|
|
Curtain
Call
The Goa'uld mothership loomed over
Deep inside the mountain
Major Samantha Carter crouched hidden in the corner of her lab, desperately
searching through her notes looking for something - anything that would save
them. It was just over a month since the Goa'uld motherships had arrived at
Earth. They had known they were coming but despite all their efforts they
hadn't been able to stop them. The Asgard were no where to be found, it had
been nearly a year since they had last heard from them, no one knew what had
happened to them but the searches had been called off long ago when their own
problems had become more pressing. And the Tok'ra, they were all but extinct,
Sam winced at the thought of her father's death - she had held him in her arms,
watched the life drain from him and whispered her goodbyes as he drew his last
breath. Before she even had a chance to register his death she'd been dragged
away to help with another emergency, forced to move on, to push him to the back
of her mind. Since then it had been nothing but pain. As she crouched in the
corner of her lab, desperately searching for a miracle her mind ran through all
the friends they'd lost. Janet; killed while trying to help SG-12 on a mission
six months ago, most of the Tok'ra, Bra'tac, the other Jaffa rebels, Jonas and
countless members of SG teams, all gone. Just a few hours ago she'd witnessed
General Hammond tortured to death as she hid in the ceiling hiding from the
The SGC was all but gone; Daniel was going to attempt to get to the storage
rooms to retrieve an Ancient device that he thought might be able to help them.
Teal'c was trying to find a way out of the mountain to get help - not that there
was anyone left out there. Most major cities had been wiped out long ago, and
Jack.Jack she had last seen running down a corridor shooting at a patrol of
Sam shook her head trying to regain her focus and find something to help them.
She closed her eyes in desperation - there was nothing, it was hopeless. She
could barely think she was so tired - so tired of fighting, of waiting to die,
her body was worn and a dull ache throbbed through it as a constant reminder of
everything that had happened.
She could hear the distant noises of
"Carter?" The familiar voice rang through her ears; it was him,
relief flooded through her system, the realisation that he was alive and here,
beside her.
"Jack?" She looked up at him, he looked awful, blood was pouring from
his side, his face was scarred and worn, he lent on the wall breathing heavily.
Closing the door behind him he eased himself so he was sitting next to her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her
voice full of concern.
"Ah you know, just thought I'd take a stroll." She smiled; he was
still making jokes despite their situation. Up close he looked even worse, his
face was ragged and his eyes contained only a whisper of the twinkle they had
once held - now they were stretched and tired - desperate for rest, for peace.
"So this is it huh?" he asked, but it wasn't a question. It was a
fact, they both knew it was the end, the place was swarming with
"How did things get this bad Jack?" she whispered, her voice full of
fear and anger. His smile shocked her, why was he smiling now of all times?
"Jack." He said as explanation to her look, "We must be about to
die if you're calling me that."
He gave a loud groan and clutched his side, "Let me see," she
insisted gently.
"It's just a scratch, got nipped by a staff blast on my way over
here."
"Why did you come? You should have stayed hidden, waited for word from
Teal'c or Daniel."
"Come on Sam, we both know its over, it's too late for last minute plans.
We couldn't think of anything six months ago so we won't think of anything
now."
"I know." She sighed and admitted sadly. "I just can't believe
that after everything we've been through its come to this, even though I knew
we were fighting a difficult battle I always thought we would make
it.that.that."
"Good would triumph over evil?" he grinned, "A bit of a cliché
isn't it?"
She smiled 'and I know how you feel about them'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
Daniel hurriedly scanned his eyes over the rows of boxes, full of devices they
had discovered on other worlds. When they had found out the Goa'uld were coming
anything that seemed to remotely be able to help them had been sent over. There
hadn't been time to sort through everything, they may have had plenty of
warning but the Goa'uld still arrived three months earlier than thought, they'd
been preoccupied with helping their allies when Anubis had brought the gate
system down, many people had been stranded off world, panic had ensued.
