Chalky finished talking into the mic of his radio headset, and turned to Doctor Fraiser, his expression slightly worried. They'd been concerned when they had heard gunfire echoing through the night, and it appeared their fears were being realized. She was finding the young sergeant to be a good traveling companion- like Teal'c, he only tended to speak when he felt something actually needed to be said, leaving her to devote her energy to keeping up with his slightly longer strides.
"What's happening?" she asked. Almost six years of experience in the SGC had taught her that whenever a professional soldier's face wore that expression, things were going seriously wrong.
"They've been attacked, ma'am. Smudge is down, and he's pretty badly hurt." The quiet sergeant shook his head slightly. "When Dinger says things are bad, chances are it's gone completely pear shaped."
He turned on his small, red filtered torch and looked at his map. After poring over it for a few seconds, he looked back up at the doc.
"We've still got about three kilometers to cover. The Colonel, Teal'c and Major Lomax are heading down to join up with us, but we need to pick up the pace. Basically, Major Carter thinks you're Smudge's only chance of survival. Not only that, they think that whatever it was that attacked them could be heading this way, so it's time to get a shufty on."
Janet nodded, understanding the slang term from the context- in other words; it was time to get a serious move on. Sam wouldn't have put that kind of pressure on them if it wasn't necessary.
Chalky was checking the machine gun he carried, and was hurriedly stripping the sling from the weapon, so it wouldn't get in his way should they be attacked, as was looking increasingly likely.
"I'm not being funny, ma'am, but I think we need to transfer some of your kit into my bergen." He said, looking critically at the large pack containing personal gear and medical equipment that the small woman was carrying. "No offence, but you'll be able to move a lot faster if we lighten the load- as it is, I'm carrying a fraction of what I'm used to, anyway."
Fraiser nodded, she understood the need for speed and she'd stopped being oversensitive about her stature in these situations a long time ago- the blonde sergeant was an awful lot bigger than her, after all.
They quickly transferred the heavier items of kit, and within a couple of minutes of being alerted to the problems the rest of the team were facing, the two were making far swifter progress toward the camp.
* * *
O'Neill, Teal'c and Lomax were making even better progress as they were traveling downhill, and were unencumbered with heavy equipment. That had all been left with Carter, so they were carrying only their weapons and the minimal weight of their assault vests. They'd gotten an exact position fix and route from Chalky, and were hoping to rendezvous in around 25 minutes.
As they headed down a particularly rocky stretch, Lomax lost her footing and with a snarled curse slid to the bottom of the shale slope. The other two hurried down to where the dark haired Major was disgustedly getting back to her feet.
"You ok?" asked O'Neill.
"Yeah, fine- just bruised my pride," she shook her head, annoyed at herself for making the sort of boneheaded mistake that she would chew out a recruit on selection for.
"I think we need to throw caution to the wind, and give ourselves a little light. We can't rely on the moonlight if it keeps vanishing behind the clouds," said O'Neill. Teal'c nodded. "I agree, O'Neill. It may have the further advantage of drawing the creature toward the group with superior weaponry."
They flicked on the red torches, and resumed on their way.
Ten minutes later, O'Neill called a brief halt. "Okay, lets see where they are," he said, about to key his radio. He never got the chance, as gunfire erupted seven hundred metres further down the hill.
"I guess that's the answer to that question, folks!"
O'Neill broke into a run, Teal'c and Lomax hot on his heels.
* * *
Chalky and Fraiser had been making good time. Taking a swift break to catch their breath, Chalky checked his map.
"About a K and a half to go," he said, stuffing it back into his pocket. He moved off again, Fraiser close behind him. A few seconds later she crashed into the man's back, as without warning he suddenly stopped dead.
"Ooof!… what the-"
"Shhh!" snapped Chalky, listening intently. The stealthy sound reached his ears once more, and this time it was joined by a low, hissing growl. "There!" he whispered urgently. "Did you hear that?"
The brunette nodded, a chill traveling down her spine. Chalky looked around hastily, and seeing a slight rise to their left, away from the sound, gestured toward it. "Up there- move!"
The pelted up the hill, Chalky spinning and dumping his bergen and beginning to sweep the area with the infrared sight attached to the top of his minimi. Fraiser felt her heart beat even faster as she noticed a shadowy shape darting behind a cluster of boulders at the other side of the trail.
"Gordon Bennet…" muttered Chalky as he saw the size of the thing. "Ma'am, pass me that rocket launcher." He didn't dare take his eyes from the spot he'd last seen the bipedal reptilian monstrosity. Frasier turned and hurriedly freed the large green tube from the straps securing it to the young soldier's pack. He laid down his weapon, relieving Fraiser of the LAW 90 so he could ready it to fire. "Do you know how to fire the minimi?"
She shook her head.
