Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains--Friday, 30 November, 8:02 am, Mountain Standard Time
Jack's time ship was cloaked as it landed in a clearing, hidden from spying eyes and the comparatively primitive technology available in this century.
No one looked back as they made their way towards the spot where Sam was about to die, heralded by the sound of shifting rocks as they began to tumble down the mountain.
Sam
Sam's lungs were starting to hurt from the exertion of running uphill with the extra weight of her pack on her back. She knew she should drop it, but there wasn't time to do that and avoid the rockslide.
Focus, Carter. One foot in front of the other. There's no O'Neill or Kawalsky to save your ass--you have to do this one yourself.
She dodged to the left to avoid a particularly large rock and staggered to the side as the weight of the pack affected her center of gravity.
Anakin
They hadn't cut this close at all, really.
Anakin flung his hand out, glaring at the rocks, and they stopped in midair.
"Over here, Sam!"
Jack
Jack, right at that moment, loved Anakin a hell of a lot. He might just be Jack's favourite person, ever.
He didn't call out to Sam, though - the last thing she needed was a distraction - just kept his eyes fixed on her. Whatever this cost, it was worth it.
Sam
Sam glanced around, looking for the sound of her name at a time when and where she didn't expect it. While she didn't spot the source of the sound, she did notice the sudden lack of falling rocks.
She shrugged out of her pack and went stumbling in the direction she'd heard her name, as quickly as she could.
Anakin
Other than the look of intense concentration on Anakin's face, it would be hard to tell he was holding up what was beginning to feel like a small hill of loose boulders.
Size mattered not, after all. Quantity, on the other hand, was going to start being a problem as he kept sweeping rocks out of Sam's path as she moved towards them.
Sam
Sam finally noticed the rocks hanging in midair, and instead of stopping like any normal person, she kept running away from the immediate danger. She'd figure out the physics later, but right now, anyone or anything that could keep that many huge rocks in midair could fail at any time, and she had no desire to die crushed under them.
She did owe whomever or whatever a huge thank you, though.
Anakin
Anakin's forehead started to bead with sweat. "Come on, Sam," he muttered to himself as the rocks began to shift. "Gravity's a bitch."
Sam
The grass under her feet let Sam know she was far enough away to stop running, so she did. She bent over and started trying to catch her breath as she processed how close she'd come to being crushed under an avalanche's worth of rocks.
Once she was done processing, she immediately started scanning the area for whom or whatever saved her life.
Jack
Jack, showing very little respect for the half a mountain being held in check, and very little concern for the Jedi he'd been madly in love with only minutes before, bolted after Sam, covering the rough terrain with relative ease.
Anakin
"You're welcome," Anakin said snappishly to himself. "No, honestly. I live to hold up entire mountains. It's what I do on the weekends."
He dropped his arm and the entire mess of rocks fell to the earth with a satisfying boom.
Sam
Sam was standing there, feeling highly confused and stunned as she stared at the pile of rocks where she'd been running only moments before.
Her legs folded under her and she landed on her butt on the ground. "How?"
Jack
"I'm just that good," he said as he hit the ground beside her. "Here. You're going to need these." Jack held out her weapons, nearly shoving them at her, because he wanted to grab her and hang on until the end of the world.
Which could happen any minute now.
Sam
"Uh, hi?" Luckily, Sam was good at multi-tasking and could stare at Jack in confusion as she checked the weapons he was thrusting at her at the same time.
She holstered the 9mm to her leg, slipped the zat into the side pocket of her pants, and opened the zat. If Jack was here and arming her, it wasn't for a day at the races. "How long do we have?"
Jack
"Ten minutes, give or take. I figured out there's an attack coming, probably has something to do with that rockslide, so I brought help. Vortex predators, Reapers, are going to break through." There was a grin, coming out of nowhere, as he lied through his teeth. "Typical you'd be in the heart of things. Can't kill them, can't hurt them for long. Magic's the only that might work." Jack shoved himself to his feet. "Our job's to keep Cedric alive."
Sam
Sam didn't ask how he knew, and nodded once to signal she'd heard Jack and was processing. She glanced around, trying to take in the terrain for battle purposes. "Cedric? Where is he? And these things--these raptors--they don't have any weaknesses we can exploit?"
