It was better than being stuck in that underground, broken-down-despite-their-best-efforts facility.
But while it was kinda cool to see exactly how their new bodies could outperform their old ones, and it was fun to get distracted from depression with pretend missions, each time they came back to the complex and Harlan and realized all over again that this was now the only SGC they’d ever have....
They all tried not to think about it.
**********
They refused to take Harlan with them anywhere and besides, he didn’t want to go – he wanted them to stay. There was nothing he could do but be unhappy, worried, and slightly resentful every time they went off-world, regardless of how well their mission went.
Harlan spent a lot of time wishing that he had the guts to destroy the batteries, and that Sam wouldn’t have been able to just make new ones.
**********
Their first new mission was to Kosyn, a world rich in natural beauty beyond belief – ultra-rich colors, waterfalls like fairy tales and fields of flowers to take your breath away. They found a village of extremely xenophobic people, whose reaction to Daniel’s “we’re peaceful explorers” speech was to set him on fire. When he rolled out the fire and arose, patches of bare metal gleaming in the sun, the villagers ran. All but one, who, they quickly discovered, had apparently died of a non-dead-Daniel induced heart failure.
**********
A handful of missions in, they found themselves on a planet of the type for which MALPs were invented. They barely escaped the Jaffa guarding the gate. Jack never told anyone how much fun he’d had fighting for his life that day, but they all noticed that his mood had lifted for a while after.
**********
Then there was Tesuola, where the inhabitants were fun, welcoming, and extremely sexually oriented. They conducted the “Ceremony of Invitation” in honor of the team, which could basically be described as a town-wide orgy. Before, Jack would have made polite excuses and gotten them the heck out of there. But now and then were very far away, and they stayed.
Blankets and plush cushions were spread in various places throughout the square and a field a short distance away. Wine and food were brought out and set up buffet-style.
Carter and Teal’c followed some villagers to a large assembly of cushions in a corner of the square.
Jack tried to romance Daniel, who demonstrated his level of interest by grabbing and going off with a very pretty boy of about twenty.
Jack could feel every wrinkle.
He wandered a little, and then sat by himself in a hidden alcove, where he was sure not to be spotted as he watched Daniel.
The night after they got back, Daniel went to Jack and cried into his shoulder.
“None of this is the same, Jack. We’ve lost so much.”
“I know,” Jack said. “It’s awful.”
Jack gently lifted Daniel’s head and looked into his eyes.
And with calm conviction and a small sense of hope apparent in his words Jack murmured, “I’ve still got you.”
Daniel gazed back at Jack as though he’d been waiting for those words his entire life.
**********
Jack found he could manage a little better after that, now that he had Daniel. They went to an uninhabited planet together sometimes, just the two of them, and for a few brief moments Jack could imagine that this was the life he would have chosen.
**********
And then came the mission to Juna – P2X-729 – where Daniel knelt in front of a man with a staff and shook his head at Jack.
Jack would have killed every man in that place to save Daniel, damn all the consequences, except he knew that Daniel was as weary as he was. Tired in the depths of his soul.
And later, as he looked into his own face telling him that he had no one left to lead... as he could feel his imitation body failing... he felt peace.
no subject
It was better than being stuck in that underground, broken-down-despite-their-best-efforts facility.
But while it was kinda cool to see exactly how their new bodies could outperform their old ones, and it was fun to get distracted from depression with pretend missions, each time they came back to the complex and Harlan and realized all over again that this was now the only SGC they’d ever have....
They all tried not to think about it.
**********
They refused to take Harlan with them anywhere and besides, he didn’t want to go – he wanted them to stay. There was nothing he could do but be unhappy, worried, and slightly resentful every time they went off-world, regardless of how well their mission went.
Harlan spent a lot of time wishing that he had the guts to destroy the batteries, and that Sam wouldn’t have been able to just make new ones.
**********
Their first new mission was to Kosyn, a world rich in natural beauty beyond belief – ultra-rich colors, waterfalls like fairy tales and fields of flowers to take your breath away. They found a village of extremely xenophobic people, whose reaction to Daniel’s “we’re peaceful explorers” speech was to set him on fire. When he rolled out the fire and arose, patches of bare metal gleaming in the sun, the villagers ran. All but one, who, they quickly discovered, had apparently died of a non-dead-Daniel induced heart failure.
**********
A handful of missions in, they found themselves on a planet of the type for which MALPs were invented. They barely escaped the Jaffa guarding the gate. Jack never told anyone how much fun he’d had fighting for his life that day, but they all noticed that his mood had lifted for a while after.
**********
Then there was Tesuola, where the inhabitants were fun, welcoming, and extremely sexually oriented. They conducted the “Ceremony of Invitation” in honor of the team, which could basically be described as a town-wide orgy. Before, Jack would have made polite excuses and gotten them the heck out of there. But now and then were very far away, and they stayed.
Blankets and plush cushions were spread in various places throughout the square and a field a short distance away. Wine and food were brought out and set up buffet-style.
Carter and Teal’c followed some villagers to a large assembly of cushions in a corner of the square.
Jack tried to romance Daniel, who demonstrated his level of interest by grabbing and going off with a very pretty boy of about twenty.
Jack could feel every wrinkle.
He wandered a little, and then sat by himself in a hidden alcove, where he was sure not to be spotted as he watched Daniel.
The night after they got back, Daniel went to Jack and cried into his shoulder.
“None of this is the same, Jack. We’ve lost so much.”
“I know,” Jack said. “It’s awful.”
Jack gently lifted Daniel’s head and looked into his eyes.
And with calm conviction and a small sense of hope apparent in his words Jack murmured, “I’ve still got you.”
Daniel gazed back at Jack as though he’d been waiting for those words his entire life.
**********
Jack found he could manage a little better after that, now that he had Daniel. They went to an uninhabited planet together sometimes, just the two of them, and for a few brief moments Jack could imagine that this was the life he would have chosen.
**********
And then came the mission to Juna – P2X-729 – where Daniel knelt in front of a man with a staff and shook his head at Jack.
Jack would have killed every man in that place to save Daniel, damn all the consequences, except he knew that Daniel was as weary as he was. Tired in the depths of his soul.
And later, as he looked into his own face telling him that he had no one left to lead... as he could feel his imitation body failing... he felt peace.
He was ready to die.