff asked quietly.

"No fighting on Holy ground, challenges are One to One, and return to the Gathering place."

"Why these compulsions?" Another staff member asked.

"Several reasons. Fights on Holy ground are attracting the attentions of the natives. They see God-like Immortals dying true deaths by beheadings. The One on One compulsion is because that's how we lost Alphas Red and Yellow. A pack overpowered them. One on One, even two or Three on One and they never would have been overcome. Alpha Blue is still out there somewhere. We want to protect him if we can"

The group nodded. Feeling the loss of the Alphas again. "What about the Gathering place?"

"We decided to add that on the unlikely chance that the Immortal would return to the Complex."

"But will the younger Immortals remember where the Gathering place is?"

"We don't know." Garen said honestly and with sadness in his voice.

Paris 2002

Methos remained in bed another day before he insisted on getting up. The weakness and tremors just disappeared without an explanation. He had to draw his sword and disarm Duncan to convince him that he was fine. Duncan returned to his barge where he anxiously watched from a neutral distance.

Despite his assurances to Duncan and Joe, Methos continued to be plagued with nightmares. Nightmares he'd had for as long as he could remember, brief flashes of a brightly lit room that spun in his vision. He would wake, screaming and covered in sweat. With the extra waking hours on his hands, Methos returned to his translations for the Sorbonne.

StarGate Command – Cheyenne Mountain 2002

"General Hammond, I really think we need to call in some help on this translation. I think this might be important. We've dated the transmission to shortly after the Goa'uld had been driven from Earth. There should have been no one here who could have sent it, and we know it wasn't Goa'uld technology." Dr. Daniel Jackson said calmly. The slender, young man leaned back in his chair. His untrimmed, blonde colored hair and glasses reinforced his scholarly appearance.

Several weeks before, one of the SG teams on PX1075 had intercepted a radio transmission that had been sent from Earth. Daniel Jackson and StarGate Command had been immediately alerted because the transmission had been sent from Earth over five thousand years before! Daniel had been studying the transmission night and day with hardly a break, but he'd been unable to translate the language, much to his frustration.

"I agree with Daniel on this one Sir. We know the Goa'uld are up to something. Hell, even the Tok'ra are antsy." Colonel Jack O'Neil spoke up, his military bearing commanding respect despite his casual tone of voice.

"If our scientists are right and this transmission came from Earth around the time that the Stargate was buried, it could tell us what happened. What weapons they used, what strategies. General, our ancestors fought the Goa'uld and won! We have to do anything and everything to try and figure out how they did it!" Daniel leaned forward in his chair trying with all of his might to convince the General.

"I agree with you Dr. Jackson, but the Government is already using the best and brightest for this." General Hammond argued, thinking that if Daniel couldn't translate it, chances were slim to none that anyone else could! Daniel had a real talent for languages and the advantage of knowing several of the alien languages that they've discovered by their missions through the Stargate.

"Not all of them." Daniel said quietly.

"Oh?" General Hammond asked suspiciously. He knew that the Government had gone to great lengths to recruit the experts in the field that weren't security risks.

"I have a friend, Adam Pierson. He's working on some translations for the Sorbonne in Paris. Adam's the best in the field of Linguistics but he's not an American citizen."

"That hasn't stopped us before, why hasn't he ever been approached?" General Hammond asked, still suspicious.

"He has, but he declined. I think he's uncomfortable working for the Government in any way." Daniel explained. He could never get Adam to explain in any more detail than that.

"Do you think you can convince him this time?" The General asked, his doubt clear in his tone of voice.

"With your permission, I think I have to try. Adam is really the best in his field. He trusts me. I think I can convince him to do a simple translation job."

"Let me make a few calls. If I get a 'GO' on this, I want you to go with him Colonel. You monitor the translation. If he's not on the team, he has to stay unaware of anything to do with the SGC."

O'Neill nodded to the General while inside he groaned. Just how I wanted to spend my week, babysitting a bookworm! And a paranoid one at that!

The Bronze Age

Laurus looked up as his assistant entered the room. He could tell by her energy that she was excited. "Yes Helena?"

"Our checkpoint identified an unknown Immortal in one of the villages. His energy readings are the highest we've seen. We think its Alpha Blue!" She said practically jumping up and down.

Laurus stood in his own excitement. "Alpha Blue!" Turning to the control panel at the side of his desk he opened a channel to the control room. "Detain the unknown Immortal at once! Use all precautions, he must not be damaged in any way!"

Laurus faced Helena with an incredulous look on his face. "We could save the Blue line. We haven't had any new Blues in centuries."

He sat down shakily. The project needed this boost. Alpha Green had been killed several centuries ago. If this were truly Alpha Blue, they would have an Alpha breeder again. The resulting Beta Blues would infuse the Blue line again. It would be millennia before they were mature but the line could be saved! The remaining Capas and Deltas of the other lines had only produced a small number of Immortals. Barely enough to keep up with the true deaths. And the Betas were born Immortal, they required less nurturing and had a higher survival rate.

Laurus reflected on the severely compromised project. The compulsion project had been successful. The numbers of head hunting Immortals had drastically dropped, but the natives to this planet were now using beheadings as a method of killing. This was increasing the loss of mature and immature Immortals in the field. The breeding project was in desperate need of Alpha Blue.

Methos, going by the name of Gilead was just finishing his meal at the small village inn. He'd been traveling for weeks, his instincts driving him to keep moving. He signaled the innkeeper for another ale. A different serving woman brought him the ale and with a smile and a wink, headed for the kitchen. Methos smiled back, wondering if the serving woman might be interested in a little extra serving in his room this evening.

As he finished the second ale, an older man walked past his table. Methos jumped at a hand on his neck, accompanied by a sharp prick. The combination of the drug in the ale and the one in the hypodermic, paralyzed Methos. He struggled to move his arms and legs. Four large men stood and approached his table.

"Friend, let us help you back home." One of the men said for the benefit of the inn's patrons.

Methos' eyes grew wide in fear but his limbs still refused to listen to the commands sent by his panic filled mind.

Methos was gently picked up and carried outside by the men. He was carefully put into a wagon and covered up against the chill evening air. The men climbed into the wagon and seated themselves around his prone and unresponsive body before the wagon began to move. Methos tried to resist the drugs in his system but to no avail. His mind flashed rapidly through scenarios that hopefully would lead to his escape. After nearly an hour, the wagon stopped and he still hadn't come up with an escape plan yet.

Methos was uncovered and lifted from the wagon by the men who had ridden on the wagon with him. They quickly entered a small craft, and when the door was closed, the craft started to move. Methos closed his eyes in fear. This was something familiar from the Dark time!

When the craft stopped moving, Methos was carried down long shiny corridors and into an un-naturally lit room before being gently placed on a table of metal. He could feel restraints being put on his arms and legs, another across his chest. When he was secured, several creatures gathered around his bed.

"It is Alpha Blue! See, there's the residual echo from his locator." Laurus said excitedly.

"His vitals say he's in perfect health, and fertile now." The Doctor said looking at the monitor. "He's very stressed right now though. If I remember my history correctly, he was mentally damaged before he escaped. We should keep him sedated and restrained."

"Is the female prepared?" Laurus asked Helena.

"Yes, we prepared her as soon as you gave the order to have him detained." Helena said with excitement in her voice.