Jack
Jack moved, sliding sideways out of her line of sight, nodding over his shoulder. "There. And no. We can hold them off, we can hurt them, but they phase back in time. Instantly good as new. They're perfect killing machines, but we've got something that can beat them."
Maybe, just maybe, and they could still run if it all went to hell.
Sam
"Cedric," she repeated, sticking her hand out in Jack's direction. "Help me up and let's go keep him safe so he can save the world."
Jack
Jack hesitated, then reached for her hand, not quite able to stop himself from sliding his fingers over her skin as he wrapped them around hers. "Yeah," he said huskily as he pulled her to her feet. "Don't know what I'd do if something happened to him."
Sam
"Let's not find out, okay?" She couldn't even imagine what Jack would do if Cedric was injured, or worse.
Jack
It took every bit of will power to open his hand and let her go. "That's why I brought the big guns," he said, and led the way back to the group.
Sam
Sam shot Jack a look as she identified the rest of the group. This was the group of people she wanted by her side when the world ended, but she didn't want it to happen today. "Uh, hey. Welcome to Colorado?"
Anakin
Anakin smiled and wiped a hand through his curls. "Thanks."
Sam
"The non-falling rocks make more sense now," she said, grinning at him. "Thanks for saving my life."
Anakin
"It's what I do," Anakin said, grinning back. "It's good to see you."
Sam
"You too. Got sucked into saving the world, huh?"
Anakin
"I was promised cookies," Anakin deadpanned.
Sam
"I hope you held out for chocolate chip."
Anakin
Anakin grinned. "Of course."
Sam
Sam shook her head and turned to greet Cedric.
Cedric
"I've never been to Colorado before," Cedric said, looking around. "It's nice."
Sam
"Hey," she walked over to hug him. "This isn't necessarily the best view of it. Ready to save the world?"
Of all of them, he was the one who was new to this.
Cedric
"There was a line in a movie I watched a few months ago about being born ready," Cedric said, returning the hug. "That's such a false line and I wasn't born ready but I've made myself ready. Yes, I am."
Sam
"Good," she patted him on the back. "We'll do our best to keep you safe, don't worry."
Cedric
"I'll be fine," he said confidently. "I trust everyone that's here to do what they need to do. And I'll do what I need to do."
Sam
"Let's go do it, then?" She checked her watch. "Better to be in place before these flying things get here."
Cedric
"I'll see you afterward," Cedric said, nodding at her.
Sam
"Good luck," she hugged him quickly, then went to get into position. Wherever that was.
Aeryn
Sheathing a pulse pistol in one of the holsters, Aeryn gave her a wave hello.
Sam
Sam waved back. Wow, Jack had really called out the big guns with this one. "Thanks for coming."
Aeryn
"I couldn't not," she replied. "You all right?"
Sam
She glanced back over her shoulder at the rocks, and her pack crushed under them. "Close call, but I'm still in one piece, thanks to Anakin."
Aeryn
Aeryn leaned to look past her in the direction of the rocks. "I think we'll take 'in one piece'," she told her.
Sam
"Definitely," she agreed, "Especially with what we've got coming up. Think we can keep that streak going?"
Aeryn
She didn't really need to consider this. "I think we'd better."
Kawalsky
"Hey," Kawalsky said as casually as possible. He kept one eye on the sky. It helped to not have to look at Sam directly.
Sam
"Hey," she glanced up at the sky, wondering what he was looking for. "Good to see you."
Kawalsky
"Yeah, well, you know me. Can't stay away from Colorado." He muttered, "I don't even like mountains. How you doin?"
Sam
"Can't complain," she shrugged, pushing her sweaty hair back. "So. End of the world, huh? You ever wish the universe could lose our phone numbers for one of these?"
Kawalsky
"Every now and then," he admitted. "But then I can't really blame them for coming for the best." He glanced at Jack. "And their back-ups."
Sam
Sam rolled her eyes. "Just once, could you both please at least pretend to get along?"
Kawalsky
"You never know. It could happen." He saw a ripple in the sky and swung his weapon up. " We've got incoming!"
[ooc: pre-played with kawalsky, carter_i_am, chasingsnitches, sith_happened, can_be_more, NFB, NFI, OOC is awesome! Continued here!
