Duncan pulled his personal stationary from the desk drawer. Stared at the death certificates. How did one tell the parents of a man that he was dead? At least, he thought morosely, he could be honest with these families. He didn't have to make up some damned story to try and explain the deaths of their sons. He could be truthful, and tell the fathers, the mothers, the brothers, the sisters, that their loved one had died protecting them, protecting all humans; died fighting the goddamned Goa'uld.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"Uh, Boss?"

The Highlander looked up.

"Mrs. Parker is here," Kyle said softly. "I called Doctor Blackstone, she's on her way."

"Thanks, Kyle," Duncan said. He stood up, ran a hand over his hair, straightened the tie he had put on earlier. One hand was in his pants pocket, the other spread-fingered on the desk, his fingertips helping to hold him up. He needed the support, but didn't want to look like he needed it.

Anita Parker walked into the office, her normally smiling face puffy, her cheeks wet. Her brown eyes were dull with grief. Her seventeen-year-old son E.J., named after his father, had an arm around her waist. Fifteen-year-old Kerry was holding her mother's hand, tears on her own cheeks.

"Please, sit down," Duncan said softly. He watched as E.J. helped his mother to the chair, then stood behind her, his large hands on her shoulders. He met the boy's eyes, realized that in that moment the boy had become a man.

Gwenyth tapped lightly on the door, nodded, and slipped into the room. She took a chair in the corner, waited unobtrusively.

Duncan struggled for a few minutes. Just how much should he tell them? He debated with himself for a few seconds. He took a deep breath, his decision made. "Anita, yesterday at ten a.m. Gamma time, SG-1, SG-6, and SGI-3 left on a mission to stop three Goa'uld motherships that were on their way here. The mission objective was to use the Asgard devices we have, beam onto those ships, plant explosives and get off. SG-1 and SGI-3 were able to get back to the Persephone. SG-6 ran into some trouble when transmissions from their locator devices were being interfered with. Jack ordered them to get to the escape pods on the Goa'uld ship. The last communication we had from SG-6 was from Tony Sabotti, telling Jack that they were on the way to the pods. The Phoenix arrived at pre-designated coordinates to recover those pods at four forty-three p.m. Gamma time. So did two al'kesh. The Goa'uld started firing at the escape pods. Of the thirty pods that were launched from the doomed motherships, fourteen were recovered. I-" his voice broke, he looked down at his desk, raised his hand and wiped his eyes. "None of the members of SG-6 were among the survivors."

Anita stared at him, her lips quivering, tears rolling unchecked down her chocolate-brown cheeks. A tiny whimper filled her throat. She sat trembling for a moment, then blinked, cleared her throat, and appeared to pull herself together.

"There's no chance that my dad could still be alive?" E.J. asked, his voice strained.

Duncan shook his head. "The motherships were destroyed right after the pods were launched. If they weren't in the escape pods, they didn't make it off that ship."

Kerry put her hands over her face and began to weep.

"I'm so sorry," Duncan whispered, unaware that the guilt he was grappling with was written plainly on his handsome face.

Struggling to her feet, Anita opened her arms and reached for the man she had socialized with, called friend for the past four years. "I know," she said softly. She put her head on Duncan's shoulder. "I knew every time he walked through that Stargate that there was a chance he wouldn't come home."

"Whatever you need, you let me know," Duncan said, hugging the woman tightly. He looked at E.J. "There will be some paperwork that will need to be signed. His will has to be opened and read. If you need any help…"

E.J. nodded slowly. "I'll…uh…I'll help Mom," he said quietly.

"If any of you need to talk, my door is always open," Gwenyth said softly from the corner.

"No! No! It's not true! It's not true!" Kerry screamed, jumping to her feet. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides. "You're lying! Daddy isn't dead! He's not!"

Anita moved immediately to her daughter's side. "Kerry! Listen to me! Listen!" She took her daughter's face in her hands. "What would the Major say, hmm?"

Kerry took a shuddering breath. "That wanting something to be so doesn't make it that way, and throwing a temper tantrum never accomplished anything."

"That's right, Baby. Now, we've talked about this. We all knew that it could happen."

"I don't want him to be dead!"

Duncan blanched at the raw pain in the girl's tear-filled eyes. He didn't want her father to be dead, either! Wished that there was something, anything he could do to change the fact that he was.

"None of us want him to be dead, Kerry. Now, we have to go on, we have to keep living, for your Daddy. He'd want that, wouldn't he, E.J.?"

"Yes, ma'am. He'd want us to keep fighting those snakes however we could," the young man replied.

Gwenyth caught Duncan's eye, looked at the young man, and nodded her head slightly. He didn't need her to tell him what he had already heard in the unspoken words of the son of one of Gamma's best fighting men. E.J. Parker was going to try to enlist in the GMF.

"Duncan, thank you for telling me…us, what happened," Anita said. She pulled herself straight and tall, squared her shoulders. "I'll probably be calling you about all the paperwork."

"I'll help however I can," the Highlander promised.

