Previously on Stargate Millennium
The Millennium Expedition had just survived an attack from the Stargate Council: a political extremist group that accuses the SGC of war crimes against three galaxies. The attack has taken countless lives in the expedition and ravaged the city. The SG Council had intended on using Millennium as a staging area to take down the entire SGC. Their method of reconnecting with Earth: going to the gate address of a planet the Council says once belonged to the Furlings.
-.-
"Plumbing's backed up, several of the pipes are still leaking. The incinerator's offline so we need a temporary garbage storage. The heater's still broken so everyone's going to have to live with cold showers until that's fixed...or not take a shower at all."
Mercer listened carefully as Donavan listed all the problems the Millennium was facing. The city was a capital of the Alliance of Four Great races and it was now trashed after the bombings. Buildings were still in ruins and systems were still trashed. Donavan was even among the injured, paralyzed from the waist down and still getting used to his wheelchair. Mercer remembered how angry Donavan was when it happened but, since then, the young man has been getting used to his new condition.
"Thank you," Mercer replied, the old man stroking his mustache as he thought about what he was just told. "Have the papers ready on my desk."
"Yes, sir," Donavan said, turning his electric wheelchair down another hall while the General strolled off. He could feel the breeze against his skin as he stepped into the gate room. The recent bombings had left a massive hole in the wall behind the gate that had yet to be fixed. If it was not for the atmospheric barrier surrounding the entire city, they would all be exposed to space. The General continued up the stairs in front of the gate. A few days ago, these steps were covered in glass and metal, making a crunch with each footstep. Today, even that had been cleared. Mercer turned left at the top and went up to the conference room. The U-shaped table, now cleared of dust and litter, was once again polished and shiny, though the scratches created by the flying debris were still clearly seen. But, Mercer was not materialistic and proceeded to his usual seat. Wolf Pack was already there waiting for him. Major Terra Nova, Lieutenant Charles Martin, Doctor Steven Chen, Professor Corin Nevec, they were all waiting for the General as he took his seat. But, things were different from the usual conferences, he could feel it in their gazes.
"So then," Mercer opened. "As you all know, the Council attack on Millennium has left us in a bit of a predicament. We are now dangerously low on supplies across the board. We also lack material to repair the damage to the buildings. You can probably tell since we still have a hole in the wall behind the stargate. I have decided to give the green light on what may turn out to be a completely futile pursuit." Mercer paused for a moment to see if anyone had anything to say but Wolf Pack remained silent. "The Council has what they claim is the address to a major Furling planet."
The mere mention of the Furlings caught everyone's attention. The Furlings were known to all SGC personnel but both the Furlings and their technology remained elusive. Nova could only think of one piece of Furling technology: the transport portal that lead to a paradise moon. Aside from this, nothing was known of the Furlings. It was speculated that the arks used for rapid transit around Millennium were based off the same design but never confirmed.
"Professor Nevec," Mercer called out. "The Ror'char collect and study technology left behind from the Alliance of Four Great Races. Do you know of anything they made with Furling technology. Corin Nevec was their resident alien, seeking asylum from the Ror'char and used to be a professor teaching the subject.
"Actually," Corin said. "The Ror'char haven't had any luck with the Furlings. They've actually had better luck finding Nox technology. The Ror'char pretty much gave up on finding anything Furling related."
"That's two galaxies then," Nova remarked. "That's two galaxies where the Furlings used to be there but barely left anything behind. This has to be more than a coincidence." Even Charles Martin had to chirp in when he heard this.
"If they're so bloody hard to find, how did the Council get their hands on a gate address?" he asked.
"They might've found it in the Millennium's computers," Chen said. "We've been taking our time going through the database. My question is, what do we hope to achieve by going here?"
"We're low on supplies and we lack the resources to produce more," Mercer explained. "At worst, we can still cannibalize the ruins of their technology for resources. At best, we might get the chance to meet an actual Furling."
"The latter being less likely," Chen added.
"We need help, Doctor," Mercer reminded Steven Chen. "This may be a gamble that will turn up empty handed but it is a gamble I am willing to take. A MALP was already sent to the planet." The General proceeded to hand out several pictures to the team. They all looked at the images with very little reaction. It was an ice planet, or at least the stargate was located on an icy continent. There was little to see in any direction except for the white snow. But, against the white background, something gray stood out in the distance.
"What is that?" Corin asked, pointing at the gray thing barely visible on the camera. Mercer didn't bother answering when Nova handed Corin another image, one that had zoomed in on the thing. The gray object was a massive metal wall. Patches of snow and ice clung to the sides, dotting the dark gray structure with patches of white, but the wall still held strong.
