Chapter 7: Mission Briefing
Multiple crossover: Matilda/Stargate/The Host/Twilight
Esme's point of view:
Alice then looked disturbed as she stared into empty space.
"It's changed." said Alice. "Just now. Anubis must have made a snap decision."
"What do you see?" Aro asked.
"A ship! During the battle! One massive ship! At least four-thousand yards from end to end!"
Alice then began sketching what apparently the ship must look like inside her mind. The ship appeared to be a circular disk with a bulky tower in the middle, and what appeared to be eight long spikes evenly spaced apart, sticking out in eight directions. She drew a small line on the page and marked the little line with meters in hundreds on the metric system as a scale.
Amun took the page and looked at it with awe.
"I have never seen a ship of that size before!"
"I still see us winning the battle," said Alice, "but we are too evenly matched. We need more firepower. We need more ships."
"There is no more firepower." Amun stressed, "There are no more ships. My ship, and the Esper fleet is what we have, and if we don't commit to this battle now, the Stargate on Earth will be destroyed. And if I know Anubis, he will do the same to countless other worlds across the galaxy."
"Fair enough." said Alice in acceptance of the inevitable obvious, "I just wish there was another way."
Amun paused and seemed to think about the last part of Alice's sentence.
"It is a long shot," sad Amun, "and I was reluctant to do it from the start...but there might, and I don't say there is, but there just, 'might be', one more card I can play."
I saw the looks on the faces of Edward and Alice at Amun's words. They looked worried and concerned. Whatever Amun had in mind must not be good. We then all followed Amun to the bridge of the ship.
"Benjamin, drop us out of hyperspace! Kebi, get me Lord Ba'al!"
There were several shocks of surprise in the room.
"He's making an appeal to the devil, 'figuratively speaking'." said Aro, "He's going to enlist the help of the Goa'uld to fight Anubis."
Val had a look of confusion on his face.
"Ba'al?" asked my newest son as he looked at Marcus.
"In human legend, Ba'al is the Islamic God of fertility and agriculture." said Marcus.
Val seemed satisfied with the answer.
"Oh. Cool. But weird."
Benjamin tapped a panel and the ship returned to normal space. Kebi tapped some panels at another console and there was a few moments of silent waiting. Then some loud beeping sounds from out of some speakers in the room, and then a face appeared on the holographic screen. The man was Caucasian with a deep tan, mustache and goatee.
"Lord Amun." said the man named Ba'al, in the loud and distorted voice of the Goa'uld. "What an unexpected surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of this communique?"
"Lord Ba'al, I will be straightforward and to the point." said Amun, "I am presenting you with an opportunity to assist in dealing a crippling blow to the bulk of Anubis's Fleet."
The Goa'uld System Lord paused for a moment to take in what he had just heard. I could tell by the look on his face that he was interested in the idea but wanted to know more.
"I am interested," said Ba'al, "but I will need you to explain more. What is the meaning of this?"
"I am sending you coordinates to a planet that Anubis currently controls." said Amun, "On this planet he has with in his possession a weapon of The Ancients, that can destroy Stargates by charging them with energy until the Stargate explodes with serious devastation. Not only has he deliberately withheld this weapon from the rest of the System Lords, but he also has plans to use it to attack the Stargate worlds of every other Goa'uld…including your worlds that you control. I'm currently assisting the fleet of the Espers of Esper Mansion, in an assault on this world. We are going to attack Anubis's Fleet in orbit of the planet from one side. Now…if let's say…a massive fleet that you control, was to attack Anubis's fleet from the opposite side, then we both may be able to win the fight against Anubis. I am merely giving you a fair warning that if you do not assist in this attack than the Esper Mansion fleet may be completely destroyed, and the Espers mission to stop this weapon from being used against you, will fail."
Ba'al continue to sit there in front of the screen silently thinking. I could tell by the look on his face he was very, very interested in the campaign, but he was weighing the risks to the benefits.
"I know what you're thinking, and that it is a tough choice. Think all you want. Assist us in the attack, or don't. This is your one and only chance to deal this crippling blow to Anubis. The attack begins in exactly 12 hours, 17 minutes, and 30 seconds, starting now. If you do choose to attack, do not attack a minute sooner or later; both of our attacks on both sides of Anubis's fleet must be simultaneous. Hope you seize the opportunity. Hope you are there. End transmission."
The screen deactivated.
