SGU s04 e19

Castell

Sully and his sister Nay had reunited with their aunty Jassamine after being beamed aboard Apollo 2011 with the other prisoners, including Eraion. Eraion was now in talks with General Landry and several other members of the Intergalactic Alliance about the plight of the twin worlds and their suffering under Genesis's control. It was quickly decided to keep his anonymity with both worlds until the right time, after Genesis's control had been removed. Eraion also told them he believed the leader of the other planet Janca was also being held captive.

It was a sombre crew who finally docked back on Destiny's shuttle bay pad. Although Colonel Mitchell had offered to take Sgt. Wallace on Apollo, Ronald insisted he be returned to Destiny where he had served. From there it would be one last trip through the Stargate back to Earth. He was honored with the single word commands spoken by Master Sergeant Greer and interned in one of Destiny's cargo bays that had been converted for the purpose and renamed 'Honor to the Fallen' during her upgrades.

As Ronald stood at the doorway he felt a firm, comforting hand on his shoulder.

"He was my friend; not just my right hand man," said Ronald to Everett, holding back his tears.

Everett responded quietly, "They all are. It never only goes one way and you will never forget him either—that I promise you." Everett turned to him and said, "I'm sorry Ron, but this isn't over yet; I need you."

Ronald simply nodded and followed Everett to the bridge.

On the bridge, the news he delivered there wasn't good either—with Everett breaking it remorsefully to everyone around.

"Okay," he said factually, holding in his emotions. "We have suffered many losses. It seems that the Ori were able to adapt some of our weapons technology to their existing warships and have been able to penetrate our shielding the same way we did to theirs. As it stands, we have lost eight out of twenty two Enterprise class ships, the Valeyians have lost significantly more at thirty eight of their Aura Class type battle ships and two destroyers have been seriously damaged from Ori ships ramming into them and exploding. We believe the ship that Matt and Chloe are on has been damaged, but has retreated into hyperspace for repairs."

Everett paused for a moment as they watched him holding back his deep sorrow. "One of the Enterprise ships was that of Colonel Telford's, who was also carrying the "Ark of Truth". We believe everyone onboard perished, along with the Ark. I'm sorry, but the information coming through is still somewhat sketchy on detail."

There was cold silence on the bridge as the crew took it all in.

Everett continued as the tone in his voice became more frail. "Closer to home, the Ori have launched an all out attack on Earth; fortunately, we were prepared for that and able to summon Atlantis, the Asgard and Ursini to assist with our defenses—although the Ori there have invaded Earth in several major cities. Everyone on Earth that can use a weapon is fighting back from what we are hearing and stopping their advance. Eli, can you explain the rest please." Everett rubbed his forehead and quickly wiped the small teardrop from the corner of his right eye.

Eli stood up and opened a picture on the screen. "This is Genesis's new ship. It looks pretty standard for an Ori warship, but this mutha is twice the size. We believe it also packs a hell of a weapons armory, as in a mixture of stolen tech from us and their own."

Greer asked, "So why can't the Valeyian Destroyers take it out?"

Eli nodded at his question but had a simple answer, "They can't get in close enough to it, even cloaked. Their main weapon needs every bit of power they have to fire; as they keep getting heavily attacked each time they get close, they are diverting power from the weapon to their shields—and before you ask—they have tried firing at reduced power; it did nothing. They have told us it needs about 95% to reach full potential; the most they have been able to get is about 60% before they have to retreat."

Everett cut in. "The other small issue is we believe Castell is onboard. None of the Valeyians want to keep trying to destroy it, just disable it if they can."

A radio message came over Everett's headset. "Sir, we have captured two Ori soldiers onboard! One is a Prior, but he has no staff. He claims he has been sent by Genesis and his name is Abarchus—he wants to speak to you General. The other soldier is badly wounded, he needs medical attention and fast!"

Everett replied as Greer readied himself to meet them. "Okay Son, bring him to the holding cell, I've got a medical team on the way—Young out."

Greer looked at Everett, "Okay, so two; how many more are hiding while they play us?"

Ev smiled at him, "That's why I needed ya here: go find 'em!"

Ron didn't need to be told twice and took off to gather his team. He tapped his radio to call Sgt Wallace—then came back to earth with a thud saying quietly through the pain inside, "Damn it..." before he tried again, "Stevens, it's Greer, where are you?"

