Chapter 8
As it turned out, Jack's team had managed to salvage nearly all the equipment they'd come with – apart from his own Vest – and including both backpacks. As a result, he was now newly changed into blessedly dry boxer briefs, socks, pants and t-shirt. Unfortunately the boots he was wearing during his dunking hadn't fared so well, and they quickly dampened his socks, but all in all, he was in a much better mood. He heard Carter step into the computer room where they'd been waiting, backs turned to give her some privacy, as she too had changed - with dry socks and boots, he noted with some envy.
She had her MP5 slung over her shoulder and her Zat in her hands. Jack shoved his MP5 back into Daniel's arms. "Carter, gimme your Zat will ya?"
"Sir?" She blinked at him in surprise. Okay...so he liked the big guns as a general rule, but sometimes circumstances dictated a compromise.
"The shoulders are still a little sore here, Carter," he said by way of explanation. It was a lie of course. His shoulders were sore, all of him was sore for that matter, but he could still easily have used the heavier weapon. Carter's earlier orders to Teal'c would still be necessary; they would have to move with stealth through the compound. She was capable he knew; she wouldn't hesitate, and maybe her rational, logical scientist's mind wouldn't see it the way he did. But he was here, why should she have to do it, when he could? Of course, if she ever found out, she'd kill him.
But the excuse worked and with a concerned knit of a brow, she handed him her Zat. Before she hefted her MP5 though, she strode over to Teal'c and rummaged through his pack attaching the suppressor to her weapon. Jack could live with that. Maybe she would kill; she'd killed before, many times. But she wouldn't be obliterating anyone from existence today.
He turned, "Teal'c, take point."
~~~SG1~~~
Jack rotated a shoulder, trying to loosen the kink as they huddled beside a wall. Thanks to T's Spidey sense, they'd managed to dodge a couple of enemy patrols as they'd rounded corners and snuck through corridors, like kids sneaking through the house at Christmas. Teal'c was saying something in his usual soft baritone, but to Jack it sounded more like the voice of the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons. He pounded the side of his head, trying to clear his waterlogged ears. Damn psychotic aliens.
"...but I believe it may be our only means of escape."
Ah, that was better. "What?"
Teal'c stared at Jack blandly for a second before taking what Jack was sure was a long suffering breath. "The passageway between the two sections of this structure, O'Neill," he pointed around the corner.
"That's our way out?"
"There was also that stairway we found at the barracks," Daniel interjected.
Jack was about to ask what barracks they were talking about - he was so out of the loop - but Carter shook her head.
"No, there's another way. Along the west side." She dropped from a crouch to sit and lean against the wall, drawing her legs up and flexing her ankles. "We just have to get passed the patrols and sentries."
"And you know this how?" he asked.
"There was a schematic of the entire city on the computer station back there."
Jack stared at her a moment, then rolled his eyes. "Of course there was." Why was he even still surprised anymore? If the other teams only knew, they'd all be begging for their own Carter. Now there was an image. Of course, he'd had Carter in stereo... twice. He felt himself wince visibly. And there was a thought he should definitely not have had.
"Sir?" Carter was watching him with a knitted brow that made him clear his throat. "I know the way, sir. I can get us there."
He studied her. She was twirling her ankles now, as if all she really wanted to do was stretch them out. And she was pale. Her hair was still damp around her face and shadows marred her eyes. But if she said she could, then she could. He'd learned long ago not to doubt her.
Carter took them down the twisted corridors; right and left and left and right. It was making Jack dizzy. She would halt them every now and again as they waited for a patrol to pass.
"Exactly how much of this schematic did you see, Carter?" he whispered.
"Almost the whole city I think, sir." She was staring out before her and Jack could practically see the cogs spinning at light speed as she studied the map in her mind's eye, aligning the cross sections with what her sight showed her.
"And for how long?"
She shrugged, distractedly. "A couple of minutes."
Jesus, what a brain she had. She was... a very important member of his team. Yep, that's who she was. Jack shot a look at Teal'c, who raised a brow. In Teal'c speak it meant "impressive." No kidding.
