CHAPTER 8 OF BURIED BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
XV
SGC Cheyenne Mountain
"Start dialling Chief," ordered General Hammond.
Walter started the dialling sequence; calling out as each chevron lit up.
"Chevron seven locked!" announced Walter as the artifical wormhole stabilized with a 'whoosh' sound.
Unbeknown to the people at the SGC; a group of uruk-kai had been close to the other side; they had moved forward as each chevron lit up; shaking their swords at the large metal like ring structue. Their leader Cul-ghat stopped his second –in command Medan from going closer to the structure.
The Uruk-kai squad leader watched as the symbols lit up; then with a whirling swishing sound the vortex of the wormhole reached out and annihilated the 9 uruk-kai right infront of the gate. The others who were lucky not to be close enough; cried aloud with alarm and fell back from the event horizon.
Cul-ghat frowned; not in the least concerned by the loss of his men or the fear the device caused in the other soldiers.
However; now he had an idea what the structure might be.
It had to be some kind of weapon; but why did the cursed elves erect it outside their borders?
Celeborn allowed a small smile on his face as he witnessed the death of the 9 uruk-kai; the doorway had some use after all. Earlier he had planned to give the colonel some privacy as he discussed with his superiors. But he had a hunch he needed to speak to O'neill's superiors as well.
"Colonel O'neill; it may be prudent if I also explain to your General what the situation is."
Jack hesitated then sighed. "That maybe a good idea; however...I get the feeling you know that we may know... a lot about your wars...how it..."his voice trailed off; unsure what to say next.
"Knowing one's future has its ...disadvantages. My wife; the Lady has the gift of for-seeing different possible futures. I have learnt to accept it...but the knowledge your world has about ours. Please do not attempt to 'share' it with us," advised Celeborn gently.
"Okay ; glad that was cleared up," said O'neill after a few seconds.
"Come in SG1; this is General Hammond," a familiar voice called from the Colonel's radio.
He responded. "Colonel O'neill here; sir."
In the control room; the people gathered were relieved to hear the colonel's voice.
"What's your status Colonel?" asked Hammond.
"We're here with Lord Celeborn; co-ruler with Galadriel. We're still 400metres from the gate."
Walter looked at his fellow Tolkien research team members; each had varying degrees of surprise on their faces at the thought that just on the other side stood Elf royalty.
Hammond was more concerned with the welfare of SG1
"What of the rest of SG1 and Martouf?"
"We're okay sir; Major Carter was successful with the gould hand device and Martouf is a lot better; but the bad news comes in 2 parts," O'neill went straight to the point
Hammond exchanged a wary glance with Walter. Why was he not surprised?
"What have you got for us; Colonel?" asked the General.
"Martouf uncovered a Gould plot to punish a rebelling planet with a biological weapon; a virus. It was deployed 2 weeks ago and is in the incubation stage. However; Martouf has the cure and may be able to help the inhabitants of that planet if he gets to his buddies in time."
"And the second bad news?" asked Hammond.
"The number of unfriendlies between us and the gate has gone up a lot. I'm thinking..."O'neil looked at Celeborn.
"Exactly 521; apart from the 9 who just died," contributed the Lord of Lothlorien.
"521 unfriendlies sir," repeated O'neill " and more are headed towards the gate."
" What can we do from this end?" asked Hammond
" Sir; sending in anyone from SGC will be a suicide mission. Lord Celeborn has strongly advised against it," replied O'neill
Hammond raised an eyebrow. "Does he have any other suggestions?"
O'neill looked at the elf; the Colonel had increased the volume of the radio so that the elf could listen in as well.
"Yes ; I do have a few suggestions," replied Celeborn. He looked at O'neill's two-way radio.
"Sir; he wants to talk to you; give me a few seconds while I show him how to use the radio." He quickly started teaching the elf.
The people in the control room exchanged glances as Claire struggled to keep her professional face on as they waited to hear the voice of Celeborn; the Lord of Lothlorien! Never in her wildest dreams did she expect this!
Lance Corporal Anthony Steinberg wondered if O'neill knew how many people would kill to be in the position he was in right now.
As O'neil suspected; a short lesson was all that was needed before Celebron understood how to use the radio. O'neill secretly believed the Elves were more advanced then they portrayed themselves.
The staff in SGC waited silently for the other side to resume communication.
"I am Celeborn; are you receiving this message?" came a calm new voice over the radio.
Walter exchanged an excited glance with the others. Only Hammond appeared calm as always.
"We read you loud and clear...Celeborn; I am General Hammond of Stargate Command; based on Earth. On behalf of our leaders; we are grateful for your assistance to SG1 and Martouf."
"You are welcome; General Hammond. You have a very brave team. I wish we could speak under better circumstances but time is in very short supply," stated Celeborn.
Claire found herself holding her breath and gradually remembered to breath; she glanced side ways to see Tony giving her an odd look.
"Are you okay?" he whispered. She nodded quickly and tried to reassure him with a shaky smile.
