15

Chapter 8: Don't Fear The Reaper

-Anubis' Planet/Tel'tek-

The Tel'tek soared through hyperspace for Anubis' unreachable planet. Teal'c was certain the weapon was at this planet. Sha'krell was less sure, but was willing to check. Earth was much further away. Bra'tac was keeping his own council.

But Teal'c mind was not on the upcoming battle. Well, it was, but more on how he could protect his son than how he would fight. Teal'c had a feeling that Bra'tac knew exactly how he was feeling. For all that Bra'tac had no children of his own, he had always treated Teal'c as a son.

Perhaps that was why he was doing what he could to help father and son through this difficult time. Teal'c wanted to ask Bra'tac how he could help the boy become a man without the pain a father must bear. But like all growing pains, Teal'c was certain it was a pain that he must feel himself.

Teal'c was hovering again. He knew it. Bra'tac had eyed him twice now.

"I know what I am doing, Father," Rya'c said with certainty.

And now Rya'c had noticed. Teal'c almost sighed. He took a breath to reassure his son when Sha'krell interrupted him.

"We are approaching the planet," Sha'krell announced from the pel'tak.

The Tel'tak exited hyperspace and immediately cloaked. Bra'tac, Teal'c and Rya'c had all come up to the pel'tak to examine the target planet from orbit. The Tel'tak slowly orbited the planet and showed that the whole planet was surrounded by Ha'tak vessels. Twelve total. Any number of Al'kesh, Tel'tek, and Death Gliders could be seen chocking the airspace.

"It is heavily guarded," Bra'tac said sagely.

Teal'c smiled. Bra'tac was always the master of understatement. "That is a sign that we have the correct location of the weapon," Teal'c said with certainty.

"There are rings on the surface," Sha'krell said as the sensors blinked their location.

"We must hope to catch any Jaffa on the ground by surprise," Bra'tac said with a grin.

Teal'c could only nod in agreement. He could hear the excitement in Bra'tac's voice for the upcoming battle. It mirrored his own.

Teal'c turned to finish his battle preparations when he caught sight of Rya'c. He felt like he had been dropped in an ice-cold lake. He had become so distracted by the upcoming battle that he had forgotten that his son would be fighting in it as well.

His son was not a tried-and-true warrior like O'Neill, Major Carter, or even Daniel Jackson. Rya'c was untried. And his first battle would be against impossible odds. A planet full of hostiles and with only two allies.

"Rya'c," Teal'c began, "You are to remain on board with Sha'krell." Teal'c could see how the boy wanted to grow up and become a man. He could see how he beat against the walls that his father was now putting up. I am sorry my son.

"Why?" Rya'c demanded.

"One day you will be a great warrior. This day the danger is too great," Teal'c said. He wasn't lying. If Teal'c had not been on so many SG-1 missions just like this one, he would call it a suicide mission. But he could not risk his only son.

"I am prepared to die," Rya'c stated with as much honor as the boy could muster.

Teal'c felt his pride shine through in that moment. He smiled his love for his son and affectionately held his face. "I am not prepared for you to die," Teal'c said to Rya'c. His eyes shone with his pride in his son.

The Tel'tak suddenly jolted as it came under attack.

"Two gliders in pursuit," Sha'krell announced.

"How is that possible?" Teal'c demanded. "Are we not cloaked?"

Bra'tac joined them on the pel'tak. "Anubis must now have means of detecting cloaked ships," Bra'tac said.

"I am decloaking and diverting power to the shields," Sha'krell said as he put words to actions. "Entering range of Service Rings."

"Teal'c," Bra'tac called to gather him in place.

"Father, is it not equally dangerous on the ship as it is on the planet?" Rya'c asked.

"Go. I will do my best to return for you," Sha'krell said with strain in his voice.

"Come," Teal'c told Rya'c. "Stay close to me. The forces on the ground may have been alerted to our presence."

"Chel nok," Sha'krell said in farewell before activating the rings.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

-Anubis' Planet/Surface-

The rings activated. Teal'c, Bra'tac, and Rya'c stood ready in the circle as the rings faded.