Also? The colours are not pleasant in IE - Firefox is very recommended.]
No one looked back as they made their way towards the spot where Sam was about to die, heralded by the sound of shifting rocks as they began to tumble down the mountain.
Sam
Sam's lungs were starting to hurt from the exertion of running uphill with the extra weight of her pack on her back. She knew she should drop it, but there wasn't time to do that and avoid the rockslide.
Focus, Carter. One foot in front of the other. There's no O'Neill or Kawalsky to save your ass--you have to do this one yourself.
She dodged to the left to avoid a particularly large rock and staggered to the side as the weight of the pack affected her center of gravity.
Anakin
They hadn't cut this close at all, really.
Anakin flung his hand out, glaring at the rocks, and they stopped in midair.
"Over here, Sam!"
Jack
Jack, right at that moment, loved Anakin a hell of a lot. He might just be Jack's favourite person, ever.
He didn't call out to Sam, though - the last thing she needed was a distraction - just kept his eyes fixed on her. Whatever this cost, it was worth it.
Sam
Sam glanced around, looking for the sound of her name at a time when and where she didn't expect it. While she didn't spot the source of the sound, she did notice the sudden lack of falling rocks.
She shrugged out of her pack and went stumbling in the direction she'd heard her name, as quickly as she could.
Anakin
Other than the look of intense concentration on Anakin's face, it would be hard to tell he was holding up what was beginning to feel like a small hill of loose boulders.
Size mattered not, after all. Quantity, on the other hand, was going to start being a problem as he kept sweeping rocks out of Sam's path as she moved towards them.
Sam
Sam finally noticed the rocks hanging in midair, and instead of stopping like any normal person, she kept running away from the immediate danger. She'd figure out the physics later, but right now, anyone or anything that could keep that many huge rocks in midair could fail at any time, and she had no desire to die crushed under them.
She did owe whomever or whatever a huge thank you, though.
Anakin
Anakin's forehead started to bead with sweat. "Come on, Sam," he muttered to himself as the rocks began to shift. "Gravity's a bitch."
Sam
The grass under her feet let Sam know she was far enough away to stop running, so she did. She bent over and started trying to catch her breath as she processed how close she'd come to being crushed under an avalanche's worth of rocks.
Once she was done processing, she immediately started scanning the area for whom or whatever saved her life.
Jack
Jack, showing very little respect for the half a mountain being held in check, and very little concern for the Jedi he'd been madly in love with only minutes before, bolted after Sam, covering the rough terrain with relative ease.
Anakin
"You're welcome," Anakin said snappishly to himself. "No, honestly. I live to hold up entire mountains. It's what I do on the weekends."
He dropped his arm and the entire mess of rocks fell to the earth with a satisfying boom.
Sam
Sam was standing there, feeling highly confused and stunned as she stared at the pile of rocks where she'd been running only moments before.
Her legs folded under her and she landed on her butt on the ground. "How?"
Jack
"I'm just that good," he said as he hit the ground beside her. "Here. You're going to need these." Jack held out her weapons, nearly shoving them at her, because he wanted to grab her and hang on until the end of the world.
Which could happen any minute now.
Sam
"Uh, hi?" Luckily, Sam was good at multi-tasking and could stare at Jack in confusion as she checked the weapons he was thrusting at her at the same time.
She holstered the 9mm to her leg, slipped the zat into the side pocket of her pants, and opened the zat. If Jack was here and arming her, it wasn't for a day at the races. "How long do we have?"
Jack
"Ten minutes, give or take. I figured out there's an attack coming, probably has something to do with that rockslide, so I brought help. Vortex predators, Reapers, are going to break through." There was a grin, coming out of nowhere, as he lied through his teeth. "Typical you'd be in the heart of things. Can't kill them, can't hurt them for long. Magic's the only that might work." Jack shoved himself to his feet. "Our job's to keep Cedric alive."
Sam
Sam didn't ask how he knew, and nodded once to signal she'd heard Jack and was processing. She glanced around, trying to take in the terrain for battle purposes. "Cedric? Where is he? And these things--these raptors--they don't have any weaknesses we can exploit?"