"I recognize this symbol," Corin said, pointing at a marking half covered in snow on the wall. "That's the Sulibar Piracy emblem."
"Pirates?!" Martin repeated. Corin has often mentioned pirates that roam the galaxy but the expedition was still new around here so they had yet to meet any.
"In this galaxy, 'pirates' is a very broad description," Corin explained. "Yeah, a lot of the pirate groups are downright evil but plenty of them aren't bad. The Sulibar are sometimes called 'businessmen with guns'. If they don't think we're there to threaten them, then we'll be ok."
"Very well," Mercer said, standing up. "You're standing orders: find any Furling technology that can help this expedition and, if possible, locate and contact the Furlings. If these 'Sulibar' are as friendly as Corin claims they are, then see if they can help."
There was a shuffling of chairs as Wolf Pack stood up to get geared up. But, before Corin could go anywhere, Mercer called out, "Professor Nevec, if you could remain here for a moment." The rest of the team glanced at Corin, not sure why Mercer would ask him to stay behind, before leaving. Mercer watched as everyone filed out before speaking.
"You don't seem as suspicious of as the others," Mercer remarked.
"What does that mean?" Corin asked with a shrug. Mercer's eyes gave a violent glow as the other took the opportunity to speak. Corin's read reports of how Goa'uld and Tok'ra could make their eyes glow, he's always tried to imagine what it would look like, but this was the first time he's ever actually seen it. It seemed so inhuman that he could not help but feel a chill down his spine. "I assume I'm now speaking to Am-heh," Corin said. Am-heh, the Great Devourer of Millions, the Eater of Eternity, the Goa'uld mercenary and assassin that single-handedly racked up a kill count in the millions. Corin remembered that in Egyptian mythology, Am-heh was a demon in the underworld that would devourer lost souls that had the misfortune of crossing his path, a demon worshipped by none but feared by all. It was only recently they discovered that General William Mercer shared his body with this parasite, a Goa'uld claiming to have joined the Tok'ra to absolve himself of past sins. All this was the result of an agreement between the SGC and the Tok'ra.
"Even now, you do not seem disturbed by my presence," Am-heh said. These words came out of Mercer's mouth, this was still Mercer's voice, but it was twisted and distorted. Corin was surprised Am-heh simply took control, even making his eyes flash for anyone to see if they're watching. Aside from Doctor Osborn, only Wolf Pack knew Mercer's secret.
"There a reason I should be?" Corin asked. He'd be lying if he told himself he wasn't a little disturbed, the idea of a snake wrapped around his spinal cord making him cringe, but he didn't see the General as anything horrible.
"The rest of your team has become suspicious of me, which was expected, yet you do not seem to be," Am-heh said. Corin felt nervous speaking his mind in front of the General. He gave an exasperated sigh as he tried to put his thoughts into words.
"I believe you; you're not the only…'alien' that wants to escape his past. Terra's just worried whether or not you have other secrets you're not telling us. Steven just want to make sure you don't give us a suicide mission to fulfill your own goals. Charles wonders if you really have changed or are you still a cold killer. When the Council tried to take Millennium, you said that you talked to Greer and managed to incite enough dissension in the attack force, that they fought and killed each other. That's not true, is it? You killed them, all of them, didn't you?" Am-heh closed his eyes without responding. Even if he did wish to spend the last hundred years of his life doing something more meaningful, he still retained his ruthless efficiency. "Hey, if you don't mine me asking the General…"
Am-heh's eyes gave another violent glow as the symbiote and host switched control. Corin read that Tok'ra would close their eyes or even lower their heads as they made the switch; the former Goa'uld did not bother with such trivial formality.
"What is it, Professor?" Mercer asked in his regular voice.
"Why did you volunteer to be…implanted I think they called it? They told you who you were merging with, right?"
"A killer of millions," Mercer said with a chuckle. "Blending is definitely something for neither the faint-hearted nor those fearful of commitment, truly 'till death do us part. And Am-heh hasn't completely lost his Goa'uld ways; he does on occasion seize control without my permission." Mercer gave a hearty chuckle as he thought about it.
"Then why'd you agree to this?"
"Professor, I've been alive almost seventy years, so old that military regulation would have me retire before I reach that age. All my life, from the time I was a child to teenager to adult, I have been surrounded by the arrogant, self-proclaimed experts. I was reviled and spat upon for one reason or another, called ignorant and inferior. All my life, I wished to become something great, something no one could ever look down upon. Am-heh was simply one step further to doing this, one step further to becoming something far greater than any human could ever hope to become: leader of the Millennium Expedition and host to warrior seeking redemption for past sins."