"Identify yourselves," one of the Jaffa guarding the rings declared.

As soon as the rings returned to rest, Bra'tac and Teal'c sprang into action. They threw goa'uld stun grenades at two different clusters of Jaffa on opposite sides of the clearing. Rya'c immediately ducked and began shooting his zat'nik'tel. He moved slightly with each shot taking time to aim.

Teal'c and Bra'tac swung their staff weapons in a complex dance. They did not stop moving. Twirling shooting, moving, spin, shoot, duck, shoot, side step, shoot. Smoke from weapons fire filled the air and started to cloud their vision. It became hard to see the two dancing figures.

Rya'c made a mistake and stood still. He took too long to aim his shot. His following shot was only after he moved an inch or two. An enemy Jaffa took advantage of his vague form and hit Rya'c. The boy dropped. Luckily, his slight movement had deflected enough of the blast. He was only injured.

Rya'c moaned as Teal'c and Bra'tac immediately joined him on the ground and grabbed his arms. Rya'c still had a tight grip on his zat'nik'tel. He would not lose his weapon.

"We must move," Bra'tac stated low.

Rya'c felt his father and Master Bra'tac assist him up and lead him away from the rings. His pride was winning over the pain in his back. He could run. Not far, but he could do it.

The three of them made it a few clicks through the forest along the path. They stayed hidden. They finally found a place of concealment and Rya'c was grateful for the rest. His wound pained him, but he was starting to feel more numb pain than the sharp ache. He hoped it was a sign that his symbiote was healing him.

Master Bra'tac went over to observe the path while his father examined and bound his wound. Rya'c was only slightly confused by his father's actions. But he admitted that his wound felt better after it was bound.

"Why secure it, father? My symbiote will heal it," Rya'c asked curiously.

Teal'c gave his son a smile, "To prevent a blood trail and to help it heal better. Master Bra'tac has been teaching you to track. Hunting men is no different than hunting animals." Then Teal'c took a deep breathe, "The Tau'ri I work with do not have symbiotes. I have found that the simple things, like binding a wound, stitching a cut, cleaning out dirt, and such, assist the symbiote in its ability to heal you."

"I can assist it?" Rya'c asked.

"You can. It needs you alive, but the help eliminates or reduces the scar," Teal'c replied.

Rya'c nodded as Master Bra'tac returned. It made Rya'c think.

"The path is well traveled. We must stay under cover. Many gliders will soon be in this place," Bra'tac stated.

"Rya'c's wound is not small. You must be in great pain," Teal'c said with sympathy.

"It is nothing I cannot bear," Rya'c said his young pride forcing its way forward.

"You could easily be dead," Teal'c replied, not being fooled by his pride.

Rya'c felt shame for a moment. Then realized that neither of the larger men had been injured. "I do not understand. There was at least eight of them," Rya'c started.

"Ten," Bra'tac corrected automatically.

Rya'c accepted the rebuke. "How did neither of you not get hit?" Rya'c asked.

"It is always more difficult to hit a moving target," Teal'c replied remembering how many times Bra'tac had hit him to teach him that lesson.

"It is also helpful to be lucky," Bra'tac said.

At Bra'tac's comment, Teal'c smiled. "We have no time to waste," Teal'c stated as he started up the hill paralleling the path. Teal'c was hoping the high spot under the trees would allow them to see some distance without exposing them to the Gliders.

They hiked a few more clicks to the top of one of the high points in the area. The valley finally opened up below them. Off to the right, was the Jaffa camp ground. The path they had initially been following lead to that camp. The camp was next to a wing of Death Gliders parked in a field.

Further down the valley, just to the left was the Stargate and what had to be the weapon. Some kind of device was pointed at an open wormhole. It seemed to take up the entire surface of the wormhole. It was not a specific beam.

"This weapons is unlike any goa'uld design I have seen," Bra'tac stated.

"Are you sure? I have seen similar construction before. It was built by Sokar," Teal'c explained. "But it was different as well."

"Sokar?" Bra'tac asked. "I remember hearing rumors about why he had been removed from the System Lords."

