Stargate Force

Chapter 21: Back Home

Nomi found him, as usual, cloaked in meditation, alone in a quiet room. She knew him better than anyone. Even without the Force, she sensed his brooding over recent events. Settling opposite him, she mirrored his pose, sinking into meditation herself. Yet, the silence stretched. Finally, she broke it with a gentle nudge. "My love," she said softly, "when will you share your troubles? You can't hide from me, not truly." Time trickled by, the quiet broken only by their breaths. "Meditation has its limits," she finally prodded, a hint of amusement in her voice.

He did not answer right off. When he did, "I guess I will stop when I find the solution that I need."

She sighed inwardly, "What are you looking for?"

He opened his eyes, "The way to win this battle with Palpatine without having all of you getting seriously injured or killed."

"You know that you can't find this information if you hide in a dark abyss. This is too much for one person to deal with."

With a bit of frustration in his voice, "We all have been dealing with this, and not even I could prevent him from attacking me, once again."

"Do you truly believe you can face Palpatine alone?" Nomi's voice held a tremor of concern. "He's a power no one has conquered. We need to strategize, fight together. This isn't a solo mission, Brandon." Her frustration simmered. "and if I'm to be your wife, then I need a husband who shares the burden. Not one who shoulders it alone." With that, she rose, her steps echoing slightly as she left the room.

"Why have I not allowed others to help me? I know that I did things on my own, but that was before Sam and the others trained me to be a Jedi Knight. I learned so much about teamwork with these Jedi, most importantly from my Master. Is this the work of Palpatine, or is Shakespeare right, 'Our fault does not lie in our stars, but in ourselves.' I cannot fight myself while I am dealing with Palpatine."

A large Ankh appeared with an enormous light glowing all around it. Moments later, the Goddess Isis appeared. The Ankh vanished with the majestic light show. "It seems we need to have a serious talk, or you might lose more than your wife at your side."

He nodded, "I am wondering if there is more than me wanting to do things for myself. At the same time, I feel that I am not in the wrong. Just the same, I see that I am being too quiet."

She sat down as if she was a Jedi Knight about to join Brandon in meditating in the Force. She said, "There is nothing wrong in doing things on your own. That isn't the issue here." She waited for him to ask.

"What is the issue, then?"

She smiled and replied, "That is better. I could answer you directly, but I think you need to find this on your own. You will never fully change your mindset if you can't change your outlook."

"I was told that I haven't changed in allowing others to pamper me."

"That's correct. You haven't changed. This has been dormant for you. Now it's fully active and stronger than ever. This has nothing to do with Palpatine. What he can do is use that against you. Right now you are more of an enemy to yourself than him."

What do I need to do? It will not be easy for me to adjust if I feel I am doing the right thing."

"Doing right or wrong isn't your predicament. It is the way you are doing it. Remember, a right thing done in a wrong way is wrong. Until you do things in the right way, you will only go deeper in this abyss that you alone have created."

He admitted the cornerstone of his dilemma, "I believe that I am the only one that should deal with my problems."

Isis threw it back at him, "You aren't alone in life. As you have stated, you have a wonderful wife and a daughter. Before that, you had your Jedi Master Sam O'Neill at your side, and she still is at your side. You were never alone. If you want to live alone, then you need to do so, but you aren't. You are with so many people. You have a desire to be with others. When you came to visit us at the school, I never saw you as a hermit, but you are thinking as one."