"Now, I think I'd like to go home and have a cup of tea." Tucking her hands in the arms of her children, she walked out of the room, her head held high.

Duncan waited until he heard the elevator doors shut, then dropped onto his chair. "Goddamn sons-of-bitches," he mumbled. He looked up at the woman who waited quietly. "Will they be okay?"

Gwenyth smiled wanly. "I believe so. If they had discussed as a family that this could happen, then more than likely Major Parker had told them what would be expected, and what they should do. It also helped to prepare them in a small way. If he was willing to talk openly about the risks of his work, then I'm sure that they discussed fears and worries. I'll check on them in a few days, just to make sure."

"Thanks, Gwen."

"You're welcome, Duncan."

"Any idea how I can tell the families of the three other men who died?"

The Immortal psychologist moved to sit in front of the desk. "Be as honest with them as you were with Anita. She's a military wife, she was probably more prepared for Major Parker's death than he was. These families, unless they are military families, are not going to be prepared at all. The best way to soften the blow is to deliver it as quickly and succinctly as possible. But be honest, and tell them what they need to hear, that their sons died doing what they loved, what they felt was important, and that they died heroes."

"The truth, huh?" he asked, forcing a small smile.

"Exactly."

He nodded. "Do you think I should call? I can still send the letters, but I could have Kyle arrange for phone calls. I dunno, something like this…they should at least hear a human voice tell them."

"I think that would be very considerate. But be prepared to be screamed at, and held totally responsible for the deaths."

"I am totally responsible," he said tightly.

"No, Duncan, you aren't. The Goa'uld are totally responsible," Gwenyth said softly. "Don't carry guilt around over this. It will crush you if you let it."

"Part of being in command?"

"Yes. Talk to General Hammond, or General Murphy. Or both. They've dealt with this same situation. They might have some advice to offer. If nothing else, they can listen, and understand what you're going through."

"Thanks, Gwen," he said again.

She smiled, leaned across the desk and patted his hand, and then quietly left the office. She closed the door on her way out.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"Mr. Sabotti, I'm Duncan MacLeod…Yes, President of the Stargate Command Colonies I…I just wanted to call and tell you personally. It's about Tony-er-Anthony…Yes, sir, I'm afraid it is bad news …He was on a mission. It was risky, and Tony, we call…called him Tony around here…really?…Well, he never told us about that…Um, anyway, Tony has been on missions like this before. His team was with two other teams, attempting to stop three Goa'uld motherships that were on their way to Gamma…Yes, sir, big damned ships…Something went wrong, and the Persephone, our ship, wasn't able to get his team off of the Goa'uld ship. General Jack O'Neill ordered SG-6, Tony's team, to get to the escape pods. Tony radioed that they were on the way. When one of our other ships tried to intercept those pods, and pick them up, the Goa'uld opened fire, destroying as many escape pods as they could…Yes, sir…No, I doubt that he had any idea…from what I understand it would have been over in milliseconds…Yes, he did, and he was damned good at it…We-we're gonna miss him around here…Yes, sir, you're welcome. If there is anything that I can do, please let me know…Yes, sir, you too…God bless you, too, Mr. Sabotti."

"Mrs. Yates? I'm Duncan MacLeod, President of the Stargate Command Colonies… Ma'am, is there someone there with you?…Good…no, that's fine, I think it would be a good idea to have your daughter on the extension…Mrs. Yates, I'm calling in regard to Marvin…No, ma'am, he's not in trouble…He's-Mrs. Yates, Marvin was killed in the line of duty at approximately four forty-five p.m. Gamma time yesterday. I'm truly sorry…No, ma'am, I'm the one who ordered his team on this assignment…Yes, ma'am, it is my fault… No, it's all right, your mother is right…Thank you, I appreciate that…He was one of the best…Yes, he did…We're all very proud of him, too…Yes, ma'am. If there is anything I can do, please let me know…I'm afraid not…no, it would have been, uh, disintegrated…I'm so sorry…Yes, I will…No, I won't, I understand that she's hurting right now…That's fine…You're welcome…Goodbye."

"Mr. Trenton?…Yes, sir, I'm Duncan MacLeod, President of the Stargate Command Colonies…Yes, sir, I'm afraid so…Allen was killed in action at four forty-five p.m. Gamma time, yesterday…that would have been sometime yesterday morning for you, I believe…No, it was a dangerous mission, although he's been on missions like it before... Yes, sir, it was indeed the Goa'uld…Your son was instrumental in destroying one of three motherships that were headed toward Gamma…Yes, sir, that was their plan, I'm sure…No, sir, we're all safe tonight because of your son, and the others on his team…Three teams…No, sir, I don't believe so…I'm so sorry…Thank you, Mr. Trenton, that means a lot to me, and I'll be sure to pass that on…Yes, sir, she was as much a part of SG-6 as she is SG-1 …actually, she doesn't know yet…SG-1 is late for check-in right now…No, I don't think so… Yes, they do seem to have a habit of doing that…We were honored to have Allen with us, sir…You too, sir. Goodbye."

<< Previous | Story Intro | Return to Stories | Next >>