Chapter 6: Trial By Fire
SGC, Cheyenne Mountain
Twelve hours later...
"That alarm is really going to get on my nerves." Kara grumbled as she threw her pillow over her head in an effort to block out the noise from the base alarms going off. Giving it up for a lost cause sixty seconds later, she growled and chugged her pillow across the room before sitting up in her new bed. Oddly enough, she had gotten a very good night sleep in the mostly quiet mountain base, buried under a ton of rock, but that had come to a crashing end when the alarms started.
She knew that she had better hearing than the natives on this planet and thus was more affected by the sound, but the sheer volume of the alarm seemed more than a little extreme to her. How was anyone supposed to get any rest with klaxons randomly blaring in their ears?
Maybe I could find those annoying speakers and rip them of the wall when nobody's looking? Kara briefly thought before dismissing the idea. As tempting as it might have been, she couldn't risk it. With a sigh and a few choice curses in her native language, she hurried through her morning ritual before making her way to the gate room, only to see that everyone else was already there, standing at attention in front of General Hammond, the gate itself inactive. "What's going on?"
"Morning sunshine. It's the best day of the week, Drill Day!" O'Neill exclaimed, practically beaming at the young Kryptonian.
"Drill Day?" Kara questioned slowly, she couldn't imagine what a tool had to do with a specific day. Perhaps another one of these strange earth customs?
"Drill Day is everyday. It's completely random Kara." Daniel muttered with a tired yawn as he rubbed at his eyes before putting his glasses on.
"Wait….as in combat drills?" Kara asked darkly as realization struck. "I hate combat drills. Our local Sub Commander used to- well let's just say she used to delight in coming up with sadistic scenarios for the civilian population to deal with." Kara whispered tersely to Daniel and Jack, who had since moved to the side to allow her just enough space to squeeze in between them.
"Sounds charming. Which is why you joined the SGC, makes sense." Daniel sarcastically shot back.
"Huh, was she single?" At Kara's confused glare, O'Neill shrugged his shoulders. "I like a challenge."
"She hated men. She had a tendency to break their spines with her bare hands." Kara told him, though she was lying through her teeth. The Sub-Commander had been strict but fair, no matter the gender.
"Ah, nevermind then." O'Neill replied and shuddered, just able to keep a straight face as Hammond finally reached the end of the line. "General." Jack said with a nod.
"Colonel. Ms. Shepard, I'm glad you could join us." George stated, his gaze holding just a hint of amusement when Kara blushed at his teasing reprimand. "I'm sorry for the ruckus, but we never stop training around here. With that in mind, you'll be playing the part of a hostage along with myself and several others, safely out of the way of today's war game."
"I understand General. I apologize for my tardiness, but I'm afraid that I'm unused to military protocol." Kara told the General respectfully and honestly, while ignoring Jack's less than subtle grin she could see out of the corner of her eyes.
With a subtle grin, Hammond nodded to her before addressing the rest of the assembled personal. "Today's threat is unknown. The gate room has been overrun and several support staff, along with myself, have been captured. It'll be up to all of you to re-secure the facility and ensure our rescue. Preferably alive." Hammond quipped before he led his small group of 'hostages' out of the room with Kara following right behind him.
One of the guards immediately took command of the 'hostage takers', producing a strange snake like hand pistol from his belt which he pointed at the group. "Okay everybody, you know the drill, hands behind your backs, sit against the wall. And don't make any sudden moves while our buddies conquer the human race or we'll zap you."
"Geez Sanders, I'm shocked you forget the, 'You Rebel Scum!' part this time." One of the 'hostages' said even as he and the others got into position.
"Hey, no talking. And I can't help it if I happen to be a egomaniacal minion of self proclaimed gods." Sanders defended himself though he didn't sound sorry in the slightest.
"Is it always this way around here sir?" Kara asked, unable to help the grin on her face.
Hammond chuckled but nodded. "You get used to it after a while. But to be honest Colonel O'Neill as the hostage taker is even more unconventional."
