Chapter 6: He was a good man

Over an hour later the situation hadn't improved. In fact it had gotten a whole lot worse. Ritter hadn't turned up on his own in the time it took for the SAR's team to arrive. When they did and Lorne realised it was most of SG-1 accompanying a team of specialist marines he'd almost groaned. Just great - now Colonel O'Neill would get the chance to personally see just how badly Lorne had screwed up. Evan was sure he wouldn't be thinking they'd picked the right guy after hearing the full story.

Lorne had had to tactfully admit that yes he had allowed Lieutenant Ritter to work alone, so far from camp, and with dodgy communication capability. And that yes, it had become a regular thing. Talking about the difficulties they had with radios and compasses sounded like the reason for Ritter being missing rather than the pathetic excuse it was for why they'd lost track of him. On top of that Doctor Jackson had found the alien artefacts under the tarp covering and almost blown a gasket when he'd realised they'd been moved.

"Well, they were in the way," was the best response Evan could think to give - he'd practically seen the steam coming from Jackson's ears before Colonel O'Neill had taken pity on Lorne and urged him to vacate the vicinity. Turns out they were from some race called the Unas, which was apparently a pretty big deal. On top of his increasing concern for Jason, that news had really turned this into one of Evan's crappiest days on record.

Colonel O'Neill had returned to base camp to talk with Doctor Jackson, leaving Teal'c and the team of marines for Lorne to continue escorting. They were walking a path through the trees into unknown territory. The fact that there was a path at all, plus the creepy feeling Evan had that someone or something was watching them had him on edge.

"What's the deal with these Unas?" he asked Teal'c as they walked.

"They are the first ones .... the race the Goa'uld enslaved in order to emerge from the waters of their home world," Teal'c explained in that deep, formal tone of his. Having never met the Jaffa before Evan was still feeling his way – he was curious about the only alien member of an SG team, had a host of questions to ask. But the other man was clearly a talented tracker and Lorne was grateful to have him on board – that took precedent over everything else, including his curiosity.

"We haven't seen any signs that this planet is inhabited," Evan offered.

"The Unas are experienced at avoiding detection," Teal'c returned. Stopping he squatted, looking at the ground closely. "This way," he said, standing again and motioning for Lorne to follow.

They followed the path as it veered towards the mountains. Turning the corner, Teal'c stopped again, holding up a clenched fist. Lorne moved closer to see what had the other man's attention.

Before them were a line of the most macabre versions of scarecrows Evan could imagine. They seemed to be made of sticks from the surrounding trees, supplemented with tools similar to the artefacts they'd unearthed at the mining site and what looked like armour of some kind. Each was topped with a human looking skull and long tuffs of hair. The sharp spikes protruding from each were a very clear 'keep out' warning.

Teal'c moved to pick something up from a rock – a necklace of – were they bones?

"What is it?" Lorne asked.

"The Unas wear these to prevent the Goa'uld from burrowing into their necks," Teal'c explained. "I believe these figures are intended as a warning to stay away."

"Yeah, and a pretty blatant warning at that," Lorne thought, moving to check out the next scarecrow constructed in a similar style. He wasn't sure why but something made him turn to look behind him ... and then he wished he hadn't.

He was barely aware of Teal'c moving to join him, everything focussed on the horror before him.

"Lieutenant Ritter," Teal'c intoned.

It was Jason Ritter but barely recognisable as such. He'd been slashed across the chest deep enough to have ripped through his uniform in places. Lorne swallowed hard as he noticed the details – bloody patches of colour spread across the front of his shirt, bare torn flesh visible through the tears. The Lieutenant's face was blackened and swollen with bruising – those parts that weren't coloured dark with blood and dirt. The damage stood out starkly against the few glimpses of too pale flesh underneath. The expression on his face was the real kicker for Evan though – Ritter's eyes were open wide and a look of terror and pain was permanently etched over his face, turning familiar features into a ghoulish mask that made Jason look like a caricature of himself. It wasn't Jason but at the same time it was and Evan felt sick to the stomach at what had been done to him.

Lorne had seen death before ... caused it by his own hand and been confronted with the aftermath ... but never like this. Never so brutal ... so ... inhuman ... too close to home. Even finding John in that cave in Bosnia hadn't been as bad as this. It hit Lorne hard and he found himself bent over double, retching painfully into the bushes before he could control it. It didn't matter that he hadn't eaten for hours and had very little to expel – he was retching dry and still feeling like it wasn't enough before his stomach finally decided to let him off the hook.