"Get me Lord Yu! Then Camulas, and Amaterasu!" commanded Amun.
For the next 20 minutes, Amun contacted and sent the message to at least half a dozen System Lords. He then reengaged the hyperdrive, and he told us all not to worry and that we were still on schedule.
Time until Stargate explodes, 8 hours and 5 minutes:
The waiting was getting on our nerves. We all just wanted to be there so that we can begin this. Carlisle didn't like violence, and nor did I for that matter. I remember the first time I ever saw Carlisle, it was love at first sight for me. It was March 29th, 1910. I was 16. I was naive and foolish, my behavior was rather unladylike of the societal, everyday customs of the time. I had been climbing a tree, when I clumsily fell out and broke my arm. I was taken to the clinic, and there he was. He was the handsomest man that I had ever seen. He smiled at me, his cold stone hands, I didn't really notice that part at the time, tended to my arm as he wrapped it in a cast and told me not to move it for a few weeks. He smiled at me as he told me to be more careful and he sent me on my way. But I had to see him again, so I got myself a few more injuries so I could keep going back. He too, always seemed happy to see me, he was so polite and a kind gentleman as he took care of me, though I vaguely remember at the time that he had a half-hearted frown as though he could tell that the injuries were self inflicted. 10 years later, my baby had died and I wanted to end it all. After I jumped off that cliff so that I could end my life, I felt the burning fire through me, and then opened my eyes to him, the kind handsome doctor who took care of my broken arm, and I have never closed my eyes to him since.
Jasper walked over to Amun.
"Amun, how about a mission briefing?" Jasper suggested.
"Very well." said Amun.
"I guess that the first thing you will need to know is, what exactly you will be up against when we get there?" said Amun, "Now, we are going to ring down to the planet, and get within close range of the weapon. You will encounter resistance, nothing we can handle, but best to know what there will be."
Amun ran his hand over a panel and it gave off a beeping sound, and then a holographic image of a man in armor and a black symbol on his forehead appeared in the middle of the room.
"This is a Jaffa." said Amun. "They are the primary resistance that you will encounter when you get down to the planet. They are skilled in the martial arts, have a strong sense of honor, and an unwavering loyalty to the Goa'uld that they serve, though some of the Jaffa nowadays have begun to question their faith.
"When they bleed they will not smell human. They'll taste more like animals. They are only marginally stronger than humans, and they all carry Goa'uld symbiotes within their bellies that will heal their wounds, though rest assured, they are just as frail as humans and can be killed by vampires just as easily."
The hologram disappeared, and was replaced by another one, of what looked like a stealth fighter, only more sinister looking, and rounded at the edges then boxlike.
"This is a standard 'Death Glider Fighter Interceptor'. It is capable of flying in both an atmosphere of a planet, and in outer space. They are short range, possess no shields, no hyperdrive, but are fast and maneuverable, equipped with a pair of twin liquid naquadah blaster cannons."
The hologram disappeared, and was replaced by another one, of what looked like a large gray mountain or hump.
"This is an Al'kesh, a mid-range Bomber. The same vessel that we are in right now, only those ones are standard issue. The one that we are in now, as I've explained to you, is significantly modified, and more powerful."
The hologram disappeared, and was replaced by another one, of what looked like a gold pyramid surrounded by some kind of giant black support structure.
"This is a standard Ha'tak battleship. It forms the backbone of the Goa'uld fleet. They are heavily armed, heavily shielded, and when they land on a planet's surface they can unleash thousands of Jaffa troops onto the ground. When they are in space engaging an enemy vessel they can unleash dozens of Death Glider Fighter Squadrons, as well as hit the opposing ship with a very heavy pay load of weapons fire."
Amun then went into the other room and brought out a bunch of several different toys.
He picked up one that looked like a staff.
"This is a standard issue 'Staff Weapon', weapon of the gods, used by the Jaffa."
He then pointed it at the wall and fired a single shot. The blast hit the wall leaving a black mark and a large puff of smoke on the spot of impact.
"The device uses a liquid Naquadah power cell, which causes the emitter to emit a burst of superheated plasma. A single shot can kill a human if hit in a vital area. And multiple shots can even kill a vampire."
Everyone in the room looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces.
"When you're in battle, best to avoid getting hit entirely. Keep your eyes on all of the 'staff weapons' that are shooting at you and move fast."
Amun then walked over to what appeared to be some sort of large gun battery on a tripod.
"The basic principle of the staff weapon technology is used in most Goa'uld weapons. It is not at all difficult to build larger versions of the staff weapon."
He then aimed the big gun at the wall and fired a single shot. The blast blew away half the wall leaving a big cloud of smoke in the room.
"You will encounter enemy Jaffa using these weapons. A direct hit can kill a vampire with a single shot."
More looks of concern from everyone in the room.
"Now, just like human soldiers on Earth who carry rifles and machine guns, our enemies will carry sidearms."
He then picked up a much smaller device. It was silver. He squeezed the handle and it unfolded with a sinister metallic sound. He then pointed it at the table and fired a single shot of what looked like blue electricity at his stack of Harry Potter books. For a few seconds, the Harry Potter books were covered with the blue electricity.
"This is called a Zat'nic'tel. This weapon will not deal any physical damage to either a human or vampire, it is intended to disable an enemy that is attempting to escape. A single shot will stun a human. It will cause the human great pain and become briefly incapacitated or it will put them to sleep."
He then shot the stack of books for a second time.
"A second shot will kill the human."
He then shot the stack of books for a third time and the stack of books vanished into thin air with a sizzling sound.
"A third shot will disintegrate the human. However it has less effect on denser metals. In the case of vampires, our skin is much denser than that of human flesh. Four shots will completely disintegrate a vampire. So be careful."
Amun then pulled out a black spherical device.
"I will ask all of the Espers, werewolves, and hybrids to please step out of the room unless you want to experience the effects of the Goa'uld shock grenade," said Amun as he held the device up to display it.
The Espers, werewolves, and Nessie stepped out of the room. He then touched a button on the device and it began to beep. A second later there was a bright flash of light coming from the device that engulfed the whole room.
Everyone then came back into the room.
"This device will blind a person and cause them extreme pain, before it puts them to sleep, but it has no effect on vampires."
He then pulled out an odd looking metal glove that he then fit his own hand into.
"This is the standard weapon that the Goa'uld use. It is called a 'Goa'uld Hand Device'."
He pointed the crystal on the Palm of his hand towards the ceiling and it admitted a transparent gold ribbon into the air for a few moments.
"The gold ribbon is used as a torture and interrogation method. It will paralyze a human and cause them extreme pain."
He then pointed his hand towards Val.
"Valentine Cullen, forgive me."
And then I saw what looked like a rippling waviness in the air around the crystal in the palm of his hand and then an invisible blast of kinetic force threw Val into the wall.
"A powerful feature of the hand device which is intended to kill, as well as intimidate. And then. Kebi?"
He gave a hand signal to Kebi, and she took the Zat'nic'tel weapon that she had at her side, unfolded it with the sinister metallic sound, and pointed it at Amun. Amun then placed his hand on top of the wrist of his hand device and what looked like some sort of energy field surrounded his body. Kebi fired five shots of blue electrical energy in quick succession that were then absorbed by the energy field surrounding Amun.
"The Goa'uld Hand Device Personal Shield," said Amun, "it will protect the Goa'uld from things such as energy weapons, as well as fast-moving ballistic projectiles, however slower moving objects such as small rocks, or throwing knives can pass through the protective field."
Everyone nodded at the valuable information.
"Now, when we get down to the planet, you will encounter mostly armies of Jaffa." said Amun.
"How many Jaffa solders will there be?" asked Jacob.
"Approximately ten-thousand at minimum." said Amun. "Most of the Jaffa, will have symbols on their foreheads bearing the mark of Anubis, though there might also be many foreheads bearing the symbol of Cronos, Sokar, Ra, Heru'ur, and Apophis. However, there will also be a few human slaves, and Goa'uld. Best not to let your thirst distract you, it will only take a moment's hesitation of distraction by the smell of blood for the Goa'uld weapons to kill you. So when you get down to the planet's surface, you will 'KILL', you will not feed. Focus on the task at hand. We will find the weapon at the Stargate, and then we will destroy it, and then we will leave. We will need extraction, however at the odd chance we will not be able to be extracted, we can escape through the Stargate. I will need you all to memorize the gate address to Earth. And I think I can call that a briefing. Any questions?"
There was silence in the room.
"All right, we will be there soon."
Everyone then dispersed back to what they were doing.
(Keep reading for Chapter 8: The God Of Thunder's Reinforcements)