"Yeah, sometimes I wonder if his incessant chatter is some form of torture." One of the Airmen said with a grimace, one that was mirrored by many of the other humans.
Kara shuddered at the mental image of being trapped in a room with Jack doing his best Loki impression. That is one thing I don't think I'd want anyone to go through.
"Well, at least this beats getting hit with a Zat blast. I get shocked enough as it is thank you very much." Master Sgt Siler muttered as he got comfortable next to Kara and Hammond.
"I said no talking Tau'ri scum. You're the first one I'm shooting when they decide to storm the room. Promise." Sanders said with a dark gleam in his eyes as his compatriots filed out of the room.
Isn't there some kind of psychology test that they have to pass? Kara idly wondered as she let her eyes shift from side to side, trying to take in as much of the room as possible. From what she had seen so far, Sanders appeared to be slightly psychotic, but maybe she was just reading too much into things.
The General smirked when he noticed the concerned look in her eyes. "I know what you're thinking. The good Corporal's hobby is amuteur acting, he always overdoes it when he gets to be on the bad guys side." Hammond whispered with an annoyed roll of his eyes.
"Silence Tau'ri! You will be the first to face the wrath of our glorious gods!" Sanders shouted with a mad cackle.
Hammond sighed when Kara merely raised an eyebrow, as if asking him 'Are you sure he's not crazy?' "Can I ask you something?" Kara asked aloud, a thought having occurred to her.
"Shoot." Hammond replied, curious where she was going with this.
"Are there any... rules for these games?"
"Well, basically just don't injure anyone and stay as true to the spirit of the situation as possible."
"Oh, good." Kara said with a grin as she stood up. "Excuse me, uh… benevolent overlord Sanders, but could I please use the bathroom? I promise I'll be right back."
Sanders, to his credit, only blinked at this unexpected turn of events before he opted to fall back into character. Stepping closer to the young woman so that he was almost in her face, Sanders started to raise his weapon before saying, "I said no-"
"Oh well, I tried to be nice." He never got to finish as Kara shrugged before she suddenly stepped forward, and very lightly rammed her knee into his groin. His mouth opened in a soundless cry as he tried to hold onto his last bits of dignity. In one fluid motion, she grabbed the Zat out of his hands and used it to shoot the rest of the 'evil aliens', her would be captors still too flabbergasted by what had happened to react. "There, is that allowed?" Kara asked with an unsure smile. She knew that she only managed to subdue the soldiers because they hadn't expected the 'new kid' to be this resourceful, next time they wouldn't make such a mistake again.
"Uh… well honestly that never happened before." Hammond admitted, completely surprised by the unexpected course of events. "But, as we're now free, I feel it is our duty to help retake the base."
"Lead the way sir." Kara said, and tossed the Zat to Hammond, which he caught with ease. She had since grabbed a second while the rest of the 'hostages' began arming themselves in a similar fashion.
"Owww. Somebody just... shoot me... already." Sanders still laid moaning on the ground as Hammond stood over him and shook his head before putting the aching Corporal out of his misery with a Zat blast. He immediately fell unconscious as light blue bolts of energy danced across Sanders' body.
"Uh... these things kill only after being hit twice, right?" Kara asked, making sure that she remembered the specifics regarding the Zat gun. Teal'c had mentioned it in passing during one of their early Kelno'reem sessions, so she wanted to be certain before they got any farther.
"They'll be fine, I assure you." Hammond confirmed for her.
Kara immediately relaxed with Hammond's repeated reassurance. "Oh, well in that case I don't feel so bad. I didn't want to hurt them after all, even if Sanders' attempt at acting like some sort of evil minion was really annoying."
The good general let the chuckles die down before nodding to the open door that would lead them to the rest of the base, where their 'rescuers' were no doubt already moving through. "Our people will be armed with equally nonlethal means, but that said, everyone be careful. Our side isn't going to be expecting any help and might just shoot on sight." Hammond explained, more to the room at large than anyone in particular.