Turning to the Doctor Laurus said, "Keep him sedated tonight with a full guard. We'll put him with the female in the morning." Turning to Helena he continued. "If the pairing tomorrow is successful, send for the next female. We'll have her altered and ready for the following lunar cycle. We've got a lot of catching up to do." Laurus placed a hand on Methos shoulder. "It's okay, we'll keep you safe now. Rest easy and we'll get you a female in the morning."

Smiling in satisfaction at the project's windfall, Laurus left the room followed by Helena.

Methos felt another sharp prick in his neck and he slipped into the darkness of unconsciousness.

He woke naked in a comfortable room with lots of cushions and furs. He heard a noise beside him and rolled to his feet, moving away until he had the wall against his back. Waking up naked was probably not a good thing. He'd been a slave too many times to think any good would come of this situation. A naked woman smiled at him and stretched seductively. Her eyes had a glazed look, as if she'd been drugged. Methos ignored her and looked for a way out. A naked woman was the last thing he wanted to see when he was being held captive. Distractions he didn't need!

The woman stood and slinked towards him, hips swaying. She arched her body so that he could see and enjoy every curve. "I am for you." She purred. He continued to ignore her, pacing the room still looking for the seam of a door. Hours passed with the woman trying to seduce him, while he continued to ignore her. Finally he stopped pacing and sat down on the furs. He glared at the woman when she moved to sit in his lap.

He'd drifted into a light nap when he heard a noise. A hand pushed a tray of food and drink into the room and was gone. The seam disappearing again when the door shut. Methos got up and walked to the tray. He ignored the food but drank the water thirstily. The drugs they'd used to get him here had made him very thirsty. The woman stretched out on the cushions again and smiled slowly.

Methos blinked. His vision became blurred on the edges. He walked carefully over to the woman. "What do you want from me?" He said in a voice he hardly recognized as his own. His legs grew shaky and he sank to his knees on the furs.

"I am for you." She purred again, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him down on top of her. This time he didn't resist. This time the fuzziness of his head and the burning in his groin agreed with her. His lips attacked her lips, his hands roaming her body. His mind only focused on having this woman.

As the years went by, Alpha Blue's security guards gradually relaxed their vigilance. His constant sedated condition allowed them to forget that he was an enhanced Alpha. The knowledge he'd acquired millennia ago, instinctually helped him counter the Complex security. One night, he broke out of his cubicle and found his way to freedom. Although the alarm had been sounded moments after an elevator had taken him to the surface, he'd quickly disappeared. They'd searched for weeks in the surrounding areas without results.

Laurus stared at the report on his screen. The Alpha Blue had been at the Complex for thirty-six lunar cycles, successfully breeding an offspring each cycle. Before the mistake had been made and he'd escaped. Sadly, his captivity seemed to re-activate his mental damage. Agents in the field had reported that before his capture, he'd been acting normal. Back tracking, they were able to determine that he'd been in Greece studying. He displayed no signs of mental damage and violence until he was detained.

Laurus ordered an immediate investigation into the physiological trauma of Alpha Blue's captivity, and the sedatives and medications he'd been subjected to. They'd been forced to keep him sedated when he wasn't breeding. When he became fertile, they had to give him a stimulant to get him interested in the females. He'd eventually become resistant to the sedative and kept this fact hidden from the Doctors that monitored his health and fertility.

Laurus updated Alpha Blue's files, advising that sedatives and restraints were detrimental to his continued mental state. In the future, an altered female should be planted in Alpha Blue's vicinity with a compulsion to seek him out for breeding. She could then be collected and another sent in her place after successful breeding. If that failed, reason and communication should be attempted. The Watchers were running out of options.

Filled with an unreasoning fear and uncontrollable rage, Methos fled into the warmer climates of Africa. In his travels, he met and became friends with three Male Delta Immortals. Using his enhanced skills and intellect, he convinced the Immortals to form a Brothership. The Immortal Brothers guarded each other's backs as they vented their rage on the mortals of the area. Any Immortals passing too close were quickly given a true death.

Since none of his Watchers could safely get close enough to identify the Immortals, Laurus had no idea that his dedication to the project had created Death, of the Four Horsemen. Methos' fear and trauma at his familiar but unfamiliar confinement had dragged his mind back into the Dark place that had been the result of that first traumatic Quickening.

Paris 2002

Methos woke up from another nightmare. He looked at the bedside clock. Only 4:00 am. At least he'd gotten more sleep than last night. He got up and went to shower the sweat off his body. As the hot water eased his still tense muscles, Methos tried to remember as much of the dream as he could.

He'd been in a brightly lit room, and laying on a cold, metal like table. Gray, sticklike and smooth beings had stood around the table talking like he wasn't there. He'd understood what they'd been saying but he couldn't remember how he knew. The thing that scared him more than being paralyzed and restrained was the oversized, black eyes of the creatures. They stared into his soul and knew something about him that even he didn't know. He knew he'd seen eyes like that before and it terrified him. When he looked into those eyes, he fell into a darkness of pain and terror.

Shaking off his residual fear, Methos finished his shower and dried off. Putting on jeans and a sweater, he made a pot of coffee and settled in to work on his translations. Later in the day, he'd go and visit Joe. He hadn't been by in a few days and it would distract him. Maybe Mac would be there and he could amuse himself by getting on the Highlander's nerves. That brought a smile to his face. Methos turned his mind to the translation.

Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neill looked around the base and waited for their vehicle to be brought up. Daniel was still a little airsick from the ride in Jack's F-16. Jack had insisted that he fly so they could get there and back and not worry about Customs and protocols. Daniel sneezed and picked up his bag as a car stopped in front of them. Jack gave the driver Adam Pierson's address.

It took several knocks on the door to drag Methos' attention from the Druid language he was translating for the Sorbonne. He'd spent some time in that area when the Druids had been active, but the dialects and intonations had changed several times over the centuries. The Druids enjoyed keeping their secrets.

As the knocking continued, an irritated Methos stomped to answer it. If it was that irritating assistant from the Sorbonne again... He yanked open the door, prepared to give someone a firm talking to. Instead he found himself face to face with Daniel Jackson, a friend he'd met when 'Adam Pierson' had been new to the Watchers.

Methos had met Daniel over fifteen years ago and he'd followed the work of the clever young archeology student. He'd read the details of Daniel's dissertation, amused at the controversy this young man was creating, and he'd manipulated his schedule to make sure he'd be at the young man's presentation.

At the presentation, he'd been more amused by the stuffy, closed minded actions of the 'experts' in the field than Daniel's theories. While he knew the pharaohs hadn't built the pyramids, he thought Daniel needed more research to support his theory. After the room had rudely emptied on the young man, he'd stepped forward and introduced himself. They'd spent the rest of the evening talking history and theory. Daniel had left the meeting with some new ideas of where to continue his search, and the support of a peer. They had stayed in touch even after Daniel had taken a job in Colorado.

"Daniel! What brings you to Paris? Come in." Methos said with a grin.

"Adam, this is my friend Jack O'Neill. Jack, Adam Pierson."

Jack looked Daniel's friend over. He looked even younger than Daniel! Too young to be as good as Daniel claimed, must be some kind of protégé. The young man seemed genuinely glad to see Daniel but there was something about his eyes. Jack thought Adam Pierson's eyes were just a little too knowing. He'd seen eyes like that in veteran Covert Ops soldiers. Where had this kid seen that kind of death and disillusionment?

