Epilogue

"They're so soft…"

Melony nodded, unable to resist the urge to reach her hand out and run her fingers through the thick, silky fur of the Mok that was standing in front of her. With her were several other people – including two people that had just gated to A-35 to join up with the Mok expedition, now that the Mok had been reanimated and appeared to be getting on fairly well in their new home. Both were from Earth – sent by Jack (technically, Sam), one was a geneticist and the other a fertility specialist. They had offered their services in the very important task of getting the Mok to become an even more viable breeding colony than they already were. Especially since they had a grand total of sixteen babies on the planet – and Melony wanted a lot more.

So did the Jaffa, who were already setting up permanent residence on the planet. They were the ones chosen to come here – by way of Atlantis – to guard and nurture the Mok. Others would be coming in a rotating fashion (Melony wasn't going to keep anyone from seeing the rare creatures that wanted to see them, after all) but many would also be helping with other projects in the Pegasus galaxy. It wasn't like they didn't have plenty of Jaffa to go around, after all.

She turned her attention back to the geneticist who had spoken, watching as the man ran his fingers through the Mok's fur as well.

"Did Colonel Carter give you all the files we have on them?"

He nodded, smiling over at his companion, who was a small Asian woman. She was probably the shortest full-grown person Melony had ever seen, but had a list of initials behind her name that proved she was at least as smart as she was short.

"We have everything we need to get started," the geneticist assured her. "You'll be in contact if we have any questions, later? Or to get reports?"

She nodded.

"We're going to be offworld a lot, but the Jaffa will always be able to find us."

Teal'c hadn't taken long to choose his own Lieutenants and those Jaffa were now in charge of several of the new projects while Melony and her First Prime went out to meet the people living in the shattered planets that had been culled. At their sides were Teyla – who was their representative – and Carson, who was leading a team of medical personnel. They were the ones who were keeping people from fearing the Jaffa until such a time as the shell-shocked inhabitants of each world overcame their nervousness at having large, unsmiling and noticeably dangerous non-humans looming over them. And they were doing a great job – far better than Melony ever could have hoped for.

What she hadn't counted on, though, were the response of those people once they heard the news of the defeat of the Wraith. She'd expected distrust (until the news could be confirmed through other sources), of course, and she'd expected relief once it had been, but she hadn't expected them to lay the success directly at her feet, and she hadn't expected these folks to start looking towards her (and Talon) as saviors. And worse, they were being affected by the close dealings with the Jaffa, who were more than willing to share the fact that Talon/Melony was their goddess. There was a change in the air on several worlds, and Melony was reluctantly gathering more and more people under her proverbial wing.

They need something to believe in, Talon had told her. We'll wean them away while we work on the Jaffa…

Which was going to take some time, of course. With the discovery of the long thought extinct Mok, Melony had taken a huge leap in the eyes of the Jaffa, who had already believed her incapable of doing wrong.

"Melony!"

She turned at the call, startled out of her inner thoughts, and saw Carson coming toward her – with Rodney walking beside him. Excusing herself from the scientists, she walked over to meet them, smiling.

"Rodney. How's it going?"

"Well, thank you. How are your Mok liking their new home?"

She smiled, because there was a definite smugness in his voice and attitude – one that she couldn't blame him for having. He had, after all, picked out the planet for them to be reanimated on. And it was turning out to be the perfect place.

"They're settling in nicely."

"So I see."

He'd had a chance to look around a little while he'd been brought to meet her, and there were Mok everywhere. The huge creatures were allowed to roam wherever they wanted to, while the Jaffa and the scientists (from Earth and other worlds) watched to see what patterns would develop with them.

"Jack's promised me a few more scientists, but we have a good start, now, and they're telling me that they'll be able to figure out what makes the Mok tick – and hopefully we'll have a whole bunch of little Mok running around soon."

"Is Colonel Carter coming?" He asked, curiously.

Melony shook her head.

"I have another assignment for Colonel Carter – one that she was more than willing to take. The same one I was going to offer you – if you're up for a challenge?"

"Like taking on the Wraith wasn't a challenge?"

"Are you saying no?"

He scowled.

"I'm not saying no. How can I say no until you tell me what it is you want me to do?"

Besides, he was pretty sure that Carter wanted him. It was just a matter of getting some alone time with her – away from O'Neill and everyone else – and giving her the chance to realize it. This could be the perfect opportunity.

Melony smiled.

"Due to circumstances that were… well… more or less necessary, I find myself without a personal space craft. Sam has offered to see if she can marry the Wraith technology to the Ancient technology, throw in a lot of Goa'uld technology and try to modify a Jumper into a completely new kind of craft. She said she could use a little help. Interested?"

"She asked for me, specifically?"

Ha! He knew it! Why wouldn't she prefer a genius like him to someone like O'-

"She asked for help," Melony repeated. "You're one of the smartest people I know, so I thought I'd ask if you were interested. Are you?"

"Of course."

Not only was he preening at her compliment, but he'd have a chance to get to know the Wraith technology a lot better, and also Goa'uld technology, which was nothing to sneeze at, and see how many possibilities they could come up with when it came to putting all of them together with some Earth ingenuity.

"Good. Talon and I are excited at the thought of having-"

"Why a Jumper?" Rodney asked, interrupting. "Why not a dart? They're faster than the Jumpers, and more maneuverable, right?"

Melony smiled.

"A Jumper can hold more than one person."

And you're tired of walking alone?

I haven't been alone in a long time, she told her symbiote with a rush of affection for him. One that he echoed and sent back to her.

But you wouldn't mind having more company?

He sent her a not so subtle image of the doctor who was standing at her side, listening to the conversation between her and McKay.

He'll keep me warm at night, she said silently, keeping the smile off her face, although she couldn't help reaching out and brushing a hand against Carson's lower back, where Rodney wouldn't see the caress.

Talon snorted, but didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to.

"When would you like to get started?" McKay asked, unaware of the conversation he was missing. "I mean, I have several projects going with the shielding devices that the Ancients left behind on Atlantis, and one with the miniature ZPMs that I can wait on, but I'll need to-"

"Whenever you're ready, Rodney," Melony said, interrupting. "I'm in no real hurry. But Sam said she could start next week."

"Next week is fine," McKay said, quickly.

"Great. I'll let her know."

Melony started to turn to head back to the Mok, but Rodney raised a hand to stop her.

"I could tell her. She'll probably want to get together and prepare some drawings, or specs, and we'll want to-"

She heard another purely mental snort, but ignored it.

"Whatever you want. Just make sure you keep me informed."

She wasn't going to let him have carte blanche when it came to her new ship, after all, and there would be a lot of things that her and Talon would want to add to any design that Sam and McKay might come up with. But for now, she had plenty on her plate to worry about, and the ship was one of the least important. At least at the moment. You never knew when you might want to go somewhere, after all.

The End!

Okay! So, this is the end! I know it was long, but there was a lot to tell, and I love the telling, I assure you. Let me know what you thought, please. Hated it? Liked it? It was okay? Thanks for reading it!