"So keep your head down ma'am." Siler told Kara as he and Harriman checked the corridor outside. "Looks clear. Orders sir?"
"Proceed carefully, shoot only if you can identify the target as a hostile. Let's move out." Hammond ordered before organizing their small group into two fire teams, with Kara none too subtly shoved towards the middle of the group.
"On point." Siler whispered, clearly getting a kick out of this twist in the usually dull routine of being a 'hostage' during a combat drill.
"What the hell? Master Sergeant what are you- I mean, Jaffa Cree!" An 'enemy' shouted as they neared an intersection, blasting Siler in the chest before he could get a shot off.
"Dammit, not again." Siler groaned as the Zat's energy coursed through him, falling to the floor face down.
Kara was already dragging Siler out of harm's way while the rest of the group covered her retreat, with Hammond knocking their surprised 'Jaffa' stand-in out with a well placed blast from his Zat gun.
"Poor Sylvester, always the first one to get hit." One of the others in the group said once the hall fell silent again. "Leave 'im ma'am, he'll be fine in a broom closet or somethin'."
"I can't simply cram him into a closet." Kara objected with more heat than she originally intended, but Hammond nodded at her in approval. "Even the good General agrees."
"He is right about leaving him behind Ms. Shepard. Once we clear the base, we can come back for Sgt Siler." Hammond explained, to which Kara reluctantly nodded before propping Sylvester against the wall as best she could. "Alright, let's try to meet up with the rest of the 'resistance'." Hammond ordered, and the rest of the 'liberated hostages' followed their leader obediently.
"What now sir?" Sgt. Harriman asked after gently propping Siler up in a chair when he started to fall over where Kara had set him against the wall.
"Harriman, you and your team will secure the Gate room. The others and I will attempt to sweep the area around it before going level by level if we have to. Ms. Shepard, you're with me. The Colonel wouldn't be very pleased with me if I let you out of my sight during an exercise."
"He is a bit overprotective." Kara agreed, her blue eyes shining in badly disguised delight as she fell in with Hammond and the rest of his team.
"He's not the only one." Hammond corrected with some amusement. "Move out." With that, Hammond and Kara, along with the airmen, whose name tag said Harold Becker, and a tech Sgt, Cynthia Housen, started down the hall away from the intersection, and the gate room. That task was left to Harriman and his own three man team.
Clearing out a second room a few minutes later, Hammond couldn't help but ask the question that had been plaguing him since the beginning of the exercise. "Ms. Shepard, where did you learn to shoot like that if you don't mind my asking?"
Kara shrugged, having figured it'd come up eventually. "One of the towns I stopped by had a 'laser tag' arena." It helped that Jack had actually taken her to one a few days ago for 'combat practice'. Although she had a sneaking suspicion it was just a good excuse for him to live out a weird pretend fantasy, considering he insisted she call him 'John' and he constantly called her 'Chiana' or 'Pip' in return anytime they went a round.
"I see, well apparently it was time well spent." Hammond commented, though she was sure that she detected something akin to doubt in his voice.
"I also went with Jack a few times and he didn't hold back." Kara explained, and he honestly hadn't. She had picked up her game pretty quick after being 'shot dead' twice in as many minutes. "Turns out he's pretty competitive." No sooner had the words left her mouth did Kara snap draw her Zat gun and fire down the hall they were about to enter, before another 'Jaffa' fell in a heap on the floor.
"I see he's really rubbed off on you." Hammond said with a grin as he walked over the fallen 'Jaffa'. "Not sure if that's a good thing." He muttered, even if he couldn't argue with the results.
Sensing his doubt about O'Neill's intentions, Kara smiled warmly before she spoke further. "Jack's explanation was that if I was going to be around him, he didn't want me unable to protect myself. He's a good man that way." That was as close to the truth she'd gotten that day. Since she knew little about firing a weapon before coming here, she had been trained in Klukor, a Kryptonian martial arts style but knew little about fighting beyond that. Zor-El, rather the AI inside her command key, had done his best to show Teal'c the moves, and with his superior strength, at least compared to humans, he had sparred with Kara anytime they could get away with it.
