Death of the Sith

Chapter 31: The End to a Beginning

Arriving on Abydos, Brandon was greeted by a familiar sight — the SGC, unchanged since his last visit. It stood like a historical relic, frozen in time. Inside the complex, Sam made a beeline for the General. Reaching him, she embraced him tightly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "How are you?" she inquired.

General Jack O'Neill smiled at her, "Doing great."

He looked at Brandon and smiled at him. "Welcome home, Master Jedi."

He smiled back, "Glad to be back. Happy to see you are the General of the SGC. How I remembered it was Paul Davis that was in charge."

Colonel Davis laughed, "I wouldn't take the position. I see Jack working too hard as it is. That alone would keep me from even thinking of taking his job."

Jack teased, "Paul, you know you love it here. If I didn't take it, the President would have nailed you to the chair."

"The trust Generals West and Hammond had in you, along with your qualifications, made you the ideal choice to take over."

Sam briefed Jack on Brandon's plan for Jill Cantrell.

"Once the war is over, we can move her casket. Since she doesn't have any living family, there shouldn't be any issues with the move."

Brandon's smile widened as he expressed his gratitude. "Thank you," he said warmly. Turning to gaze upon his wife and daughter, his eyes lingered with affection. Then, shifting his attention to Sam and Jack, he added, "please forgive my departure, but I have six precious years to reclaim with my family."

Suddenly, Barbara's voice broke through, affirming, "Indeed, that time is yours."

He turned around and there were his parents, giving him an enormous smile. The three of them hugged each other. Brandon gave an enormous smile back, "It is great to see you all again. I know I might sound crazy, but to me, it has been six years since I have seen you all."

Jerry said, "We know. Jack told us."

Barbara asked, "Have you gotten all the memories of the new timeline?"

"Nearly all of it has. I know that our house in Murrayville, Georgia did not get destroyed."

It shocked his parents over what he said; he explained it all [Recall that day when Samantha was the only person to see the house was not destroyed after Brandon became a Knight. There is more to her than just being trained by Brandon].

Jerry said, "Wow! Looks like you set things right, not just for Sam."

Sam came to them. "Palpatine was hitting on me in every direction."

"Since you recovered from the initial nightmares before I met you, he could not bother you anymore."

Barbara asked, "Why?"

"Plainly put, the initial nightmares formed the bedrock of the entire agreement. As is common knowledge, a bedrock is fundamental to the entire edifice. Encountering Sam in her past, it seems I inadvertently prompted her to dismantle that very bedrock. Consequently, all the calamities, known solely to me, have ceased to exist, including the nightmares that plagued me before I embarked on my temporal voyage."

Nomi asked, "Did you have any dreams like that while you were sleeping last?"

He looked at her with a smile, "No."

Jack said, "Sam didn't have nightmares nor had any unusual attacks by anyone or anything, so either Palpatine has his sights on another host or he found another way to keep on living."

"That concerns me."

Sam stopped him right there. "I've taught you to overlook such matters. Time's current is unalterable; we cannot be present for every life event. Misfortunes will occur. And as you've enlightened me, the Jedi Knights are guardians of peace, not architects of change."