Abarchus sat quietly in the chair of the holding cell. He knew he had the power to easily escape, but he could feel his Ori powers being restrained in his mind—but there was also another presence that he could not understand; it wasn't human, but it was an entity of consciousness. Unbeknown to him, Destiny was probing his mind, very cautiously.

He said as Everett entered the room, "Greetings, General Young; it is an honor to meet my enemy face to face."

Everett didn't give the game away and kept a straight face replying, "Honor? I have seen the devastation of the worlds in your wake—tell me Abarchus, in what sense is there honor in killing innocent men, women, and children?"

Abarchus looked down at the table remembering the carnage he had helped to generate and said, "You are right General Young; there has been no honor in the deaths of innocents. I maybe a Prior in the Order of the Ori, but yes, I am also a murderer of innocents."

Everett sensed quickly that something wasn't right here; the Ori never agreed with being called murderers, it was not the way of Origin. Death was only for those that opposed the order of Origin; those who submitted and converted were protected by Origin. He said nothing and waited for Abarchus to continue.

"I have been ordered to bring you to Genesis," Abarchus finally said, "And to inflict as much suffering on your crew, including the deaths of your newborns and their mothers before you. However, I am afraid this is one order I shall not be able to carry out. Your friend, Castell, is a prisoner on the bridge of Genesis's ship; and he knows you are here to rescue him."

Everett asked cautiously, "Why are you telling me this?"

Abarchus laughed for a moment before saying, "I would not believe me either; but I too have a wife and young children. I too hear the screams at night and smell the burning flesh of my indifferent past," He looked straight at Everett and said, "And I too want the killing to stop."

Everett didn't trust Abarchus at all believing this was some kind of trick to lure him onboard Genesis's ship. "Okay, if you're telling the truth, prove it; give me something useful."

Abarchus went quiet for a moment, then said, "Fifteen Warships have the Ursini's ship weapons technology, a further six have Valeyian shielding. We were unable to obtain all the data on the Ur'torina Drive technology; therefore none of our ships, including Genesis's, have that ability. So far as I know, your fleet has taken out seven of the fifteen ships with advanced weapons. Is that enough; or do you require more proof?"

Everett smiled cautiously at Abarchus saying, "Not nearly enough—you will have to do better than that." As Ev finished speaking, another entity materialized in the room.

Lady Destiny said calmly, "Hello Abarchus; turning over a new leaf are we?"

Abarchus stood from his chair in respect, having never met a true Ascended Being before. "Lady Destiny—I must say, I am surprised that you would reveal yourself in person to me."

"Well, you are on my ship; and I know you could feel my presence in your mind," she replied.

Abarchus took his opportunity to plead his case to an Ascended Being saying courteously, "Please allow me to beseech my case; I understand you have the ability to see all," She nodded at him to continue as Everett just sat and listened.

He laid his cards on the table. "I know that I must pay for the acts I have helped commit; before I do, I want a chance to make something right. As you would understand, Genesis's orders to me on this ship were severe; he wanted both infants and their mothers killed. This was an act I could no longer bring myself to be a part of, and I know that Castell sensed that too."

Lady Destiny put up her hand and spoke kindly to him, "Step forward to me, Prior Abarchus." Abarchus complied, not knowing what was going to happen.

She placed her hand just above his bowed forehead; white light filled the room as Everett shielded his eyes. The light dissipated into a purplish type of twister that spiraled up and out of the room back into the universe. As Abarchus lifted his head and opened his eyes, Everett could see the Prior's eyes had been replaced with soft bluish grey human eyes. The burden of being a Prior of the Ori had been lifted from his soul.

Lady Destiny smiled at him. "There, that's much better."

Abarchus looked at his own hands with new eyes; and a new view on life—although he was somewhat shell shocked and said nothing.

Lady Destiny said to both of them, "For one to observe things differently, one must learn to see through new eyes. Everett, please show him the graciousness of your heart; I know he will want to make things right. Remember Abarchus, trust is earned, not taken. I make a promise to you that I will personally keep your family safe," and with that, she vanished.

Everett looked at him, "Okay, now you have my attention; what can you tell me?"