"God," he muttered, sitting back on his heels and wiping shaking hands over his face as he struggled to regain his composure.

"I am sorry Major Lorne," Teal'c said simply, no hint of judgement in his tone.

"Yeah, me too," Evan returned. "He was a good man ...," he trailed off, lost for words. How could he sum up the life of someone – their essence, their value – in just a few words? How could he acknowledge what had been lost – Ritter's potential, the ambitions he'd had, how happy he'd been being part of the Stargate program? The guilt that he'd let Jason go out alone – that he hadn't fought hard enough to change Colonel Edwards' mind was eating at Lorne too. He could have saved the Lieutenant if he'd just been smarter. Standing again, Lorne took a moment to steady himself, very deliberately keeping his eyes away from Ritter's body.

"We must inform O'Neill and Daniel Jackson," Teal'c put a hand to Evan's shoulder, squeezing firmly, before motioning the marine team forward.

Nodding, Evan followed Teal'c away from the scene, letting the marine's take care of Jason now.

The next few hours passed in a blur, only seemingly random impressions standing out in Lorne's mind afterwards.

The sound a body bag made when it was zipped up – so harsh and ... final.

The rustle of leaves on the ground as they'd crept through the forest looking for the creatures that'd killed Ritter.

Evan's first sign of an Unas, reptilian, the howling sound of grief reverberating in Evan's ears before the thing had loped off into the trees with its brethren.

Menard's surprising bravery, especially for a geeky scientist. He'd managed to retain some of that enthusiasm even in the face of the wounds an Unas had slashed across his chest before one of the marines had stepped in to kill it.

Unas blood - a bright fluorescent green that shone harshly amidst the browns and dull greens of P3X-403 and screamed 'alien'.

Being back on Earth to discuss the situation and finding out a whole lot more about what was really going on. How a supposed attacker could turn out to be a defender – of territory, of a sacred place they'd trampled on without even knowing they were doing so. Ritter had died for actions they hadn't intended, actions they could have adjusted if only they'd know – Lorne could hardly blame the Unas for that because in the same situation, wouldn't they do exactly the same thing?

Colonel O'Neill had been injured in the first push forward and it had fallen to Daniel Jackson to fix the tense situation, calling on the help of another Unas they'd forged a friendship with on another planet.

Lorne didn't get to participate in any of it and that galled as well. He wanted to do something active ... maybe not to avenge Jason but to at least make sure his death counted for something. Instead he'd been ordered by Colonel Edwards to continue testing the vein of naquadah they'd found that morning - hours instead of the days ago it seemed - ordered to wait it out in relative safety and watch while his CO made the situation worse by sending out more marines while Jackson was out there still trying to make contact. Evan did his duty grimly, his expression closed enough that even Airman Daniels steered clear of him. He wasn't accustomed to the guilt and anger eating at him - didn't know what to do with the emotions beyond pumping them back into his work. He helped clean up the mess the Unas had made of half their camp and then got right into the thick of taking more core samples and running the resonance scans Edwards had ordered - anything to keep his mind off the overriding situation. When the hours passed and the results were in Lorne took no joy in reporting that mine number seven was everything they'd hoped to find and more ... and added more internal anger to what he was already carrying when Colonel Edwards looked so happy at that result. That he'd let noone - especially not the Unas - get in the way of their success was more than apparent, not even when the Unas surrounded the camp and made their potential aggression towards the human interlopers abundantly clear.

The sound of thousands of Unas all chanting together was scary and disturbing ... they were outnumbered and Lorne wasn't sure how P-90's and handguns would fair against the reptilian strength of so many aliens all working together. Luckily they didn't have to find that out. Evan watched, intrigued, as Daniel negotiated with the Unas leader, all the while kneeling with his head bowed. Edwards had given in and followed Jackson's instructions - Evan was somewhat surprised but relieved the man could be smart when the situation proved there was no other course of action. As an introduction into alien relations it was a real eye opener – the sun was sinking low in the sky before they were done and Lorne wasn't the only one shaking the feeling back into his legs once they were all allowed to stand again.