"Would those rumors involve destroying a Stargate with another Stargate?" Teal'c asked Bra'tac.

"They would," Bra'tac said with a look of concern on his face. "But the weapon was never found. His army destroyed."

"Until now," Teal'c said.

"Until now," Bra'tac agreed.

"I doubt it is goa'uld technology. If it were, Sokar would have recreated it," Teal'c said.

"I agree. If this is not goa'uld, than Anubis has merely learned to operate it," Bra'tac stated with a pleased smile.

"We will destroy it. Anubis will not be able to rebuild it quickly, if at all," Teal'c said.

"But do we have sufficient explosive," Rya'c said.

Teal'c glanced at Bra'tac, "If there is anything I have learned from the Tau'ri, it is that a small amount of explosive in the right place will do the job."

Bra'tac snorted, "And that as long as there is life, there is hope." Then Bra'tac turn fully to Rya'c, "Never forget that some of the Tau'ri are crazy." He gave Teal'c an apologetic smile, "In a good way."

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

-Anubis' Planet/Al'kesh-

The Al'kesh exited hyperdrive already cloaked. The new Asgard upgrades to the hyperdrive had been pushed to their limit to get the ship to the designated planet as soon as possible. A trip of weeks, had taken only a few hours at maximum velocity. Jack had almost red-lined the engines on that run. But, well, saving Earth.

"Is it Tuesday?" Jack asked Sam aloud.

"I have no idea." Sam replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it just seems like we seem to get stuck saving the world on Tuesdays. Makes me wonder," Jack said.

Sam giggled. "Wonder what?" Sam asked as she was busy scanning the planet.

"If Tuesday has a thing for not being the worst day of the week and is trying to make up for not being Monday," Jack said as his random thoughts were given voice.

"What?" Sam asked in exasperation. "Is this what you do with all the time you have? Think up different ways to humanize the days of the week?"

"No," Jack replied.

Yes, Shade said in his head.

"Shade, you have an unfair advantage in this argument," Jack said starting the debate with himself now.

"Ha! Shade agrees with me," Sam smirked at him.

"Can we go blow something up now?" Jack asked politely to change the subject.

"Why, I thought you would never ask," Sam replied. "Avoid the busy skies and I'll get a target lock on the device." Sam kept examining her screens. "It looks like there is some kind of device attached to the DHD too. That may be how they are dialing back too quickly. I don't think I can hit it and miss the DHD."

"So hit the DHD," Jack replied. "We got a back-up." Jack flew the Al'kesh at a few different angles before he finally was able to fly underneath one of the Ha'tak vessels.

"How many damn ships are around this planet?" Jack asked using all his concentration to stay in orbit and get a clear shot. Hopefully without bumping into another spaceship.

"Jack?" Sam inquired.

"Kind of busy, Sam," Jack said, avoiding yet another flight of Death gliders.

"I'm picking up Teal'c's beacon on the surface," Sam said. "He is near two other life forms. Zooming scanners."

Jack moved the Al'kesh a bit more. "Sam, if we take a dive bomb run and blow the crap up. Can they track us in the atmosphere? I remember Zippy did that with cloaked ships on Ravenna." Jack was sounding exasperated. He couldn't find a clear shot in this airspace. The orbit of this planet was choked with ships.

"Not if we stay in the atmosphere," Sam replied as she concentrated on her screens.

"Holy Hannah! Teal'c, Bra'tac, and Rya'c are on the surface. I have a beam lock," Sam said. She beamed them up to the bridge. "Okay, ready for the run."

"O'Neill," Teal'c greeted from behind him.

"Hey, T. Give me a minute," Jack said absently. Flying through all the spaceships took all of his concentration. "Fire when ready, Sam." Jack started his bombing run at full atmospheric speed. He let out a whoop as Sam let the Asgard beams destroy the device and the DHD and all the area around the Stargate. He continued to circumnavigate the globe five times easing into a higher elevation and a slower speed as he went.

"Oh mama, how fast do you think that was, Sam?" Jack asked his grin splitting his face.