Abarchus beamed a knowing smile back to him with a simple one word answer, "Everything!"

Everett started with an easy one, "How many more soldiers are aboard my ship?"

Abarchus stated it factually. "Six more, but they would have gone to ground. One other thing that was taken from the Glassies was designs for your military uniforms; hence they are dressed in them for ease of moving about the ship."

Everett immediately got on the radio, "Greer, there are six other men dressed in our uniforms across the ship..."

Abarchus cut in quickly, "They will more likely be in pairs," he said.

Everett continued, "And they will probably be paired, but not necessarily, so keep a sharp eye out and use our surprise codeword around anyone you don't recognize." Unbeknownst to Abarchus, everyone who serves on Destiny has an embedded microchip that has their details, rather than the standard dog tags. It can be scanned within ten meters, and it is only removed once their tour is over. This helps to show the crew from anyone else on a scanner, and allowed Everett to see if Abarchus was on the level for real.

Greer responded, "Got it General, code word is set," He understood that the enemy would be listing in and knew exactly what Everett meant. He turned off his mike and said to Stevens behind him, "I want teams of three, and use the life scanners; they ain't chipped."

Stevens acknowledged Greer's command with a simple nod and made it happen.

On another part of the ship, two soldiers walked up to the guard outside Decca's holding cell and said, "We have orders from General Young to bring the prisoner to interrogation, now!"

Without a radio message from Everett, the Marine immediately knew something was wrong and brought his weapon up to fire, but he was quickly struck by a bullet just below his collarbone, knocking him to the ground—causing his head to strike the hard steel floor. Decca didn't know if they were going to kill him or what, but he did notice that the pistol of the shot Marine was exposed and would be fairly easy for him to obtain. As they opened the cell, Decca fell forward imitating some form of drugging effect. With his large size, the men strained when they went to pick him up, but he struggled with them drunkenly, managing to get close enough to fall across the unconscious, bleeding Marine—and grabbed the pistol, hiding it in his pants quickly.

One of the Ori solders said, "Looks like they've drugged him with something; probably to make him easier to deal with," as they struggled to lift him and drag him along; inwardly, Decca smiled hearing the comment.

As the trio made their way back to the front of Destiny the long way, Decca knew it would be easy to take both of these men out. The only thing that stopped him was that Destiny would alert the crew if she detected any weapons fire. He decided to allow them to take him wherever they intended to go, and then he would act. It took some time, but finally they reached the Ori's meeting point.

One of the soldiers said, "Watch him while I make contact," and he quickly vanished from sight.

This was Decca's chance; standing up he said, "You know, the ship will detect any weapons fire or attempt to beam out, so I don't know how this is going to end for you."

Unfortunately for the Ori soldier, he walked up to the unrestrained General to answer him. In a flash, Decca knocked the pistol from his hand and punched him hard on the side of his face, breaking the soldier's jaw. He quickly got behind the wounded man, grabbed his head and broke his neck with a sickening twist.

"One down, one to go," he said with a sly grin, as he armed himself with the soldier's weapons, and scurried away.

It wasn't long before another Marine discovered the wounded guard at the holding cell and called for help, reporting that Decca had escaped. The wounded soldier had regained consciousness, although somewhat groggy and told of the two Marines who shot him. The message was passed onto Greer quickly.

Decca had cautiously made his way through the ship without any further contact with anyone. He was smart enough to know not to draw attention by getting in a fight as he had decided to pay an old acquaintance a visit; Ginn. Locating her wasn't too hard as he knew where their quarters were, and he had a life scanner from the dead solder. Hiding across from the room, he detected five life signs in the room; not knowing who, he quickly found a better hiding spot from where he could see and waited. His patience was rewarded a short time later as Eli stepped out of the room, holding Lala, followed by Ginn. Behind her, Decca blinked twice as though he was looking at a ghost, seeing Te'arly holding baby Hadri'an. Eli handed his daughter back to Ginn, and kissed them both goodbye, heading off down the corridor.

After Eli had disappeared, he decided the best entrance was to simply knock on the door and hoped that they would just think it was Eli coming back. He drew one of his two pistols, and headed on over to the door.

Ginn opened the door saying, "Okay Eli, what did you for..." and stopped mid sentence, freezing in fear, as Decca pointed the gun at her.

