Daniel wanted to protest, but he honestly couldn’t see an argument. They made the promise to be gone in case Amaterasu came looking for revenge, and Tychia clearly didn’t want them to stay. So instead of arguing, he moved closer to her and offered his hand.
“I’m sorry. I’m glad we got to meet one another.”
She smiled sadly and took his hand, squeezing lightly. “Despite how things ended, I am grateful for that as well. Be safe, SG-1.”
Daniel nodded and, with a final look at the destruction, turned away to follow his team out of the city.
Sam knew better than to get between Colonel O’Neill and Daniel after a mission like this. Both men fell silent as soon as Tychia left, so she dropped back to walk beside Teal’c. She caught him looking back and turned to see what had caught his eye. The statue of an SG team member — most likely Jack O’Neill, based on the exaggerated features — was still standing despite the aerial assaults. Teal’c caught her watching him and faced forward again.
“Something on your mind?” she asked.
“I do not understand their fervor. Why would they worship us?”
Sam said, “It’s not exactly worship. Or maybe it is, but not the kind that the Goa’uld force on people. This, the epikos and sharing the stories, it’s about possibility. It’s about finding a glimmer of hope in the worst circumstances.”
“And the false idol?”
“It’s not an idol,” Sam said. “It’s a reason to look up.”
Teal’c considered that for a moment and then finally nodded his understanding. Sam was glad she’d been able to explain it to him, but she was worried it was no longer true for Tychia and her people. After everything they’d suffered and the long recovery that was sure to follow, it seemed likely the epikos stage would go dark for a good long time. Eventually even the statue might be taken down.
She hoped the people of Catania would still find a reason to look up even after the statue was gone.
Our authors
Jo Graham
Jo Graham worked in politics for fifteen years before leaving to write full time. She is the author of the Locus Award nominated Black Ships, the Spectrum Award nominated Stealing Fire, and the Rainbow Award winning Cythera as well as nine books of the top selling Stargate Atlantis: Legacy series. She is also the author of historical fantasies Hand of Isis, The General’s Mistress, and The Emperor’s Agent, as well as an additional Stargate Atlantis novel and an SG-1 novel. With Melissa Scott, she is the author of The Order of the Air series of historical fantasies set in the roaring twenties and the Great Depression. Jo Graham lives in North Carolina with her partner and their daughters.
Susannah Parker Sinard
Susannah Parker Sinard is a long-time Stargate fan. Her debut novel, STARGATE SG-1: The Hall of the Two Truths, was published in August 2016. A graduate of the University of Michigan, she holds a B.A. in English, as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in the health care field. Many thanks to Mara Pheonix for her continued insights. This story is dedicated to Aimee, the littlest Tok’ra.
Melissa Scott
Melissa Scott was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and studied history at Harvard College. She earned her PhD from Brandeis University in the comparative history program with a dissertation titled “The Victory of the Ancients: Tactics, Technology, and the Use of Classical Precedent.” She also sold her first novel, The Game Beyond, and quickly became a part time graduate student and an — almost — full-time writer. Over the next twenty-nine years, she published more than thirty novels and a handful of short stories, most with queer themes and characters. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1986, and won Lambda Literary Awards for Trouble and Her Friends, Shadow Man, Point of Dreams (written with her late partner and collaborator, Lisa A. Barnett), and for Death By Silver, written with Amy Griswold. She has also been shortlisted for the Tiptree Award. She won a Spectrum Award for Shadow Man and again in 2010 for the short story “The Rocky Side of the Sky”. Her short story, “Finders,” was been selected for Year’s Best SF 2013. Her latest novels are Silver Bullet, written with Jo Graham, the third volume of The Order of the Air, and Fairs’ Point, the third full-length Points novel. Scott can be found on LiveJournal at mescott.livejournal.com and on Twitter as @blueterraplane. Her Stargate books are STARGATE SG-1: Moebius Squared (with Jo Graham) and STARGATE SG-1: Ouroboros, STARGATE ATLANTIS: Wraith Queen and she is co-author with Jo Graham and Amy Griswold of the STARGATE ATLANTIS Legacy series. Her next Stargate book, STARGATE ATLANTIS: Pride of the Genii, will be out in 2018.
Barbara Ellisor (competition winner)
Barbara Ellisor is a relative newcomer to the Stargate universe, having seen her first episode in the fall of 2015. She spent the next year reading and binge-watching everything related to Stargate she could find. Though she enjoys STARGATE UNIVERSE and STARGATE ATLANTIS (particularly Rodney McKay), STARGATE: SG1 is closest to her heart. She loves the team interaction and — of course — the humor.
Ron Francis (competition winner)
Ron Francis is the youngest of five siblings born to a New York City police officer and a stay-at-home mom. After receiving a bachelor of science in business from St. John’s University and a Masters in religion from Liberty University, he spent several years working in Texas before returning to New York. Currently, Ron resides in sunny Orlando, Florida.
Keith R.A. DeCandido
Keith R.A. DeCandido is the author of the SG-1 novel Kali’s Wrath, as well as a previous Carter-and-Teal’c story in the anthology Far Horizons. He also did an overview of the Stargate franchise for Tor.com in 2015. He’s written more than 50 novels and tons of short fiction and comic books in over two dozen licensed universes, as well as in his own worlds ranging from the fictional Super City and Cliff’s End to the sort-of real New York City and Key West. Find him online at www.DeCandido.net.
Amy Griswold
Amy Griswold is the author of six STARGATE: SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS tie-in novels, including Murder at the SGC and the STARGATE: Legacy series (with Melissa Scott and Jo Graham). She has also published two original novels (with Melissa Scott), Death by Silver and A Death at the Dionysus Club. Her most recent project (with Jo Graham), is the interactive novel The Eagle’s Heir, a steampunk game of adventure and intrigue available now from Choice of Games.
Suzanne Wood
In the leafy greenness of the world’s most livable city, Melbourne, Australia, Suzanne lives and works surrounded by books. Author of STARGATE SG-1: The Barque of Heaven and the first official short story crossover between STARGATE SG-1 and STARGATE ATLANTIS for the Official Stargate Magazine, she is currently undertaking a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing while working on two new original novels. She has long-standing interests in Egyptology, ballet and watching Aussie pro cyclists, a new-found passion for family and Australian history, and occasionally rescues stray dogs. Her website is www.suzannewood.net.
Aaron Rosenberg
Aaron Rosenberg is the author of the best-selling DuckBob SF comedy series, the Dread Remora space-opera series, and, with David Niall Wilson, the O.C.L.T. occult thriller series. His tie-in work contains novels for Star Trek, Warhammer, World of WarCraft, STARGATE ATLANTIS, and Eureka. He has written children’s books (including the award-winning Bandslam: The Junior Novel and the #1 best-selling 42: The Jackie Robinson Story), educational books, and roleplaying games (including the Origins Award-winning Gamemastering Secrets). He is a founding member of Crazy 8 Press. You can follow him online at gryphonrose.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/ gryphonrose, and on Twitter @gryphonrose.
Geonn Cannon
Geonn Cannon is the award-winning author of over thirty novels, including Riley Parra, now a webseries from Tello Films. He’s previously written STARGATE SG-1: Two Roads, and his next Stargate book, STARGATE SG-1: Female of the Species will be out in 2018. He lives in
Oklahoma.
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STARGATE SG-1 ATLANTIS: Homeworlds : Volume three of the Travelers' Tales (SGX Book 5) Page 31
