The Star Gate Program (Hetalia/Stargate SG1 X-Over)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: It was the discovery of the century. A devise older than human civilization, capable of transporting people across the galaxy in an instant. But things have a way of quickly becoming complicated, pushing America and others to their limits as they find themselves embroiled in galactic politics and intrigue throughout the stars.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine. Stargate isn't mine.

Warning: Alterations of the Stargate timeline/canon and Hetalia canon

[Chapter 22]

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Sha're would not grieve, not when her people needed her to be strong. She, unlike them, had not lost family, although her father had been injured trying to pull a child out of the way of rubble blasted from the buildings by Ra's skyships.

She closed her eyes and sucked in a long breath, willing the shaking of her shoulders and heart down before she stepped back outside to offer comfort to those who needed it. Daniel, kind soul that he was, rested a hand on her shoulder, offering her what comfort he could. She could almost see the sorrowful expression on his face underneath his mask, an understanding between two peoples long separated from each other.

"I am sorry we brought this on your people," He apologized, even though they both knew he was no more at fault than herself.

"It is fine," She declined, wishing she could convince herself of that even as she explained. "Ra has done this before - it keeps us humbled, from thinking thoughts against him. We will recover in time."

"It isn't fine," Daniel retorted, exhaling sharply as he turned away to look out the small window at the destruction. "No god should do this to his people. It is cruel, wrong. Why do you not fight?"

Sha're shook her head, looking at him and willing him to see all the pain even the mere idea brought to her now. "We tried, long ago, and were punished harshly for it. We do not have the strength to go against him - his followers are too strong, and he can kill us all from above if he desires. How can we do anything against that?"

The foreigner sighed, seeing the truth in her words even as his head dipped down in displeasure, or perhaps guilt. It was strange to even hear someone so confidently speak of fighting against a being as powerful as Ra, only adding to her curiosity of just what his world was like to produce such odd people and an odder wise one.

"Daniel?" She asked, only remembering as he turned away from the window to look at her that she was still needed outside, with her own people. Her own interests could come later. "Would you like to help me?"

"Help you?" He repeated, before making his understanding noise. "With your people? Of course."

Sha're smiled and dipped her head in thanks, straightening herself before walking back out into the evening streets, approaching the first group resting in the shadows of one of the undamaged buildings she came to and kneeling down to rest a gentle hand on the child whose leg had been broken in the confusion - Yuny, if she recalled correctly.

"Shh, shh," She whispered, putting on a smile for the boy as he whimpered in pain and fear. "You're safe now, and your leg will mend soon."

"Why did Ra punish us?" Yuny sniffled, looking up to her as if she could see into the mind of the being who ruled them. "Did we do bad?"

"No, Yuny," Sha're replied, pausing as she almost repeated the mantra they had all learned from their parents and their parents' parents before them -

Ra was to be feared and respected, never questioned.

But Daniel had questioned him, had called him cruel, and sparked the same thoughts in her, threatening to burn her and her people if she were not careful. She sighed, looking to the child waiting for an answer. "We did nothing to provoke him. Sometimes he is displeased when he arrives, and we must simply handle it as best we can."

Yuny looked down to his hands, nodding quietly even as his eyes glistened. Helpless to offer more comfort, she looked up to his family, who all wore the same weary looks that rested in her heart. Her gaze then slid over to Daniel, whose face she could not see but whose clenched fists and rigid body said enough.

Finally, she looked further up the street, where her people's wise one stood, face weathered by the carnage wrought and the people lost to Ra's fury. Her gaze rested over her head, to the desert where Ra and the strangers both were, perhaps even seeing in her mysterious ways just what was happening at that distant place. The wise one's old gaze sank down to lock with her own, and in it Sha're could see the stresses she'd suffered from countless similar attacks, unable to do anything more to help her people than she already was.

Just as Sha're felt her spark of anger about to die out at the weight, the wise one's gaze lifted again, her brow furrowing slightly. She stood up, turning to look towards the gate just as Skaara and his friends stumbled in on their mounts, falling off their mounts in their hurry towards her.

"Sha're!" Ahmose called out, waving his arms frantically as he reached her side first, huffing heavily. "We saw the skyships - is everyone okay?"

"We lost seven lives, and dozens more are injured," Sha're replied, choking slightly on the numbers.

All four boys looked between each other, looking almost angry as opposed to the resignation she'd been surrounded by since the attacks had ended. It was almost like Daniel's own anger, but why…?

"We have to talk to the chief," Skaara decided after a moment, turning back to her with a serious expression. "Where is he?"