After his guests had drinks and the pleasantries had been exchanged, Methos got right to the point. "I haven't seen you in the academic circles lately Daniel, what brings you to Paris?"

Daniel looked at Jack and took a deep breath. "I've been doing some really interesting research along the lines of my thesis. I'm working on a project right now and I could use your help with a translation."

Methos nodded for Daniel to continue. He remembered Daniel's thesis. He wondered what interesting research Daniel had found to support that thesis. "You're pretty good at ancient languages, what do you need my help with?"

"I'm good with ancient languages, but you're better at translating the really dead ones. We have a really old one and wondered if you'd be interested in giving it a try." Daniel said being intentionally vague.

"Sure, I'm working on a Druidic translation right now, if you want you can leave it with me and I can get started on it when I'm done with the other." Methos said, knowing that Daniel had something else in mind by the body language that was practically shouting at him.

"Well, actually, we need our translation done right away. We'd be willing to pay for that. I know you're busy and all but this is really important Adam." Daniel leaned forward earnestly, trying to convince Adam to agree.

Methos evaluated Daniel and Jack O'Neill. There was more than they were telling him here. Methos could tell by the rigid and controlled manner in which Jack held himself, that he was military. Since O'Neill's hands weren't callused and his walk hadn't been a march, he wasn't Army or Marine. If they came from Colorado, it couldn't be the Navy. That left Air Force or Government.

He sat up straight. "I don't work for the Government, we've talked about this before Daniel."

Jack leaned in knowing that the man had figured out the connection through him. He upped his estimation of the kid. He hadn't had many clues to make his quick but accurate assessment. "This is important to National Security. We'd really appreciate your help. Daniel here thinks you're the man for the job."

"I'm not a citizen, and I don't like the idea of working for the Government, any Government." Methos said irritated that Daniel wouldn't let it drop.

"Well, maybe you don't have to work for the Government exactly. What about if you do a private translation for me? It's really important Adam."

Hearing the pleading in Daniel's voice, Methos considered. He was curious about any translation that Daniel couldn't figure out himself. "This isn't a 'Yes', but do you have anything you can show me? Let me see if it's even something I can help you with."

Daniel looked at Jack, who nodded. Daniel pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket. "This is just a small portion of it. If you can help, you can see the rest of it. It's very sensitive material."

Methos took the paper and unfolded it. He tilted it so that the light from the window clearly showed the characters on the sheet. He went pale as his mind easily translated it.

"You can read it?" Daniel asked, recognizing the look on Adam's face. Both he and Jack leaned forward intently.

Methos nodded. "I can read it."

Around 1000 AD

Laurus tapped his foot nervously as he watched the surveillance screen. Displayed on the monitor was a lean, pale skinned male with dark hair. He was quietly eating at a small inn. The energy readings at the right of the screen were showing a high energy level. "It looks like him."

"It has to be. We have his brain wave patterns and energy readings on file. The energy readings have gone up but it's been centuries since we last saw him." The technician answered.

"He's a flight risk with extreme mental trauma in captivity. What do you think Doctor?"

"He's definitely elusive. I don't think we have anything to lose by being careful. I suggest we try and anonymously coax him into staying in the area, send him altered females as often as we can. That eliminates his trauma and could possibly give us more Beta Blues."

Laurus nodded. "Send word out to our operatives. I want to try and make this a safe area for him. Let me know the second another Immortal comes within a hundred miles of him. Make him feel welcome and safe here. Send him the females as fast as we can before he disappears again. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and he'll settle down here."

Laurus stared at the screen until Alpha Blue headed up to the room he had gotten for the night. The Watcher operatives had reported an unknown Immortal arriving that morning. The Immortal had identified himself to the innkeeper as a merchant by the name of Marcus.

Laurus shook his head in frustration. To keep up with his Immortals, he'd had to re-organize the Watchers. After millennia, they found they just couldn't support the Immortals they were tracking for the breeding project without increasing the amount of Watchers. The problem was, the Watcher technology was alien to the natives on this world. Exposing the secrets of the breeding project and the technology used to track the Immortals was too great a security risk.

Laurus and his senior staff had decided that the natives could be recruited into the Watchers as field operatives and historians only. The Watchers would let the native's track and observe the Immortals, keeping the existence of Immortals a secret from the rest of the population. In the meantime, the natives would never be told the bigger secret. The native Watchers were given a tattoo or symbol of their membership in the Watchers, this helped to identify them to the project group as a lower security level, while allowing them to be used for information gathering. This system had been in place for nearly a hundred years now. Laurus just found it cumbersome to have to wait for the written chronicles to be updated and transmitted to the Complex.

Methos liked this quiet village in the mountains. The weather wasn't too cold at this time of year and the commerce was good. The women were more than friendly. He had no problem getting pleasant female company to keep him warm at nights. Around his sixth month there, the voice in the back of his mind started to send off warning signals. One day he noticed that the innkeeper and several of the serving women had a similar tattoo. He asked about it and was given several different answers. His curiosity aroused, he set about befriending a tattooed older man who liked to talk too much after a few too many beers.

The older man didn't live in the village; he was paid to deliver dry goods and messages to other villages up and down the trade road. After a particularly long drinking session, Methos finally got the man talking. In a secretive whisper the man told his secret.

"I'm a Watcher. There's special beings out there that cannot die unless you take their heads. They're called Immortals. We Watchers observe and record their comings and goings. You know, keep track of them."

Suspicious but hiding his alarm, Methos whispered, "Just observe and record? There's got to be more to it than that. Don't you hunt them? Kill them? Surely they must be demons!"

"We cannot! We must never interfere with them! We observe and record to keep track of them, record the history. We don't do anything but Watch." The old man nodded emphatically.

"Are any of these Immortals here?" Methos asked trying to sound secretive.

"I heard the Inn keeper say that there was one in the area, but I've never seen one."

Methos considered what he'd heard for a few minutes, his stomach churning in panic. There was a group that knew about Immortals and they knew there was one in the area. Methos hadn't felt any other Immortal, and wasn't so foolish as to think that he just hadn't run into them yet. He didn't like being known to anyone! If they knew about Immortals, they knew how to permanently kill him. It was time to disappear, he thought in a panic. Calmer than he felt, he asked. "How can I be one of these Watchers?"

"You have to be invited. We go through a secret initiation ceremony and everything. Then we get this tattoo so we can recognize other Watchers."

"So how do I get invited?" Methos said trying to appear drunk despite his nervousness.

"I was invited by the Watcher Council up at the Monastery. That's where all the Watchers in this area have to go to be invited."

Methos bought the old man another beer and retired to his room. The voice in the back of his mind was still screaming at him to leave. Corinnia was already asleep in his bed. Not wanting to wake her and have to explain, he quietly packed his bags.

Corinnia was the woman of the month. A pretty thing but not very interesting. He'd like Flora better, but she'd gone up the mountain to her home village to help out her pregnant sister. Something about that suddenly seemed wrong. Before Flora there was Albia, before Albia it was Lucia, before Lucia it was Fionna, before her Cynne. Six women in six months...what was it about lunar months? And each of them left and didn't return, and no one in the village thought that was strange?