"And if he really is just using you? I've read mission reports where the symbiote's taken advantage of the host."
"Well, I guess that would be a fitting punishment for being so enraptured by my own ambitions. Though, Professor Nevec, you are assuming that you are actually speaking to William Mercer right now, and not the symbiote impersonating him."
Corin felt his blood chill when he heard this. Mercer's tone had changed so suddenly that it almost seemed as if Am-heh really had been in control all this time and was merely mocking Corin for being so trusting, mocking the obliviousness of the expedition, and mocking the helplessness of the team to this information. The blood from Corin's face had just drained when…a smile formed on the General's face as the old man gave a hearty laugh.
"I'm only kidding," he said with a broad smile. "There's no reason for you to be so uptight. I appreciate your faith, as does Am-heh, though you'll never catch him admitting it. Now go prepare for the mission; I said to obtain Furling technology to sound realistic but I am done chasing ghosts. If the Furlings really are still around, I want you to find them, whatever it takes."
STARGATE
MILLENNIUM
The workers cleared and the gate room emptied as Wolf Pack geared up. They haven't used the Hazard Suits in a while but putting on the Alliance suit felt familiar. The Asgard in Pegasus were seen using armored exoskeletons that apparently protected them from toxic atmospheres. The Destiny expedition found Ancient environmental suits. The Hazard suits were likely a combination of the two mixed with some Nox and Furling technology. The dark gray suits looked a lot more intricate than they really were and were identical except for the helmets. Nova let the helmet extend from her collar, the dome covering her head as a single purple band of energy lit up at the front like a visor as she gripped her P90. Martin slung his ion rifle over his shoulder, his wedge shaped helmet forming with two veins of green energy running across the front of it. Chen already had his rigidly helmet on, looking at the gate room through two red glowing view ports which made it look as if he was glaring at everything, which actually wouldn't be much of a change from his regular expression. Corin finally walked in, glancing at Mercer, who watched the team from the control room. Nevec let his helmet extend over his head, the flat faceplate coming together as three bands of energy running across it hummed to life.
"Major Nova," Mercer announced. "Is your team ready?"
"Ready, sir," Nova said back. "Wolf Pack, roll out!"
-.-
The MALP showed snow. The MALP showed ice. What the MALP did not show was how deep it was. Nova learned this when she arrived, stumbling as the snow rose to her knees. Martin arrived next, yelling, "Gah, bugger me," as he struggled to keep balance, not expecting the sudden drop. Chen followed and yelled, "Oh, jeez!" They both managed to stay on their feet. Then Corin arrived. Not as limber as any of them, Corin stepped forward expecting something to be there and immediately lost balance, falling onto the two men in front of him and knocking them all to the ground.
"My team's composed of the three stooges," Nova groaned, shaking her head as Martin, Chen, and Nevec picked themselves up.
"Why would the Furlings build their stuff here, of all places?!" Chen exclaimed as he brushed the snow off. "Why not somewhere on the planet where it's sunny?"
"The continent might've been different back then," Corin suggested, getting to his feet. "Or, this is simply the winter." It didn't seem that bad. The snow may have been knee-deep but the sight was rather beautiful as the sun reflected off the smooth and untouched top layer.
"C'mon," Nova said. "The base looks like it's a ten minute walk."
"If there are any Furling artifacts, they're probably buried under the snow," Corin said as they began treading through the white mass. Calling it 'walking' would've been an exaggeration. A more accurate description would be awkward stomping. With how high the snow was, they would try lifting their feet out of it first before moving it forwards. "Hopefully Sulibar can lend us a hand," Corin muttered, already tired.
-.-
The white snow and ice they tread through seemed to practically glow as the light reflected off its glittering surface. This almost contrasted the facility's dull gray walls as they approached it.
"There it is," Nova called out as Wolf Pack stood upon the ledge of a steep hill looking down over the entire compound. The orange sun was partially blocked by the mountains behind it but the auburn rays still shone over the entire area, a huge metal wall surrounding the encampment, dozens of makeshift buildings dotting the landscape. Towers along the walls overlooked the surroundings. A single gate in the wall was connected directly to the main building, which was covered in snow. The Sulibar symbol was painted on the side of the wall for everyone to see.
-.-
"Hello!" Coring called out, waving his hands as they neared the compound. He had to make sure that the people inside knew they were friendly. "We're not here to fight you; we're explorers, we need to talk." They all waited for some sort of response but none came.
"No welcome wagon," Martin observed. There was no response to greet them nor turn them away.
"You think it's abandoned?" Chen asked, preparing his own P90.