"MACH 200 at least," Sam replied with a straight face. She was already typing away at her computer.

"I wonder what the sonic boom was on that baby?" Jack asked as he gently settled the Al'kesh into a parked spot just above the Stargate.

"I would bet that there is wild life with no more hearing," Sam replied casually completely absorbed in her screens.

Jack sighed. It was obvious to him that he had lost Sam to the computer. "Alright, I'll go entertain the boys while you… code…" Jack said with yet another dramatic sigh before he hopped up. To formally greet the Jaffa.

"Gentlemen, come and make yourselves comfortable," Jack said. He led them to the common area that Jack had setup as a large living room. Jack grabbed everyone a soda from the small refrigerator and handed them out. He finally settled himself in his recliner and gave a contented sigh.

"O'Neill," Teal'c said as he settled himself on a couch. "It is good to see you. Jacob Carter and Selmak had relayed your good health and that of Major Carter, but it is still good to see you.

Jack smiled. "Yeah, T. He pass on why?"

"He did," Teal'c said. "It is most honorable of you to uphold your promise."

"Thanks, T," Jack said. See Shade. He understands, Jack told Shade.

"And you still defend the Tau'ri," Teal'c continued. "Your honor knows no limits."

"Oh, I'm sure there are limits," Jack said. "I'm just a guy." Jack turned to the youngest Jaffa, "Rya'c, you have grown into a fine young man."

"Thank you, O'Neill," Rya'c said bashfully.

"It was the young warrior's first battle," Bra'tac announced smugly.

"And you brought him here? Are you insane?" Jack asked. Then seeing Bra'tac, he just shook his head, "Never mind, I know you are. And you can talk T into doing anything," Jack said. Then he noticed the bandages. "Shit. He's injured. Hang on. I got a healing device."

Jack jumped up to get the device. He was out of the room before Bra'tac or Rya'c could react.

"The human carries a symbiote?" Bra'tac asked.

"He does," Teal'c confirmed.

"I assume it is Tok'ra," Bra'tac stated.

"Shade says that it is not. However, it has no love of the goa'uld," Teal'c said.

Rya'c looked confused. "But we are battling the goa'uld, are we not?"

"We are," Teal'c confirmed.

Jack came back with the healing device.

Rya'c looked alarmed. "I can heal fine. My primtah will take care of me," he stated quickly.

Jack looked at Rya'c with skepticism. "It can, but it will continue to hurt. You will rub it on your clothes. Your body will require more rest and kel'no'rem while you heal. The device will allow you to go back to 100% without all those side issues."

"How do you know all this?" Rya'c asked.

"Teal'c has been on my team for five years. I learned. He learned about us. We learned about him," Jack said with a simple response.

"Very well," Rya'c said then he turned his back for the healing device.

The device lit up and within a few moments, Rya'c sighed in relief. The device finally shut off.

"All done," Jack said. "You still have the sexy scar for all the ladies."

"What?" Rya'c asked.

"First battle. First injury. Got to show of the landscape to the ladies," Jack said with a grin.

"Only with proper courting, O'Neill," Teal'c said with disapproval.

"Don't worry, Rya'c. Uncle Jack's got your back," Jack said with smile and a thumbs up.

Jack slipped out to return the healing device to its place when Sam appeared. She grabbed a soda from the refrigerator. Then she walked over to Teal'c and gave him a big hug.

"I missed you, Teal'c," Sam said with tears in her eyes.

"I have missed you as well, Major Carter," Teal'c said with a smile.

"So, how did you guys end up here?" Sam asked just as Jack walked back in. "Oh, Jack, I need music. Something super annoying and 'Don't Fear the Reaper'," Sam demanded.

"Yes, ma'am," Jack replied and went over to the storage bins to start sorting through music.

"I asked Teal'c to return to the Free Jaffa camp," Bra'tac said. "Drey'auc was dying."

"Oh no," Sam said with a look of horror on her face.

"It was her choice," Teal'c said sadly. "I was able to see her at the end. She did not die alone."

"She died free," Jack said from his place on the floor.

