Nesert

2.7

Nes woke up the next morning and for the first time in a long while, she found herself looking forward to the day. Usually she woke with a sigh and sometimes a few shots in her coffee.

She got to the SGC and figured she'd stop in to see Teal'c and Jonas since she hadn't seen them the day before. She went by Jonas' office, but stopped dead in the doorway. Sitting at the desk wasn't Jonas, but Daniel.

She couldn't even come up with words, but eventually he looked up from the book he was reading. "Nes! I heard you were back." She continued to stare and he took off his glasses. "I'm guessing you didn't hear I was back, though."

She shook her head. "I clearly missed more than I realized."

"Yes." He stood and pointed to a chair. "Want me to fill you in?"

Nes nodded, then sat and listened and tried to take it all in.

Daniel had, in fact, ascended, but in attempting to save Earth and others from Anubis, he'd broken the rules that the other Ascended beings had established. They'd made Daniel human again as punishment and while at first he'd had no memories of his old life, he slowly regained who he had been before with only a few gaps.

Anubis was wreaking havoc on the galaxy, having developed a new soldier for himself. The Kull Warriors were genetically engineered to be the ultimate soldier, especially after they were implanted with goa'uld symbiotes that were left as blank slates. Normally a queen goa'uld would pass on genetic memory to her offspring, but Anubis had a queen who was withholding that knowledge, allowing Anubis to command their complete loyalty. It was truly an ingenious measure to bypass the growing dissent in the Jaffa ranks. The super-soldiers, combined with an energy dissipating suit of armor, were nearly unstoppable.

But the information that rocked her was learning of the death of one of their own. Dr. Frasier had been killed recently when a mission went bad and one of SG-13 was wounded. She gave her life to save his. Nes felt such deep despair at the loss and now understood why the base felt heavy and Sam had looked pale. Colonel O'Neill had been wounded severely during the same events and now she felt guilty for being so flippant when she'd seen everyone yesterday. They were all grieving and healing and she'd shown up with a smile and presents, a cheap Santa costume worn to a funeral.

Teal'c updated her on the state of the Jaffa Rebellion and its separation from the Tok'ra and Tau'ri alliance. Every side seemed to be approaching the Goa'uld threat from too different of an angle and trust between them was simply too difficult for the moment. She was pleased, though, to hear that both Bra'tac and Rak'nor were well and still fighting for the cause. She wished she could see Rak'nor again, apologize in some way, but perhaps someday.

She sighed heavily and made her way up to Sam's lab. Daniel had caught her up on the big things, the bad things, but it sounded like there was more he left out. Plus, she needed to offer her condolences to Sam now that she knew about Janet's death.

She came in and stood by Sam's desk silently. "I just heard, Sam. I'm so so sorry."

The major looked up with wet streaks down her face.

Nes felt her own tears forming. "I wouldn't have been so flippant had I known."

"I know. I just didn't know how to tell you."

Nes sat down on a nearby stool. "I should have been here. I could have tried to save her like Elliot."

"Nes, you couldn't have risked that again."

"Yes, I could. Sam...I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Nes. Really. You can't save everyone."

"How's Cassandra doing?"