"Power's on," Nova said, shaking her head. "I guess we'll find out." She approached the door at the gate, watching as the sensors detected a presence and opened. She readied her weapon as she stepped inside the compound. The doors slid close as the team followed her in, sealing them inside. No longer exposed to the outside, they all retracted their helmets and took in a deep breath of fresh air. It was only once her helmet was off Nova realized how big of a difference the suits made. With her helmet on, she barely felt any discomfort. Even with the compound doors closed, the cold air that had gotten in felt like freezing water against her face. Puddles were forming at their feet as the ice and snow lodged in their suits began to melt. A second set of doors opened, allowing the team inside the facility. The double-doors would make sure cold air does not flood in and it also served as a veil that hid the truth from the outside.
"This place wasn't abandoned," Martin said when he saw the facility in front of them was actually filled with humans, a few of them walking about while others stood in the corners by computer terminals and crates. But, this didn't make them feel any better. If anything, they now knew for sure something was wrong as they listened to how eerily quiet it was.
"Terra," Corin whispered nervously. "Something's wrong here." Nova watched a group of people talking in the corner. She squinted when she realized that these people actually weren't talking. They were standing there and looking at each other but their mouths didn't move. They must've noticed Nova staring for they all looked up and looked at her, their heads moving in unison.
"I know," she muttered, walking away, trying to shake off what she just saw. Martin hugged his weapon, looking around nervously.
"This is like the episode of Doctor Who: Clara and the Doctor walk into the restaurants filled with creepy robots," he muttered.
"Hey," Corin said, blocking the man's path. "Can we talk to whoever's in charge?" Corin waited but the man had almost no reaction, only looking forward with an eerie blank stare. Finally, after a minute, the man simply said, "Excuse me," and walked past. The statement was short, simple, and completely monotone. He didn't sound inhuman, more like a man who is half asleep and instinctively answering. But, these people didn't look like they were asleep; their eyes were wide open and they moved around as if it was a usual work day. Nova tried her luck, walking up to a man sitting on a bench.
"Hello," she said. "I'm looking for the person in charge." The man looked up at her but did not answer. With a blank expression and unblinking eyes, he stared at Nova.
"These guys are really give me the creeps," Martin remarked, staring a woman at a computer terminal. Along with a winter suit, she wore a blank expression on her face and stared at the monitor. Her hands were on the keyboard but she was not typing.
"Hey guys!" Corin called out as he walked into a nearby room. Everyone followed him in. The room was a decent size with a bookshelf on the far wall, a large cot, and a table with a lamp.
"Captain Mathanus," Nova read the tag on the door. "I think Mathanus might be the captain of this whole operation." Corin walked up to the bookshelf and began browsing through the rows of books, looking for something.
"Terra," Chen spoke up. "As much as I want to know what's happening here, shouldn't we be more focused on finding the Furlings or at least their technology?"
"All we know is that this used to be a major Furling planet," Nova reminded him. "To be blunt, we don't know where to start looking."
Corin was already busy working to solve that issue. "Hold on," he said. There was a small booklet just lying on the cot that Corin picked and began flipping through. "It was a hunch but I was right; Mathanus kept a journal." Nova paused, taking in everything she just learned.
"Alright," she finally said. "Martin, stay with Corin and see what Mathanus wrote in his journal. Chen, you and I are going to take a look around, see if we can find anyone who's still sane. If we want to look for the Furlings, we're going to need help."
"Got it," Chen said, readying his gun.
"Be careful though," Martin added. Everyone looked at him quizzically, unable to think of a reason they would be in danger. "The base is surrounded by six-meter high walls. It kinda begs the question: what are they trying to keep out?"
-.-
The soulless people at the entrance already gave Nova the chills. The empty base didn't help. Lights had been turned off, leaving it up to her and Chen to find the switch to turn them back on. They didn't know what it was but something about this place put them all on edge. Dripping water sounded like footsteps, lights from the machines looked like glowing eyes, the creaking of the building sounded like inhuman moans. But, they still treaded on.
"Aren't we worried that whatever happened to those people is going to happen to us?" Chen posed the question as he examined the halls.
"If it was airborne, we'd already be infected," Nova said. "If not, we just need to be careful." Chen rolled his eyes at that last statement.
"Careful," he scoffed, opening a door and letting out a girlish scream. Nova whipped around and watched almost a dozen light gray fuzz balls scurrying across the floor. She simply laughed, lowering her gun.
"You suddenly grow a fear of vormians?" she chuckled. The expedition had encountered vormians before; an infestation of the furbie-looking rat-like creature had once broken out on Millennium. These pests were adaptable and could multiply like flies. These ones managed to even survive in the freezing environment.
