Thanks to Nance for her proofreading, and thank you all for your reviews! For those reading Lord of Beasts...I am actually working on a chapter for that story. It should be up in the next few days!

It took every ounce of his training to not fidget. He stood erect; his shoulders back, chest out, chin up, arms and legs straight...and he waited.

"At ease, Major." The General finally said, tossing the paper he'd been reading onto his desk.

Gwaine let out a quiet breath and shifted into the Parade Rest stance. He glanced at General Landry, but didn't say a word, waiting to hear what the man would say.

Landry stood up and moved around his desk, standing in front of Gwaine. "Are you sure about this, son?"

He nodded, "I am. It's something I probably should have done a while back."

"Yeah, probably, but I think we both know that wouldn't have been a good move for you at the time. It just seems a bit odd that you would come to this decision now, considering all that's going on. Unless, perhaps, there's something you know that you aren't tell me."

Closing his eyes, Gwaine fought the internal battle within himself. "There is." He finally admitted. "I have a hard enough time just wrapping my own head around it, Sir, that I would like to present it one single time, during the debriefing."

"Could you at least give me a bit of a heads-up about the nature of this information?" Landry pressed. The last thing he needed was to be blindsided by some completely unknown factor. The Milky Way Galaxy was at war for its freedom.

"It's about the Orici, Sir, and Merlin's connection to some of the issues that have been going on."

"I see. By the way, where is Colonel Emrys? "

"He's resting and recovering, Sir."

"...But you aren't going to tell me where, are you?"

"Respectfully...no, Sir. He has given me permission to disclose some aspects of his condition, because he feels it will help against the Ori."

The General leaned back against his desk, with his arms crossed. "I imagine with the help of your buddy who happens to own a Tel'tak, you boys are going to be continuing on your own with all of this."

Gwaine kept his eyes down. He didn't want to give Landry the impression that he was going to be a vigilante, but in all honesty, that was the closest description he could think of. He nodded his head once.

"Good." The smile on Landry's face caught Gwaine by surprise. "I actually spoke with Mr. Woolsey of the IOA this morning. It seems Colonel Emrys is well acquainted with many of the 'higher-up' British Officials who have been recently brought in on all of this. They are trying to track him down to see if he is willing to head a UNIT-sponsored SG team, and since his last known location was here...Well, you can see the pickle that's put me in.

A roguish half-smirk graced Gwaine face. The whole world seemed to suddenly be brighter. He wondered if Merlin had somehow seen what would come about, or if it was just destiny's way of setting things straight. "It's a good thing he hired me as his personal assistant then, eh?"

Landry chuckled, his own smile matching Gwaine's. "I was wondering about that. Alright then..." He turned and picked up the letter, skimming over it again. "It'll take a couple of months to fully process you out, but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle, considering your history. Until then, Major, I'm removing you from SG-3 and assigning you to liaison with this new UNIT team. Your mother was a British National, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. I think they'll like that. After the briefing, you're to report to Mr. Woolsey. He'll get you set up from there."

The filing cabinet drawer closed with a snap, and Carolyn's thumb pushed in the locking mechanism to secure it. Her back was to the door of her office, so she was unaware of another's presence behind her, until strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"I thought I'd find you here." A voice whispered in her ear. The husky tone made her heart quicken. She leaned back slightly, welcoming Gwaine's embrace. "Did you get in any trouble for what happened?"

Turning around to face him, she threaded her arms under his and tilted her head up for a kiss. "A slight reprimand from the attending physician on call at the hospital, but as far as they are concerned, Colonel Emrys checked himself out against medical advice. There's not much they can do."

"Awesome." He said, returning the kiss. "Have I told you lately, that you are the most beautiful woman in the galaxy?"

Carolyn smiled coyly. She pulled out of his arms and moved to her desk, where she started sifting through files. "How'd the meeting with the General go?"

He ran his hand over his scalp. Moving over to a chair, he flopped down. "Good. Better than I thought it would."

"So, you'll be processed out then?"

"Yeah. 'Might take a while, but he already had an idea for where to put me until then. I get the feeling someone..." His brown eyes gave the doctor a pointed look. "...gave him a bit of a 'heads-up' about my resignation."