He said calmly, "Hello Ginn, mind if I come in?" as he walked in and shut the door.

Ginn backed up and sat down on the bed clutching Lala, unable to speak for a moment from fear. Finally she got out shakily, "Please, don't hurt us!"

Decca turned his attention to Te'arly, "Well this is a surprise; I thought I already killed you?"

Te'arly answered directly staring him down, "You did; but someone else has other plans for us, and the likes of you!"

Decca looked at the two women in front of him holding their babies close. He said to Te'arly kindly, "Please, sit down with Ginn."

Te'arly did as instructed, believing that this may be the last thing she and Ginn would ever do, so she asked point blank, "If you are you going to kill us please, I beg of you, don't hurt the children; they have no part in this war, just get it over with!"

Decca had been a part of some horrific atrocities, but this time something else cut through his mind: an image of the Goa'uld slaying his wife and child before him. He tried to point the gun at Ginn as she closed her tearing eyes cradling Lala, but found himself staring at an image of his beloved first wife, holding their child just after birth. Decca's hand began to shake as years of suppressed emotions broke out from a locked part of his mind and came crashing through his tainted soul. This man who had shown no mercy to many finally succumbed to hidden emotions and broke down, crumbling to the floor in tears.

In a flash, Te'arly pulled a loaded pistol from the drawer of the coffee table a few feet from the bed and pointed it at Decca's head. She was scared, but in control.

Decca looked up at her and said through the pain, "I'm sorry for what I have done; please end it for me!"

By now Ginn had also armed herself from the gun in the bedside dresser. Decca looked at her and said loudly, "Just kill me now!"

Ginn was about to fire when the door suddenly sprang open and two soldiers stood there weapons aimed. Instinctively Decca spun around, recognizing one who had taken him from the cell—he knew they were Ori, not Marines—as did Te'arly, who always made a point of knowing and remembering all the names and faces of everyone on the ship.

His immediate reaction, like Te'arly and Ginn, was to protect the children. Still holding the pistol in his hand, he lunged at them and fired, killing the closest one. The second one fired back, hitting Decca several times at near-point blank range. As their world went into slow motion, Te'arly and Ginn both nearly emptied the mags in their pistols at the still standing soldier, peppering him with many fatal rounds across his body.

With both of them down, Te'arly knelt down to the severely wounded Decca and asked, "You protected us; why?"

Decca coughed out blood, as Te'arly's instinct was to hold pressure on his wounds, while Ginn held both the unharmed children and a gun on him. He managed to get out, "I'm sorry...for the...pain I caused," he coughed up more blood, "Your children... b..b...brought me back...from...the dark place I was in," he struggled with another breath. "Please Te'arly...forgive me!"

Of all the traits Te'arly had, her compassion and forgiveness were unconditional; regardless of the soul who asked. She said with a slight tear, "You saved our babies, and us," she looked back at Ginn who nodded; then said unconditionally,

"We forgive you..."

Greer and his men arrived at the door to find Te'arly still holding pressure on his wounds. Decca moved his weakening arm to Te'arly's hand upon him and gently pushed it away.

In his last breath he said to her, "My wife is...calling...me," and they were the final words of General Decca Traise.

Greer asked, "You guys okay?"

Ginn was shaking holding both Lala and Hadri'an, as she dropped the pistol on the bed; Te'arly was covered in Decca's blood, but a stillness had come over her.

Te'arly said, "We're okay Ron," she paused for a minute then said, "He saved us—it must have been something about the children that opened his mind again; but, he gave his life to save us."

Greer reported back to Everett, "General, all six Ori are down or captured; Traise is dead, but there is one hell of story behind that," he helped Te'arly up, "Let's get you washed up," he said gently to her.

Greer helped Te'arly to wash, seeing that she was somewhat shaky on her feet. He said, "You know, I heard what you said to him. You are the strongest woman I have ever had the honor to know; there is no way I could have forgiven someone like that."

Te'arly replied, "He saved our lives and our children; he came with the intention to take them, but couldn't. Everyone deserves a second chance, even if it is with their last breath—that is what believing in unconditional love means Ronald; unconditional," Te'arly shed a few tears as she washed off the blood on her hands, for a man's soul that had been lost; and finally found. Little did she know at that point in her life, that several Ascended Beings including Lady Destiny, watched and agreed on Te'arly's final act of her physical life; Ascension. She would eventually become one of them after her life's journey.