"There's a difference between fear and innate hatred," Chen growled, lowering his gun. Chen had just stood up when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He peeked into the room, trying to identify what he just saw. "Uh, Terra," he said. Nova looked inside as well, her eyes falling upon what had caught Chen's attention. The door was an entrance to a small warehouse filled with alien artifacts. Tables were scattered about with strange devices laying on them. Tags dangled off each item, some of which were as small as a fist while others were the size of a soccer ball.
"They definitely found a Furling settlement of some sort," Nova said, picking up a golden canister. Inscribed around the cylinder were strange symbols that she recognized as the Furling language. The hieroglyphs were small, almost like a label. She couldn't tell what was an actual piece of technology and what was simple decoration. "They were probably sending up items they found for catalog."
Chen was staring at a mine cart resting on a set of rails, a large statue, a little taller than him, nestled in the car. The statue was a pair of large black prongs jutting into the air, circling to coil around a large orb before shooting back into the sky. Chen stared at the crystal ball held between the stone pillars, watching as the green smoke inside swirled. He knew it was only a crystal ball but it felt like a massive eye watching his every move. He got it off his mind by examining the rails the cart was resting on. The rails came in through a closed garage door, made a loop, and went back out again.
"Hey Terra," he called out. "If we follow these tracks, we'll probably find where they got these from." Nova followed the tracks with her eyes, watching them lead outside. A small door in the corner also lead outside, likely so they didn't need to open the garage door every time they wanted to exit the building.
"Back into the snow then," she said, letting her helmet extend back over her head. Chen followed suit and walked to the door. Outside, snow had begun to gently fall. It was a very light flurry, barely even noticeable. Chen watched as a few flakes landed on the tracks and melted within moments. They had to be heating the tracks to make sure it didn't get iced over.
Chen and Nova both froze when an inhuman howl gently rumbled the air. They could hear heavy footfall, something crushing snow under its weight.
"Oh great, we got a yeti outside," Chen said flatly, not in the mood for fighting big monsters. Martin had wondered why they needed such high walls for.
"As long as it stays outside, we won't have a problem," Nova said calmly. "C'mon, we still need to see if there's anyone we can talk to."
-.-
Charles Martin walked back into the captain's quarters, glancing back behind him. Had had decided to roam about the halls and found that these people were still very creepy.
"Hey, Corin," he said. "You done reading that?" Nevec slouched in the chair by the desk, slowly making his way through the captain's log, trying to find out what he could.
"There's definitely something Furling on this planet," Corin said. "This planet's wildlife apparently made it too dangerous for an official archaeological expedition so they hired the Sulibar to do the digging."
"Pirates looking for alien artifacts?" Martin asked, not expecting this.
"They're paid for every artifact or piece of technology they send back. With how rare Furling technology is, this would be a lucrative job. Scientists, engineers, archaeologists, government officials, museums, private collectors, there are a lot of people who would pay a killing for anything that used to belong to the Furlings. They suspect that, unlike the Ancients or Asgard, the Furlings are intentionally hiding their technology on some of the most dangerous planets with the most hostile wildlife." Corin could not help but think about the wall surrounding the base. That was likely to keep out said hostile wildlife while the Sulibar dug for artifacts. It was also why the Sulibar was hired in the first place; the wildlife proved too dangerous. The Furlings simply didn't count on pirates willing to take the risk for the right pay. Normally, ancient races, when they wanted to hide technology or treasures, would put it in a tomb lined with traps. With dangerous weather conditions and an even more dangerous wildlife, this would do more to discourage snooping archaeologists and make it even harder to find. "Hey, here's something interesting."
"What is it?" Martin asked. The whole building was so dreary he could use something new. Corin turned back one page so he could properly read what was written.
"Here's something the captain wrote: Once again, it seems like this planet or these ruins are having an effect on our memories or on time itself, with how powerful the Furlings were I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. I left my quarters but when I came back, my clock said an entire day had passed. I'm not the only one. Many of our people say the same thing is happening to them; they leave a room but next time they see a clock, it is a day later. Our contractors say they lost contact with us during what would be yesterday. I can't help but wonder what happened to us during that time."
"Maybe this is what's happening to them," Martin suggested, looking at the stiff figures walking the halls. "Why are we even reading this thing page by page? Just skip to the ending." Martin reached over to grab the book but Corin immediately held it away.
"There's no point," Corin said, flipping to the last journal entry to prove it. "All it says is…" His voice trailed off as he finally read the last journal entry said.
"Hey," Martin said, realizing something had Corin worried. "What is it?" Corin couldn't find a way to paraphrase it so he read it out loud.