Leaving a few coins, Methos disappeared like a shadow in the night.

"Laurus, the field Watchers are reporting that the Alpha Blue disappeared during the night."

"Why did he leave? Were there any Immortals in the area?" Laurus asked, worried that they'd somehow scared the Alpha off.

"No Immortals. We've been leading them off as we found them. He did spend several hours with one of the field Watchers. They had quite a bit to drink. Shall I call in the Watcher for questioning?"

"Yes, I think that would be in order. Send him to the monastery and we'll question him as the Tribunal. Also send a team out to retrieve the female; hopefully he impregnated her before he left. Damn that wasn't enough time." Laurus walked back to his office, frustrated and worried.

When the female had been retrieved, she'd been confirmed pregnant. That news made Laurus feel a little better. At least they'd gotten six more Betas. The Blue offspring demonstrated better survival skills than the more aggressive bloodlines. Alpha Blue himself was over nine millennia old, no simple task with the number of hunting Immortals still out in the field. He was the last Alpha, and the only Betas left were the ones he had created the last time he'd been detained, and they wouldn't be mature for a very long time. If only the Alpha didn't disappear so often and for so long! Laurus updated the Alpha Blue's file and recorded the test as a success. He'd be recommending that all of the mature males be handled in this way. The Immortals were just getting too aggressive.

The Watcher was questioned and he had indeed imparted secret Watcher information to the Alpha Blue. His human Watcher peers tolerated no indiscretions and had terminated the talkative man before Laurus was notified. Laurus wasn't concerned with the Alpha Blue knowing about that aspect of the Watchers, they were a passive branch of historians and if it relieved some of the Alpha's anxieties to be aware of the field Watchers, that was okay with him. It might make it easier for the project branch of the Watchers to someday approach the Alpha without the fear he'd shown in his earlier dealings with them.

Paris 2002

"Well, what does it say?" Jack and Daniel both practically shouted.

"Its gibberish, don't waste your time." Methos said standing and looking out the window. He looked down at the sheet of paper again and closed his eyes.

"Listen Pierson. If you know what this says you'd better start talking. I didn't come all this way to be blown off by you." Jack said angrily.

Methos wasn't intimidated by Jack at all. Trying to mislead them, he finally said. "I told you its gibberish, you wouldn't believe me if I told you and I don't want to risk my reputation by being a part of this."

"You won't be risking your reputation Adam. This has to remain a secret. You can tell us, we want to know what it says even if its gibberish."

Methos looked at the sheet and read it out loud. "Ancient ones. The Goa'uld have been repelled from the planet. I am most pleased to report that the project is an overwhelming success." Tossing the sheet at Daniel he sniped, "See, gibberish. Are you happy now?"

Daniel and Jack looked at each other. Daniel was amazed at the ease in which Adam had read the sheet. It could have been written in English for as easy as he made it look. When the amazement passed, he realized that Adam's translation had just proven the importance of the message. It confirmed the Ancients were involved and that the Goa'uld were defeated. The rest of the message must have more details.

Daniel looked at Jack and crossed his arms.

Jack scowled. He didn't like it, but they were going to have to have Pierson's help. The kid had easily read the few lines they'd shown him and by the contents of the message, he'd read it correctly. "Okay then. What do we have to do to convince you to come and read the rest of it for us?" Jack said in a flippant tone.

Around 1400 AD

Watcher Edward looked at the unknown Immortal closely. As part of the Watcher training, all of the field Watchers had been given the description of an Immortal. He was thought to be the oldest of the Immortals, the illusive Methos. The unknown Immortal certainly matched the description of Methos. Getting excited at the thought, Edward slipped out of the inn and raced to the pigeon coop to send a message to Watcher Headquarters.

The Complex reacted very quickly at the reported sighting of Alpha Blue. The Watcher was instructed to Watch and follow. A team was dispatched to the area to determine a course of action.

Laurus watched as the data came in. The project command center was excited at the prospect that Alpha Blue had been sighted again. It had been centuries since they'd seen and bred the Alpha male. Damn but the Immortal was illusive!

"Sir, he's staying with one of the Yellow line females. They appear to know each other."

Laurus nodded. "Make a note to update her Watcher to watch for any return visits. If he knows her, he might come back." Laurus watched more data come up on the screen. "He appears to be sleeping with her. Can we send him an altered servant girl?"

The technician looked up at his supervisor. "The Watcher is pretty specific about who he's sleeping with. We could try but I would think that would be a dangerous thing for an Immortal to do while staying with another Immortal."

"Send one anyway. I hate the thought of wasting fertilized eggs!"

So an altered female was sent but remained unfertilized. Methos was quite happy enjoying the company and attractions of Rebecca Horne. He stayed several months before moving on, easily losing his Watcher. The project team was dejected at the lost opportunity.

Around 1800

Methos had successfully infiltrated the Watchers again. He'd done it every couple of centuries since he'd discovered their existence. He was feeling better about their existence than he had in the beginning. They genuinely appeared to be dedicated to Immortal history. Each time he'd joined the Watchers, he made sure to check the Methos Chronicles, keeping references to Methos vague and in the Myth category. Somehow, his existence kept getting verified after he altered the Chronicles. He was very careful to not stay very long. He didn't want them to notice that he didn't age.

The project branch of the Watchers didn't mind at all that Alpha Blue had joined. That kept him in one spot for five to ten years. They used that opportunity to send altered females to him as often as they could. It was a little too obvious to send a new female every month, so they'd had to settle for a new one every few months. They were also careful to send a female that he would be interested in, but not love. They didn't want him to come looking for the females he'd been bred to, and they quickly retrieved the females as soon as they were pregnant. The gestation for Immortals was only six months. That would certainly get the wrong kind of attention, from Alpha Blue as well as everyone else.

This time they got forty Betas before the Alpha moved on. They tried to follow him again but he quickly lost them.

1928 AD Giza Strip

Laurus sat down in shock. The natives had discovered the Stargate. Dug it up and hid it away somewhere. He pushed a button on his control panel. "Call together the senior staff immediately. We've got a problem."

When they'd all assembled he spoke. "We need to come up with a contingency plan. The natives have discovered the Stargate." His announcement was met with shocked silence. Suddenly the room burst into noise as everyone began to speak at once.

"How did that happen?" "Have the Goa'uld come through?" "Do they know about Immortals?" "Do they know how to use it?" "Have they activated it yet?"

Laurus let them shout and get it out of their systems for a few minutes before he called them to order.

"They found it earlier this year and took it off somewhere. I have people working on that. As soon as we know where it is, we'll infiltrate and collect data. We'll know then if we have to destroy it or prepare to defend." He looked at his assistant who had raised his hand.

"We don't have enough Immortals to defend against the Goa'uld this time. They certainly aren't tame enough to coordinate them into an army anyway." His assistant said.

Laurus nodded. "We have to know what they're going to do with the Gate. Our worse case scenario is to destroy the Immortals so that the Goa'uld can't get them. They can't use them for hosts, but they could use them for their own army. We can't let that happen."

The room went silent as that thought sank in. Nearly ten millennia of research would be destroyed if the worst happened.

Paris 2002

"How many times do I have to tell you Daniel, I don't trust the Government!"