"Okay, stick with the P90." He retrieved the light machine gun, and Fraiser peered into the darkness as she flicked off the safety catch on her own weapon. At times like this, her respect for the SG teams grew, and she saw from Chalky's composure that the SAS soldiers were cut from the same mould- if anything, the sandy haired sergeant was even cooler in a crisis than most members of the SGC.
There was a flurry of movement below them, and Chalky let loose with the minimi, sending a three sharp bursts toward the creature. Fraiser added her own rounds in the general direction- as her weapon didn't have a night sight, she merely hoped for the best. Her blood froze as she heard a guttural snarl from below them, and she saw Chalky drop the minimi and heft the LAW 90 onto his shoulder. The beast was still one hundred and fifty metres away; so he took the chance to do some real damage, as Dinger had told him that small arms fire alone didn't have a huge effect.
Sighting carefully on the beast, he steadied his breathing, then having made sure the petite brunette wasn't directly behind him, he smoothly depressed the firing stud. A gout of bright orange flame blossomed out behind him and he squeezed his eyes shut and tilted his head downward as the high explosive rocket cleared the front of the launcher. It blazed a trail through the darkness, illuminating the area for miles around, before detonating as it reached its target. The resultant fireball lit up the sky as it bloomed upward. Chalky threw aside the now useless launcher, and swept his light machine gun back into his hands.
"Did you get it?" asked Fraiser, struggling to see through the gloom to the other side of the hill.
He swore gently under his breath. "No, I don't think so. Can't see it anymore either." He continued to sweep the hillside looking for any signs of the monster.
"We're not going to achieve much more here- that probably scared it off for now." He reached for his pack, leaving the discarded launcher where it had fallen, as the piece of equipment was a one-shot deal. When they were both ready to move, he took a last look through his sight, and satisfied that he could see no signs of the hostile, began to jog northward once more, motioning to the doctor to go slightly ahead and to his left, so he could keep her in sight at all times. He heaved a sigh of relief as he saw three figures pounding down the hill two hundred metres above them.
* * *
O'Neill swore as the rocket blazed out from the rise and began moving as fast as he dared, trying to avoid thinking the worst. He was therefore immensely happy to see two people jogging toward him from the direction the rocket had launched from, one around six feet tall, the other considerably shorter.
"I am pleased to see that you are well, DoctorFraiser," said Teal'c as they drew close enough to hear him.
"Believe me, Teal'c, it's a pleasure to be well!" she replied.
"Are you two okay?" barked O'Neill.
"Yes sir, we're fine."
"Let's move- you can fill us in on that little display on the way," he said, turning and leading them back up the hill.
They covered the ground quickly, Chalky tersely taking them through the encounter as they went. The usually placid sergeant was vastly irritated by the fact that he'd seemed to miss with his shot.
"Don't worry about it, sergeant. The thing's fast- it probably saw the rocket and dived out of the way." O'Neill keyed his radio. "Carter?"
The blonde Majors voice crackled forth.
"Yes, sir?"
"We've got the doc and we're on our way back- how's he doing?"
"Not too good sir, I've done all I can for him- he's still alive, though."
"Okay, our ETA is fifteen minutes- tell Dinger to be on the lookout, that hostile might be back, 'cause it just got its ass kicked down here."
"Understood, sir. Carter, out."
Carter had moved Smudge to one of the tents with Daniel's help. The redhead's skin was unusually flushed for the amount of blood loss he'd sustained, and spasmodic tremors were wracking his body. She checked the IV line and mopped some of the sweat from his face.
They'd managed to slow the bleeding down to a trickle, though for a while she'd thought they were never going to get it to stop. The reaction he was having now was worrying her, however. She raised her head to meet Daniel's equally worried gaze.
"What do you think?" he asked, glancing back down at Smudge.
"Maybe there was a poison on its claws too." She glanced out to where Dinger was on watch. "Can you keep an eye on him for now? There's not a lot more we can do for him, and I'll need to bring Janet up to speed when she gets here."
Daniel nodded, and Carter slid backward through the tent flap, clipped her P90 back onto its sling and walked over to where Dinger was trying to spot the returning team members.
"How is he, ma'am?" asked the big colour sergeant, his face uncharacteristically somber.
"We've done all we can," said Carter. "Hopefully Doctor Fraiser will be able to do more for him when she gets here, but it's not looking good." She rested a hand on his arm, and he looked down at the blonde. "She's the best- if anyone can save him, she can."
He nodded- he'd seen the wounds across the younger mans chest, and as an experienced soldier he'd expected to hear no better. Carter replaced her hand on her rifle and looked out into the darkness.
"The colonel said to be on the lookout- they engaged it further down the hill and it apparently came off worst in the exchange. Depending on how smart it is, it may realize that there are less of us up here now."
"It don't want to come back here," the big man growled. "I'll rip it apart with my teeth."
He belatedly remembered he was talking to an officer. "Sorry ma'am, but Smudge is a good mate."
