A/N: Sorry if the end seems a little rushed. I've been trying to hammer out a chapter a week. Anyway, the story is actually almost over. I can't believe it...I will have actually finished a multi-chapter fic...this may signal the end of the world people.

Chapter 7: Desperate Moves

General Hammond strolled into sickbay, eagerly awaiting Doctor Frasier's report. A mound of paperwork would have been a pleasant alternative than the call he had to make to the president earlier that morning. He could recall the conversation word for word.

"Yes sir, I am serious...I'm sure Doctor Frasier would be happy to supply you with the information...yes sir, that's what I said, vampires. Well sir, we've been kicking the term around for a while and we decided to make it official. No sir, I have no idea what the people will think of this when we finally go public. With any luck it will boost the sale of all of those Anne Rice and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro novels. Well, the Tokra have been most helpful and Doctor Frasier is optimistic about our chances of curing the infection that's causing this. In the meantime many volunteers have offered some of their own blood to keep the currently infected members of SGC from becoming violent. Yes sir...yes sir...I hope so too. Good bye Mr. President."

If the general ever lived to throw a retirement party, the President and all of his fellow retirees would never let him live this down.

Doctor Frasier was checking Lt. Reed's vitals. The lieutenant was out cold, possibly a side effect of the internal struggle between the naquada and the bacteria.

"How are we doing so far Doctor?" General Hammond asked, standing just far enough away to give privacy.

"Well, Kylan's blood samples seem to be doing the trick. Fortunately Hale's a type O, so we're not having any conflicting blood problems. But we're still seeing a long recovery process, particularly in Lieutenant Reed here."

"How so?"

"Well, it appears that the longer the bacteria is in a host the harder it is for the naquada to effect it." Doctor Frasier led Hammond to a computer displaying information on the bacteria. "According to Kylan's data, this bacteria moves fast through the body from the moment it enters the bloodstream. And from what I've been able to gather, it doesn't just die out when it has no more blood to feed on. To put it in simple terms, it moves in and stays there."

"Are you saying there may be no way to reverse what's happened to SG-14?" General Hammond didn't like the idea one bit.

"Unless this 'Cyan' consents to being tested, I'm afraid there's not much hope. Fortunately Moran, and the soldiers she bit were not effected for very long before we got to them."

Though he pretended to be asleep, Lt. Reed could hear and sense everything around him. So long as there was warm blood nearby nothing could hide from him. General Hammond and Doctor Frasier were standing only a few feet from his bed. At the entrance of the sickbay stood two guards, and beyond that were even more guards. Slowly, he could feel his influence over the others beginning to fade.

No matter. All he needed was standing right in front of him. He waited for Doctor Frasier to finish speaking with the general. Then, just before he left she came close again. In a flash his hand went to her throat, and he leapt out of bed.

"Not so fast General!" He demanded.

He positioned himself behind the doctor, as General Hammond whipped around and the guards pulled out their guns. He pinned down Frasier's arms with one arm while holding her head back with the other, exposing her neck.

"Reed," Hammond's tone was calm yet firm. "Lets calm down. No one has to get hurt."

"No one but the blood sucking fiend right?" Reed growled. "If I can't be cured then I can't be of any use to the SGC. What's left for me after this? A spot in some freak show?"

"We can help you," Frasier said, her voice strained from her neck being pulled back. "Just because we can't cure you doesn't mean there aren't ways to live with it."

"There's only one way to end all this," Reed insisted. With Dr. Frasier pressed close enough to his body to provide cover, he moved forward. "I need to go back to P-2985. General, if you try to stop me I'll bite her, and everyone I come into contact with until I get to the stargate."

Faced with no alternative General Hammond glanced back at the guards and gestured them to move aside. In a situation like this, reason and negotiation were useless. While he lead the way Reed shot warning glances to all the airmen who were ordered to back down, incase anyone decided to play hero.

"Don't even think about it," he hissed as one woman attempted to make a move.

"Just stand down!" General Hammond repeated the order.