"Adam, this is life or death! I know how you feel about the Government, but you do trust me don't you? I wouldn't do anything that would get you hurt or in trouble. I'm your friend Adam." Daniel pleaded, holding his hand out towards Jack to keep him quiet and out of the conversation.

Jack ignored Daniel and asked quietly. "You act like a man with something to hide. What are you hiding Pierson?"

Methos looked appraisingly at Jack. The man had made no promises, and uttered no lies. He'd read Methos like it was printed on his forehead. "Unpleasant experiences I'd rather forget." Methos said simply.

"Well, that's easy then. We keep this strictly business and spend as little time in each other's company as possible." Jack said smiling.

Methos saw the honesty in O'Neill's eyes. He really didn't have plans within plans. His eyes convinced Methos that he was a straightforward man who respected that in others. "I can help you then, but with some conditions." Methos said firmly.

Jack's eyes narrowed, "Let's hear 'em."

"I don't go anywhere with you. You bring the documents to me. No one knows about this and we do this in a place that I feel safe in, because despite what you say, I still do not trust the Government."

Jack nodded. "Done. Can you read the rest of it as easily as you did this part?"

Methos nodded. "If its the same dialect."

"There's another thing." Jack said with a deadly look. "This is top secret. You don't tell anyone and you don't write it anywhere - ever. If even one little bit of this leaks out, you're dead. Do you understand?"

Methos stared back at O'Neill with a calm and deadly look of his own. "I understand better than you think."

It took another day for Major Samantha Carter to bring the complete transmission.

Methos had picked a park within sight of MacLeod's barge as their meeting place. He'd asked Mac to keep an eye out for him, misleading the Highlander into thinking that Methos was meeting some antiquities dealers with a shady history. Mac argued that he should be with Methos instead of watching, but Methos had insisted that would only cause more trouble. Of course Mac had told Joe, so it was the two of them that silently watched as Methos sat in the park and fed the pigeons while he waited for Daniel and O'Neill to arrive.

Methos stood as he noticed the three people heading his direction. Daniel, O'Neill and an attractive blonde woman with a metal briefcase handcuffed to her wrist. Methos glared at O'Neill when the three were close enough. "I didn't say you could bring a friend." At a glance he could tell she was military too.

"Samantha Carter meet Adam Pierson. Samantha is one of our top scientists. She has a vested interest in the document too."

Sam looked at Adam. Jack had said Adam Pierson was young, but it still surprised her. He seemed very nervous, his eyes flitting everywhere at once while trying to keep her and Jack in sight.

"Any more friends popping out of the woodwork I should know about?" Methos said snidely.

"Nope, this fills the dance card. Remember Pierson this goes nowhere. Lets get this over with."

Samantha lifted the briefcase and tilted it towards O'Neill. O'Neill dialed a combination and when it opened, pulled out a folder, secretly flipping on a recording device. Quietly he handed the folder to Pierson.

Samantha watched Pierson intently. She'd heard from Daniel that this man had easily read the message. She was anxious to hear what else it said.

Methos sat on the bench and opened the folder, Daniel quickly sitting next to him as a show of support or in interest, Methos didn't know.

Taking Daniel's cue, Samantha Carter sat next to Daniel, keeping the slightly opened briefcase directed at Pierson. Pierson glared at the two of them as they watched him in expectation. Jack remained standing, close enough to hear and far enough away to react and keep his eye on what was going on around them. He knew Sam would be watching his back.

Methos scanned the first paragraph of the document before he began to read it out loud. "Ancient ones. The Goa'uld have been repelled from the planet. I am most pleased to report that the project is an overwhelming success. The Goa'uld had come through the Stargate, just as you had predicted. Using the Forces, Methos refused to identify Immortals! we engaged the Goa'uld and sent them back through the Stargate."

He glanced up at O'Neill, before continuing.

"During the battle, the Forces Damn I wish this guy would stop naming Immortals! easily identified Goa'uld hosts and Jaffa. With their amplified strength and gifts, they were resistant to mind control and couldn't be killed in battle. Their resurrections during the battle spread fear and confusion in the Goa'uld forces when the 'enemy' displayed powers that were believed to be exclusive to the Goa'uld. The Alphas had been able to access the strategy data that they'd been programmed with, and had mind linked with the Forces Immortals again , easily commanding them to victory. We instructed the Forces enough already! to bury the Gate before we recalled them.

The project continues according to the plan. The Alphas are producing at the expected level, the Betas are showing signs of being every bit as successful as their sires."

Methos' world shrank down to a small tunnel of light. He remembered walking into a Stargate. He remembered what Goa'uld and Jaffa were and how hard they were to kill. He remembered who and what the Alphas were. As he struggled to control the dark terror he felt, he heard someone shouting at him. He felt his face being gently patted, an attempt to get his attention. By the time he felt the buzz of MacLeod's presence, he was able to get control of his flashback.

Duncan had watched the group in the park sit down. It had only been a few minutes before he knew something was wrong. Through the link he and Methos shared after the double Quickening several years before, he sensed Methos' nervousness turn into terror. In a flash he was leaping off the barge and racing towards Methos. When he saw the standing man slap Methos in the face, he sped up and within a minute had reached his friend and knocked the man down with a punch. MacLeod stood over the downed man with his hand on the still hidden katana handle, ready to defend Methos.

"Its okay Mac." Methos said shakily. "I'm alright."

Duncan risked a quick look at Methos only to turn and stare at the ghostly shade of white his friend had become. His insides went cold at the look of sheer horror in Methos' eyes. Nothing scared the older Immortal, not Dark Quickenings, not Kronos, nothing.

"Meth-Adam?" Duncan asked.

Methos saw Joe arrive and said, "Its okay Duncan. I just remembered where I came from and it scares the hell out of me."

Duncan reached down and urged Methos to stand. "We can finish this on my barge."

"Not so fast." Jack said pulling out a gun.

"This is not a conversation to have in public. MacLeod's barge is close by and private." Methos said firmly.

Jack looked angry but decided the park wasn't the right place to hold this conversation if there was a chance of anymore blows being exchanged. That would attract attention they didn't want. And if Pierson had people watching there was going to be more than fisticuffs involved, he'd better not have told them anything or they were all dead! Jack gestured to Sam and Daniel and followed Pierson and the strangers.

Joe walked alongside Methos who was now walking slowly next to MacLeod. "You remembered where you came from?" Joe asked.

Methos nodded and said quietly, "Inside the barge." As he walked between Mac and Joe, Methos' mind raced. So it was true, all of it. The things he'd thought were just nightmares were really true. He was part of an alien experiment. All those millennia of thinking he was his own man were lies. He was just a pawn on an alien chessboard.

And what about the aliens? He knew they were still here. They'd been able to capture him and keep him prisoner, almost as if they were watching him. Nervously he looked around him, looking paranoid at everyone he saw.

Through their link, Duncan could feel Methos' anxiety growing rapidly. Putting a hand on the older man's shoulder he said quietly, "I've got your back Adam."

Methos swallowed his fear with difficulty and nodded. "Yeah, but who's got yours?"

Joe spoke up then. "Me and the rest of the clan MacLeod."

Inside the barge, Methos sat stiffly in a chair and let the others sit before he opened his eyes. He smiled gratefully at Mac when he noticed a beer sitting on the coffee table right in front of him. He took a long drink of it before he looked around at the people staring at him expectantly.

