Author's Note:
I may have botched keeping this lined up with the actual date but I haven't abandoned the story! Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter - your comments are always appreciated, as is your patience with the delayed posting. Here's the next chapter ... hope you all had a great Christmas!
December 15th
"You wished to speak with me Major?" Privic sat on the bench outside his hut, a leafy roof serving to make it as close to a veranda as you'd find in the village. Lorne had been escorted to the elder in lieu of the daily walk, Eldon still back at their cell awaiting Evan's return.
"That's right," Lorne moved to stand in front of the other man, nodding his head towards the bench. "May I?"
Privic sighed. "You may, although I fail to see the point in discussing matters we have already gone over many times."
"I'm not here to talk about that," Evan said, taking a seat and stretching his legs out in front of him. Casting a sideways glance at the older man, he then turned his attention to the view laid out before them. The village Privic and his people had created from nothing was primitive but for a people almost devastated by the Wraith it was still impressive. A few people worked at the necessary daily chores, the younger ones indulging in the kind of play that didn't need high tech toys or computers to have them laughing and engaged. "You've done well here so far," he commented easily.
"We have a long way to go," Privic replied.
"You do," Evan agreed. "And I understand why the situation with Torrell is an issue for you. He threatens what you're trying to build here. That's why it's such a shame, even if we do successfully defeat him, that you've already let him win."
"That man wins nothing!" Privic spat out, glaring at Evan. "You yourself serve as evidence of how far we will go to ensure he never wins. My people will not give in or cower before our enemies as we have done in the past."
"Eldon told me how it used to be, before Torrell came back," Lorne said in a low, intent voice. "You and the other elders were so determined to wipe the slate clean, to build an Olesia that would never enter into the kind of deal your former magistrate did."
Privic flinched at the mention of the Wraith deal, his facing paling.
"Everyone co-operating, no penal colonies, no sacrificing a few for the many," Lorne went on purposefully. "You were doing things your way. Then Torrell came and now you're back to jails and holding people hostage to get what you want."
"You do not understand," Privic said defensively.
"Then explain it to me," Evan insisted.
Privic hesitated for a moment. "Do you have a family Major – a wife, children?" he asked quietly.
"Not yet," Lorne replied. Thinking of Jennifer, he smiled. "I have someone I hope will be my wife in the not too distant future."
"Then you will understand what it is to have something precious enough you're willing to do anything to protect it," Privic continued. "My own dear wife passed many years ago and yet I miss her to this day. My daughter … Sonara, was so much like her mother," his expression went wistful, his eyes locked on the past. "When the Wraith attacked I begged, bartered and lied to get Sonara and my grandchildren on one of the ships leaving the mainland as the Wraith attacked. I would have given my life for theirs but the fates were cruel. Her ship was shot down while mine made it safely to this island. She believed so strongly that Olesia needed reforming – it was she who urged me to take a leadership role here as we formed the new Olesia. Living up to her wishes, honouring her memory, is all that motivated me in the early days."
"And then Torrell attacked," Lorne said sadly, understanding how crushing it would have been to Privic to have everything he'd worked so hard for compromised by one vengeful, malicious man.
"And forced us back to our old ways," Privic gave a harsh laugh. "Sonara wished for something that does not exist. I have gone against everything she hoped I'd be here – all I have left is to ensure other families do not suffer such grief at Torrell's hand."
"Nothing will ever remove the weight of what you've lost," Evan said quietly – there was empathy and the kind of understanding in his voice only someone who's suffered his own losses could display. Lorne knew … he still missed his Dad and it had been almost thirty years since Jonathon Lorne was killed. All the other losses on top of that first grief added to the weight he carried, but the first was the foundation for how he handled every grief thereafter. "You can't go back but you can more forward. I know you don't trust us and I understand why. Indirectly we're responsible for what's happening now. We set Torrell and the others free. That's why I'm going to go out on a limb here."
Privic's eyes narrowed; his expression was guarded but he was listening and Lorne took that as an encouraging sign.
"My people are coming Privic," Lorne said simply. "I can't tell you when they'll be here, only that it'll be soon. You can't stop them and if you give the wrong response when they get here you won't be able to prevent them from taking my team, me, and Eldon away from here. You'll lose your only chance for some real help and there won't be a way to get it back."
"How?" Privic asked stiffly.
"The Stargate isn't the only means of interstellar transportation," Lorne reminded him. "The Wraith aren't the only race with that capability either. Your old ships are like the early technological steps my people took a long time ago. Now we can travel the distance from our planet to yours – it can take days but we'll get where we need to go. We don't need the Stargate."
"I see," Privic was expressionless but Lorne could still tell the news troubled him.
"Just listen before you do anything," Evan urged. "That's all I'm asking. You might be surprised at what's on offer."
"There is something I do not understand," the older man said in a low tone. "Why?"
"Why would my people help you, especially after you've held me and the rest of my team prisoner for two weeks?" Lorne expanded, waiting for Privic to nod before he answered. "Because it's what we do," he said simply. "And because when we make a mistake we like to fix it, if we can. In all likelihood my commanding officer will be on that ship … he's someone who never breaks his word, even when he's promised something bordering on impossible. I don't expect you to take my word on that but I'm giving it to you anyway."
Privic nodded, still troubled but more thoughtful than Lorne had seen him previously. "Very well," he said. "I will give your commanding officer the chance to speak."
"Thank you," Lorne replied, relieved. He got up, ready for the guards to escort him back to his cell. As they walked the now familiar path words ran through Evan's head.
"The losses don't go away but the weight is easier to bear when shared. Let me do that for you Jenn, just as you do for me. Say yes."