"He was injured saving Paimu's daughter; right now he rests, and I do not want to disturb him without good reason…"

Nabeh leaned forward, wide eyed and frantic as he spoke up. "We followed the strangers back to the chappa'ai, and we saw Ra's ship! And the strangers were inside the pyramid, talking to new strangers who we think were warriors! And Ra sent down one of his followers so we hid, and we heard the strangers use their loud weapons, and when we looked again, the follower was dead!"

Everyone around inhaled, including those who had gathered to see what had the four boys so worked up. "No one can kill them, though!"

"The strangers did!" Seti confirmed. "And you know what was underneath the mask his followers wear? A man! Not a monster, just a man like us, but in armor!"

The whispers spread, more and more people trickling in as Sha're's mind tried to wrap around that and failed. Ra's followers were invincible, just like he was - even these strangers should not have been able to stand up to his might - but she did not think they would lie about something this big.

Daniel stepped forward, frowning as he asked, "Did you get the name of these new strangers?"

Skaara frowned, thinking back. "I believe your leader called the other leader Onell?"

The name fumbled off his tongue, the syllables foreign to him, but it seemed to draw a reaction from Daniel none the less. "O'Neill?" He muttered to himself in his strange language before returning to her own language. "Did you see if they left the pyramid or not?"

"No," Seti replied, shaking his head. "We came back as soon as we saw the skyships leave Ra's ship. We knew we had to tell the chief what we'd seen as soon as possible, to let him know it is possible to fight against Ra with the help of the strangers."

Daniel nodded, fingers twitching as he brought his hand up to where his lips would be. "I know O'Neill - he is a good man and a good warrior. If our home sent him, then they must know about Ra. They probably came to take us home, but since Jones - our leader - did not find the information to activate the chappa'ai, they can't do that."

He sighed, his shoulders dropping as he turned to face the desert. "I think I might need to go there to help them; I don't know if they can hold out against Ra forever if he is as strong as you say, and I'm the only one who can get them all home now."

Sha're heart dropped as she turned to him. "But he left you here so you would be safe, didn't he?"

"I know that," Daniel shook his head. "But they are my friends; I can't let them die when I can help them."

"Even though you would go alone?" She asked quietly.

He shrugged. "Ra should not send out any more skyships, right? I'll be safe until I get there, and I do know how to be careful."

Sha're knew she was not alone in staring at him. "But if Ra gets the Eye…"

"Even then," Daniel affirmed. "I won't ask any of you to come with me; we've caused you enough harm with our presence, even if we did not mean to."

"I will go," Skaara immediately intervened, stepping forward to stare Daniel stright in the eyes. "I am not afraid of Ra's ship or his followers, and you need someone to take you on a mastadge, since you'll be too late if you go on foot."

"I'm not afraid either!" Ahmose declared. "The strangers stood up to Ra; I want to help them so that Ra cannot overwhelm them."

Sha're could only watch as slowly the numbers who wanted to help him get the strangers home grew, until most of the city had seemed to pledge their support. Helpless in the face of their passion, she turned again to the wise one, who no longer slumped under her years but seemed to be filling with the same determination as the people around her.

"Please, you don't have to!" Daniel protested, sounding almost scared - for them? "What if he hurts you further because you all helped me?"

"He hurts us every day," She found herself saying, drawing many eyes to her as she stood up straight, looking up at him as if he were a fool. "For hundreds of lifetimes he has done nothing but work us, treating us like mere beasts to be whipped and culled at his whim. Even if he strikes us down for this, he cannot do more than he already has."

"He could kill you all," He reminded, waving his hands around to the destruction already wrought.

"Then he will have failed, because even he cannot force the dead to work for him."

Sha're tilted her chin in challenge, waiting for him to protest further. Part of her felt lost to the same madness that had captured the hearts of her people, but as she looked across their faces, she knew she was making the right decision, even if her father would have protested if he were here.

But it was she who led her people in his absence, and she knew, even without looking, that the wise one felt the same passion as they all did in that moment.

They would not let the strangers down, and they would not let Daniel down.

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AN: Whew, what a chapter to write! It took a while to find my flow for this, but once I had the initial conversation in mind suddenly it just started flowing from there, and led to perhaps the most interesting development in this story yet even though I sort of planned for it? I suppose it just didn't take the path I expected initially so the end development surprised me is all.

Sha're finally gets her own chapter, and I wanted to show her qualities as a leader first and foremost. I'm also setting the cornerstone for the eventual relationship of Daniel and Sha're, but as the people of Abydos did not see the Away Team as Ra's followers and thusly pushed for the marriage to 'appease' them, the two will be allowed a chance to learn about each other before they start taking the plunge.

Just to repeat – the romance will be mostly offscreen! This fic is mostly about Alfred and Matthew and the other Nations and how their presence (and my need to have a plot that isn't wrought with plotholes and inconsistencies and just bad planning) affects things! Not going to lie, when/if I touch on the series, things might go very differently than in the episode, and not always for the better.