"Don't worry about it, I understand." Carter looked back down the hill, and thought she saw movement. "What's that?" she whispered, pointing. They both took a more secure grip on their weapons. Dinger raised Smudge's minimi and peered through the nightsight.
"It's them," he murmured as he lowered the weapon. Carter released the breath she'd unconsciously been holding and moved to the edge of the wood to meet them.
O'Neill saw the silhouette and tensed for a second before recognizing his 2IC's profile.
"We're here," he threw over his shoulder.
"Good," said Fraiser, "Chalky, I'm going to need the equipment you're carrying."
"Yes ma'am."
Sam swiftly updated Janet as they headed for the tent. Chalky had removed her gear from his bergen and was following close behind. "Where do you want this stuff, ma'am?"
"Just lay it down there," said the petite doctor curtly, pointing to the ground in front of the tent.
"How much fluid has he had, Sam?" she asked as she pulled on her own gloves and began to check the wounded man over. Daniel scrambled out of the tent to allow her room to work.
"He's had a litre."
"Okay, set me up another five hundred mills."
The blonde began ripping open the package. Janet was just hooking it up when Smudge gave a garbled yell and every muscle in his body stiffened up. "DAMN! He's going into a seizure…" she tore open another pouch and flipped open her drug case, pulling out a syringe and a vial of diazepam. He began to convulse, limbs thrashing wildly, and Sam had to hold onto his arm with all her strength in order for the Doctor to inject the drug. Once it was in, she laid the syringe to one side. Gradually he began to relax, but his breathing was laboured, growing worse with every inhalation.
"He's shutting down," said Janet; she'd been afraid of that, with IV diazepam there was always a slim chance of respiratory depression. She glanced up at the blonde major. "You know how to set up the defib?" Sam nodded; she'd set up the small automatic unit before. She found the small box and began hooking up the cables.
O'Neill poked his head into the tent. "How's he doing?"
"Not now!" snapped Fraiser.
O'Neill retreated swiftly. He knew better than to bother the doc when she used that tone. What she lacked in inches, she more than made up for in attitude when it came to her patients. Plus he REALLY didn't like needles, and pissing the doc off was a sure fire way of experiencing more of them.
Smudge's breath rattled once more in his chest then stopped completely. Fraiser felt at his neck and finding no pulse, she slapped the defib's adhesive pads onto his chest. She measured up and delivered a precordial thump to the sternum then glanced at the small screen. "He's in V-fib," she muttered. "Sam, draw me up some epinephrine- clear!"
Smudge stiffened as the shock jolted through his body. The trace on the screen subsided to a flat line. "Asystole,"she said and gritted her teeth, though her heart was sinking even as she fired the epinephrine into his vein, following it up with a shot of atropine and started CPR. A few minutes later she shook her head sadly and made the always difficult decision to stop. Even though she'd been a doctor for a long time, it still hurt to lose a patient and she knew from long experience that Smudge was now unfortunately beyond her help. She looked down at her watch, noting the time, and raised her head to meet Sam's sad gaze.
"He was too far gone, Sam."
Carter nodded. She had thought Smudge's wounds were too severe, let alone the complications of the substances the claws had left in his system. "I should go tell them…"
"No," said Fraiser. "It's ok, I'll do it."
Carter followed Fraiser out of the small tent. O'Neill looked questioningly at his 2IC, and she shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"Damn…" he muttered.
Lomax saw them emerge, and her face fell. She walked over to the other two women. "He's gone?" she asked quietly.
Fraiser nodded. "I'm sorry, but there was nothing more I could do. To be honest I don't even know if a fully equipped hospital could have saved him, with the amount of damage there was."
Lomax nodded. From speaking to Sam, she knew that the blonde Major trusted Janet's skills as a doctor implicitly, and she had enough respect for Sam's opinion to do the same.
"I'll tell the boys," said Max. "Thanks for trying."
"I'm just sorry it wasn't enough."
Lomax nodded again, accepting the sentiment for what it was, then with a sigh walked away to deliver the sad news to the remaining members of her team.
Carter and Fraiser headed over to join SG-1, giving the British contingent a little privacy to deal with the loss of their comrade.
O'Neill looked up as the two women sat down.
"So he was that bad, huh?"
"Yes, sir," said Carter, somewhat dejectedly. Fraiser rested a supportive hand on her friend's shoulder. "There was nothing more you could have done, Sam."
"Well, we can't do anything else tonight," said O'Neill. "Let's see about getting some sleep."
"I will take the watch, O'Neill. I am sufficiently rested from my Kel'noreem earlier." Said Teal'c, inclining his head. O'Neill nodded, it wasn't the first time the big Jaffa had done so to allow the rest of the team to rest, and he knew there was no point in arguing with the big man.
"Well, things'll look better in the morning." He glanced over at the three British soldiers who were deep in quiet, intense conversation. "I hope."