"That's it?" he asked Doctor Jackson after the Unas moved away to talk to its peers.

"For now," Daniel clarified. "It's going to take time to follow this through Major – to teach the Unas what they need to meet their side of the bargain."

Nodding, Lorne moved aside when Colonel Edwards came to stand with them.

"The work is just beginning Lorne," Edwards commented, watching the Unas with a still faintly suspicious expression. "Don't be making any plans for going home any time soon."

"No Sir," Evan hesitated a moment before continuing. "Permission to return to the SGC with Doctor Jackson Sir - just for a few hours," he said. "I'd like to inform Lieutenant Ritter's family personally Sir."

Colonel Edwards looked surprised for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he met Lorne's eyes. "That's not a requirement," he pointed out almost gently, surprising Evan again.

"No Sir," Lorne agreed, "but we owe them something, right? I know I can't give them the details but I can tell them he died in the line of duty doing what he loved. It's not much but perhaps it'll comfort them a little to hear it from someone Jason worked with."

"Permission granted Major," Edwards agreed, giving Lorne an approving nod.

"Thank you Sir," Evan took that as his leave, turning and heading quickly for his 'quarters' – a corner of one of the sleeping tents that thankfully hadn't been damaged by the Unas. Grabbing the half finished letters to his Mom and sister, he stuffed them in his pocket before reluctantly turning to face Jason's sleeping area.

Staring blindly at the neatly made bed, the tidy storage unit, Lorne sighed and then quickly did what had to be done. The sum of Jason's time on P3X-403 fit into one standard issue rucksack – and he too had letters to family waiting to be delivered. Carefully storing them with his own, Evan stood, looking at the now empty area for a moment before slowing turning and leaving the tent.

"You blaming yourself?" Colonel O'Neill waited until Daniel had finished his debrief, silently motioning for the archeologist to leave them alone in the conference room. Even though Lorne wasn't there for that the Colonel had insisted he participate in Doctor Jackson's update on the part of the mission he'd missed. Jack's shoulder was in a sling and he had a look about him that said he was in pain but he wasn't confined to the Infirmary so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Daniel had cast Lorne one look, noted the way the other man was staring blankly at the table and nodded.

"Sir?" Evan looked up suddenly, frowning when he realised Doctor Jackson had left. He made a move to get up too but the Colonel's quick 'Uh," accompanied by the unvoluntary wince as his injured shoulder protested had Evan sitting back again.

"I asked if you were blaming yourself," Jack reiterated.

"Hard not to Sir," Lorne admitted.

"Good," Jack said simply, watching the Major's expression turn from blank to frowning surprise.

"Sorry?" Lorne blinked, not sure he'd heard right.

"You wouldn't be the man I think you are if you weren't blaming yourself," Jack clarified.

"I should -," Lorne made to stand again, not sure what he was going to say next. He should what? Turn himself in? To who? And for what?

"Relax Evan," Jack said irritably. "I didn't say you were to blame ... we could argue over whether it was negligent to post a fully trained officer away from camp alone but we both know that wasn't your call."

"But I was the one who saw what a problem it could be Sir," Evan pointed out.

"Yes you were," Jack agreed, "and it bites being right, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does," Lorne got out, his voice suddenly rough.

"Learn from this Major," Jack ignored the emotions he could seeing broiling in the Major, even though it was a first. Lorne's stoic mask had cracked today - in his reaction to finding Lieutenant Ritter as they had and now, in dealing with the understandable guilt, justifed or not.

"I'm not sure exactly what you expect me to learn Sir," Lorne said, irritated but knowing enough to try to hide it. "A man died because I couldn't find a way to get around the chain of command. If you believe in that - it's at the core of what we do and I do believe in it - then I'm not sure what I could have done differently."

"Exactly," Colonel O'Neill said like Evan had had some kind of revelation. When Lorne frowned, opening his mouth to say more Jack held up a hand. "Think about it," he said simply.

"Yes Sir," Lorne nodded, deciding the Colonel was even deeper than he'd first thought if he expected Evan to be able to make sense of that much crypticness.

"Think about it," Jack said again, "but don't let it affect your career. You still have to work on P3X-403 ... with Colonel Edwards. Teaching the Unas was part of Daniel's bargain but it'll require someone like you to see that it happens."