"Alright people, in the spirit of Kara's willingness to bend the rules... I happen to know that this base's self destruct secondary control room is one of the primary targets. Let's go pay our Jaffa friends a little visit." Hammond stated, rather enjoying himself despite the unexpected turn of events that had precipitated them being able to move about the base in the first place. Maybe I should get out into the field more often.
The members of Hammond's little team began to grin mischievously. "Now that's more like it." Sergeant Housen exclaimed as they carefully cleared the next corridor, heading to the sealed Emergency Supply room, or in this case, SGC's new secondary control room. Entering the access code, Housen nodded to Becker before she opened the heavy metal door with Kara's help, the younger girl trying not to move too quickly. She could have easily ripped the door off its hinges if she had had a mind to. But that would have been mildly suspicious, to say the least.
Hammond nodded to them and was the first in the door alongside Becker as a rapid exchange of Zat and pistol blasts was heard before Kara dashed after them.
Jack, having been about to fire his weapon, stopped when he recognized who had cleared the next room. "What the- what are you doing here?! You guys scared us half to death, you're supposed to be tied up in the briefing room!"
"Good to see you too Jack." Kara retorted as she lowered her Zat gun.
"Kara, mind explaining?" Jack drawled, his eyebrows reaching his forehead.
"I sprung us out of the 'hostage situation'." Kara replied, as if she were talking about the weather outside.
"Ah, so you changed the rules a bit. Nice work. Come on, I could use your help with this damn console." Jack said with a wave as Kara glanced around the room, noticing Hammond and Becker slumped on the ground, along with several 'Jaffa' and base personal.
"What happened?" She asked, quickly listening for all their distinct heart beats just to be safe as Housen followed her into the room.
"Colonel." The Sgt said with a nod as she kept an eye on the door.
"Hello." Jack promptly shot the woman with his pistol, a red bolt of energy slamming into her chest and dropping her like a sack of potatoes. Before a shocked Kara could respond, he turned his stun pistol on her with the slightest twinge of guilt in his eyes.
The kryptonian fell back a step, but didn't fall down to the floor. "Ow." She grunted and rubbed the spot where the bolt had struck her. "What was that for?!"
"Huh, maybe the batteries are getting old." Jack shot her again, just to be sure, and when Kara only glared and took another step back, he frowned. "Hang on a sec." With that he turned towards a stirring Daniel and shot him in the chest. The archeologist immediately collapsed, returning to his forced unconsciousness with a groan. "Nope, seems to be working just fine. Hey, mind if I borrow your Zat gun?" Jack asked, his gaze hopeful even if he knew the answer to his question already.
"You shot all of them. Didn't you? Probably in the back." Kara accused the older man, her blue eyes flaring bright red for the briefest of moments before she reigned that particular impulse back.
"What gave you the first clue?" Jack said, gesturing to the slumped over people around them.
"Your smug self satisfied grin." Kara said with her own satisfied smirk. "I'm guessing there's a reason for this."
"Only one kid, when in a combat situation, don't trust too easily, not with the Goa'uld able to infect anyone they can get their hands on." Jack tapped at the collar of his jacket, his voice taking on an ominous tone. "Come on, you wouldn't shoot your own kinda sorta dad now would you? Just let me win, then we can get some ice cream."
Kara rolled her eyes at the bad impression of what she imagined a Goa'uld would sound like, snap drew her Zat gun, and put a blue lightning like blast in the center of Jack's chest. "Actually, I would, and that's for shooting me, twice!"
"Point….taken." Jack groaned, having since collapsed to the ground on his back, the Goa'uld voice changer deactivated. "I hate those...damn things. Huh, must be….getting immune." Jack muttered when he realized he was still conscious. In great pain perhaps, but still conscious.