Everett was still sitting with Abarchus gathering information about Genesis's ship and any weaknesses it may have. He was told that during its construction, the Ori tried many different ways to destroy it, and each time, they corrected any weakness. It was going to be one tough ship to destroy or disable, no matter which way they went about it.

Everett turned his attention to saving Castell. "So you're saying that Genesis wants me on his ship, so he can destroy Destiny in front of me and Castell, is that how I understand it?" Ev was afraid of the answer.

Abarchus replied, "Along with everyone you care about aboard, yes. There may be a way though; Castell has regained some of his powers, especially after your ships took out many Priors—as this has left Genesis struggling to keep his reign of power over the Ori. He has been trying to convert Castell to Origin, believing he will become an Ascended Orici and take the ultimate control over the Ori. Of course, Castell was somewhat harder to contain than he thought; this has lead to many Priors being used collectively to control him and suppress his abilities. Now that many have been killed, Genesis is slowly losing his grip over Castell—but Castell still isn't strong enough to fight him alone," he paused for a moment, then said:

"But both of you together; that is a different story"

Everett thought for a moment, but he knew this is what he had been trained for by the Valeyians. He said, "Okay, let me think about this for a few moments," as he got up and left the room.

Outside he made a call to the bridge, "Eli, this is Everett; come in."

Eli responded, "Yes General?"

"Eli, send a message to all ships; do not attack Genesis's ship; I repeat, do not attack Genesis's ship! Understand Eli?" he waited for a response.

Eli said, "Loud and clear General, I'll pass on the order immediately," Eli hailed the other ships to pass on the message, even though he didn't understand why.

Everett walked back into the interrogation room and sat before Abarchus. "Okay, what do you need now?"

Abarchus took a deep breath and sighed, "I need to bring Destiny to heed in front of Genesis's ship; then lower your shields so we can beam onboard." He knew asking would provoke a severe response from Everett.

And it did, with him leaning across the table saying bluntly, "Are you fucking kidding me? Drop the shields in front of his ship? The moment we do, we're all dead!" he was fuming at this request.

Abarchus put up his hands up in defense and said, "General Young, he wants you alive to see their demise; I can assure you he will not fire if he believes that I am delivering you as he has ordered. This is what he has to believe. I need your cooperation to help you win this fight, no matter how absurd it sounds." He was right and Everett knew it; he just didn't want to accept it.

Finally, he conceded, even though this was his worst nightmare coming true. "Alright, but you need to give me some time to explain this; or it won't happen," he stood up, "I'll be back in a few minutes," he headed out of the room angrily again.

Everett got on the ship's com and called Apollo 2011, asking to be beamed aboard. He was gone before the com disconnected. Sitting down with General Landry and Colonel Mitchell, he outlined the plan Abarchus had put forward.

Hank asked, "Can the destroyer cover Destiny if we agree to do this? If they can't, then there is no way it's going to happen. Our plan was to do an all out attack run and bombard him with everything we have, all at once."

Cameron asked, "I don't get why those destroyers, that can take out a planet, can't take out his ship?"

Everett answered, "It's more complicated than that; the shielding is part Valeyian, and part Ori with something else mixed in. The destroyers have only managed minimal damage so far before having to retreat; even they have their limitations." He then added, "Warenz has theorized that a decent explosion into the shields would create a weakness that would allow them to blast through enough to do serious damage, or destroy it."

Hank inquired, "What are we talking, Mark IX or bigger?"

Everett answered carefully, "Much, much bigger."

Hank shook his head saying angrily, "For God's sake, just tell me how much bigger?!"

Everett looked frustrated, but answered him. "Nearly as much a bang as Galassie gave off, Ur'torina Drive kind of bang; that's how much—far more than any nuke we have!" he yelled back, before there was a moment's silence.

Cameron asked seriously, "Would an F-302's drive be big enough?" he looked at them both in turn. "We could always set it to blow and pilot it remotely from here."

Hank calmed down and asked Cameron, "Can we fly them remotely?"