She shrugged, admitting to nothing. "We should get back downstairs for the debriefing. It starts in fifteen minutes." Gathering the files in her hands, she walked over to the door and waited for Gwaine. "Did you tell Mr. Pendragon, or any of the others, what you told me?"

"Not yet. Arthur's going to be livid, when he finds out." Standing up, he reached for her outstretched hand and felt the tension in his shoulders melt. The information he planned to reveal weighed heavily on his mind. He was nervous. It wasn't every day you told one of your best friends that his psychotic, sorceress sister had been returned from the dead.

The first hour was filled mostly with a recap of what had transpired throughout the last two weeks. The initial debriefings having already taken place since the time of the battle, in more intimate settings.

The normally large Briefing Room felt small and claustrophobic, with so many people waiting for their turn to speak. Every seat at the large, oblong-shaped table was filled. The polished, dark red-stained surface was nearly invisible underneath files, scattered papers, coffee cups, and computer tablets. In the center, pitchers of ice water sat half-empty on serving trays from the cafeteria. Along the windowed wall that overlooked the Gate Room on level twenty-eight of the complex, men either stood or leaned on the window ledges. They weren't able to hear the Gate whooshing to life in the room below through the thick, glass panes, but its blue, rippling light cast them in slightly silhouetted contrast to the stark white of the fluorescent bulbs overhead.

The opposite wall held maps of the Milky Way, pinpricked with location marks and tiny flags. It reminded Gwaine of a game board, even though what they faced wasn't some strategy game. It was a true battle for life and freedom.

At the head of the table sat General Landry. The lights of the room glinted off the metal adornment on his collar. His hands were clasped in his lap, while he listened intently to a man three seats down on his right.

Colonel Emerson was finishing his report on the current status of the repair schedule for Prometheus. Landry nodded and turned to Dr. Lam, who was sitting next to Emerson.

Carolyn glanced through her papers, placing a dot of ink beside each name of the wounded SGC personnel still in her care, as she gave an update on their condition and prognosis. No one mentioned the casualties, still fresh in all their minds. The list of men and women lost had already been presented earlier in the week. Families had been notified and arrangements made. The number of funerals and memorial services looming on the horizon was something no one wished to count.

Sitting across the table and a few chairs to the left from her, Gwaine felt a pang of guilt, while he listened to his girlfriend speak. He felt selfish for not having thought of how it all had affected her. She had been so strong for him, while he was wrapped up in his misery and indecision. After hearing her report, he was now more aware of her personal grief. Carolyn was one of the few in the room who had known nearly every name on that list. Being the Chief Medical Officer, every member of the SGC had passed through her office at some point, whether it was for treatment of injuries or sickness, or simply for a regular check-up. While there were many others on the medical staff who handled most of the day-to-day visits, it was her job to oversee it all.

When she was done, Landry turned to Colonels Mitchell and Carter, seated directly across from Gwaine, near the bottom end of the table. Mitchell recapped the adventure that Arthur had already told Gwaine about; the planet with the library and the Black Knight. They briefly grazed over the events surrounding the Supergate, and onto their rescue of Daniel Jackson, and Vala Mal Doran. Gwaine took note that, while Dr. Jackson was sitting between Emerson and Mitchell, Vala was conspicuously absent.

"Let me get this straight, Dr. Jackson..." Mr. Woolsey was an odd man; prim and proper in his three-piece suit. He adjusted his dark tie, as if the act of making certain it was straight gave him more authority for asking his question. The top of his head was completely bald and a neatly trimmed strip of dark hair, about three-inches wide, wrapped around the back from ear to ear. There wasn't a single strand out of place. His face was clean shaven, as if done by a professional barber, and his wire-rimmed glasses outlined his eyes in square shapes, with a slight roundness near the edges.

Gwaine bit down on his tongue to keep from smirking at the IOA lawyer, who was to be his new boss until his paperwork was processed. The shape of the glasses was almost a perfect match for the shape of the man's head, if it was turned on its side. Only the content of the continuing conversation kept Gwaine's mind from wandering further astray.

"...You had the opportunity to kill this 'Orici' just before you were rescued." He paused for dramatic effect, like a lawyer on a TV show would do in an attempt to unsettle a witness. "Why didn't you take it?"