Jack
Jack moved, sliding sideways out of her line of sight, nodding over his shoulder. "There. And no. We can hold them off, we can hurt them, but they phase back in time. Instantly good as new. They're perfect killing machines, but we've got something that can beat them."
Maybe, just maybe, and they could still run if it all went to hell.
Sam
"Cedric," she repeated, sticking her hand out in Jack's direction. "Help me up and let's go keep him safe so he can save the world."
Jack
Jack hesitated, then reached for her hand, not quite able to stop himself from sliding his fingers over her skin as he wrapped them around hers. "Yeah," he said huskily as he pulled her to her feet. "Don't know what I'd do if something happened to him."
Sam
"Let's not find out, okay?" She couldn't even imagine what Jack would do if Cedric was injured, or worse.
Jack
It took every bit of will power to open his hand and let her go. "That's why I brought the big guns," he said, and led the way back to the group.
Sam
Sam shot Jack a look as she identified the rest of the group. This was the group of people she wanted by her side when the world ended, but she didn't want it to happen today. "Uh, hey. Welcome to Colorado?"
Anakin
Anakin smiled and wiped a hand through his curls. "Thanks."
Sam
"The non-falling rocks make more sense now," she said, grinning at him. "Thanks for saving my life."
Anakin
"It's what I do," Anakin said, grinning back. "It's good to see you."
Sam
"You too. Got sucked into saving the world, huh?"
Anakin
"I was promised cookies," Anakin deadpanned.
Sam
"I hope you held out for chocolate chip."
Anakin
Anakin grinned. "Of course."
Sam
Sam shook her head and turned to greet Cedric.
Cedric
"I've never been to Colorado before," Cedric said, looking around. "It's nice."
Sam
"Hey," she walked over to hug him. "This isn't necessarily the best view of it. Ready to save the world?"
Of all of them, he was the one who was new to this.
Cedric
"There was a line in a movie I watched a few months ago about being born ready," Cedric said, returning the hug. "That's such a false line and I wasn't born ready but I've made myself ready. Yes, I am."
Sam
"Good," she patted him on the back. "We'll do our best to keep you safe, don't worry."
Cedric
"I'll be fine," he said confidently. "I trust everyone that's here to do what they need to do. And I'll do what I need to do."
Sam
"Let's go do it, then?" She checked her watch. "Better to be in place before these flying things get here."
Cedric
"I'll see you afterward," Cedric said, nodding at her.
Sam
"Good luck," she hugged him quickly, then went to get into position. Wherever that was.
Aeryn
Sheathing a pulse pistol in one of the holsters, Aeryn gave her a wave hello.
Sam
Sam waved back. Wow, Jack had really called out the big guns with this one. "Thanks for coming."
Aeryn
"I couldn't not," she replied. "You all right?"
Sam
She glanced back over her shoulder at the rocks, and her pack crushed under them. "Close call, but I'm still in one piece, thanks to Anakin."
Aeryn
Aeryn leaned to look past her in the direction of the rocks. "I think we'll take 'in one piece'," she told her.
Sam
"Definitely," she agreed, "Especially with what we've got coming up. Think we can keep that streak going?"
Aeryn
She didn't really need to consider this. "I think we'd better."
Kawalsky
"Hey," Kawalsky said as casually as possible. He kept one eye on the sky. It helped to not have to look at Sam directly.
Sam
"Hey," she glanced up at the sky, wondering what he was looking for. "Good to see you."
Kawalsky
"Yeah, well, you know me. Can't stay away from Colorado." He muttered, "I don't even like mountains. How you doin?"
Sam
"Can't complain," she shrugged, pushing her sweaty hair back. "So. End of the world, huh? You ever wish the universe could lose our phone numbers for one of these?"
Kawalsky
"Every now and then," he admitted. "But then I can't really blame them for coming for the best." He glanced at Jack. "And their back-ups."
Sam
Sam rolled her eyes. "Just once, could you both please at least pretend to get along?"
Kawalsky
"You never know. It could happen." He saw a ripple in the sky and swung his weapon up. " We've got incoming!"
[ooc: pre-played with kawalsky, carter_i_am, chasingsnitches, sith_happened, can_be_more, NFB, NFI, OOC is awesome! Continued here!
Also? The colours are not pleasant in IE - Firefox is very recommended.]