"I am ordering my crew to pack up and leave. I do not know why I feel so strongly about it but I am going to follow my instincts. We've made enough from this job and now it's time to leave. Grab all personal items; we head out as soon as we can. I leave this book behind as a warning. I strongly encourage anyone who finds this to simply leave. This was from several weeks ago." It took Martin a moment but he realized what Corin was hinting at.
"If the Sulibar have already left, who're these blokes?"
Corin stuffed the book in a pocket on his suit's belt and stormed outside. He walked up to one of the wandering men and began searching through his uniform.
"Excuse me," the person said as Corin began searching the man for some sort of identification. It was only once Corin lifted a flap on the man's jacket did he realize who they were dealing with. He wanted to smack his head off the wall, frustrated that he believed that these people were members of the Sulibar just because they were in a Sulibar base.
"Oh no," Corin muttered when he saw the black symbol printed on blue cloth wrapped around the man's arm, hidden under a flap on their uniform, and it was not the Sulibar symbol.
-.-
The buildings may look rough and ragged but they certainly did their job. The doors to the last compound at the center of the outpost opened up and Nova and Chen eagerly stepped in. Every time they entered a building, the snow clinging to their suit melted to water and when they stepped back outside, the water froze to ice. Chen stomped the ground, letting the thing layer of frozen water fall off.
"Terra," Chen said, spotting an elevator in the distance. This was a one story building; the only direction an elevator could travel was down, leading Chen to one conclusion: "That elevator must lead to the Furling ruins." His heart was racing. He was beginning to understand how archaeologists must feel when they make a new discovery. He wanted to go down there; he wanted to see the ruins. Somewhere down there could be an energy source powerful enough to dial Earth.
"No," Nova said. "We can go down there later. For now, keep looking around." Chen obeyed. He didn't like it but he understood what Nova was saying. He scurried around the small building, trying to find someone.
"It's weird," Steven Chen said, his helmet folding back into her suit. "It seems like everyone is at the main compound." Nova agreed that it was strange, the crew of an entire facility lumbering around like zombies, almost completely unresponsive to everything. "I say we go back and try to get someone to snap out of it."
"Not yet," Terra said. "I still want to find Captain Mathanus; that way we will have someone that can actually tell us what's going on." Nova fell silent as she wondered where Mathanus could possibly be. These people, walking around in their trance, must have once gone about their regular routines. Where could Mathanus have gone before this happened? She was so enwrapped in her thoughts she did not expect a voice to come out through the window behind them.
"Why are you looking for Captain Mathanus?"
Nova and Chen whipped around, weapons at the ready. At first they didn't see where the voice was coming from. Then, the wall faded away, revealing a window. The wall was merely a holographic projection. In the room on the other side was a dark figure sitting in pitch blackness. Sparks tinkled from the shattered lights, which hung from only a few cables.
"We're hoping to talk to him," Nova said cautiously.
"Just talk?" the man asked.
"Just talk," Nova reassured. "The people in the main building were…acting strange. We were hoping Captain Mathanus could explain what is going on." The figure paused, hesitating to speak.
"Then you need not search further," he finally said. "I'm Captain Mathanus." Nova looked at the figure in surprise and suspicion.
"Major Nova," she replied. "What happened here?" Chen didn't like how he couldn't see the man's face. Nova was a lot more skilled at reading facial expressions than he was but it still felt like the man was hiding something.
"We were an archaeological expedition," Mathanus said. "A tablet containing the gate address to a Furling planet was found. This planet is infamous for its hostile climate and wildlife so we were hired to do the digging."
"We saw your warehouse," Chen mentioned.
"There's a Furling outpost under the ice. We managed to bring back a few artifacts."
"So the tracks do lead to the ruins," Chen said with a nod.
"The men would send the cart up with any artifacts they found. The workers in the warehouse would take the artifacts, catalog them, and send the cart back down."
"There's no one at the warehouse now," Nova pointed out. Mathanus looked down sadly.
"We found a capsule of some sort. My scientists thought it was some sort of storage unit so we opened it up. It was empty…or so we thought. That's when it started to happen. People began acting strange, wandering around aimlessly. It started with the ones who opened the capsule. Then, the people working around that area at the time. Soon, it had spread to everyone. Eventually they attacked me. I locked myself in here."
"Do you know why they're acting like this?" Nova asked. Her first concern with for her team, not some alien artifacts.
"It's a bacteria," the figure said darkly. "It's some sort of diease back during the time of the Alliance. We're not immune to it like they are."
"How're you not infected?" Chen asked.