Jackson leaned over the table and perched his elbows on either side of his stack of folders. He rifled his fingers through his hair. "I have already been over this. Adria is Vala's daughter. If we can somehow get through to her..."

Chaos erupted, as not only Woolsey, but Mitchell, Carter and others who Gwaine wasn't familiar with, began arguing over Jackson's action, or inaction, in the situation.

Gwaine couldn't stop the soft snort. Even if Jackson had taken the shot, he doubted it would have done much good. The number of times Morgana had miraculously recovered from supposedly fatal wounds in the past, was proof enough that she was harder to kill than she appeared. He felt Carolyn's eyes on him...as well as General Landry's. He gave the latter a barely imperceptible nod. His eyes shifted back to Carolyn, she smiled her encouragement.

"Major Dallon, earlier you mentioned you had some added information pertaining to this Orici." Landry's voice carried through the room, silencing everyone.

On Gwaine's immediate right, Arthur had been observing the entire affair with the same carefully schooled look he used to use, when he dealt with local lords and taxation issues. It was not that he wasn't interested in the topic or outcome, but that he had learned that the show of any emotion beyond polite interest could be misinterpreted. He was curious about the General's enquiry of the knight to Arthur's left. From Arthur's observation, Gwaine seemed a bit nervous, and he wondered with silent curiosity about an apologetic look the man shot him before sitting forward to speak.

Gwaine cough lightly, attempting to dislodge the frog that had suddenly taken up residence in his throat. "I believe so, Sir. Just before I was extracted from the sixth century, I was captured and tortured by Morgana. When I was on the Odyssey, during the battle I suffered what I thought at the time was a hallucination of...her. She said something, though, that was a bit odd. I didn't think much of it until back here at the SGC. I overheard SG-1 discussing this Adria. In the...vision, for lack of a better word...she said 'I have been reborn. I am the Orici.'"

He paused, subconsciously feeling Arthur go suddenly still.

"A vision?" Woolsey snickered, unimpressed and obviously making a mental note about Gwaine's state of mind. "Major, could it be that your mind somehow blended these events together?"

"If I had heard about this Orici beforehand, then yes, Mr. Woolsey, I would agree, but the battle took place a few days before I overheard SG-1. I spoke with Colonel Emrys about this." He said, continuing over the murmuring of whispers that had started around him. "From what he and Arthur have discovered, a creature he was familiar with, who was loyal to Morgana before her death, may have found its way to a Prior and then onto the Ori...carrying with it what we believe to have been the preserved body of Morgana."

From the corner of his eye, Gwaine could see Arthur's knuckles whiten, as they grasped the arm of the chair. It was the only outward sign that the former king gave of his unease.

"I see." Landry said, processing the new information. "Did this Morgana have anything special...in the way of powers or innate abilities...we should be aware of? If this is somehow linked, I mean."

"Yes, Sir. She shared similar abilities to what Colonel Emrys possesses, at the very least."

Mitchell scoffed, "...and you just decided to tell us now?

Landry looked to Colonel Carter for her input.

"Theoretically, it's not impossible. If they had a viable source of genetic material to somehow clone this Morgana in the same way the Ancients', or even the Asgard's, cloning technology works..." Normally, Carter would have continued onto a more detailed explanation, but the General cut her short.

"So, we may be dealing with, not only a genetic manipulation of a super Prior, but one who also has other unrecognized abilities of a Furling."

Arthur chuckled sourly. "...Not to mention, the complete mental instability my half-sister suffered from."

Gwaine sat back as the others all began to discuss and hypothesize over the implications. Arthur, finally discovering an element he was familiar with, joined in; running at full steam. The Ori, and other aliens out among the stars, was a foreign concept to him that he still wasn't comfortable with. Battling his own sister, on the other hand, was as natural as breathing itself.

"Hey!" He said into the phone, as Laney greeted him. "How are you holding up?"

"Better than last night. How'd the meetings go?" She asked anxiously.

"General took it pretty well. He's found a way for me to do what I need to, until all the red tape is taken care of. I'm going to have to head off to DC tomorrow afternoon to deal with some stuff at the Pentagon...Need me to come home tonight?"