Cameron had already thought of it. "We could link the navigation to one of our simulators here, and fly it that way; I might need a bit of help sorting out the details, but it should be possible, I'll call Sam," he said as he reached for his radio.

Hank made a decision quickly. "Okay Colonel, get Carter and make it happen. Now, Everett; as long as Warenz can cover you, I don't think we have much of a choice but to follow this through. At least it may buy us some time to get this other plan together. I understand the cost of this to you personally if it goes wrong; but we have basically run out of options. Like the old saying—the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Hank walked over to him and shook his hand, "Good luck Everett; God's speed!"

In this moment, General Everett Young knew his own destiny for the first time, maybe in his life. No matter which way this was to turn out, he had to act. This was the path before him that Valhalla had seen in her own visions; and now it would be up to him alone as to which way that path turned. In a strange twist, he felt a stillness and calm in his mind the likes of he had never before experienced. It was then that he began to realize, time was standing still; everything around him had frozen—people, machines, everything. He walked softly across the bridge of Apollo, past the frozen crew and peered out the main screen into space; he found the perfect moment of pure silence and understanding within the universe. It all crashed around him like a freight train as Castell called through to his mind;

"Everett, hurry!"

Life sprung back and Everett felt himself being beamed back aboard Destiny, directly in front of Abarchus: he said quickly, "Okay, let's do this. But first, you don't look like a Prior; we need to fix that." He stood in front of Abarchus and covered his eyes with both of his hands for a moment. Using the teachings of the Valeyians, he was able to change Abarchus's eyes back before revealing them to him. Everett said, "Now, that takes care of that, but it's only temporary; I have no idea how long it will last."

Abarchus's eyes had reverted back to a Prior's, but the rest of him had remained. "I may look the part Everett," he said, "but he will see through it fairly quickly. I will do my best not to give it away," he pulled up the hood on his coat and headed off with Everett to the bridge.

There was stunned silence on the bridge as Everett walked in, followed closely by Abarchus.

Everett said to the stunned faces of Eli, Nick, and Franklin, "He's on our side now and not a Prior; but I need you all to behave as though he is in control and still a Prior; and he has something to tell all of you," he allowed Abarchus to stand in front of him.

Abarchus pulled down his hood and rubbed his bald head with a stroke of his hand saying, "I am not here to cause harm, or convert you to Origin. Lady Destiny has seen to that, and given me my previous life back. Many years ago I was friends with Castell; it was seeing him that helped to restore my humanity as it were and oppose Genesis. My mission was to bring General Young to heed upon Genesis's ship and for him to watch the destruction of all those he loved dearly; as you may now see, I am attempting to prevent that. I need your cooperation to help Genesis believe that I have taken control of Destiny and brought her to bear before him. This will require us to be in front his ship, well within weapons range and unshielded," he paused for a moment to allow them to take in what he had just asked; no one said anything, but tensions on the bridge were immense.

He continued, "I believe the Valeyian Destroyer will be covering us, but hidden from sight. Our plan is to get General Young onto Genesis's ship so that he and Castell can fight Genesis together. After he is defeated, do what you will with his ship; but my advice would be total annihilation," he stood back behind Everett.

Eli blurted out, "Hey, just a thought: what if this all goes wrong; we'd be all seriously cluster fucked!" his anger was plainly evident for everyone to see as he continued, "No shields? No weapons armed? This is bullshit! We might as well just all bend over and get fu..."

"Eli; enough!" yelled Everett sternly, "This is the plan whether you like it or not; and I don't like it anymore than you do, but if we don't try something—anything, the whole universe will pay." He composed himself and found a slight smile, "I understand Eli, we all have so much to lose here; but we are caught between a rock and a hard place, and there is no other way," Eli settled and nodded to Everett, as he ordered, "Franklin; take us in..."

Messages were sent to Warenz's ship, Ha'tinge and Apollo as Destiny traveled in FTL for the short trip back to the twin planets. Franklin brought her around and faced Genesis's ship head on at 100km distance, shields down, and weapons unarmed as instructed.

Before Abarchus opened the com, Everett said to everyone there, "Alright people remember; act, don't think!"

Abarchus opened the com and hailed Genesis's ship. "My Lord Genesis; I give you Destiny and her crew, unharmed for your mercy."