When they got to the elevator, Reed went in first, with his back facing to the wall, all the while making sure Janet was between him and any one who forgot to think twice before firing. It really was too bad that he couldn't just become a mist and re-materialize in the gate room...but this was real life after all.

"Don't shoot!"

Cyan dropped the canteen and bared her teeth like a tigress defending her cubs. Col. O'Neill, Teal'c and Dr. Jackson were ready to drop her without a second thought. Only M. Carter's protests, and the fear that they might hit her in the cross fire, made them hesitate.

"Sam, are you all right?" Jackson asked, shifting his focus between his friend and the creature standing between them.

"I'm fine," Carter replied, getting in front of Cyan. "She's the one who got me this far. Just lower your guns, I promise you."

O'Neill noticed the healing device in Carter's hand. "How do I know she hasn't made you like one of them? She could be tricking you to protect her."

Jackson and Teal'c both exchanged glances. Though Jackson was more expressive than Teal'c, the unspoken agreement was that O'Neill was barely paying attention during the briefing, as per usual.

"Sam's blood has naquada," Jackson reminded him, explaining it slowly as if to a class of freshmen. "It would have killed off the bacteria."

"This is Cyan," Carter explained. "She was the one who rescued me when the vampires first attacked, and she just saved me again a few moments ago."

"You are the one Kylan spoke of," Teal'c said to Cyan, lowering his weapon.

"I remember Kylan," Cyan responded, becoming civilized once more. "I only wish that I had asked him to do what I must ask of you now."

Col. O'Neill shot a quizzical look at Carter.

"She wants us to destroy the gate sir," she explained. "If we destroy it than Apophis, or Sokar, or any of the other system lords who claim this world won't be able to send victims here."

"But you'd be trapped here." Dr. Jackson pointed out.

Cyan smiled sadly. "I have lived here for thousands of years. I have seen many come here only to die. And I witnessed this happening to your people. Every time someone becomes one of us I am hurt and pained to think that I will continue to be alone on a world of death and darkness. And it is in my selfishness for a companion that I have lacked the strength to destroy the stargate myself."

"And you want us to do it for you," O'Neill summed up. "Look, ordinarily I'd be happy to help you out. But a member of one of our teams here is making a buffet out of the SGC. And until we find a way to cure him of it-"

"There has never been a cure for my kind," Cyan argued. "Osiris made it impossible to kill this bacteria so easily. In her early experiments she made sure of this."

"But surely small doses of naquada will be of some use," Jackson said.

"Naquada only kills them," Carter explained. "One of them tried to feed off me and he died moments later. And just touching my blood burns their skin. You have to remember, some of these vampires have been around for centuries."

"All right." O'Neill made his decision. "Lets just get back to the cave and we'll discuss this in relative safety. Oh, and Major...good to have you back."

M. Carter smiled. "Thank you sir."

Major Levine pulled out his knife and slashed the approaching vampire with a single swipe. The strength was amazing and he found that his senses of sight and hearing were also increased. If it weren't for the ever-present thirst for blood this might have been an excellent career move. At least he would eventually look like the youngest general in the air force.

Lieutenant Cooper also seemed to embrace his new abilities. He made frequent runs around the perimeter of the cave, spraying the area with liquefied garlic to scare away the others, even though it irritated his skin as well.

Doctor Clark remained inside the garlic barrier at the cave entrance, but managed to satisfy her curiosity by asking a few questions when it got quiet enough.

"What does it feel like?"

"Strange at first." Levine said, staying alert but trying to be polite. "Do you remember the first time you ever gave blood?"

"Yeah, a long time ago."

"Well, it feels like that. You know there's a loss and your body makes sure you don't forget it for a few days. Only this is a more permanent feeling. Plus, even when its light enough outside, my vision gets blurred when I look at the river or any other reflective surface."

"Of course...vampires must lose the ability to see reflective light the way we can. That must have been the source of the myth in Earth's history."

"Well, I can blow a few theories out of the water at least. I haven't been able to turn into a bat, I can't fly, and I sure as hell can't charm ladies into a dark seductive corner."

They shared a light laugh. But the calmness didn't last long. Not when the gate was activated.