"I can just punch you if you want." Kara offered him with a small smile as she careful picked up his discarded pistol.
Jack groaned, started to pick his head off the floor, and promptly changed his mind before falling back down. It didn't help that Kara was now pointing his own stun pistol in his face. "Nah, maybe later, not right now, this cold concrete floor is so comfortable."
"I'll hold you to that, pleasant dreams 'dad'."
"Oh you gotta be-" Jack's scowl softened as the stun round rendered him unconscious this time.
"Now, we're even." Kara told the unconscious form of O'Neill, at least they were even if she didn't count all those times he got her in Lasertag.
"Not bad. You handled that better than I did." Carter said with a laugh as she walked in, only to duck back behind the door frame as the pistol in Kara's grip snapped up. "Whoa! Take it easy Rambo."
"You take it easy after getting shot, twice, by Colonel... Jerk." Kara shot back, unable to think of anything better as every nerve in her body felt like they were tingling with adrenaline. "And just so you know, it hurt! Not very much, but it still did!"
Sam mentally winced, knowing from first hand experience that the stun guns they had picked up from Apophis's training camp hurt almost as much as the Zat guns. "Yeah he likes to pull the 'Goa'uld' trick on all the FNGs once they're read into the program. And since this was your first day on the job, well…" She trailed off, none too surprised by Kara's reaction to the situation at hand.
"It is simply Colonel O'Neill's way of readying the new recruits for any possibility Major Carter." Teal'c stated, having positioned himself on the other side of the door.
"Or he's just really sadistic." Daniel said with a groan as he slowly sat up, clutching at his forehead while the other 'exercise' participants began to stir as well. "And I get zatted or otherwise knocked unconscious way too often if I recover that fast."
"I was able to modulate the energy output in the stun guns we picked up from the training camp. The rounds I prepared were only a quarter charge, so they should only have caused very brief unconsciousness, maybe a headache if you're really unlucky." Sam explained as she slowly entered the room with her hands raised.
"What a shock, my luck sucks." Daniel muttered as Kara's aim swung in his direction. "Hey! Don't even think about it if you want me to keep teaching you ancient Mayan."
"I can't believe you shot me General, we were supposed to be on the same side!" Becker groused as Hammond helped him to his feet.
Hammond had since picked himself off the floor and proceeded to dust himself off as he addressed the room at large. "There are no sides in a well planned prank son. And the Colonel wasn't aiming fast enough to hit everyone before our guest of honor walked in."
"I'm going to remember this you know." Kara replied with an irked frown and handed her Zat gun over to Sam once she was within arm's reach. The adrenaline had since started to leave her system, and she was able to think more clearly. "Sorry, guess I am still a bit jumpy."
"You did alright for a first timer kid. Ow." Jack groaned as he sat up and slapped a hand to his forehead. "As for the jumpiness….ugh, that's expected. Adrenaline's a soldier's best friend." He groaned as Teal'c helped him to his feet. "Thanks buddy."
"You are most welcome O'Neill."
"Perhaps, but I have to get used to it, I dislike not being able to think clearly. And was this really just some kind of prank?" Kara asked in disbelief, surely these humans were not that petty.
"Yeah kid... damn, those thing really pack a pun- wait a minute, didn't you get shot?" Housen asked as she shook her head and started to wobble until Kara steadied her.
"He missed me, I shot him with the Zat, he was still conscious so I took his pistol and shot him again." Kara summarized, her eyes still fixed on O'Neill's face.
"Yup, dang, I missed. Better luck next time I guess." Jack 'admitted' with a disappointed shrug. "Guess I just didn't have it in me. Of course, if the fate of humanity was really on the line... nope, still couldn't shoot her. I mean just look at those adorable blue eyes."
"General? Permission to shoot him again?" Kara asked, her 'adorable' blue eyes narrowed to slits.