Teal'c just nodded.

"News of an attack on the Tau'ri came to the Free Jaffa Camp while Teal'c was still with us," Bra'tac continued. "We endeavored to destroy the device."

"Well, looking at my scanners, you got pretty damn far. You could have done it too with what you were carrying or if you decided to take one of the Gliders, oh so conveniently parked right there," Sam said.

Rya'c had not even considered taking a Death Glider to destroy the device. Thinking about it. The plan could work. The pilot might not even die. Bra'tac was correct, the Tau'ri were crazy.

"They would have been fine," Jack said from where he was at. "They only needed Teal'c or Bra'tac. The other one was just to help teach the ropes to the kid. You know first battle and all."

"Really?" Sam asked Rya'c.

Rya'c blushed that the woman was asking about his first battle. Women did not fight in the Jaffa society. But he found that he was not opposed to the thought. Major Carter was his father's battle sister. High praise from a First Prime.

"Congratulations, Rya'c," Sam said with a hand on each shoulder. She made sure she looked him in the eye. "You did very well on your first battle. You should be proud."

"I am. Thank you," Rya'c said with another blush.

"He got an awesome scar too," Jack commented, standing up from the storage bins with his two disks.

Sam shook her head, "The only scars I am interested in looking at are yours."

"Hey, not in front of the old men… or the kid," Jack smirked. "Your music. Are you done?"

"I am," Sam replied. "You can all come back up to the bridge. I just have to add this last bit to my code and upload the trojan." Then Sam walked back to the bridge.

The men followed her back into the bridge and found her typing away. Finally, she gave one last decisive tap on the keyboard and waited.

"What are we waiting for?" Jack asked.

"The virus to upload," Sam said. "Before we do more, do we want to see if we can save any more Tok'ra?"

"How close do you have to be to do the DNA scan? Not the removal?" Jack asked.

"Too close," Sam said with a sigh.

"Okay. So we have to beam them aboard. Do you think there is one per Ha'tak?" Jack asked.

"Not from the information that I have been gathering," Bra'tac said. "The few goa'uld who have flocked to his banner are those with little or no power."

"Teal'c do we have two rooms that are empty on this boat?" Jack asked.

"I will check," Teal'c said. He immediately turned to leave.

"What do you have in mind?" Bra'tac asked.

"We beam the goa'uld here. Rya'c zats them. DNA test. Extract if necessary. Host to recover in closed room," Jack summarized.

"You can tell a Tok'ra from a goa'uld?" Bra'tac asked.

"Yup," Jack replied. "It's a new thing. Thor helped us start it. He upgraded our ship too. He's a good friend."

"Okay, upload is done," Sam replied. "Scanning Ha'tak's and smaller vessels." She waited while the scan started to return results. "It looks like it has returned eight goa'uld. You guys get ready in the living room. Zat as soon as it appears. Shade shield."

Jack turned on his shield and stayed out of sight in the hallway. Rya'c prepped his zat'nik'tel. "They are ready, Sam," Jack relayed.

Sam beamed over the goa'uld on the smaller vessel first. The rest were all on the Ha'tak's. She heard the zat. The DNA came back goa'uld. "Goa'uld. Get a name if you can."

"Done. Crom Cruach," Jack replied. "I'm offended for the Celtic people."

Sam extracted the goa'uld. "Host to holding. Tell me they are ready for the next one,"

"Ready," Jack said.

Sam beamed the next. It was one of the furthest Ha'tak's. She heard the zat. "Goa'uld," Sam said.

A moment later, "Vanth," Jack said. He had called out Mors, Jabru, Anubis (who didn't look at all scary), Veles, and Muut. The only break had be the one Tok'ra Babak with host Godrick.

Then with the Tok'ra resting in one room. Shielded. The hosts resting in another. Sam got a wicked grin. "Who wants to make an announcement to all the remaining Jaffa?"

Teal'c looked speculative, "What would we say in this message?"