"No. We're good. I got a lot of things taken care of, and I'm meeting with a couple of realtors tomorrow about the place...Start getting things working to put it on the market; make sure passports and shit are all in order, ya know? Oh, I found out there's going to be an auction middle of next month we can send the herd to, if we don't find a buyer for them..."

He listened to her ramble on for awhile, offering appropriate comments when necessary.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?" Laney finally asked.

"Mitchell's going to take me to get some parts for the Beast. So, I can try to get it running enough to limp home."

"I thought you were going to try and sneak off with Arthur and the boys?"

"Yeah...not happening. I revealed some stuff today that has him a bit perturbed with me at the moment. So, I've effectively been benched, while he cools down. Arthur, Leon, and Percival are heading out to retrieve a lost backpack. They should be back in a few days.

"I thought, once I got the Scout fixed, I'd try and take Carolyn out for a bite to eat before coming home, if that's okay?" He planned to hopefully run to the store beforehand and pick up something special, as a way of saying 'thanks' for all the support Carolyn had given to him. Smirking, he decided he'd try and get something for his sister, too.

Laney laughed, "Alright, I won't wait up for you, then. There's supposed to be another storm front moving in around midnight. So, don't feel bad if you can't make it home, since I know she lives closer to the Base."

Gwaine finally made it back to the house just after ten a.m. Mitchell had helped him to get the scout running finally, and he had offered his car for Gwaine to take his lady out for dinner. It was an unspoken apology for having walked in on the couple in the locker room. He reluctantly admitted that Dr. Lam had cornered him about the incident.

After a quick shower alone in said locker room, Gwaine had set out and stopped at a local grocery store, and picked up two bunches of flowers...red roses for Carolyn, and a mixed bouquet for his sister...before arriving on Carolyn's doorstep.

For the second night in over a year, Gwaine had slept soundly; wrapped up in the arms of his beautiful, island goddess. The morning had come with a bit of a frantic rush to get to the Base, give Mitchell his car back, touch base with Woolsey, and then, head home to grab a few things before his flight to D.C. with Mr. Woolsey that afternoon. The following morning they were to meet with some members of the IOA, and the infamous General Jack O'Neill, to discuss the entire situation.

As Gwaine pulled up in front of the house, he noticed a strange truck sitting in the drive. He stared at it with curiousity for a few moments, before climbing out of the Scout and trudging through the snow to the porch. The boys, obviously feeling much better, were having a snowball fight out in one of the fields. A discarded shovel leaning against the porch rail, told Gwaine they were slacking in their duties to clear the small walkway in front of the house.

He pondered briefly about admonishing them, but quickly decided he would just let them have their fun, as there was never much snow around Camelot, where they would be moving to. Making his way into the house, he was assaulted by the odor of cleaning products. The place looked like it had been assaulted by a whole team of housekeepers, and Gwaine wondered what had spurred his sister into an all-night cleaning binge.

Making his way into the kitchen, Laney looked up at him from some papers spread out in front of her. Across the table was a man, whom Gwaine was soon introduced to as a local realtor. The man had come to give them an initial assessment of value and marketing. After he left, Laney informed her brother that the man was the first of, at least, four interviews she had set up for the day.

"You're really rearing to go on this!" He commented to her. When Gwaine had entered the house, he'd originally stashed the flowers next to the television. Retrieving them, he offered them to his sister with a smile.

Laney accepted them with a nod and smile of her own. Never one to make a big fuss over gifts, she smelled them and began heading to the kitchen. "You have no idea how excited I am about it." In fact, she hadn't experienced this level of anticipation about a change in her life for as long as Gwaine could recall.

He headed toward his room, and hollered back over his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want me to try and stick around?"

"Hell, no! Toby's best friend from Wyoming is coming down with his family. They're heading to check out some of the 'history' on Route 66 for spring break, and invited him along. Greg and Randy are going to go spend the week with their grandparents."

"Are you sure that's wise, with everything going on?"

Laney rolled her eyes. "Please! They're even more pissed off with their asshole son than I am, right now. Honestly...I think I could use the break from everyone. It'll give me a whole week to myself to clean, pack and organize."

Gwaine's tongue was between his teeth, as he laughed, "Dream vacation! Well, if you need anything, you be sure to call someone, alright?"

"What's going to happen to me? I am going to be livin' la vida 'quiet life'...Can't get better than that."