He had to find something, anything to help them, to get rid of the Goa'uld once
and for all.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
Meanwhile the other member of SG-1 was crawling on his belly through the tiny
space in the ceiling; there was a chance that the Goa'uld didn't know about the
passages that led out the back of
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
"I never intended to live this long." Jack said quietly to Sam as
they sat close together, her head resting on his shoulder, "I joined the
SGC because I wanted to die, I thought my life was
over and that I might as well do something worth while when I died." His
hand tightened its grip on hers. "I never expected all this; I never
planned to be out saving the world every week, to have such a team under my
command, to meet you."
"Jack,"
"It's the end of the world Sam, things need to be
said before it's too late." He ran his free hand over her soft hair;
"I came here because I had to." She nodded in understanding.
"This is the end and there is no one else I would rather die next
to."
She gave a strained smile, "Shall I take that as a compliment?"
"Take it as more that that." He turned to face her, staring into her
pain filled eyes, "I love you, I probably should have told you that a long
time ago, but I guess I hoped you always knew."
She gave another painful smile, her eyes full of tears, "I knew
Jack." He shut his eyes in relief. "I should have said
something," she continued, "should have let you know I felt the
same."
"Would it have made a difference?" he asked, "We both had
careers to think about, a dedication the Stargate program."
"It all seems a bit worthless now doesn't it?"
"You think we should have left the SGC so we could be together?" he
asked tentatively.
"Maybe, but it was a worthwhile cause, I don't think we could have just
abandoned it. All I know is that we shouldn't have let things go on for so long
as they were, we both deserved some happiness.we should have."
Jack put a finger to her lips then tracing his finger along the side of her
face whispered, "Don't, don't waste time with regrets, we're here now and
there's nothing we can do but make the last few seconds count."
He lent forward and gently kissed her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
Daniel didn't even hear the
His body buckled and he fell to the ground, rolling over to see the
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
"Jack?" They'd been sitting close together for what seemed
like an eternity, she could hear his breathing getting quieter and more
irregular. They had nowhere to go, he couldn't move and she wasn't about to
leave him there to die alone.
"Yeah." His voice replied croaking
"I can't hear any noises outside, maybe Daniel found something, and maybe
he stopped them?"
"Don't tell me we're going to make it, I've already poured my heart out to
you, I was counting on the fact that we were about to die."
She smiled, "Sorry, you're right we're going to die."
"That's the spirit."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
The hatch opened slowly as Teal'c put all his weight on it and turned the
handle. Light flooded down into the tunnel as he pulled himself out onto the
mountainside. There was no one there, they didn't know about the secret exits,
he could go find help - there had to be someone out there who could help them.
He scanned his eyes over the scene below him; the mountain was covered in
"
"Take me to Anubis." He asked, trying to buy himself some time. The
two staff shots rang out across the mountain, echoing down to the nearby camps.
Mar'tac lifted his staff and stepped over the dead body of Teal'c, the first
and last free
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
She didn't know how long ago he had died; she hadn't felt him draw a breath of
air for a while and when she had turned to see if he was okay his eyes were
closed in an eternal sleep.
She gave a sad smile as the tears rolled down her cheeks, she ran her fingers
over his face, memorising the features, praying he would wake up. Wake up for
one more second so she could say goodbye, but he was gone. She would never
again see his eyes sparkling at her, hear his sarcastic jokes, feel his arms
around her.the tears poured down her face faster, she should have told him
earlier.should have tried to find a way they could be together. At least he had
died knowing, knowing that he had always been the only
man in her life, leaning forward she kissed his still warm forehead,
"Goodnight sir."
Leaning her head on his silent chest, she closed her eyes. That was where she
lay when Anubis gave the order to blow up the mountain, in the arms of her
Colonel, waiting for the end to come.
.And then it came and as he felt the explosion tremble the ground Anubis smiled
to himself - safe in the knowledge that Earth was his for the taking.
The End