"What?"
She must have caught the look. Jack straightened his face and waved a hand at her. "Nothin'. Whatcha got?"
"There's an open area coming up with virtually no cover as we pass through it. But it shouldn't take us more than a few minutes to get across."
He didn't like the idea of being exposed. "There's no other way?"
"No sir. At least, none that wouldn't be worse."
Translation: any other route would take them directly into enemy hands. So the better of two evils it was. He flicked his head to get them moving and it was only a few minutes later – and several more curves and twists – that Sam's fist shot up to stop them. Jack had been so focused on looking over her shoulder that he almost ploughed right into it. That would have been embarrassing.
They all pressed themselves against the wall when Sam flicked a wrist to indicate the corner. So this was it then, thought Jack. They couldn't risk speaking aloud now so Jack looked past Daniel, at Teal'c.
He watched as the big guy moved by them without the whisper of a sound and around the corner. Then it was his turn. But he tapped Carter on the shoulder before he passed her, flicking his gaze at Daniel. They'd leap-frog their way through; that was a manoeuvre Daniel still hadn't gotten the hang of yet – and besides, Daniel couldn't use his weapon to cover them – so he wanted him close to Carter. She nodded and Jack was satisfied.
~~~SG1~~~
They'd managed to get half way across without incident. Sam kept her weapon up and ready, but her arms were aching and wanted to shake. She grit her teeth. No way would she allow it. Why did MP5's have to be so heavy? She should invent some better material than this thick metal; as strong, durable and heat resistant, but not as God damn heavy. And it was her turn to move out and she should really be paying attention, not letting her mind wander. She was having increasing difficulty with that, and it was starting to concern her. In some ways, she wished they'd had more encounters with enemy patrols, as the adrenalin would help her focus.
A blast of red zinged past Sam's ear and she dropped to the floor, dragging Daniel with her. The thought 'be careful what you wish for' sped through her mind and was banished as all extraneous thoughts were. Her arms no longer felt weak.
The Colonel and Teal'c were already firing; bolts of blue flying across the space between them and their enemies. Ten, she counted, maybe 12. With the suppressor on, she squeezed the trigger, firing only one shot at a time. Her weapon had greater range than the zats, so she picked her targets: the three furthest from them, and slightly behind the others. One shot, one kill.
She squeezed off the third round, her target dropping, and watched as two others, the last two, fell to the floor in convulsions.
~~~SG1~~~
Jack didn't waste any time. With Teal'c, they were firing more zat blasts at the downed enemy until every one of them vanished. With some relief, he watched even the blood of Carter's kills disappear. One shot directly in the head; they wouldn't have felt a thing...or been able to holler loudly in agony.
When Jack turned back, he saw Carter's restraining arm on Daniel, but caught her glance at the last shimmering corpse Teal'c was cleaning up. Maybe she wasn't as scientifically detached as he'd supposed she might be. He hoped his own expressions were under better control, and at the same time, hoped hers never would be. He liked her heart where he could see it.
Once they'd managed to get to the first cover, revealing another section of short and narrow corridors that, undoubtedly, twisted and turned every which way and would make Jack feel like he was navigating his way through a serious of Gofer tunnels, he stopped them. They needed to take stock before going any further. He was starting to feel a little lost – a feeling he wasn't really accustom to and decided he didn't much like – and, if he were being honest, he really just needed a second to catch his breath.
The fact that they'd run into bad guys here was making him nervous. Still not wanting to speak, he threw a look at Carter, hoping she'd get it. She seemed to because she nodded and pointed. So at least, Jack thought, she still knew where the hell they were going. He took a moment to wish they could dawdle, before he flicked a wrist at her. He watched her push to her feet, more sluggishly than was usual for her. Still, if she felt anything like he did, she had a right to move a little less gracefully. Everything still hurt; his lungs, his arms, and he was pretty sure every joint in his body. He was going to have the longest, hottest soak in history when they got back, he decided.
Jack watched Carter peer carefully around another corner and then pull back quickly. Two sentries, she told him silently. He and Teal'c slipped past her. The sentries presented no problem. All in all, Jack thought, these people were not very vigilant... though he guessed, they weren't expecting an attack from the inside out.
