Dhae Knight (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dhae_knight_1) wrote2007-04-01 10:22 am
dhae_knight_1) wrote2007-04-01 10:22 am
Fic: Balancing PG
Title: Balancing
Author:![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
dhae_knight
Rating: PG
Pairing: None
Beta: Unbeta'd
Words: 1,099
Notes: Episode related (Absolute Power), angst, character deaths.
Summary: I always felt the dream-sequence in Absolute Power lacked a decent ending - so I wrote one.
Disclaimer: If I owned, we'd still have Jack on the show. I'm just playing in other people's sandboxes.
Author:
dhae_knightRating: PG
Pairing: None
Beta: Unbeta'd
Words: 1,099
Notes: Episode related (Absolute Power), angst, character deaths.
Summary: I always felt the dream-sequence in Absolute Power lacked a decent ending - so I wrote one.
Disclaimer: If I owned, we'd still have Jack on the show. I'm just playing in other people's sandboxes.
Balancing
It was quiet again. The big screen was showing a muted CNN, displaying breaking news with Moscow - or what was left of it - in one corner, and a picture of Daniel Jackson, newly appointed dictator of Earth in the other. The staff had left - either to celebrate or to shoot themselves. At this point, Jack didn't really care.
Over the past year he'd heard some pretty bad rumors about his friend, and he'd worried as Daniel seemed to enjoy his power a little too much. But this...
Daniel had been the most moral man Jack had ever known, and to discover that he was capable of killing millions of innocents, just to prove a point...
He looked up from his vantage-point of sitting on the steps he'd occupied previously, when a pair of legs introduced themselves into his field of sight. Daniel was looking just as neutral as he had when he'd destroyed Moscow, and Jack wasn't above admitting to himself that it scared him senseless.
"You disappoint me, Jack."
Jack lowered his head again. He'd known this was going to come. Still. He'd faced goa'ulds and certain death with quips before, and this was really no time to change that fine tradition.
"Yeah. There's a lot of that going around."
"You trusted Sam over me."
Jack sighed. About the only thing he hadn't tried yet was out and out truth, and it wasn't as if things could get any worse. "I didn't, actually."
Daniel snorted. "You brought a gun, Jack."
"Yeah. If Carter was right. I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't wanted to give you one last chance."
A slow smile spread over Daniel's face as he figured out what Jack was saying. "You think you could have gotten to me?"
Jack's reply was as instantaneous as it was honest. "You think I couldn't?"
That made Daniel laugh. "I really did miss you, Jack."
But Jack just shook his head. He had one, pressing question. "Why, Daniel? This isn't you?"
Daniel squatted down in front of Jack. "This is me. All me. I'm protecting Earth from the goa'uld, just like you all wanted."
"Yeah, but... Moscow, Daniel?"
"You saw what happened. It was the beginning of a world war. I just skipped all the steps that would have killed millions of people - and ended it."
Jack sighed again and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes for a moment. "The Daniel Jackson I knew would have handed control of the defense-grid over to the UN."
Daniel's eyes held no emotions but a slight amusement. Jack wondered what would happen when Daniel didn't find him amusing anymore.
"Maybe the Daniel Jackson you knew has grown up." Daniel sighed and went down on one knee, crossing his forearms comfortably on the knee that was still raised. "Look, I don't trust the governments of this world with a weapon like that. Would you?"
Jack shook his head honestly, and his voice was quiet. "Probably not. I would have trusted it to my Daniel - but you blew up a city. Killing millions of innocents this weapon was designed to protect."
"They were casualties of a war I prevented. Don't you get that, Jack? I had to prove to the governments of Earth just what I am willing to do to keep control of this weapon, or we'd have had a world war that would have left us easy prey for the goa'uld."
"There was another way, Daniel. They could have started a war - but with this weapon, you could have ended it. Not allowing missiles through. Not allowing ground troops through."
"I did end it. Effectively."