"Understood Sir," Lorne didn't slump down even though part of him wanted to. He was still angry with his CO for the poor decisions made at the mine site even though Edwards had shown a different side when he'd gone along with Jackson and when he'd allowed Evan to come back to Earth. "I can handle it Sir," Lorne promised.

"Yes - I'm sure you can," Jack returned.

Lorne nodded, appreciating the vote of confidence, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy.

"I hope you're not doing the thing with Ritters family as some kind of punishment," Jack said after a few moments of silence. "We have people trained in this sort of thing you know."

"I know Sir, and I'm not punishing myself," Evan said earnestly. "He deserves for them to be told by someone who knew him ... it's the least I can do."

"Right," Jack nodded, hesitated for a moment and then slowly got to his feet, favouring his shoulder. "Well, get to it then. We'll be here when you're done."

"Yes Sir, thank you Sir," Lorne registered the other man's casual gait as the Colonel walked from the room, knowing he'd ponder the meeting for some time to come. With a sigh he got up too, heading for personnel to find out what he needed to know to go and shatter the lives of people he'd never met.

It was difficult, knocking on the door of two people who didn't realise their world was about to change forever. Turns out Jason had been a Junior - when Jason Ritter Senior opened the door and saw Evan standing there in uniform something in his eyes shifted - and Evan knew that he knew without a word having been spoken.

"Come in," the older version of the man Evan had counted as a friend stepped back and let Lorne inside.

Evan nodded, moving forward and then waiting for Mr Ritter to lead the way.

"My wife - Sarah," he introduced Lorne to the woman sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of something hot raising steam into the air in front of her.

"My name is Major Evan Lorne," Evan began, taking the seat Jason Senior motioned him into. He looked at the faces of the two people in front of him, the painful fear and hope in the mothers eyes and felt himself quiver inside. He'd never had to tell someone their loved one wasn't coming back, never appreciated just how hard it was. He'd been on the receiving end though - that memory of a uniformed man turning up at their doorstep twenty three years ago to tell them his Dad wasn't coming back never far away - only now he had an idea of how that man must have felt. "I'm very sorry to tell you that your son was killed in the line of duty this morning," Evan said quietly.

"No, you must have made some kind of mistake," Sarah Ritter clasped her hands together tightly. "My son is a cartographer - he wouldn't be anywhere dangerous."

"I'm sorry Ma'am but there's no mistake," Evan reiterated. God, this was bringing back memories he'd put away. The denial - the surety that the message was being delivered to the wrong person - had been so strong. As he watched Mrs Ritter carefully he could almost see the pain and despair washing over her. That wave of crushing grief that had you feeling as bad as you'd ever felt ... until you realised down the track that the grief escalated before it diminished to a manageable level, that'd you'd feel a hell of a lot worse before you felt better. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said again.

Sarah Ritter started crying - she was quiet about it but the tears pouring down her face and the pain that radiated from her entire being spoke loudly to Evan.

"You knew our son?" Jason Senior asked, his voice rough with emotion as he took his wife's hand and held on tightly for both of them. Maybe the question was a distraction, maybe he needed to know ... either way, it was why Evan had come personally.

"Yes I did," Lorne said simply. "We were on the same team - Jason reported to me mostly. I'm not at liberty to tell you specific details of where or how Jason was killed - but you should know that he was very brave. He was doing what he loved in a place that turned out to be more dangerous than any of us realised. I can't tell you how much I regret that he was killed before we appreciated that."

"He loved being in the air force," Sarah whispered sadly, her eyes on a framed photo of Jason that sat on a side table nearby. "Talked of nothing else since he worked out what he wanted to do with his life. Maps," she swallowed back her tears. "How could my boy be killed making maps?"

"He was very happy doing what he was doing Ma'am," Evan reiterated. "He didn't want to be anywhere else - he enjoyed the challenge of the unfamiliar. I don't know for sure but it always seemed like he was happy to take the risks of being stationed where we are just so he could do what he'd trained for."

"He was hap-py," Sarah agreed, her voice shifting into tears elongating that last word.

Jason Senior pulled her closer and looked over her head to Evan. "Thank you for coming to tell us personally Major. It means something that his commanding officer would do that."