"That you have defeated Anubis for all time. A feat not even the System Lords could do. Not now or 1000 years ago. The remaining Jaffa are welcome to flee in the remaining vessels, but know that when they hear a voice ask about 'Mickey' they must flee the Ha'tak or die with Anubis forever," Sam said.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, "Who is this 'Mickey'?"

At that point Jack started to sing in a horrible off-key song, "Oh Mickey, you're so fine… You're so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey… hey, hey, hey Mickey… Oh Mickey, you're so fine… You're so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey…"

Bra'tac let out a burst of laughter, "That is why you wanted the annoying music. This Mickey…"

"I do not understand," Rya'c said. "If they are allowed to flee, how will they hear about this Mickey?"

Sam grinned, "The Trojan Virus I uploaded to all the vessels. It will corrupt their data and mix up their navigation. When they go into hyperspace, it activates. It destroys their weapons and shields. It propagates on their communication systems to automatically send out a signal when they reach their destination. That message is that all goa'uld are lying snakes out to save their own ass and leave their Jaffa to die. Then it plays Mickey. It allows the ships to leave the Ha'tak."

"And the fleeing ships will carry the virus to their new ships," Teal'c said with a smile. "Does this only affect Ha'tak vessels?"

"Yes," Sam replied. "But it is carried by all ships, even Gliders."

"You should give the message, Major Carter," Teal'c said to give her to due. "It is you who has ended Anubis. I could never take credit for your task."

"I appreciate that, Teal'c. You are my brother. But these are your people you are trying to free. You, Bra'tac, and Rya'c had a large part in this. You all took the physical risk. I think the credit is yours," Sam said.

"She is right, my friend," Bra'tac said. "I think that you should make the announcement."

"As do I," Rya'c said. He was emboldened by Sam's words.

"Very well," Teal'c conceded. He closed his eyes for a moment and centered himself. He opened his eyes and Sam nodded and opened the microphone, "My fellow Jaffa. Anubis is gone. I have witness his snake-like body being disintegrated to nothingness with my own eyes. This is a feat that no System Lord now or 1000 years ago was able to accomplish. He was no god. None of the goa'uld are gods. They have made you their slaves. I am here to lead you to freedom.

"You no longer need to be slaves to the goa'uld. The goa'uld do not care about your wife or your children. They cannot read your mind. They most certainly do not care about your life or your brothers. I have no quarrel with you. You are welcome to take the remaining vessels around this planet.

"I leave you with only one word of caution. Your death and destruction is eminent when you hear the voice ask about Mickey. Flee the Ha'tak or die with Anubis forever," Teal'c finished his speech and Sam shut down the microphone.

"Very well done, Teal'c," Sam said.

"Indeed, my friend. I could not have said it any better," Bra'tac said with a hint of moisture in his eyes.

Rya'c was stunned. He had heard stories about his father and how inspiring he was to so many. But to witness this moment firsthand. He was overwhelmed. He just hugged his father instead. Teal'c accepted the hug.

"Right," Jack said with smack of his hands. "That just leaves calling Earth. You got the message ready, Sam?"

"Ready. Hand me the tablet," Sam said.

Jack grabbed the tablet and tossed it to Sam. She plugged it into the Asgard keyboard. Then nodded to Jack. Jack got up and went to his portable DHD in the corner and started hitting the address for Earth.

"You have made a Chappa'ko on your ship?" Bra'tac asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied while he hit the last two glyphs and the activate button. "Still ugly yet. But we only got it working today."

The Stargate below them splashed to life below them. Sam started play the music selection and type on the tablet. She transmitted all the data she had downloaded from all the Ha'taks that had been orbiting the planet to the tablet.

Hey guys. Found a few friends. Eliminated a few enemies. Dad, scratch of the following names from the goa'uld list: Crom Cruach, Vanth, Mors, Jabru, Veles, Muut, Anubis. Saved Tok'ra Babak/Godrick. Will bring him by Earth. Taking Teal'c, Bra'tac, and Rya'c back to the Free Jaffa. PS. Notify the Tok'ra underground that when they hear the song 'Mickey' they are to flee the Ha'tak immediately. Or better yet, stay away from all Ha'tak's. Need more time on Janet's scanner. Is it Tuesday? Jack was asking if it was Apocalypse Tuesday. Sam finished her text and sent it.