Jack planted his hands on his knees and levered himself upright. "And what happens the next time? When a country refuses to do what you tell them to do? When the population elects a president you don't like? Right now, you have pretty much unlimited power. What are you going to do with it?" He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned very close to Daniel, practically looming. "How far are you going to go to keep it?"
For a few moments Daniel seemed confused, like there was a war inside him between the old Daniel and the new one. Then he rose smoothly, his neutral face back in place. "Well... you don't need to worry about that, now do you Jack?"
So, it was time. Jack took a deep breath and released it slowly, clearing his mind and body for battle. He was only going to get one shot at this and Daniel was well-trained, fit and younger. "Not gonna keep me around until you get tired of me, huh?"
Daniel was distant in a way that made Jack's spine crawl. As if he wasn't there, too busy inside his own head. Jack really didn't want to think about what Daniel's mind was cooking up.
"I don't really need to keep you around, do I? And you'll keep nagging and arguing and sooner or later you'll just try to kill me again."
Jack nodded and stepped in close to Daniel. He was aware that his heart was racing, but he didn't feel anything. All his emotions were locked away tightly, so he could do what he had to. His voice was conversational when he spoke. "You know, I really appreciate you doing this yourself."
Daniel met his eyes, and for just a moment the old Daniel shone through, sad and grateful. Then he was gone.
"You know what they say, Jack. If it's worth doing..."
"Yeah," Jack said.
They moved at the same instant. Jack's hands found the right spot and applied just the right amount of pressure, while Daniel slid... something into him. It hurt like hell in a distant sort of way, and Jack knew he was already dead. He had the bitter satisfaction of knowing that Daniel was just as dead, though.
As the strength slid out of his legs and he started toppling in ridiculous slow-motion, the crazy thought that people would walk in on a scene straight out of Romeo and Juliette crossed his mind.
As his head hit the floor next to Daniel's body, he was angled enough to see Shifu standing in the doorway. He had just enough time and life to grow cold with terror at the thought, when he noticed something crazy.
The kid was smiling.
It was quiet again. The big screen was showing a muted CNN, displaying breaking news with Moscow - or what was left of it - in one corner, and a picture of Daniel Jackson, newly appointed dictator of Earth in the other. The staff had left - either to celebrate or to shoot themselves. At this point, Jack didn't really care.
Over the past year he'd heard some pretty bad rumors about his friend, and he'd worried as Daniel seemed to enjoy his power a little too much. But this...
Daniel had been the most moral man Jack had ever known, and to discover that he was capable of killing millions of innocents, just to prove a point...
He looked up from his vantage-point of sitting on the steps he'd occupied previously, when a pair of legs introduced themselves into his field of sight. Daniel was looking just as neutral as he had when he'd destroyed Moscow, and Jack wasn't above admitting to himself that it scared him senseless.
"You disappoint me, Jack."
Jack lowered his head again. He'd known this was going to come. Still. He'd faced goa'ulds and certain death with quips before, and this was really no time to change that fine tradition.
"Yeah. There's a lot of that going around."
"You trusted Sam over me."
Jack sighed. About the only thing he hadn't tried yet was out and out truth, and it wasn't as if things could get any worse. "I didn't, actually."
Daniel snorted. "You brought a gun, Jack."
"Yeah. If Carter was right. I wouldn't be sitting here if I hadn't wanted to give you one last chance."
A slow smile spread over Daniel's face as he figured out what Jack was saying. "You think you could have gotten to me?"
Jack's reply was as instantaneous as it was honest. "You think I couldn't?"
That made Daniel laugh. "I really did miss you, Jack."
But Jack just shook his head. He had one, pressing question. "Why, Daniel? This isn't you?"
Daniel squatted down in front of Jack. "This is me. All me. I'm protecting Earth from the goa'uld, just like you all wanted."
"Yeah, but... Moscow, Daniel?"
"You saw what happened. It was the beginning of a world war. I just skipped all the steps that would have killed millions of people - and ended it."
Jack sighed again and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes for a moment. "The Daniel Jackson I knew would have handed control of the defense-grid over to the UN."