"I thought very highly of your son Sir," Evan let the man see the emotion in his eyes before he looked away, getting himself under control again. "The loss of a friend bears little comparison to your loss but I hope it comforts some to know that Jason was well liked and well respected."

"Can we see him?" Sarah looked up suddenly, her tear ravaged eyes pinning him intently.

"I don't know," Evan admitted. Ritter had been killed off world by something alien enough to have left quite the mark on the young man - Lorne had never been in that position before and wasn't sure how the air force maintained security while still giving the families of the dead the due consideration they deserved. "I'll give you the number of someone to call though - they'll help you with anything you need, and with any arrangements you need to make."

"Thank you," Jason Senior said again.

"There's no need to thank me," Evan said grimly. "We did what we could but it wasn't enough."

"And you'll have to live with that just as we have to live without our son," Jason Senior returned. "Have you ever lost someone close to you Major?"

"Yes I have," Evan admitted openly. "My father - in the line of duty too - when I was ten."

"Then you'll understand more of how we feel than most," Jason nodded, turning back to his wife.

Lorne watched them comfort each other for a moment, feeling awkward and superfluous and just plain unsettled, his own grief mixed up and too close to the surface. "Is there anything I can do for you, anyone I can call?"

"No - we only had Jason and each other," Sarah wiped at her eyes, her hands shaking. "Please ... we need to deal with this ourselves ... together."

As a hint to get out it was pretty subtle but Evan understood. They wanted to regroup, to take refuge in the familiar and in each other. They didn't need a stranger clogging up the works.

"Of course," he said, getting to his feet quickly. Pulling out the letters he'd taken from Jason's things he placed them carefully on the table, along with two business cards. "I found these in Jason's things - it was mail day in a couple of days but Jason always had his letters ready to go early. The first card has the number you'll need to see ... to have arrangements made." He stopped, cleared the lump from his throat and finished it. "The second card has my number on it - if there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to give me a call. I'm not sure how long I'll be around but someone will know where to reach me."

Maybe they nodded, maybe they said something, expressed more thanks, but Evan was deaf to it. He just wanted to get out of there and get some calm back. "I'm sorry," he said again, turning quickly and finding his way back to the front door.

And then he was out on the street, breathing deeply of the fresh air. "God," he muttered, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. That had been tough ... walking back to the car he threw himself into the drivers seat and then just sat there, staring out the window.

His phone was in his hand before he could think, the familiar number dialled without pause.

"Hello, Grace Lorne." It was just a voice saying his name but Evan felt something inside settle a little.

"Hi Mom," he said simply.

"Evan! Oh honey it's good to hear your voice. Are you back? How long can you stay?"

Evan smiled fondly at her questions, understanding as he never had before that just having someone to share a burden with did make it easier to carry. Elaine and Drew understood that ... Piper and Rob too. Jason Senior and Sarah Ritter perhaps understood it best of all right then. He still had the guilt to work through - still had to believe what he thought Colonel O'Neill had been trying to tell him - but having people who cared would help.

Lorne would have to return to P3X-403, to the work they'd started, to the commitment they'd made with the Unas that'd killed a good man. But he wasn't alone, even so far away. And that did make it easier to do what was necessary. After all, he was good at necessary.

The End

Authors Note:

So that's it - the end of background Lorne! Hope you all liked it. I feel sad ... and happy ... and nervous that Forlorn Hope will be good enough. Anyway, enough of my insecurities.

Now, about Forlorn Hope. There are eight chapters initially posted too long ago to admit to now - I have reviewed them and made changes, adding considerably in some places. These additions don't change the basic plot but they do line things up with Lorne's background. So if you've read the story previously it wouldn't spoil things if you didn't read it again - it'd be nice, but not essential. If you haven't read Forlorn Hope before, please do - it's there - eight chapters, just waiting to be read!

I'm writing more of the story now and have just one question ... do you guys want me to post as I go or would you prefer a break from me while I go off and write the whole thing first? These days I complete stories before posting but this is a special case because I broke my own rule and posted FH before I'd finished it. (yeah, I know - look how THAT turned out?!) So I'm happy to be swayed by the popular view on this.

Thanks for reading!

Oh, Oh ... since it's the 6th of May on my side of the world I'll take this opportunity to wish Kavan Smith a Happy 40th Birthday. Not that he'll ever know I did that but ... okay, shutting up now.