Genesis came on screen; Everett could feel his intentions toward the crew, but so far, Genesis took no action—only saying, "I see the infants and their mothers are still alive Abarchus; I can feel their presence among the ship. I am not so disappointed as I first thought—this gives me a better opportunity. Bring Everett to me with his beloved and child, now!"

Abarchus bowed and said emotionlessly, "Yes my Lord, prepare to beam us out at once," as he turned, under his hood he gave a quick shake of his head and expression to Everett to say, 'This wasn't part of our plan', and Everett could do nothing to stop it either.

They could clearly see Castell, unbound, seated beside Genesis. He appeared to be in a state of meditation, and did not seem his normal self. Eli figured that would be right for the circumstances he was in.

The next thing they all knew, Abarchus, Everett, Te'arly and little Hadri'an were beamed directly to the bridge of Genesis's ship. What Genesis didn't know was at that point, the Valeyian databank on Destiny began to light up and buzz with an intensity never before seen. Warenz received a message directly to his ship, hidden in a quantum space pocket, just off Destiny's starboard aft wing, at about 200km. It read;

"Everett, Te'arly, Hadri'an, Abarchus: taken to bridge of Prime Origin; quantum link enabled."

Warenz called to his first officer, "I want eyes and ears on that bridge now!"

His officer responded immediately, "Yes Commander, opening micro channel."

Warenz watched the hazy image appear on his main screen of the destroyer's bridge. He asked again of his right hand man, "Can you isolate Te'arly and Hadri'an's bio signatures? We need to be ready to pluck them out should they be endangered; I will not allow an infant and his mother's life to be taken on my watch!" Warenz was furious, but remained calm knowing not to give the game away unless there was no other option.

"Commander, I have their bio signatures locked ready for immediate transport on your command," said his first officer sternly.

Warenz nodded to him and said, "The first sign of trouble, get them out."

His officer asked, "Shall I also lock onto Castell and Everett, Commander?"

The Commander replied, "We could be detected by the Ori, locking onto Castell; this is his and Everett's fight, and they must face this demon and follow it through, no matter the consequences to themselves." He knew some wars just had to be fought in order to return balance—and this was one...

Standing and facing Genesis for the first time in person, Everett could feel his powers and knew this wasn't going to be easy to beat him.

He said to Genesis simply, "Okay, here I am; let's do this!"

Genesis smiled, and immediately forced Everett onto his knees before him, using his Ori powers. "Now you will bow to Origin; now you will bow to me!"

Ev couldn't believe the suppression he felt upon him; no matter how hard he tried to resist, it was like a building was pushing down upon his shoulders. In defiance he got out the words, "Never!"

Genesis let him up saying, "Oh, such defiance—tell me, Everett; have you ever seen the blood of a child spray across their mother's face?" a heartless Ori soldier ripped Hadri'an off Te'arly and held a knife to his throat, as Genesis continued his torture toward them, "I only have to give the word, and well—need I have to explain?"

Everett Immediately bowed down to Genesis and begged for their lives, "Please—this is between you, me and Castell; they have no part in this war, let them go!" he stayed down at Genesis's feet, praying for a miracle; and got one!

On the bridge of Ha'tinge, Warenz punched the console before him and yelled angrily, "Get them out now!"

Te'arly and Hadri'an just vanished from the bridge of Genesis's ship; from seemingly nowhere and reappeared on the bridge of Ha'tinge before him. Te'arly rushed to pick up Hadri'an who was on the floor, bundled up unharmed in his white blanket, but crying.

Warenz walked to her calmly, "Te'arly, I am Commander Warenz of the Valeyian Destroyer Ha'tinge. You and Hadri'an are safe," he smiled at her and held Te'arly up as she collapsed with fear into his chest, crying.

Back on the ship, Prime Origin, the moment of their disappearance was used for cover as Everett leapt to Castell and grabbed his hand, immediately creating a Valeyian soul meld with him.

Time froze in that instant.

Everett found himself seated on a large carved rock in what could be described as an endless Japanese rock garden, facing Castell. The moment was a feeling of complete serenity and peace, surrounded by an unconditional understanding of everything.

