(10) Sneak & Peak
Chapter 1: Past meets the Present
Canes 1 group, Planet N4395: The last vestiges of day slipped away giving way to the night. A slight breeze made trees rustle and grass sway in unison. The peaceful scene gave way to an unseen force disturbing the field of grass. There was a slight hiss of a door opening up but revealing nothing, no lights to indicate an interior either. The only sound heard was soft foot falls exiting the cloaked vessel quickly heading towards the tree line 30yrds away.
Jack looked over his team scrutinizing every detail. The mission given to them was very specific, gather intelligence but do not engage the enemy. They were to observe from a distance so not to alert Anubis's of their presence. SG1 armed themselves with a mix of suppressed and long range weapons in case the mission went FUBAR. The mission already went sideways when SG21 came down with alien version of the chick pox stopping them from joining in the fun.
"Okay huddle around kids." Col. O'Neill said to his team. "We are 15 klicks (9.32 miles) from this overlook marked by the Tok'ra agent." He pointed to the location on the map to reinforce it. "There's roughly 10 hours until daylight and a 1.5 hour hump ahead of us. I want to get there, look around and get out in time for my Simpsons Marathon, understood!" Instead of yes sir everyone nodded in agreement. "Teal'C, you're on point then Hills, Space Monkey, Sophia and Lurch. I'll take rear guard. Move out!"
The small 6 man team stayed off the semi used trail walking under a thick foliage cover. Moon light barely penetrated through giving SG1 them an added advantage. Their black uniforms blended in perfectly with the darkness around them. The NVGs (Night Vision Goggles) illuminated their path turning night into day. Teal'C raised his arm forming a fist immediately bringing SG1 to halt as they crouched down. They were an hour into the trek already encountering a small patrol of Anubis jaffa. There were 8 in total walking in the direction SG1 came from. The lead Jaffa stopped 10 feet to the left of Sophia making her unsettled. She gripped her suppressed M4 carbine ready to take out the enemy if needed.
"Why is Lord Anubis concerned about the tau'ri? They are mortal and weak Bri'al." asked Re'tre as they paused for a moment. "The tau'ri is formidable enemies and is backed by the Asgard. Our god Anubis believes they will attempt to send spies. He wants to capture then bleed them dry of all useful information." The jaffa leader replied looking at his companions. "No more questions, our god want us to monitor the grass field for tau'ri activity..!"Bri'al said leaving no room for more talk. He set off at a brisk pace toward the field Sg1 just came from.
Jack waited for a good 15 minutes letting Teal'C know they could continue via hand signals. Every member of SG1 and all field teams understood basic Goa'uld. General Hammond insisted that every team learn the language to increase survivability.
Jack thought over what the jaffa leader said. He knew they would be expected by the half ascended snake head so this wasn't a surprise. This new information also meant a change in plans for their intelligence gathering location. Anubis wasn't stupid and neither was he.
Teal'C signaled the group to halt as they had arrived at their destination. He scanned the area not seeing any signs of patrols or passive sensors. Jack motioned for everyone to huddle once again. "I'll be brief, Anubis probably expects us to use the hilltops for observation based on what we overheard." He said informing the team of a change in plans. "...instead we'll observe form the tree tops. The view won't be as good but will have to do. 'T', you stay here with Hills and Daniel. You two will be with me." Jack informed them of the change in plans. "Understood O'Neill, we will document everything we see for dissemination later." Teal'C replied with a slight bow of the head. "We have two hours of observation then we leave. There's no need to stick around longer than that. Check in every 15 minutes with two clicks and one click to reply." Jack ordered then put his hat back on leading Lurch and Sophia into the darkness.
-"Don't ever think that the reason I am peaceful is because I forgot how to be violent" Unknown-
Jack observed from the tree top looking out over the valley ahead of him while Lurch and Sophia stood watch on the ground staying hidden from view. The mission reminded him of a few that took place behind the Iron Curtain back in the day. One mission in particular was a foreshadowing of his future. Jack, a captain at the time, along with his teammates was to spy on Mount Yamantau (A/N1). The area was believed to be the equivalent to Cheyenne Mountain complex. The Russian (USSR) government denied that it was used to store nuclear bombs so in his team went. They observed 30,000 troops plus an ongoing excavation of the mountain. That particular black ops mission was stressful due to how far in country they were. Now here he sat in a tree doing the same thing only on another planet, what were the odds he thought? Jack picked up his radio clicking twice getting one click in return; all was going well...so far.
He was far enough away not to be noticed by the jaffa patrols yet see most of the base. The first thing Jack noticed was slaves clearing trees and brush then burning it. Anubis was expanding his ship building facilities and fields of fire. There were several guard and anti-aircraft towers spaced out 50 yards apart also.
Jack started taking High Definition pictures of everything. The eggheads back home will have a field day with these photographs he figured. The MK6 I-Spy camera Carters R&D department created was a simple design packed full of options. Jack particularly liked having a non-reflective lens unlike the one he used in the past. Then there is the HD video and extreme zoom capability. He could count the hairs on a bald headed jaffa guarding the loading platform on a dreadnaught ship.
Daniel scanned the area in front of him noticing many of the same things Jack did. The only difference being his indifference. He focused on the flight line of Death Gliders taking several pictures. The fighters looked sleeker and more heavily armed than standard ones. They had a total of 4 staff cannons, two on each wing, with a large cylinder in-between them. The cockpit looked slimmer as well. Daniel continued to scan the area using the zoom lens. He spotted a concrete entrance to the mountain. Upon further investigation it dawned on him. Anubis is building or had built a command center into the mountain. The half ascended false god intended this planet to be a fortress world. Daniel took many pictures of the activity around the entrance to get a better understanding of its purpose.
-"Fear exists for one purpose: to be conquered!" Cap. Janeway-
Lurch took point leading half of SG1 back to others. Jack decided after an hour of recon it was time to go. His spidey sense started going off feeling the mission was about to go south. Jack learned long ago not to ignore his sixth sense. Teal'C and the rest of SG1 were going to rendezvous at their pre-planned spot then head toward their extraction point. If all went well there'd be no jaffa waiting for them. The odds were against them; however that's what suppressors were for.
Lurch stopped their silent march through the forest scanning the rendezvous point. He clicked the radio four times waiting for the proper response. Two clicks in succession came back quickly letting him know Teal'C and the others had arrived. Lurch gave the all clear sign leading Sophia and Jack to the fallen log. Daniel stood up greeting the others looking like he fell in a mud hole. "...before you ask, yes, I tripped and fell into the mud hole we passed earlier." He said pulling a leaf out of his hair. "I wasn't going to say a thing space monkey." Jack replied grinning as he took a picture for prosperity. Sophia giggled knowing that the picture would make its rounds within hours. "You do realize that's miss use of government property Jack." Daniel informed his friend with a sigh. "Let's move campers, we need to get this intelligence back to base, Teal'C your on point again." Jack ordered wanting to get off the planet before the mission could go south.
Ten minutes later the hairs on Jacks neck stood up hearing a dreadful sound. Teal'C stopped them recognizing the alarm. "O'Neill, that sound is equivalent to your air raid siren." The next thing they heard was Death Gliders at tree top level flying over them at high speeds. A second wave could be heard further down heading towards Anubis's base. "...is that..?" Major Hills started to ask but was cut off. "...yes that's goa'uld death gliders!" Sophia replied looking up to make sure they weren't the target. "LET'S MOVE PEOPLE, WE DON'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSS FIRE!" Jack yelled as Teal'C set the pace at a fast run. "Thor, where did the party crashers come from?" he yelled into the radio jumping over a log and ducking a branch. "O'Neill, an unknown goa'uld fleet exited hyperspace moments ago. They launched death glider and are approaching your location." Thor informed his friend. "...tell me something I don't already know." he deadpanned hoping they didn't run into attacking ground troops.
Not 5 minutes later staff blasts hit some trees in front of Teal'C causing everyone to take cover where they could. Teal'C and Major Hills returned fire taking out a few jaffa warriors. Lurch joined in the fight cutting loose with a silenced M249 SAW taking out several more. Foliage and small trees were cut down in the ensuing firefight.
"I'll be in transporter range in 3 minutes O'Neill. Anubis is under heavy attack from space and ground forces." Thor said stating the obvious. "You're a regular Watson Thor!" Jack said to the little grey alien over the communication link. Daniel and Sophia laid down cover fire as their team mates retreated behind them. (A/N: 2) Major Hills and Lurch threw smoke grenades to disorient the attacking jaffa covering their tactical retreat. Teal'C launched two high explosive M203 rounds in quick succession attempting to thin out the opposing force. The resulting explosions killed many jaffa evening the odds. SG1s luck ran out as the remaining jaffa attacked in force.
Jack dodged a wild swing from a jaffa that appeared on his right. He did a John Wu maneuver popping up with his silenced Wilson Combat .45 putting 3 rounds in the Jaffa's chest and head. The jaffa stumbled backwards dropping the staff weapon falling down dead. Three more appeared from behind trees taking aim right at him. Jack fired his handgun until the slide locked back. Two were down for the count leaving one still standing but wounded. The jaffa went to strike him with a blunt blow to the head only to be surprised. Jack instinctively grabbed the bottom part of the staff weapon holding it inches from his head. To the astonishment of the jaffa this tau'ri was not only holding back his weapon but also bending it with one hand. Jack used all his strength snapping the staff weapons lower half off. He then used the broken piece as a dagger thrusting it deep into the Jaffa's chest killing him instantly. Jack re-holstered his sidearm then grabbed his rifle reloading it engaging the enemy.
Major Hills had taken several Jaffa down before the mag went dry. She didn't have time to reload because the jaffa charged her making it a close quarters fight. Major Hills had to resort to using her M14 as an improvised staff blocking a very aggressive jaffa. Sophia fared better as she and Daniel were back to back holding off the attacking force. Lurch however was pissed because his beloved M249 took a direct hit and was now scrap metal. He pulled out twin 1911s dual wielding them with great effectiveness.
Teal'C currently was using his own staff weapon to fight off 3 jaffa. They were good, just not good as he is. He ducked under a head shot then leg swept two jaffa. One of them shot the third jaffa in the stomach as they fell to the ground. Pleased with himself he promptly stood shooting one in the head and last one the chest. The fight would have continued with SG1 being killed or captured had it not been for Thor's timely rescue.
SG1 appeared in a transporter room similar to that of Star Trek. Bullets from Daniels and Sophia's weapons impacted on the walls harmlessly as they were in the act of firing. "Would you two mind not shooting us?" Jack asked the two who looked mortified yet relieved to be on Thor's ship. "Yes Sir, sorry sir!" Sophia said lowering her weapon while Daniel did the same. "That was too close for comfort." Daniel added wiping his brow smearing mud in the process.
"Indeed!" Teal'C replied agreeing with his team mates. Major Hills leaned against the wall to catch her breath grateful she was still alive. "Where's your rifle Major?" Jack asked taking in her fatigue. Virginia stood up at attention then responded. "I lost it planet side during our fight sir." Jack understood given he almost lost his rifle as well. "Lurch lost his M249 too Major. I rather you lose a weapon than your life.'" She nodded in understanding. Jack then turned to address everyone at once. "...Lurch, Daniel, and Virginia go with Sophia to the infirmary. Get checked out while Teal'C and I go find out who crashed the party." Jack ordered angrily and walked out the door with Teal'C following him.
Lurch holstered his sidearm's watching Col. O'Neill leave the room then looked at his team mates. "Did any of you see what our CO did to that Jaffa's staff weapon?" he asked getting questioning looks in return.
A/N 1: Mount Yamantau is located in the Ural Mountain, Beloretsky District (Russia). It was suspected to be a storage facility for nuclear weapons. The history of the location is interesting which is why I chose as part of Jacks past.
A/N 2: The maneuver is used by militaries worldwide. The idea is for half of a team/unit to cover the other as they fall back. This is done until contact is broken. I learned about this maneuver from a Navy Seal documentary.
LoneWolfO'NEILL