"I am infected. I left the main building before it go as bad as the others. The longer the exposure the worse it gets. You two need to get the rest of your team and get out here. It's too late for us. Just leave us behind."
Chen looked at Nova as if to say 'I told you so'. He had suspected that this was some sort of disease from the beginning. Nova, on the other hand, was not as easily convinced.
"What did you say?" she asked.
"Leave us behind," the figure pleaded.
"How did you know we came with a team?" she asked. "You've only seen the two of us." Chen hadn't noticed the discrepancy either until now. He readied his gun while they waited for Mathanus to give them the answer.
"You said we," Mathanus replied after a long pause.
"And I could easily mean just me and Chen," Nova replied, carefully listening to the man's responses. "How did you know there're more of us?" Before Mathanus could answer, Nova's radio crackled to life.
"Terra!" Corin called out in panic. "Terra, we might be in trouble." Nova was about to answer but Corin immediately spoke up again. "Terra, they're not Sulibar. Mathanus and his crew left nearly two months ago! We have to get out of here"
Nova and Chen cocked and aimed their weapons, realizing that this figure wasn't Mathanus.
"We're headed back," Nova said through the radio, her weapon trained on the figure. The man hung his head, his body trembling. "Who are you?" Nova demanded to know as she and Chen backed up. The figure looked at them, his eyes wide and glowing ferociously. This was not the mere flash seen on Goa'uld and Tok'ra but a glow like a flame burning in his sockets.
"Do not pursue me; abandon your search." This was the voice that came out of the man, a hollow voice that echoed through the building. "Leave this planet and never return."
"Who are you?!" Nova repeated. "What have you done to these people?"
"Terra," Corin yelled through the radio. "We have to go!" The figure stared at her and Chen, not moving, his eyes glowing even brighter. The two of them suddenly fell over, clinging their head as a ringing noise seemed to pierce their ear, a sharp pain stabbing into their head as the glass suddenly shattered. The man leapt out of the room and bolted out the door.
"He's getting away!" Chen yelled, hauling himself to his feet. He was about to run after the man but Terra Nova ordered, "Let him go." Steven wanted to protest but Nova had made up her mind.
"We're meeting up with Corin and Martin and heading back to Millennium until we know what's going on."
-.-
The doors leading outside opened and Wolf Pack strolled out. Their helmets were back on and they were going back into the snow. Night was falling so they had to get back to the gate quickly.
"Corin," Nova called out, the facility vanishing behind them. "You were panicked when you radioed in. What's going on?" Corin treading ahead faster than the others, not wanting to turn back. He was the only one who understood what was happening.
"The Sulibar were hired to come here to dig for Furling artifacts," Corin explained. "But, something on this planet influenced them, convinced them to abandon their base, to leave and never come back. So they left."
"Then who are these people?" Nova asked. Corin was clearly worried and she needed to know why. Nevec stopped so he could catch his breath. This was also a good time to explain.
"They call themselves the Quinteran; it means 'The Fifth' in Ancient."
"Fifth?" Chen repeated. "As in?"
"The Fifth Race. There's an Ancient ruin on their home planet that talks about how the Ancients directed and guided their evolution so they could be the successor to the Alliance, the Fifth Race. This idea's gotten to their heads; they use it as an excuse to conquer neighboring territories. They found the abandoned Sulibar base and began using it to search for Furling technology. They say they're entitled to all Alliance technology."
"And the Ror'char just let this happen?" Martin asked. He remembered that the Ror'char studied and integrated the technologies of the Alliance of Four Great Races.
"No, all the Ror'char factions and the Quinterans have a huge grudge match," Corin said. He remembered teaching classes about this in the past, about the battles between the Ror'char and the Quinterans. The Ror'char ruthlessly conquered dozens of civilizations but they have never been as merciless as they are against this particular group of humans. "They're both after Alliance technology and the Ror'char say the Quinterans are everything they stand against; the Ror'char have a 'take no survivors' policy for dealing with the Quinterans. Not to mention, the Ror'char are beating them on all fronts." Corin paused again, realizing he may have actually spoken well of the Ror'char. But, he had to be truthful. "The Ror'char are callous but the Quinterans are just barbaric."
"Then why did just leave in a hurry?" Nova finally asked. She now knew who they were running from; now she wanted to know why. "A person back there was under some sort of alien influence. He said that there's a bacteria doing this."
"I think he's lying," Corin replied. "Whatever happened to the Sulibar that convinced them to leave was happening to the Quinteran. We just walked in while it was happening and whatever is doing this needed to find a way to convince us to leave too. That's also why we had to leave." Martin simply shook his head in confusion.
"I don't get it."