"Hello my good friend, welcome to my mind," said Castell with a beaming smile. Everett's first thoughts were of Te'arly, but Castell already knew that and answered, "They are with Warenz on his ship; he pulled them out through a small tear in space. A little like a portable version of a Stargate; anyway my friend, they are safe and protected," he watched Everett breath a big sigh of relief.

"Thank you Castell. Now how do we defeat this asshole?" Ev asked plainly.

Castell answered simply in his playful style, "With our minds, my friend; you know, like how you Earthlings say, 'use the force'," he laughed at Everett's expression, but then said, "This moment in time is about to end, Ev; get ready to do battle!"

Back on Destiny a more subdued battle was happening between Nick, Eli, and Franklin on the bridge, over the issue of reinstating Destiny's Stargate to operational.

Nick made his point angrily, "We know that ship has a Stargate and there are two people over there who have some strange power to activate it by waving their hands around. I'm just saying Eli, if we bring it back online, it may be a means of escape for them!"

Eli fought back with emotions running high, "But we are too close to use it; we're only about 100km away, too much could go wrong!"

Nick shook his head, "You're not thinking straight Eli—that's only if there are two receiving gates close by; the connection may jump if something interferes with it, like a solar flare. They would be dialing from his gate to ours!"

Franklin added, "He's right Eli, the distance doesn't matter, but being this close we may get a power surge. To be honest, I am only guessing though." The three of them all looked at each other.

Eli conceded, "Okay; fire it up," they brought Destiny's Stargate back online...

As time returned to the present on Genesis's ship, Genesis watched as Te'arly and Hadri'an rapidly vanished within a circle of bluish white light surrounding them. Everett had locked his hand around Castell's forearm, and vice versa, hauling Castell to his feet in front of Genesis. A guard quickly moved toward Everett, but was disarmed by Abarchus, who then threw the guard's Earth like pistol to Everett. Castell drew on his and Everett's combined strength to overpower Genesis's ability to use the might of the Ori to hold them back.

Everett fired four rounds from the pistol and with Castell subduing Genesis's power to shield himself, all four struck their target. Genesis dropped his staff as he fell to the ground; Ev fired more shots at the staff until it was destroyed. Castell held back the Ori's power, but now he had help from the Ascended Ancients. In a joint effort, the Ascended Ancients and living Valeyians focused all of their combined energies upon the converted Ori followers,

And awakened them to the truth of the Ori's corrupting power.

The end of the Origin and the Ori, had finally come: Forever!

Everett struggled to stand, with Castell now holding him up and saying, "Whoa there big fella, take it easy!" and put his arm around him for support.

Everett said weakly, "Talk about having the shit knocked out of you, how do you guys do it?!"

Castell smiled at his friend, "You'll be fine in a couple of days Ev, your energy will come back to you."

Everett looked at the lifeless Genesis on the floor of the bridge, "Is he dead?"

Castell nodded, "Yep, cactus!"

Ev asked, "How did you...?" Castell cut him short.

"Hmmm, joint effort I believe; I'll explain it some other time. Let's just say I had a little help," replied Castell. As they walked past Abarchus he asked, "Are you coming Abarchus?"

Abarchus smiled. His eyes had reverted back to normal, and his life was once again his own as he replied, "No, I have to clean up this mess; I think the captain can go down with his ship too. I'll contact you on Destiny when I get everyone else off this nightmare of a ship, then you can destroy it!"

The Stargate on Destiny suddenly sprung to life once again; two tired souls walked through, carrying each other. The loyal crew of Destiny ran to their aid and helped them.

One of those was Ronald, who asked, "Is it over?"

Everett smiled at him and said, "Finally Ron, for the Ori, it's over."

Ron called the bridge, "Eli, shields up!"

Everett said, "Get me to the bridge, there's one last thing we need to do."

On the bridge, Everett stood and looked out the window at the tiny speck in the distance. Abarchus had removed everyone from the ship, but had left the body of Genesis where he lay, on the bridge and lowered the shields. He then turned to Ronald and said;

"Sergeant, destroy that ship once and for all!"

Ron smiled as he readied to push the button and said,

"With pleasure General!"

Within moments, Genesis and his massive ship was obliterated in a ball of white light as Destiny sped off to avoid the blast radius.

Everett gave a relaxing sigh and said loudly to everyone;

"Finally, it's over!"