"Permission denied, although I certainly understand the temptation." Hammond replied honestly and patted Kara on the shoulder before turning to the rest of his people. "Let's hear it for our newest research team member, and apparently quite the fine lady to have around in a pinch."
Kara couldn't help blushing as all of the conscious and semiconscious group cheered, whistled, clapped or gave a shaky thumbs up as they were able. In Teal'c case, Kara received a solemn nod of acknowledgment. From the formidable Jaffa, his nod might as well have been a hearty round of applause.
Hammond only smiled, but it was enough to cause her cheeks to redden further. "In light of your quick thinking under unexpected circumstances, I think Colonel O'Neill will agree that you'd be fine in one of our off world research outposts. Provided of course that they are deemed safe for civilians."
"Oh I can think of a few where there isn't anything more exciting than the occasional power outage." Jack stated, wryly smirking as he gestured to the door and the base at large. "After you."
"Don't mind if I do." Kara said as she took half a step, then paused and glanced over her shoulder.
"Where's the trust kiddo?" Jack groaned as he made a point of casually walking past her. "Okay, party's over folks. Well, this one anyway." Jack turned to flash Kara a knowing smirk. "There's cake and ice cream. I promise it isn't poisoned or anything. Probably..." With a nod to himself, O'Neill quickly headed out the door along with most of his fellow pranksters.
"Alright people, back to business." Hammond ordered the moment Jack had left the 'secondary control room'. They still had a base to run, not to mention a war to fight against the Goa'uld. There was little time to sit idle, but Hammond knew that letting his people blow off a little stream every now and then was just as critical to morale as any victory. As the crowd dwindled, Carter helped a wobbly Daniel out of the room with Teal'c's assistance, Hammond turned to the young blonde woman next to him. "Just for the record, you impressed the hell out of me today. Keep up the good work Ms. Shepard."
"I'll do my best sir." Kara replied, just able to keep her voice level as she brushed a stray hair behind her ear. Hammond walked off with a shake of his head, knowing there was little chance of her disappointing him.
"You'll 'do your best'? Why do I get the feeling your best would make Thor green with envy?" Jack, leaning against the corridor wall, asked once he was sure there wasn't any unfriendly ears around.
"Oh be quiet Jerk O'Neill." Kara grumbled, in no mood for his antics.
"That's Jerk O'Neill, sir. If you're gonna be working with the SGC, you're gonna wanna remember that kiddo."
"Is this before or after I punch you through the Stargate?" Kara grumbled in retort, earning her an amused glance from Teal'c for her trouble.
"Well, someone is mad, resentful even." Jack complained, looking at the rest of his team in the hope of getting some support. "It wasnt that bad, right guys?"
"Well, you did try to shoot her in the back on her first day here sir." Carter said, she could understand where Kara was coming from. "That's bound to make you unpopular."
"And you actually did shoot her, twice." Daniel continued next. "I'd be annoyed too, oh wait, you shot me too. Make that very annoyed and currently planning oh so sweet revenge. And not only that, you also shot me twice." Daniel complained, clearly upset by the fact that he had been used as target practice. "So no complaining when something very creative yet humiliating happens... that you will never see coming."
"Indeed." Teal'c stated while Kara merely smirked, her mind hard at work in coming up with something appropriately humiliating.
"Great, now there's two of them. You two want to get in on this action while we're at it?" Jack wanted to know as he looked at Teal'c and Carter.
"You did not shoot me O'Neill so I see no reason to be vexed by your actions." Teal'c stated as a matter of fact.
"Ditto, but I am sure Kara could convince me to be angry with you with a little persistence." Sam joked with a mysterious smile on her face, which left Jack wondering if she really just had been joking or not.
Jack shuddered, wondering if he had just made a colossal mistake. "It was just a training exercise, and a bit of a fun prank... that's all." He muttered, but let it go.
"Right." Daniel said with a knowing sigh, slapping Jack on the shoulder. "Still not going to save you though."
"Nope." Kara agreed all too cheerfully for Jack's taste, giving him a mischievous grin.