"I promised that the contents of your document wouldn't go any further than you, and I kept that promise. Mac and Joe were just going to make sure that I walked away from our meeting." Methos said. Jack's glare tuned down just an iota.

Methos continued. "Just now, after reading your document, I remembered something that you need to know, but that's a part of my secret. I won't tell you anything unless I can bring in MacLeod and Joe. They're part of my secret."

Jack went silent. Daniel and Samantha both looked at him to see what he was going to do. "I need to make a phone call before anything happens. Nobody leaves or contacts anyone outside this barge." Jack said ominously and walked out onto the deck. Pulling out his secure phone, he dialed General Hammond.

Several long minutes later, an unhappy Jack returned. Despite his arguments to General Hammond, he wasn't going to be allowed to just drag them all into custody and question them. He sat down and looked over at Pierson. "Tell us what you know."

Methos nodded and started on his second beer. Without meeting anyone's eyes, he stared at the label of his beer and began.

"This is going to sound crazy, but if you found the transmission where I think you did, you already know part of what I'm going to say." Methos sighed silently and took a deep breath before continuing. "Around 8000 BC, an alien race called the Ancients, genetically engineered a new Life form they called Immortals. These Immortals healed almost immediately from injuries and could even reawaken from Death. The Ancients intended that Immortals be Earth's defense against the Goa'uld, a nasty, parasitic alien race that had established a base on Earth." Methos looked at Daniel. "The Goa'uld built the Pyramids Daniel."

Daniel just smiled and nodded. "I know."

Methos looked at the young man for a moment. They knew about the Gate and had gone through it. They'd obviously met the Goa'uld or Daniel wouldn't know about the pyramids. He took a sip of his beer to wet his dry throat before he picked up his story from where he left off. "The Ancients convinced the Goa'uld to leave, then sent the first of the Immortals to Earth through the Stargate. The Ancients couldn't openly prevent the Goa'uld from coming back, so they left the Immortals here as sentries. Mac, Joe, the Stargate is a device created by the Ancients. They used it to move from planet to planet, like a freeway system. Around 6000 BC, the Goa'uld came back through the Gate. We fought. The Goa'uld left. The Stargate was buried afterwards."

"You haven't explained how you know this. How you can read the transmission." Samantha said leaning forward.

"I'm older than I look and much older than even I thought I was. I'm one of the Immortals." Methos said quietly staring at Daniel.

"You're an Immortal." Jack said sarcastically. "And this is like, a hereditary memory or something?"

"I'm one of The Immortals." Methos emphasized. "I was there."

"You were there." Jack said, pokerfaced but starting to believe, Pierson knew a lot about things he shouldn't know unless he'd been there.

"Stargates and Aliens?" Mac said scoffing. Had Methos lost his mind? Was this something left over from that Quickening he'd had trouble settling?

"Do you want to hear this or not? Personally, I'm all for not hearing it. I'm fighting a really strong survival instinct to get the hell out of here and just keep running!"

"No one's going anywhere until I hear what I need to hear." Jack said with a glare.

Samantha caught Jack's eye and spoke up. "Thor is older than that, and the Tok'ra have been around for nearly the same amount of time."

Jack thought about that and nodded. "Go on."

"Who's the 'We' you mentioned?" Daniel asked.

"We are the other Immortals. When the Ancients left us here, they left aliens as our zookeepers. Our keepers increased our numbers until we had an army. When the Goa'uld came back, we fought."

"How did they increase your numbers?" Joe asked. MacLeod looked at Methos very much wanting to hear where Immortals came from.

"Immortals aren't sterile, well not all of them." Suddenly sensing something unusual yet somehow familiar, Methos looked towards the shore side of the barge.

As Joe opened his mouth to ask more about Immortal fertility, they were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Duncan looked around in surprise and stood. "Anyone expecting visitors?" He walked to the door and with every muscle tense and alert for danger, he opened it.

In the doorway stood an average looking, middle aged, bald man in a plain gray suit. "Can I help you?" He asked, barely being polite. He was irritated at the interruption and anxious for the rest of Methos' explanation.

When the door opened fully, Laurus looked inside and confirmed what his surveillance team had reported. "May I come in? I believe we have some things to talk about."

When Duncan would have refused, the man looked at Methos and said, "Alpha Blue, I'm so glad to see you again."

"Mac, let him in." Methos said ordered reluctantly his need to know overruling his misgivings. As the man entered and found a seat near Methos, Methos tried very hard to control his shaking hands.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Laurus. Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson and Major Carter." He nodded at each in turn. Looking at the others in the room he continued. "Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod and Joe Dawson, Watcher. Forgive me for intruding; I'm one of the aliens assigned to watch Immortals. SG-1, I believe you've met the Asgard before, we're closely related cousins to them."

Turning his full attention back to Methos he ignored the clamor erupting around him. "Alpha Blue." He let his human form disappear and he became the gray colored, smooth skinned alien with oversized black eyes that Methos had seen in his nightmares.

The barge went instantly silent.

Methos gripped the arms of the chair as if he were falling. The blood ran out of his face leaving him translucently pale. His chest went tight and he started to hyperventilate. Duncan hurried to his side.

"I'm sorry to distress you like this Alpha Blue, but I didn't feel like I had any choice. Please, I won't hurt you. We need to talk, form an alliance. The Goa'uld will come back and we don't have an army to send against them this time." Laurus said quietly as if he were speaking to a frightened child.

"They've been and gone. We expect them to drop in again though." Focusing on Laurus, Jack challenged, "So Laurus, what the hell are you cousins of the Asgard doing here without letting us know?"

"We came as a favor to the Ancients. Our project required absolute secrecy. The Ancients insisted on it. We've even been out of contact with our own race."

"And just what is this project that requires this level of secrecy?" Jack demanded.

"We've been breeding you an army of Immortals."

"What?" MacLeod exclaimed. "I'm not in anyone's army!"

Joe the ultimate Watcher, observed and recorded. Watching everyone and memorizing everything said.

"Yes you are Mac, just like every other Immortal on the planet. Except the lab rats escaped didn't they Laurus? They ran as far and as fast as they could. And now you can't control them!" Methos realized he was standing and shouting at the small alien.

Laurus sat quietly until Alpha Blue got control of his emotions. He could see there were some deep emotional traumas from his captivity and millennia on the run. "Yes Alpha Blue. The Immortals escaped. They left and scattered all over the planet. But we were never meant to control them. That is what YOU were for."

Methos escaped to the deck of the barge, MacLeod close behind him. Laurus spoke before anyone else could follow. "Alpha Blue was damaged. When he's calmed down and returned, I will tell you what happened."

The others sat, uncomfortable in the silence. Jack stood and walked away from the others to make another call to General Hammond. The General needed to know that the Asgard cousins had been playing science project on Earth.

On the deck, MacLeod found Methos pacing on the other side of the wheelhouse. He leaned against the wheelhouse and quietly watched Methos work out his anger. He'd been surprised to even see Methos still on the barge. MacLeod was feeling overwhelmed himself by the disturbing revelations this group was dropping on him. Methos wasn't five thousand years old; he was at least eight thousand years old! Immortals were part of an alien experiment gone amuck, and everything he'd worked so hard to be in his four hundred years of life was just a cosmic joke.

Duncan looked up at the pacing man when he heard the strangled moan escape his clenched lips. "Methos?"

