Wizard Force

By

James Doyle

Chapter Seven: Storming the Gates of Hell

"Time to arrival, Mr. Jarvis," requested Captain Schiller.

"Five minutes, sir," reported Ensign Jarvis, the helmsman.

"Mr. Russo," ordered Schiller. "Sound General Quarters."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Justin, activating the PA system. "All hands, General Quarters. Repeat: All hands, General Quarters. We will dropping out of hyperspace in five minutes. All hands, Battle Stations. Repeat: All hands, Battle Stations."

"Are you ready for this?" Tutor asked somberly as the alarms sounded.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Justin replied honestly. At that moment, he began to wonder the captain and first officer's confidence hadn't been misplaced, and if perhaps their chances of survival would've been better with Ensign Del Toro at his post, rather than headed back to Earth to properly recover from his illness.

"There's just so much riding on this," elaborated Justin. "The fate of two universes. I don't know if I can handle that kind of responsibility."

"Then don't fight for them," counseled Tutor. "Fight for the ones you love...all of them."

With that, Justin cast all self-doubt from his mind, and assumed an air of determination. He resolved that he would give everything up to and including his life to ensure the future and well-being of his mother, his father, his sister and brother, and especially his Juliet. Yea, even Harper.

The Gandalf dropped out of hyperspace, staying exposed just long enough to take some readings, before dropping into the upper atmosphere of a gas giant.

"Status, Mr. Russo," requested Schiller.

"Preliminary readings indicate the presence of at least two hives ships, and at least a dozen small vessels," reported Justin. "Looks like they're expecting company."

"I figured as much," acknowledged Schiller. "No sense waiting around here for them to find us. Helm, set a course for the nearest hive ship."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Jarvis.

"Leaving the upper atmosphere," reported Justin. "We'll be visible to Wraith sensors in two minutes."

"Lieutenant Hatchback," ordered Schiller. "Active cloaking device."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Tutor. "Cloak is operational and active."

Having hidden in some of the darker recesses of the ship, Alex slowly made her way to the mortals' section, taking advantage of whatever cover could be had amidst the commotion of battle preparation. She was just about to make a dash across a corridor when she found herself pinned telekinetically to the the bulkhead.

Staff Sergeant Kovalchik shook his head as he came into view.

"You just will not follow orders, will you Dollface?" scolded Kovalchik.

"I follow orders," retorted Alex. "When they're not stupid."

"You're damn lucky I have scruples against striking a lady," growled Kovalchik. "Else you'd be in sickbay having your jaw wired shut for that remark."

The journey to inner solar system took about two hours at sub-light speeds. As they got closer, Justin's readings began to paint a far grimmer picture than originally thought.

"Captain, I think we have a problem," reported Justin.

"What is it, Ensign?" asked Schiller.

"I'm reading five hive ships," elaborated Justin. "Two orbiting the fourth planet, and three orbiting the third. Readings would also suggest activity on the planets' surfaces."

"Damn," cursed Schiller. "That means we're outnumbered at least twenty-to-one."

"Shall I set course to the fallback point?" asked Jarvis.

Schiller turned to face him. "You hold your course, Mister, or so help me, I will strap you to a missile and launch you at one of those hive ships!"

Jarvis swallowed hard. "Aye, sir. Maintaining course and speed."

"Kovalchik to Bridge," came a call over the comm system.

"We're a little busy here, Staff Sergeant," answered Justin.

"Yes, sir," acknowledged Kovalchik. "We have a stowaway. It's Private Russo."

Alex! Justin thought to himself. Damn her! why does she have to be so stubborn and impulsive?

"Send her up to the bridge," ordered Schiller.

"Beg your pardon, sir?" puzzled Kovalchik.

"We can't spare the manpower to hold her in the brig," explained Schiller.

"Aye, sir," obeyed Kovalchik. "Sending her up now. Kovalchik, out."

A few minutes later, one of Kovalchik's troops manhandled Alex onto the bridge.

"Thank you, Corporal," acknowledged Schiller. "You're dismissed."

"Aye, sir," obeyed the Corporal, pivoting on his heel and returning to his battle preparations.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" outburst Justin.

"I couldn't just leave you here to get killed," argued Alex.

"So instead you're gonna get us both killed?" countered Justin.

"That's enough out of both of you!" interrupted Schiller.

"Sorry, sir," Justin and Alex apologized in unison.

"Private, as long as you're here, you can make yourself useful," commanded Schiller. "Take station five, give your brother a hand."

"Yes, sir," said Alex.

"Okay, what do I do?" pondered Alex, bewildered by the wide array of controls and readouts in front of her.

"Here," said Justin, tapping a few controls to bring up a specific readout. "The Wraith have a jamming field that prevents us from beaming into our ship. We need to find a weak spot. Anywhere you see a blue or purple spot, tap twice to magnify and enhance. If you see a red or orange spot within fifty meters, drag the box at the bottom left corner of the screen onto them to feed them into the database."

"Okay," said Alex, still unsure. "I think I can do that."

"Good," approved Justin. "Believe me, just having an extra set of eyes can make all the difference."

Justin, Alex, and Tutor continued to work diligently in the dead quiet of the bridge for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a potential solution presented itself.

"Justin!" shouted Alex, thinking she'd done something to cause the computer to malfunction. "My screen just went all tooty-fruity!"

"That's not a malfunction; that's the motherlode!" exclaimed Justin. "Captain, we've found a point of intersection in the dampening field geometries of the three hives. If we can send a feedback pulse from that location, we can disrupt the fields long enough to get our people in."

"Good work, Russos," commended Schiller. "Helm, set a course for those coordinates."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Jarvis.

"It's time to fight magic with magic," declared Schiller. "Russo, put me on the horn."

"All hands, this the captain," announced Schiller. "This is the moment we've all been waiting for. In just under twenty minutes, we'll be in position to transport aboard the Wraith hive ships. In order to make that happen, we'll need to cast a disruption spell. All wizards stand by to assist."

Schiller turned his attention to Tutor. "Lieutenant, deploy the primary wand."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Tutor. "Primary wand is deployed."

As soon as she said this, a large spire the size of the Eiffel Tower protruded from the stem of the ship, pulsating with energy. Throughout the ship, devices similar to the hilt of a wand appeared out of bulkheads and counter-tops throughout the ship.

"Russo, can you raise the fleet?" asked Schiller.

"Negative, sir," reported Justin. "All communications channels are jammed."

"All right," conceded Schiller. "We'll just have to run visible and hope they get the message. Patch me through to the CAG."

"Lieutenant Grendor reporting, sir," answered the fighter group commander.

"Prepare to deploy screamers on my command," ordered Schiller.

"Aye, sir," acknowledged Grendor.

"Prepare to launch, everybody in your pods, move move move!" shouted Grendor, ordering his men into a corridor lined on both sides with glass-doored pods that resembled coffins standing on end. As each pilot settled into his pod, the bottom of the three lights above it turned green.

"Screamers ready for launch," reported Grendor.

"Disengage cloak," ordered Schiller. "Shields at full."

"Looks like that got their attention," reported Tutor. "Hive ships are launching darts."

"Launch screamers," ordered Schiller.

Tutor sent the command, which caused the lights above the pods to turn amber, and auras of the pilots to drop out of their bodies and into ethereal fighter craft, which slipped through the decks of the ship and out of the keel.

It took very little time for the screams to engage the darts. Normally, no mortal spacecraft would be a match for the spectral fighters, since they weren't composed of either matter or energy as mortal science understood it. However, it soon became apparent that the Wraith darts had been equipped with some manner of magic technology, as several of the screamers too minor damage almost immediately.

"We're taking fire," reported Tutor. "Shields are holding."

"Steady as she goes, Ensign," said Schiller through gritted teeth.

"I'm detecting the Daedalus on approach," reported Justin. "Looks like they got the message."

"We're in position, sir," reported Jarvis.

"Attention all wizards," announced Schiller. "Magic stations!"

Schiller took hold of the handles protruding from his chair, and felt the presence of the rest of the wizard contingent as they took hold.

"Your powers with mine," chanted Schiller. "Our forces combine...as in the sand we draw the line."

With that, the wizards throughout the ship took on a blinding glow, which extended outward through the primary wand. Schiller began to chant spells in the language of the Ancients, and energy surges flowed into the three hives.

"The dampening field is weakening," reported Justin. "I have a transport solution."

"Schiller to Grimsby," called Schiller, still gripping the handles. "Prepare to deploy all infantry units."

"All of them, sir?" asked Grimsby.

"We might not get another chance."

"Aye, sir," acknowledged Grimsby.

"Alright people!" said Colonel Sheppard to his troops. "Are you ready to bust some heads?"

"Yes, sir!" they shouted in unison.

"Mortal contingent reports ready," Sheppard reported to the bridge.

"Russo," commanded Schiller. "Deploy infantry units."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Justin. "Activating Asgard beam."

A bright white glow and a thump-foom sound could be heard echoing throughout the ship as hundreds of troops beamed off of the Gandalf and onto the battlefield.

"Get us out of here, Ensign!" ordered Schiller.

"Aye, sir," obeyed Jarvis. "Falling back to primary position."

"Enemy is pursuing, sir," reported Tutor. Just then, a shock resonated throughout the ship. "Direct hit. Shields at eighty percent." Another shock came shortly thereafter. "Sixty-seven percent."

The screamers did their absolute best to both distract and attack the pursuing Wraith ships. Unfortunately, they could only take so many hits. One by one, the yellow lights above the pilots' pods blinked before turning red, indicating that their occupants had been terminated.

"Screamers have sustained heavy casualties," reported Tutor. "At this rate, they'll be eliminated before we're clear."

"Russo, can we cloak?" asked Schiller.

"Negative, sir," reported Justin. "Our power reserves took a major hit from that spell. It'll be at least another twenty minutes before we're at full power."

"Recall the fighters as soon as we can re-cloak," ordered Schiller. "Jarvis, do you think you can fly a screamer?"

"I...guess so...sir," Jarvis replied timidly.

"Can you or can't you?" prodded Schiller.

"I can, sir," said Jarvis.

"Good," said Schiller. "Russo, take over the helm. Jarvis, get down there and give Grendor a hand."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Jarvis. "Transferring helm control to ops station."

With that, Jarvis took over toward the pod bay.

"Looks like you've got your hands full, Ensign," observed Schiller.

"Wouldn't be a battle if I didn't, sir," replied Justin.

Meanwhile, aboard the hive ship, Sheppard and his troops pressed slowly forward, attacking hordes of Wraith in order to get the wizard specialists to their destinations. It proved extremely slow going, as the hideous pale creatures proved extremely resistant, some of them still standing after having an entire magazine of ammo emptied into them.

"What's going on here?" asked satyr who accompanied Sheppard and Teyla.

"Just keep your head down and be quite," whispered Sheppard through gritted teeth.

A band of three warriors, characterized by their dense musculature and hideous squiggly masks bore down on them, prompting Teyla and Sheppard to expend a good deal of ammunition on them. They proceeded onward to a point where they could spy into a nexus of corridors. What they saw horrified them.

They saw the remnants of a wizard squad combined with the remnants of a mortal squad, meeting their demise at the hands of just three Wraith. Shockingly, they merely stunned the mortals, casting them aside for later removal. Once they'd dispatched the mortals, they attacked the wizards, feeding upon them and draining their energy much more quickly and efficiently than they'd ever seen.

Having their powers enhanced, the Wraith made Teyla and Sheppard's position, and stunned them before they could react.

"Cloaking device is operational," reported Justin.

"Hatchback, recall the fighters!" ordered Schiller.

Tutor laid down what cover fire she could as the screamers returned to the ship.

"All screamers accounted for, sir," reported Tutor.

"Activate cloaking device," commanded Schiller. "Transfer any available power to the thrusters and proceed to fall-back point."

"Aye, sir," said Justin. "Cloak is active, proceeding full ahead."

"Bogeys have broken off pursuit," added Tutor.

"Put me through to the fighter bay," ordered Schiller. "Grendor, report."

"This is Ensign Lahiri," replied a young man with a thick Indian accent. "Lieutenant Grendor is dead, sir."

"What about Ensign Jarvis?" asked Schiller.

"Dead, sir," repeated Lahiri.

Schiller paused for a moment before asking the dreaded question.

"How many of you are left?" he asked.

"Five, sir," answered Lahiri, trembling in his voice.

"Five," Schiller said somberly. "Out of forty-two."

"Yes, sir," confirmed Lahiri.

"Thank you. Ensign," said Schiller. "You're relieved until further notice."

"Aye, sir," replied Lahiri. "Lahiri, out."

Shortly thereafter, the Gandalf returned to the upper atmosphere on the side of the gas giant opposite the Wraith. Justin and Alex remained at their posts for several hours, watching their monitors for anything remotely interesting.

"Cripes, this is so boring!" whined Alex.

"Military ops have often been described as hours of interminable boredom, punctuated by moments of stark terror," volunteered Schiller. "Quite aptly, I think."

Just then, a blip appeared on Alex's screen.

"I should learn to keep my mouth shut," said Alex. "I've got a blip on the scope."

"Hostiles?" asked Schiller.

"I don't think so, sir," reported Justin. "Initial scans suggest...confirmed, sir. It's the Daedalus."

"Hail them," commanded Schiller.

"They're responding, sir," reported Justin.

"On speakers."

"Gandalf, this is Colonel Caldwell of the Daedalus," responded the ship's commander, barely audible through all of the static.

"Good to hear from you, Colonel," beamed Schiller. "What's your status?"

"Not great, Captain," replied Caldwell. "We've taken heavy damage, and sustained heavy casualties."

"Same here, unfortunately," lamented Schiller. "I suggest we compare notes and see what we can piece together from what we have left."

"Agreed," said Caldwell. "We'll be expecting you. Daedelus, out."

"Patch me through to Major Grimsby," ordered Schiller.

"Grimsby here," answered the Major.

"We're headed over to the Daedalus to discuss our options," announced Schiller. "Meet me at the ring platform."

"Aye, sir," acknowledged Grimsby.

"Hemmeryn, you have the conn," declared Schiller. "Private, you're with me."

With that, Alex followed on Schiller's heels as he exited the bridge.

"Can I ask you a question, Captain?" inquired Alex en route to the ring transporter.

"What is it, Private?" acknowledged Schiller.

"First, you let me work with Colonel Sheppard instead of washing me out of the Force," observed Alex. "And even though I disobeyed his orders and stowed away aboard your ship, you're still treating me like part of the team."

"What's your point?" asked Schiller.

"Captain, why are you sticking your neck out for me like this?" asked Alex.

Schiller stopped for a moment and turned to face Alex.

"When you and your brother signed on, I made a promise to your parents to look after you," explained Schiller. "There's not much left of my honor at this point, but what little I have binds me to that promise."

"Thank you, sir," said Alex.

"Don't thank me yet," cautioned Schiller. "We've got a lot of work to do if we want to get out of this alive."

A few minutes later, Schiller and Alex arrived at the ring transporter, where Grimsby awaited them.

"Sir, with all due respect, what's she doing here?" demanded Grimsby.

"Call it a hunch, Major," answered Schiller.

"A hunch, sir?" Grimsby asked incredulously.

"Not mine," clarified Schiller. "The Admiral's."

With that, the rings rose from the deck, and transported the three of them over to the Daedalus.

End of Chapter Seven

Silly me to think I could portray the whole battle in a single chapter. Stay tuned!