They got an almost immediate response from Walter, Yes, it is Tuesday. Sam started laughing so hard she just handed the tablet to Jack.

"I knew it," Jack replied.

Teal'c looked at the message and could not fathom the humor his two friends found in it. He just shook his head. He often felt that he would never understand the subtle nuances of Tau'ri humor, just as they could not understand Jaffa humor.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

-Earth/SGC-

Walter sat at the Control Room desk and tried to look busy. It was much harder than it looked. But Walter had learned that over the years that life went on. The world may be ending, but the dining hall may needed their food order. The ammunition for the SGC teams would need to be restocked when things settled down. Mission reports from last week needed to be reviewed and signed off.

Just because the world was ending, didn't mean it was stopping… yet. Time and again this installation had faced the 'end of the world' and then had to continue 'normal operations' the next day. The people who had survived the crisis would put into operation new plans to make the events that had let up to that particular crisis, less… catastrophic.

The hand control for the iris, routine MRI for humans, the TERs, the Aegis Protocol, were just a few of the upgrades made over the years. Each one from a hard learned lesson. Some of those lessons were bought in blood.

Right now, the current crisis was ticking away on a timer. 135 hours. Walter tried to keep from staring at that clock. But he was tired. He needed to crash in a bunk soon. But he didn't want to go down before General Hammond.

Walter sighed. General Hammond had a full day on duty before the current crisis had started. He hadn't slept as far as Walter knew. But had managed to coordinate supplies and relief for MSgt Siler and expedited Dr. McKay's placement. All while shielding the SGC from the rest of the world's leaders as they went into a panic.

General Hammond had even had the foresight to have Walter contact Major Carter to check on each of Dr. McKay's ideas before he could do any damage to the SGC. Fortunately, MSgt Siler had already shot down all of Dr. McKay's ideas. Each one had been tried the LAST time a particle beam accelerator had been aimed at the SGC. The only idea that had worked last time had failed this time. McKay was panicking. MSgt Siler finally just locked him in a lab.

Walter was startled out of his thoughts when the currently active wormhole shut down. Walter glanced at the timer and noted that it still had another 30-minutes before it would have been shut down on the current schedule.

Walter immediately went over to a console and examined the incoming data. The temperature was high. Every second the wormhole stayed closed helped them cool the Stargate down. After several moments, Walter noticed that the wormhole was not reopening.

Walter smiled. Anubis' device was destroyed. It had to be. The false god had been too full of himself to take it all back now.

Walter immediately got up and climbed the stairs to the Conference Room. He needed to inform General Hammond. As he came into the General's office, Walter noticed that the General had finally fallen asleep at his desk. His head resting on his arms.

"Sir?" Walter said loudly from behind the door. He didn't want General Hammond to know he had found him asleep.

"Walter?" General Hammond's sleepy voice filtered into the Conference Room. "Come," General Hammond ordered in a more firm voice.

Walter smiled and then appeared in the door of the office, "Sir, the wormhole has shut down and not been initiated again."

"Excellent," General Hammond immediately got up and followed him to the Control Room.

Walter led the General back down to the Control Room and easily slid back into his chair. The base was quiet this early in the morning. Walter's backup tech was off to one side looking at the screens. With the blast screen down, the Control Room was darker than usual.

"See what I mean, Sir," Walter said. "It shut down early. It had 30-minutes left before the usual redial."

"Do we know what happened?" General Hammond asked.

"No, Sir. We are still using the time for Aegis Protocol. It should increase the time we need before the Gate goes critical," Walter stated. But his smile was breaking his face.

"Keep your fingers crossed," Hammond pulled up a chair, too tired to stand.

The time continued to pass in the Control Room. The temperature of the Stargate and the iris continued to drop. Walter had given the General some of the paperwork that had piled up with the crisis. General Hammond was glad to have something to keep him awake while they waited for the Stargate to cool to normal temperature.