"Its my fault Mac. I started it. I took the first Quickening. It's because of me that Immortals kill each other for the Game." Methos threw up his arms in frustration.

A quiet voice behind them said, "No Alpha Blue, it's human nature. You accidentally killed the first Immortal, but you didn't make the others take up the hunt. This aggressive tendency was from the native women we used. It diluted the Alpha bloodlines."

When he saw that he had Alpha Blue's attention Laurus continued. "Come back inside and I'll tell you what happened."

Methos wrapped his arms around himself while he considered the alien's offer. Did he really want to know? Was this just a trick to put him back into a cell with nothing but four walls and drugs to live for? But he had to know. He had to understand what the hell was the point of it all. Afterwards, he could always get Mac to take his head. He always had that option.

He nodded and followed the alien and Duncan inside.

The others looked up as the three returned to the sitting area of the barge. Methos grabbed another beer and sat on the edge of the chair cushion, as if ready to flee in an instant. Joe noticed this and felt his heart ache for the agony this must be for Methos.

Laurus saw the thin control that Alpha Blue had on himself. He had tried to keep himself clinically distant from the project subjects but he was finding that harder and harder to do as he watched the Alpha in front of him. The Ancients may have designed a superior being but they hadn't engineered the guilt and compassion out of them. He'd be sure to make a note of that in his next report.

Laurus began to speak. "The Goa'uld were expanding their reach in the galaxy. The Ancients saw this but were restricted by their own code of ethics. The Ancients couldn't overtly use technology to protect Earth, so they designed a superior being to act as a natural weapon of defense. These beings had enhanced strength, intelligence and healing abilities enabling them to act as a deterrent to another Goa'uld invasion. To help keep this a secret from Goa'uld spies, the Ancients contacted my people and asked for our help. When we agreed, the Ancients brought us here and instructed us to use the native stock to create enough Immortals to protect Earth. The native stock was compatible with some minor alterations, and the resulting Immortals would consider themselves native to the planet and be willing to defend it."

"We came through the Gate with four fertile Alpha males and by the time the Goa'uld returned through the Gate, we had an army of Immortals. As you know, the army was successful against the Goa'uld invasion. The Immortals could sense the Goa'uld parasite in the hosts and the Jaffa, they were resistant to the mind control that some of the Goa'uld used and they got up even after being mortally wounded. The Ancients had even designed the Alphas with the ability to mind link with the other Immortals. With the mind link, the Alphas were able to send forces where they were needed, instantly send commands and receive updates. The link also seemed to energize the entire army, fighting well beyond their normal endurance. The Goa'uld were soon forced through the Gate. We'd lost contact with the Ancients centuries before, so we buried the Gate and covered it."

Laurus sighed before beginning the next part. This next part was the mistake his people had made. "We'd always treated the Immortals humanely, but very clinically. The Immortals had been a very effective weapon against the Goa'uld, but when we thought we could just go back to the way it had been, we discovered that the Immortals had outgrown us as parents."

Laurus looked at Alpha Blue. "I remember that you were very interested in exploring the world you'd just defended. You and several others went off to explore. We overzealously brought you back."

"They were prisoners then." Jack said coldly.

"Not in our minds, but definitely in theirs. To us, they were our children, too young to be out on their own. We needed to keep them safe." Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Laurus continued. "The bloodlines started to drift from the original design. The second and third generations were more emotional, more aggressive and rebellious. One of the third generation offspring attacked Alpha Blue."

Duncan looked at Methos. "That's what he keeps calling you."

Laurus replied, "The four Alphas we brought through the Gate were designated Alpha's Red, Yellow, Blue and Green. Each had been enhanced differently. Alpha Blue is the only remaining Alpha. He was engineered with increased intelligence and analytical skills." Laurus said proudly. "As I was saying, Alpha Blue was attacked and while defending himself, he permanently killed the Capa Yellow. We didn't know there was a way to permanently kill an Immortal. The Capa threw off a power surge at his death that damaged Alpha Blue's memory and he became unstable. We sedated him and several others after they had witnessed the true death of the Capa. Some of them were afraid, others angry. We locked them all in their rooms until we could decide what to do. Before we could resolve the situation, Alpha Blue escaped and in the confusion, the remaining Immortals fled the Complex."

"Some of the Immortals returned on their own, others we located and returned. We still had the project to maintain so we tried to get as many of the fertile males back as we could. We found we could continue, but on a severely limited basis. The three other Alphas tried to talk some of the others into returning, but the world was a much more interesting place than the Complex. Outside, the Immortals could seek out the opposite sex, something that we rigidly controlled. Some of the Immortals acted upon their anger and began to hunt their fellow Immortals. In a few short centuries, we were losing more Immortals than we could breed. It was for this reason that you were detained in what you called the Bronze Age." Laurus said looking at Alpha Blue. "You were the last remaining Alpha and there were very few mature Betas. I was overzealous in my attempts to continue the project and the Blue line. You were kept sedated and confused until you retreated into yourself. You escaped after three years. It saved the project you know, you fathered many new Betas. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized my mistake. I adjusted your file so that you were never detained again."

"He fathered Immortals?" Duncan asked confused.

"Yes. The Alphas were fertile when they came through the Stargate. Immortal Males don't become fertile until they reach the age of two thousand." Laurus continued. "Right now there are only sixteen mature males. Fifteen of them are diluted bloodlines and are only capable of one offspring every few years. Half of those have taken vows of celibacy or are too violent and unacceptable to breed."

"And the sixteenth?" Joe asked already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it anyway.

"Is Alpha Blue who can produce one offspring each lunar cycle." Laurus said hoping that this was helping Alpha Blue understand why he'd been detained. This Alpha could reason and analyze the purpose of the project. Laurus could see it in the changing eyes across from him.

"This is all well and good but how does all this get the Goa'uld off our backs again?" Jack said breaking the uncomfortable stare that Laurus was directing towards Pierson. He really felt for the guy now. Really un-cool to hear that you were created in a test tube to be nothing more than a weapon and stud in their deranged science experiment.

"The Immortals were created to be Earth's weapon against the Goa'uld. They proved successfully that they could engage and defeat them. Since we've been out of touch with the rest of our Race, I don't know anything about any further attempts the Goa'uld may have made after we buried the gate." Laurus said calmly.

"Oh they just sent a couple of Mother ships after us. We managed to destroy them - barely. Then the Council designated us a protected world. But we're not willing to sit back and believe that the Goa'uld will follow the rules. We were hoping that we could find out how we'd gotten rid of them when the Gate had been buried. Guess that plan kinda fizzled out."

"Perhaps not, Alpha Blue can still revive the project. Perhaps we have time to increase the number of Immortals before the next visit by the Goa'uld. Alpha Blue can always link and command the remaining Immortals. There is enough for a small army there." Laurus said.

"What about the strategies and technologies you used against them last time?" Samantha said thoughtfully.

Everyone looked at Methos.

"No." Methos said quietly.

"No?" Jack said.

"No." Standing up, Methos said it again. "No. I'm not going to breed any more Immortals into the Game. I'm not going to give you technology you can use to start a war with a vicious, parasitic race. I'm not going to keep playing the lab rat in your sick science experiment." Taking a deep breath he stared at each one of them in turn. "I am going to go home, take a really hot shower and drink myself stupid. Then I'm going to go to sleep and hope the nightmares of the last ten thousand years stay away! Leave. Me. Alone!"