Carter and Daniel joined them and she pointed at the far wall. "That's where we're going."
At first Jack didn't see anything. He squinted at it a moment, then noticed a little more shadow there than there should otherwise be, and as they approached he saw a narrow opening – a very narrow opening – in the wall, that turned out to be a ramp travelling fairly steeply... up. Well, up was good he supposed, but...
"What is this, Carter?"
"As far as I can tell, sir, they used to sink more of the city than they do now. The schematic showed several of these...aqueducts, for want of a better term...throughout. I think they used some sort of pump to draw the water up into these tunnels, where it would flow down them to drown this section."
"And you're sure they don't do that anymore?" Jack eyed the tunnels dubiously.
"Pretty sure..."
"Pretty sure?"
"Positive, sir," She said, with more certainty.
Jack wasn't sure his confidence was much improved by this. Still, if Carter said so... "Okay. But I'm tellin' you Carter, I was never much of a fan of the water slide thing."
"Wait, wait wait. Sam, what do you mean sink the city?" Daniel asked.
"Not now, Daniel," Jack interrupted when he saw Carter take the breath that would launch her into technobabble. Though he didn't really mind as much as he pretended to, this wasn't the time.
"But..."
"Teal'c, go." Jack heard Daniel's jaw click shut with a huff. "Then Carter, Daniel and I'll bring up the rear."
In succession they all squeezed into the tunnel. They had to shuffle sideways up the steep path just to fit. It was becoming increasingly dark till Jack could barely see Daniel's shadow next to him; the air was still and stale so that it made Jack's throat want to close up. It was starting to worry him.
"Are you sure there's a way out here?" His voice may have been a little harsher than he'd intended.
"Yes. I'm sure...sir." Carter's voice wasn't exactly polite either, he noticed. And she had just barely tacked on that salutation. Strange as it seemed, his mood was brightened by her borderline insubordination.
"There is an obstruction ahead," Teal'c said.
"Great." This from Daniel, who was puffing.
"Hang on." Jack craned his neck around Daniel, and saw the light of the alien doohickie flash on in the tunnel and wash over Carter's face. "There," she said, a few seconds later, and pocketed the device.
There was a rumble and a sliver of light speared the tunnel, growing rapidly until it was flooded with sunlight. Jack blinked and turned away. He needed to preserve his night vision a little while longer, so he fixed his eyes at the opening below as they shuffled along, following Teal'c out.
They found themselves on a platform, and Jack gulped at the blessedly fresh air... he didn't even mind the pungent, err, aroma. Evidence of the plumbing Carter had postulated was rusting away in the sun. He kicked at it as he looked around. The ledge hovered just over the top of an expanse of water.
A loud blast split the air and shook the ledge beneath Jack's feet. He stumbled backward to hold himself up against the wall, near the tunnel. Carter had hit the deck and Daniel was on his ass next her. Teal'c was still standing, his legs wide and knees slightly bent, looking – in Jack's estimation – annoyingly unperturbed. Jack let his gaze sweep the area he could see without risking the edge of the platform, but couldn't see anyone or anything.
A few seconds later everything went still again. "They're still under attack."
"Attack?" Daniel asked.
"That's why they sank the city," Carter said. Cue technobabble, Jack figured. He let it wash over him, strangely relaxing, as he peered tentatively around the wall on his side. "...though sink isn't precisely accurate. It doesn't sink, so much as lower. It's a defence mechanism. Most of the city is already permanently underwater; all the vital sections, the civilian habitations. The city is designed to submerge a few more levels when certain areas are flooded. Leaving only the top two levels, where they have their defensive weapons platforms, above the water line."
Jack's ears perked up at that and he glanced back at her. "Weapons platform?"
"Yes, sir. From what I could tell they expect any attack to come from the sea." She swung her gaze to Daniel with a thoughtful crinkle of her brow, "which is probably what they were talking about when they asked us where our vessel was."
"Most likely they don't have any idea what the Stargate is. To them it's just some piece of stone," Daniel said.
Vessel? No, they could get into that later, Jack thought. "Who cares. Back to the weapons, Carter." He wanted to know two things: were they or would they be at risk from these weapons, and...did they want to get their own hands on them?
She seemed to understand. "They're trained almost exclusively out to sea, sir. I didn't have access to much more information than that."
Another explosion rocked the platform and this time Jack was thrown down with the rest of them. Even Teal'c looked like he had to concentrate to keep his feet. Part of the platform cracked, pebbles raining down into the water below. Jack watched in twisted fascination as the fissure zigzagged its way toward him. It stopped an inch away from his nose. That one was too close.
"That was a big one," he heard Daniel say. Jack was still keeping an eye on that crack. "So what happens to the city after an attack?"
Jack rolled his eyes and got to his feet, dusting himself off while Carter answered Daniel.
"They can raise it again simply by pumping the water out. That way the most essential parts of the city are underwater and protected from whatever weapons are being hurled at it." Jack couldn't help wondering just how much she'd seen and learned in the few minutes she was using the alien computer systems.
"Wow, that's amazing..."
"Yes, yes, it's all very thrilling, kids. But personally, I'd like to get outta here before the topside of this place, upon which we are currently standing, is ground into dust." Veering away from the ominous crack, Jack moved to the other side of the platform, hoping he'd see something other than the desolate expanse of murky water.
"Well I'll be damned," he murmured to himself. Balancing on the precipice and peering around the corner, he could clearly see the bridge they had crossed to get into the city proper. And the shore rearing up ahead of it.
He looked over his shoulder at Carter. She was on her stomach with her head over the edge so she could see past him, studying the distance they'd have to cover between their ledge and the shore-line. Jack allowed himself this one moment. No one would notice. He watched her stretch out an arm and tentatively touch the stem of one of the many reed bushes that dotted the area, then rub at it between finger and thumb. She pulled back her hand and pushed it through her mess of blonde hair as she started to rise. Jack turned his gaze away.
"The reeds should be effective cover, sir. I can't tell how deep the water is, though."
"Right." He heard his own voice catch just slightly. Unacceptable. He coughed it out. "Looks like we're going for another swim."
~~~SG1~~~
It was a longer swim than it had looked. Or maybe it was just the fact that they had to keep to the reeds; it made the going much slower. Jack dragged himself up on the muddy bank, and glanced over to make sure his team were doing the same. They couldn't stop and rest here yet, though. The tree line, and the safety of cover was just up ahead at the foot of the hill. Using his arms and legs he crawled through the mud and behind the trees, where he finally stood, his shoulder leaning against the thick trunk of one them.
His thigh muscles were burning, his abused arms and shoulders weren't thanking him, he was wet again, getting colder by the second, and was now covered in mud. He really hated these aliens, right now. He watched that miserable excuse for a city with a small sense of satisfaction as the bombardment continued, and he saw a part of a squat little tower in the distance crumble away.
He wanted to call a rest stop, but knew this wasn't the time or place. They'd have to keep moving a while longer before they could afford to stop.
And he'd rarely regretted anything more than the pressing need to move on when he turned and saw Carter. She was sitting on the ground just behind the trees. Jack had expected her to be studying the alien stronghold as he had been, but instead she was resting her arms on her knees, her wrists hanging limp and her head drooping between them; her gaze was fixed on the pine needles covering the ground in front of her.
"Sam?" Daniel knelt next to her and put a gentle hand on her back. But she didn't so much as look at him.
"Carter?" He was going to ask if she was okay, but changed his mind. She wasn't. That much was clear. But she'd just say she was 'fine' anyway. He wondered how many times that bastard had hit her with that electric bolt from hell. "Can you move? We can't hang around here."
She blinked up at him, as though she needed to clear her eyes... or her mind. "Yes, sir."
She rolled away from Daniel, who caught her elbow when she wobbled on her feet. She dragged her weapon in front of her as though it was as big as an elephant and weighed about as much. But then she just stood, and waited for his order.
"Teal'c, you got our six," he said.
~~~SG1~~~
