Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or themes in this story that are affiliated with the television series Stargate Sg-1 or Stargate Atlantis or the movie Stargate. Or any other show…Witness if you will…squat (in reference to owning anything)
"Dr. Jackson what happened?" General Hammond was standing over them in the infirmary. Martouf pulled him to his feet while Selmak lifted Jack.
"It was the girl, sir. She knocked us out just by touching us." Jack explained.
"Where the hell is she now?" The intercom answered this for him.
"Unauthorized Gate Activation!" Walter's voice said.
"Go!" The General yelled. Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and the two Tok'ra ran for the control room. The sight that greeted them was disturbing.
River was standing alone on the ramp, and the gate was dialing behind her. The technicians in the control room seemed to be frozen. When General Hammond ordered them to close the iris, they would not, or rather could not, respond. The guards in the gate room were out cold on the floor, their weapons useless in stopping the girl. River was looking back to the control room; she seemed to be staring straight at Daniel.
"Major Carter, get that iris closed now!" General Hammond ordered.
"I think she made the technicians lock out our codes sir!" She said. "There!" After pounding the keyboard for several seconds, the iris closed, right before River was about to step through.
"Open it!" She yelled, spinning around to face them.
"Get security down here!" General Hammond said.
"General, let me go down and talk to her alone." Daniel offered.
"I can't take the chance that she'll-"
"If you send a security team in you're risking more lives than if you only send me."
"Daniel?" Jack asked.
"Jack, I think I know what's going on. Please just…trust me." Jack thought on this for a moment.
"General, I think it's worth a try." The General nodded and Daniel jogged down to the gate room. He stood for a moment outside to catch his breath before sliding his ID and opening the solid steel door.
"River? Wait!" He said when she pointed a gun at him. "I'm unarmed, I just wanna talk…" She slowly lowered the gun and Daniel went to the bottom of the ramp.
"That's close enough." River said, raising the weapon again.
"Okay, alright. I just want to talk to you." He repeated, putting his hands out protectively. She lowered the weapon as he lowered his arms and for a moment neither dared disturb the stillness and the silence. Back in the control room, Sam was trying and failing to regain control of the computers. The technicians had come back to life, but they could not remember what River had made them do to the software. None of them could shut down the gate.
"You must let me go, Daniel. I cannot let my master destroy your planet and wont serve him any longer."
"You knew this was going to happen. You knew the whole time." River looked at him intensely for a moment and sighed.
"Yes Daniel, I knew."
"You said on Varos one of you knew Heru-ur was coming. That one of you had developed precognitive abilities. It was you wasn't it?" River nodded.
"Yes. But I could not see the Varonians killing my companions for witchcraft, and I could not see Nirrti's experiments killing my entire family. But I saw all of this."
"What happens next?" Jack asked. He showed her his hands, assuring he had no weapons.
"You will let me go. You have no choice."
"And Heru-ur?" He asked. "What happens to him?"
"I only know that he will try to take me as a host. The attempt will destroy him."
"And you?" Daniel asked. River smiled sadly.
"I have known for a long time that the use of my powers is slowly killing me. It will take everything I have left to stop Heru-ur, in destroying him I may way kill us both, but I will destroy him."
"There's no other way? You're just gonna leave and take your chances?" Daniel said, his voice was hollow with despair. River frowned.
"I have used and betrayed you and your people Daniel and for that I am truly sorry. Nirrti taught me to use people for my own devices and the Varonians taught me betrayal. But know this, this way is the best way for the most people. If one person's sacrifice can save so many lives, it is well worth the cost."
"I wish Nirrti never found your planet. I wish so much that none of this had happened." River smiled, not so sadly this time.
"So do all that suffer at the hands of their enemies. But we cannot change what has happened Daniel, only what will happen. My mother told me 'the universe is vast, and we are so small. There is really only one thing we can ever truly control.' "
"What's that?"
"Whether we are good or evil…" Daniel dropped his head and stared at his feet. River walked down the ramp and stared at the manual iris control. It opened behind her, but she did not leave immediately.
She moved to where Jack stood and took his had to shake it. But rather than shake hers back, the Colonel pulled her into and embrace. When he let go she moved sideways to Daniel, pausing for a moment. He did not look up.
"Do not despair, not all life is pain." She said, placing a hand on his temple. Daniel stood frozen for a moment, and when she let go, he looked up with his eyes full of tears. River walked slowly back up the ramp, stopping half way and turning.
"Thank you for all you have done for me, people of the Tau'ri. I am forever in your debt. One day, the dark age of the Goa'uld will end. And if anyone can defeat them, I believe it will be you." With that, she walked the rest of the way towards the event horizon. She stretched her hand out and touched it, causing a ripple to form and flow to the edge. But as she was about to step through, Daniel ran after her, and as if she knew he was coming, she whirled around, catching him in a tight embrace.
"Thank you for believing in me." River stepped through and the gate shut down. Daniel sighed and turned, walking back to his friend.
"What did she do?" Jack said, referring to when River had touched his face. The young man rubbed the spot gently.
"She showed me Sha're. The night before you came back to Abydos. She made me feel the way I felt that night, with her."
"She showed me Charlie. We played baseball. He loved baseball." Jack paused for a moment. General Hammond, Teal'c, Sam, and the Tok'ra were entering the gate room, and the SF's were waking up.
"Hey, you okay?" Daniel shook his head.
"No. Not yet, but I will be. I will be."