Without another word or backwards glance, Methos left the barge. When Duncan went to follow him, Joe grabbed his arm firmly.

"Now you guys are all going to shut up and listen to me." Joe said in a voice that surprised everyone.

Once Joe had everyone's attention he continued. "Adam is a man, a very Good man and I am sick and tired of hearing you talk about him as if he were an object. That man has been through hell and you guys are squabbling over who gets to use him. He's been a prisoner more than half of his very long life, just a lab rat in an experiment. And all of that long time he's been hunted, used, abused and alone. Not being able to trust anyone to watch his back for him, but that ends now. Let me make this perfectly clear, anyone that wants to hurt that man, has to go through me first. And so help you if you try."

Joe took a defensive stance and stuck his hand into his coat pocket.

Mac knew Joe kept a gun in there, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that Joe was absolutely right. Methos had spent his life alone with no one to guard his back. He'd paid his dues to the damn project, to his friends, to the planet. Duncan knew he didn't know anything about these evil aliens, but he'd fought a millennium demon with a little help from his friends. He was willing to fight anyone to protect Methos from his demons. "And me. You'll have to go through me too." Duncan said firmly.

Joe looked at Duncan and smiled.

Daniel sat and stared at his hands. He was still in a state of shock over hearing about Adam's age. He'd lived during the civilizations Daniel studied. Adam had lived the history, but having studied about the history, Daniel knew that what Joe had said was true. The slavery, the cruelty, the abuses, and a man who was hunted his entire life surely had to spend that eternity alone. And Adam had trusted Daniel. Trusted him not to do anything that would hurt him. Daniel knew how important the Stargate was. How important it was to have some protection from the Goa'uld. He just couldn't get over the bad feeling he got when he thought about the price they were asking of Adam. Was that bringing them closer to being the same as the Goa'uld? People were just tools to the Goa'uld. Slave labor and host bodies. Isn't that what the Ancients and Asgard cousins had done to Adam? Made him a slave to their project, a tool for making more slaves. And Adam had trusted him. "Jack, we can't do this. We can't be like the Goa'uld and use Adam. That's what makes us human. That's what separates us from those monsters." Daniel said emphatically.

Jack looked at Daniel and smiled, "What took you so long Daniel?" Samantha smiled. She'd trusted Jack to do the right thing. They'd find another way to stop the Goa'uld.

The entire group looked over to Laurus. "The Ancients themselves would have probably ended this long ago. I've spent too much time on this project. I'm ready to go home."

Methos did just what he said he was going to do. He left his shower only after all of the hot water was gone, then he drank everything alcoholic he had in the house. (Since he'd been low on groceries, his supply of alcohol had amounted to a six-pack of beer.) Then he lay back on the bed and tried to close his mind to everything he'd heard and remembered.

As Methos slept, a light appeared in the corner of his bedroom. It gathered more light into itself and slowly coalesced into the transparent form of a man. The figure walked across the room and stood beside the bed.

"I'm so proud of you my son, you have learned so many hard lessons in such a short amount of time. Together we will give them a way to resist the Goa'uld. Rest easy now my son. Rest easy." With a gentle hand, the figure caressed Methos' head and slowly dissipated.

An easing of the tension in Methos' body was the only sign that the mysterious visitor had been there. Methos slept free of the nightmares that had haunted him for the first time in a very long time.

Methos woke the next morning and after a shower and coffee, he went for a walk. He ended up at a park where he often went to think. He stared off into the distance, not focusing on anything.

What was he going to do about the Stargate?

Certainly he had enough stuff in his head to help if they had to fight the Goa'uld again. Strategies and plans they'd never needed or used last time. That could make the difference.

And he knew that he could mind link with the other Immortals, he'd done it before. He could call them all together. A Gathering of sorts he snorted. Not that he thought they could all work as a team, but he could always make it a compulsion. The Ancients had given him the power and knowledge to do that.

He even had the understanding of technology that was so far beyond anything that Earth had. He could give them light speed travel, weapons and shields that could deter the Goa'uld.

But he was so tired. Just so tired.

Too many millennia. Too many years of running and hiding.

And the Immortals. He understood why he'd had so many problems settling the last few Quickenings. They had been his children. How could he bring more of them into this world?

Immortals had never been designed to take the Quickening of another of their kind. The energy just didn't know what else to do. Even in death, Immortals didn't want to be alone.

It was his fault that Immortals knew how to kill other Immortals. It was his fault that the Game got started.

He knew that he hadn't kept the Game going. He hadn't made the other Immortals hunt and kill their brothers. He hadn't made Kronos or Caspian or the Kurgan who they were. But he had shown them how.

This was the gift he'd given his brothers, his children, his friends.

Methos dropped his head into his hands and cried.

He jumped when a gentle hand was laid on his shoulder. He looked up, startled to see Joe. He must have been more distracted than he thought for Joe to sneak up on him.

"Jeeze Joe, have you been practicing?" Methos said wiping his eyes and shutting his emotions away in the back of his heart.

"They're going to leave you alone Methos. You've already given too much." Joe said.

Methos turned when he felt Mac's presence. The Highlander sat on Methos' other side.

"So tell me, can I really have a child of my own someday? One that's really mine?" Mac asked with a crooked smile.

"Only if you take my advice and live to be two thousand! But believe me, fatherhood is not all it's cracked up to be." Methos joked but was thinking about the Quickening he'd taken not too long ago. He continued, "It was really painful remembering that, what I was designed for, why they wanted me. After I lost my memory, they only caught up with me a few times. It still makes me wonder about every woman I slept with now."

Duncan and Joe both knew how they'd feel if it had been them.

They sat there in silence and thought about what they now knew.

Soon, Daniel joined them and sat next to Joe. "Jack left last night to let the General know that the message didn't pan out. Laurus went with him. Laurus is going to have some explaining to do." Daniel looked into Adam's eyes. "I'm really sorry I dragged you into this Adam."

"Don't be. I was already in it." Methos maintained contact with Daniel's eyes and he continued. "I'll help against the Goa'uld. I have the tactical knowledge and the technical information on some shields and things that can make the difference. The Ancients made sure I had the means to stop the Goa'uld. You can tell O'Neil that." Looking at his hands he continued, "I just need some time."

Daniel nodded. "Thanks Adam. We could really use your help. I'll let Jack and the General know. You give me a call when you're ready."

"I've got your number." Trying to lighten the mood, he added. "I'll bet you're buggered that I could have proven your thesis years ago."

"Life's a journey, not a destination. As it was, you were the only one that took me serious and pointed me in the right direction. I can never repay that Adam. If you'd given me the answers, I wouldn't have found the Stargate and I wouldn't have met Jack and Sam, and all the other people that are like family to me now."

Methos nodded, understanding what Daniel meant. He looked over at Mac, then at Joe. "And I wouldn't have come out of hiding and discovered that there were some things and some people worth taking a risk for."

"Took you long enough! Now, how about some breakfast? I'm starved!" Joe grumbled. "And I want to hear more about Immortal fertility..."

"Why Joe, you really are just a dirty old man!" Methos laughed.

To be continued in Best Laid Plans 2. (posted under Highlander fanfiction or check under my author name.)