"Don't say it," Chen warned. Steven Chen understood what Corin was implying. "Don't say it; you're going to jinx it."
"Jinx what?"
"The moment Corin says those guys will wake up and attack us, that's exactly what'll happen," Chen said, suddenly freezing when he just realized what he just did. "Son of a bitch, I'm a dumbass."
A bolt of purple energy whipped through the air, missed, and stuck the snow at their feet. Everyone dove for cover, unprepared for the sudden attack. Nova looked around, trying to find the source. She didn't need to look long for she immediately saw two figures sprinting through the snowfield, the knee-high white mass not even slowing them down.
"There they are! They're heading for the Valgrind."
"Shoot them."
Nova grabbed her P90 and fired, the sound of the gun echoing across the snow field. This was bad. There was no cover for any of them. There was too much distance between her and the charging soldiers to disarm them and there was nothing to hide behind. All she could hope was that they missed. It was their accuracy versus hers.
Martin immediately aimed and fired his ion rifle in the general direction of their attackers. He didn't even check what setting it was on, as long as it fired. The rifle was actually on its maximum setting, and the bolt may have missed the Quinteran soldiers but it hit the snow near the Quinteran forces. The bolt exploded the moment it hit the ground as if it was a grenade, the blast wave hurtling a plume of white powder into the air, the sudden pressure wave knocking down the two enemy soldiers.
"That's our cue," Nova yelled. "Forget fighting; just head back to the gate." Her team obeyed, turning and trying to run up the hill to the gate. The explosion stunned the Quinteran but it didn't stop them. The chase resumed but it didn't last long. The sound of the fight echoed in every direction and it had just attracted an angry passerby. The ground began to ruble. Wolf Pack struggled to stay on their feet as the snow beneath them began to shift. Even the Quinteran stopped, scanning the area in fear. They had been on the planet far longer than Wolf Pack and they understood that the walls around the facility were there for good reason.
The ground burst open, a cloud of white filling the air. The snow sprinkled to the ground and the white mass faded away, replaced by a massive dark gray shape: an enormous snake-like mantis held off the ground by a set of tiny legs near the back of its serpentine body and a pair of huge spiny forearms.
"Tyrant!" one of the Quinteran soldiers yelled in panic, the shadow of the monster looming over him. Wolf Pack immediately got to their feet and bolted across the snow plain. Nevec was falling behind so Nova grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her.
The tyrant had emerged at the source of the loudest the noise: the explosion near the Quinteran. The creature lunged forwards, its jaws the perfect size to grab the screaming Quinteran and lift him up into the air. It began thrashing its head, shaking its prey's body like a ragdoll, whipping its meal back and forth while his comrade was desperately shooting at the beast. The creature dropped its food the ground and diverted its attention to the one shooting at him. The man looked up in horror as the beast raised a massive claw and swung, the barbed forearm slicing across the surface and hitting the man like a baseball bat hitting its tiny ball. The tiny man was sent flying across the ground. The tyrant scanned the area. Realizing it had just won, it threw its head into the air and gave a triumphant roar that echoed across the landscape.
-.-
The glow of the active wormhole illuminated the gate room on Millennium. Mercer stood at the edge of the balcony, his eyes locked on the ring.
"We're receiving Wolf Pack's IDC," Donavan reported from his console.
"Raise the barrier," Mercer ordered. A beam of light appeared from the floor and dematerialized the metal cover, the open wormhole exposed to the air once again. Corin jumped through, arms flailing. Martin and Chen tripped out of the event horizon, practically falling over. Nova slowly backed out of the wormhole, her weapon aimed at the gate.
"Seal the barrier," she said calmly. Donavan obeyed and the metal slab quickly covered the gate once again. She didn't know if the creature was following them and she wasn't taking any chances.
"Major," Mercer called out, jogging down the stairs to the gate room. He watched as the helmets retracted, revealing the team's defeated expressions. "I'm assuming you didn't manage to retrieve any Furling technology."
"No, sir," Nova said, shaking her head. "We were chased off the planet; we didn't even see the ruins." The General was silent for a moment. They were all hoping that they could have brought or found something.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. Corin grinned at this statement, pulling Mathanus' journal out from the pouch in his belt.
"Don't be sorry yet," Corin chuckled, waving the booklet in the air.
"You kept the journal?" Martin asked. He had completely forgotten about the book. Chen hadn't forgotten it but didn't see the significance.
"What good is that going to do?"
"Well, before the Sulibar left, they found a way to track the Furlings."
Everyone fell silent when they heard this.
"You mean…" Nova said. Even she had trouble containing her excitement.
"With the instructions in this journal, we can find the Furlings."