Roughly thirty minutes after the initial shut down, the Stargate started to dial.

"Off-world Incoming traveler," Walter announced his adrenaline had made him alert enough. The Stargate sprang to life. Walter read the return address and wanted to scream, "It's the same address, Sir."

Suddenly, the computer speakers started to play music. It was a rock and roll tune. It took a moment for Walter to recognize the song.

"Is that…?" Walter started to ask and then he started to laugh.

Right about then the words of the song came through the computer speakers. "Come on baby… don't fear the reaper… Baby take my hand… don't fear the reaper… Baby I'm your man…"

As if on cue, the tablet for Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter lit up with an incoming text. Walter only really read the last line about Apocalypse Tuesday. He had to reply, he texted back that it was Tuesday before handing the tablet to General Hammond. Sometimes, every day felt like Tuesday.

"Looks like the problem is over, Sir," Walter stated, with his grin firmly in place.

General Hammond had a shit eating grin of his own. "Yes, son, it does." He slowly stood up with the tablet in one hand. "I'm going to notify the folks upstairs to cancel the panic. I'll let you handle the cool-down. Get some rest, Walter."

"No problem, Sir," Walter replied.

"Oh, and let Jacob know that another Tok'ra is on his way here," General Hammond said. "He can see me for details."

"Yes, Sir," Walter replied. He got on the phone and called General Carter with the news.

TO BE CONTINUED

ACTIONS FROM THE HIDDEN ONE, PART 2

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

References:

15 Major Norse Gods, Goddesses, And Their Family Tree. Realm of History. 2019. 2018/01/29/12-norse-gods-goddesses-facts/

Blue Oyster Cult. (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Online AZLyrics at .

Leto: Greek Titan Goddess. Theoi Greek Mythology. 2017. . #:~:text=LETO%20was%20one%20of%20the,of%20modesty%20and%20womanly%20demure.

Toni Basil. Mickey. Online AZLyrics at .

Soundtrack:

Dust In The Wind by Kansas

(Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult

Mickey by Toni Basil.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

Work Title: Actions From the Hidden One, Part 1

Summary: Jack/Shade and Sam have decided to take action. Sometimes being on the outside is a good thing. AU. Ship JS T/Drey'auc. Spoilers. RST.

AO3 Sequel Information: Who Is The Hidden One

AO3 Series Information: The Hidden One

Rating: AO3 [Mature (M)] [Mature 16 and up (M)]

AO3 Archive Warnings: AO3 [No Warnings Apply]

Fandom Category: Stargate SG-1: Season 5

Spoilers: 0218 Serpent's Song, 0415 Chain Reaction, 0517 Fail Safe, 0519 Menace, 0522 Revelations, 0601 Redemption Part 1, 0602 Redemption Part 2

AO3 Relationship Categories: AO3 [F/M]

AO3 Pairing: Samantha 'Sam' Carter/Jack O'Neill, Teal'c/Drey'auc,

Characters: Col Jonathan 'Jack' James O'Neill, Maj Samantha 'Sam' Jean Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Master Teal'c (Apophis) of Chulak, MG George Hammond, Dr. Janet Frasier, MSgt Silvester Siler, SMSgt Walter Harris Harriman, MG Jacob Carter/Selmak, Supreme Commander Thor, Councilor Freyr, Commander Aegir, Dr. Rodney McKay, Reese, Sen. Robert Kinsey, Col Harry Maybourne, General Bauer, Col Frank Simmons, Master Bra'tac (Apophis) of Chulak, Rya'c (Apophis) of Chulak, Drey'auc (Apophis) of Chulak, Sha'krell of Free Jaffa, Jolinar of Malkshur, Sarah Gardner/Osiris, Zipacna, Sarah Gardner/Osiris, Anubis

Original Characters: Lethō (Shade), Gustav Xanthan, Damir/Tarquin, Babak/Godrick, Crom Cruach, Vanth, Mors, Jabru, Veles, Muut,

FF Genre: Adventure, Action

AO3 Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Explicit Language, Action, Adventure, Humor, Family, Spoilers,

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG