Stargate:Altro
Chapter 2:Survival
Darren Storey
The sirens in the gate room cried out calling General Mitchell to the control room
"General Mitchell, this is Ka'lel of the Free Jaffa Nation High Council. I am afraid to say that we have not heard from the Khrev or the Klytia. Our information tells us that both ships did arrive at the target destination & that the system's star has recently gone into a state of supernova. It is our deduction that both ships were destroyed & all hands lost."
After a murmur of whispering in the gate room the general raised his hand for silence "Thank you for your help but I'm afraid I'm not so prepared to give up on the Klytia just yet." Mitchell replied
"Understandable" Said Ka'lel "you must understand, that the Free Jaffa Council considers the Khrev to be lost. We are preparing a memorial service for the Jaffa lost onboard & you are welcome"
"Thank you Ka'lel. We'll be in touch" Mitchell replied slowly
"Do you really think there's any chance they survived Sir?" asked Sergeant Goldsmith in a doubtful tone
"We'll see. But I'm not going to give up on Jackson & our boys that easily. The thing with the Jaffa is that they're like the Tok'ra, they think it's honourable to die in battle & accept their losses."
"Don't you think it's honourable to die in battle sir?" Goldsmith asked
"Oh of course" Mitchell said "But we don't leave our people behind. Not if we can help it"
- Meanwhile, on the planet Hremp'tel…
"What was that? Where are you going!?" yelled Major Davis as the Jarek'tou soon became invisible again & began to run into their homes
"Come! Come!" said Tomo'rak as he beckoned to the Humans "Come Inside!" He said looking at Dr Jackson
"We should go with them" Jackson suggested
"Agreed" Davis said bluntly "Lets get in there then find out what's going on" he said to his officers
A moment later Major Davis's combat team & Dr Jackson were standing in a large room almost completely dark & could see no one but themselves
"What's going on?" Davis asked anyone that could hear him
"Quiet!" Came the desperate voice of Tomo'rak
A few minutes later, the team heard the quiet sound of padded footsteps outside, & heaving breathing that sounded like a large angry dog. After a minute, Davis's curiosity got the better of him & he moved toward the wall to take a peek through the gaps in the primitive wooden walls. What he saw he couldn't quite comprehend…This was another galaxy after all though…
-
"As I have said our navigational computers have no record of this galaxy Colonel" Ryak said to Colonel John Watkins of the United Tau'ri Ship Klytia. There is no mention of this planet in our databanks. Frankly I'm surprised there is no mention in yours. Even though the Jaffa have been exploring the stars longer than any of you have lived…" he added in a superior voice
"Yes well I'm sorry but any information is better than none." Colonel Watkins said in an apologetic voice
"Colonel I think that I might be able to communicate with Earth" Said Captain Sarah Williams "Access to the Khrev's Navigational computer & databank really helped a lot. I'm not too sure but it may be possible to estimate Earth's location, I'm quite sure I can transmit a message to the Milky Way at least, so hopefully Earth or one of our allies will pick it up somewhere"
"Very good Captain. Prepare a message detailing our situation & requesting assistance & send it as accurately as possible. Also be sure to mention that the Khrev is in one piece too" The Colonel ordered
Captain Williams nodded & got to work.
-
"Jackson, come take a look at this thing" Davis said quietly
As Daniel stepped up to a gap & looked through Major Davis said in a confused voice "What is that thing..?"
"I don't have a clue…" Jackson replied "I've never seen anything like it"
"Come away! I will Explain just be quiet!" Tomo'rak whispered pulling them away from the wall
A few minutes later Sergeant Graham Trust reported "They've Moved Off. It's safe"
Tomo'rak, now slightly more visible, made a hand gesture & two of the Jarek'tou moved toward the door & looked through an open crack. One of them spoke to Tomo'rak in their strange chittering language & Tomo'rak in return nodded & told Dr Jackson that it was clear.
"What was that thing?" Major Davis asked again once they were walking down the steps into the clearing
"That, was a Waer'rak. They have terrorised my people for as long as I remember" Tomo'rak Explained
"It looked like a massive mutated kinda Wolf. A bit like a cross between a wolf & a bear on all fours" Davis commented
"Hey" Major Davis exclaimed "Your name is Tomo'rak right? & These things are called Waer'rak? Whats with the 'rak'?"
"Ah" He Replied "Many generations ago, when it is said the Waer'rak first stumbled upon & attacked my humble people, one of my ancestors slayed a great Waer'rak, saving a child. For this, the community granted him power to lead them & thus my family has ruled over the Jarek'tou since that day. It is said that my ancestor, the great, Herit'rak, took part of the beast's name to show that he was better than they. Since then all in our family bear the name of rak"
Dr Jackson thought he was right. The 'Waer'rak' was shaped like a wolf but it was easily the size of a grizzly bear & looked twice as ferocious as either. The little hair it had was different shades of brown, black & grey & it's massive teeth reminded him of a sabre tooth tiger. It was obviously an extremely powerful creature but it had the look of something filthy, diseased & dying.
"The waer'rak have preyed on my people relentlessly. Our ability to hide is our only real defense. That building we hid in & several others in our city have some means of protection. They are built from a type of wood that confuses their sense of smell so they can't sniff us out when we hide in them. They do have brilliant hearing though." Tomo'rak explained to Dr Jackson "They are brutal & merciless animals. They usually prey on animals of the jungle but seem to enjoy hunting my people."
Dr Jackson & the other Humans were filled with horror & remorse. How could these people live in constant fear their whole lives? He thought. But then he thought of the people of the Pegasus galaxy & how they had been terrorised by the Wraith & the People of the Milky Way Galaxy & how once many of them had been enslaved by the Goa'uld. He remembered that there was evil in all corners of the Universe, since he had helped rid his little corner of it of the Goa'uld & other threats he had forgotten that the Wraith surely weren't the only scum left in the galaxy.
"Combat Team 1, Dr Jackson, come in please, this is Colonel Watkins, please respond" Dr Jackson was suddenly woken from his thoughts by Colonel Watkins voice coming from Davis's radio
"Colonel Watkins this is Major Davis, go ahead" Davis spoke as the Jarek'tou wore bewildered looks staring at his radio
"Major, we believe we may be able to make contact with Earth or at least deliver a message to the Milky Way, we have sent a message explaining our situation. I'd like you to fall back to the klytia so we can discuss our position." The Colonel ordered
"We're on our way Colonel but I should let you know, I believe Crane & French may be dead, I believe they may have been attacked by some creature the locals call a 'Waer'rak' I'll inform you on the situation when we're back on board" The Major reported
"Understood. Get back here & watch yourselves"
Major Davis ordered his team back to the EC-302.B & let Dr Jackson explain that they would be in contact. As the four men walked quickly through the village toward their ship they began to notice more of the Jarek'tou coming from their houses & becoming visible. As they walked they began to notice their features more clearly. The Humans saw that when they weren't camouflaged, the Jarek'tou we're a light shade of grey. They had reptile like skin & small patches of light brown hair in places. They were clothed in grey & brown primitive looking apparel that made them look almost naked. The humans also began to notice what seemed to be dragonfly like wings. Although in the bright light they were almost invisible. Some of the Jarek'tou looked like their wings had been ripped. They also had scars as if they had been attacked. Beside from their colour & their wings the Jarek'tou looked almost human. They had arms, legs, large heads although large sharp teeth & seemingly a few too many fingers & not enough toes.
After almost a half hours of walking the team stepped upon a gruesome scene. The EC-302.C was parked where they had left it but the right side & the whole of the vegetation in the area was covered in blood & flesh. Body parts were lying on the ground & blood still dripped from the leaves of bushes nearby. As Captain Shane Bolt turned away & vomited Dr Jackson noticed the fragments of a skull, a jawbone & what looked like a human arm bone, all still coated in blood with body tissue still clinging to them. Also in a pool of blood he noticed something shining. He picked it up & looked at is as it dripped with blood. It was Lieutenant Emma French's Dog tags.
Major Davis looked away in disgust. He saw something that made him forget the sick feeling in his throat & started to walk through the bushes. After walking through a shamble of overgrown bushes he stumbled upon another smaller clearing, on the floor lay the body of a Jarek'tou, it looked as if it had been operated on & just left to die. Its chest was open & there was blood on the floor but not so much. It looked as if one of these Waer'rak creatures had ripped open his ribcage & started to eat him from the inside when it had been distracted & attacked Davis's men. He could see massive dog-like footprints in blood leading toward the ship. As he turned back he noticed he was covered in blood from where he had walked through the bush. Looking back at the body of the Jarek'tou, he suddenly felt sick again & vomited all over the floor. He looked at the body with its yellow blood covering the chest, reminding him of an Indian curry.
Suddenly the voice of Sergeant Trust calling his name snapped him out of his disgust induced trance & he made his way back to the ship
"Sir!" Sergant Trust said bounding toward the Major "Sir you're going to want to take a look at this"
the Sergeant lead Major Davis to another clearing, this one on the other said of the ship & a little closer.
"There" Sergeant Trust said, pointing to a bloody lump on the ground
It was, on closer inspection, a Waer'rak, bullet riddled & covered in its own blood.
"Sir I also found this on the ground" Said Trust holding up a standard SGC P90, fully equip with a miniature version of a particle cannon, the particle gun. "It's Crane's. I haven't found another body"
"Get a body bag & get this thing onboard" Davis ordered "Jackson, what do you think happened here?"
"Well, I've never seen a creature like this before, but Id say some of these thing were coming toward the village, they found our guys here & attacked them, they killed French & Crane defended herself" He said nodding toward the dead creature "One or more were with it & they may have abducted her, possibly because they realised she was a threat, possibly because they know we're not from around here. But if she killed one surely they'd have killed her in revenge, not taken her away" He commented in a confused voice
"That's a pretty good guess" Davis said in a deep voice, apparently trying to act tougher after his disgust at French's bloody remains "Lets get onboard & report back to the Klytia" He ordered after Trust & Bolt had put the Waer'rak's body in a sealed container
Bolt flying, since Major Davis was still too shocked to pilot, they rose in the EC-302.B toward the sky. Jackson tried to see if he could spot anything moving through the jungle as they rose but he saw nothing.
Back onboard the Klytia, Major Davis was reporting to Colonel Watkins.
"If I might be so blunt sir" He was saying "It was absolutely awful. There was a lot of blood but hardly any remains aside from that. I found her dog tags, half chewed to bits & a few fragments of bone. Those damn things tore her flesh off bit by bit then for some reason ate her bones as well. We found the corpse of one of the Waer'rak that attacked them. We've brought it back for study."
"Very professional work under difficult circumstances Major. You're dismissed" The Colonel commented.
Over the next few days, after no reply from Earth or any of the allied races & daily contact with the Jarek'tou, Dr Delphino had finished his through Post Mortem of the Waer'rak & was reporting to Colonel Watkins
"It seems that these 'Waer'rak' creatures are incredibility strong & very fast, but they are also rather fragile. They're purely carnivorous & from the looks of this guy's stomach he has a taste for mammals, something native about the size of a pig."
The Colonel had always secretly found American accents humorous but for once he was too deep in thought to worry about the Dr's voice.
"I'd say average life span would be around 20 years, but this specimen seems to have been in perfect health" he went on, gesturing toward the corpse lying on the medical table
"Aside from the fact that it's full of bullets, I assume?" The colonel asked
Suddenly lights in the lab started to flash & a siren sounded
"Colonel Watkins to the bridge! Repeat, Colonel Watkins to the bridge!"….