Daniel's eyes held no emotions but a slight amusement. Jack wondered what would happen when Daniel didn't find him amusing anymore.
"Maybe the Daniel Jackson you knew has grown up." Daniel sighed and went down on one knee, crossing his forearms comfortably on the knee that was still raised. "Look, I don't trust the governments of this world with a weapon like that. Would you?"
Jack shook his head honestly, and his voice was quiet. "Probably not. I would have trusted it to my Daniel - but you blew up a city. Killing millions of innocents this weapon was designed to protect."
"They were casualties of a war I prevented. Don't you get that, Jack? I had to prove to the governments of Earth just what I am willing to do to keep control of this weapon, or we'd have had a world war that would have left us easy prey for the goa'uld."
"There was another way, Daniel. They could have started a war - but with this weapon, you could have ended it. Not allowing missiles through. Not allowing ground troops through."
"I did end it. Effectively."
Jack planted his hands on his knees and levered himself upright. "And what happens the next time? When a country refuses to do what you tell them to do? When the population elects a president you don't like? Right now, you have pretty much unlimited power. What are you going to do with it?" He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned very close to Daniel, practically looming. "How far are you going to go to keep it?"
For a few moments Daniel seemed confused, like there was a war inside him between the old Daniel and the new one. Then he rose smoothly, his neutral face back in place. "Well... you don't need to worry about that, now do you Jack?"
So, it was time. Jack took a deep breath and released it slowly, clearing his mind and body for battle. He was only going to get one shot at this and Daniel was well-trained, fit and younger. "Not gonna keep me around until you get tired of me, huh?"
Daniel was distant in a way that made Jack's spine crawl. As if he wasn't there, too busy inside his own head. Jack really didn't want to think about what Daniel's mind was cooking up.
"I don't really need to keep you around, do I? And you'll keep nagging and arguing and sooner or later you'll just try to kill me again."
Jack nodded and stepped in close to Daniel. He was aware that his heart was racing, but he didn't feel anything. All his emotions were locked away tightly, so he could do what he had to. His voice was conversational when he spoke. "You know, I really appreciate you doing this yourself."
Daniel met his eyes, and for just a moment the old Daniel shone through, sad and grateful. Then he was gone.
"You know what they say, Jack. If it's worth doing..."
"Yeah," Jack said.
They moved at the same instant. Jack's hands found the right spot and applied just the right amount of pressure, while Daniel slid... something into him. It hurt like hell in a distant sort of way, and Jack knew he was already dead. He had the bitter satisfaction of knowing that Daniel was just as dead, though.
As the strength slid out of his legs and he started toppling in ridiculous slow-motion, the crazy thought that people would walk in on a scene straight out of Romeo and Juliette crossed his mind.
As his head hit the floor next to Daniel's body, he was angled enough to see Shifu standing in the doorway. He had just enough time and life to grow cold with terror at the thought, when he noticed something crazy.
The kid was smiling.
no subject
Fantastic story. Very well told, very powerfull.
Have you posted this other places?
I got a lump in my throath and a empty space in my chest.
Fantastic work here, really.
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Not really, no. Would have posted it to Area52HKH, but... 1) it wasn't really slash and 2) I haven't yet managed to find a beta, so... *shrugs*
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I really think it needs posting, I was going to rec it for stargateficrec, but I'm not really sure how to do that...But if it's okay with you, I'll try, and tell you if I succeds with it?
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Big lump in my throat
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I felt Absolute Power needed something like this, because as shocking as Jack trying to kill Daniel would be - I felt that Daniel killing Jack would really hammer his capability for evil home.
Oh, and your icon? So true!
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Sorry. Now I'm creeping myself out. *shudder*
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Thank you. Praise is always welcome... ;-)
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Well written, and you have a totally unexpected and chilling ending. Very cool. :)
the crazy thought that people would walk in on a scene straight out of Romeo and Juliette crossed his mind.
Fabulous!
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Thank you. :-D
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