"I understand," continued Hammond "how can we help get my team back?"
There was silence for a few seconds. "Please do not send anymore personnel through to our side; we cannot afford to launch a rescue mission if any of your soldiers get captured by our enemies."
Dr Pierson swallowed nervously as he tried imagining been captured by the uruk-kai. It wasn't pleasant.
The Lord of Lothlorien continued. "Reinforcements have been sent for and we intend to launch an attack on the uruk-kai surrounding the gate once Gandalf returns with the Dunedain."
Hammond's face wrinkled in puzzlement as he tried to recall where he had heard that name; he looked at Lance Corporal Steinberg.
"Rangers sir; but these are human," quickly whispered the marine. Hammond nodded his thanks.
" How long will that take?" asked the General.
"I am uncertain; however Gandalf is fully aware of the importance of getting your team and Martouf home," replied Celeborn politely but firmly.
"I see; what can you tell us about the uruk-kai?" as Hammond.
A humourless smile appeared Celeborn's face. " Plenty; however a brief summary would be best for the moment. A typical Uruk-kai stands at over 7 feet tall; heavily built wearing leather and metal armour. The ones surrounding the gate can withstand sunlight and are equipped with various weapons; bows; scimitars and spears. My scouts have identified one third of them as Berserker Uruks and there appears to be a leadership system to this group. Another thing to note is uruk-kai weapons are always coated with fast acting poison."
Silence greeted this grim threat assessment. The Uruk-kai made the Jaffa look like child's play.
O'neill stared at Celeborn; impressed with the elf's description. Then he remembered Celeborn has been fighting the Sauron for centuries. He definitely had to know a lot to have kept Lothlorien free for this long.
"I presume you have an idea of the weapons SG1 carry; how effective would they be against the Uruk-kai?" asked Hammond.
"I have heard of the help SG1 gave at the first wave of Uruk-kai attack; your weapons are very effective; however the problem we have right now is numbers. The scouts have seen a further 400 uruk-kai heading towards the gate; they will arrive in approximately 3 hours."
Hammond nodded in agreement even though the elf could not see him. History had proved again and again that superior weapons most times meant diddly-squat when those with the 'high tech' weapons were overwhelmed by a 'low tech opposition' with large numbers of soldiers.
Dr Bradett coughed discreetly; Hammond looked at her; she waved a piece of paper at him. It contained the list of questions the Tolkien Research team wanted to ask Celeborn.
"Lord Celeborn; thank you for your analysis; however our research team has a few other questions for you; may we proceed?"
"Yes General Hammond; I'll answer to the best of my ability," replied the elf ruler.
Hammond motioned for Claire to take over; for a few seconds she stared at the General in horror. She had meant for him to take the list and ask the questions himself!
However ; she quickly recovered and stepped up to the mike.
"Emm...I'm Dr Claire Bradett; one of the scientists at the SGC...it is an honour to speak with you sir!" Hammond and the rest in the SGC stared at her in shock. On the other side O'neill rubbed his head in disbelief.
Celeborn raised a quizzical eyebrow but replied smoothly with a smile.
"It is an honour also to speak with you Dr Bradett. How can I help you today?"
O'neill hid a smile. The elves probably had their own version of crazy fans in Middle-earth as well.
"Em... what is the date if you don't mind me asking?" asked the scientist.
O'neill had been watching Celeborn closely; the smile had left his face at the question. It was a few seconds before the elf lord replied carefully.
"It's the 3rd Age ; year 3019; February the 24th."
No one noticed Walter looking at a sheet of paper and turning very pale.
General Hammond looked at each member of the Tolkien Research Team ( TRT); there were varying degrees of excitement and anxiety of their faces. Somehow; this date was very significant to the TRT.
One question in the General's mind was how could Middle-earth have the same calendar system as Earth?
"Okay; okay," said Claire trying to stay calm " next question is what war is ...em who are you fighting at the moment?"
Celeborn closed his eyes for a moment then replied. "The same person we have been fighting for the past 6000 years; Sauron and his forces."
"What...?" exclaimed Hammond softly; that couldn't be right; but looking at the TRT; they didn't seem that surprised.
"Next ; does the fellowship; Frodo; Samwise Gamgee; Merry; Pippin; Boromir; Aragorn ; Glimli and Legolas still exist?" asked the obviously excited Claire.
Celeborn shared a tired look with O'neill. The elf lord felt he had to put a stop to the questions before the scientist on the other side accidentally let slip a 'future' event of Middle-Earth.
"Yes; they do exist and they left more than a month ago with the One Ring which we are determined to have destroyed despite the consequences," he paused "Dr Bradett; General Hammond. We know you have some knowledge of our world. I have already explained to Colonel O'neill. We do not wish to know our future; some questions are not meant to be answered."
There was silence as those in the SGC control room tried to absorb what Celeborn just said.
"Any more questions?" asked Celeborn gently.
Claire had a lot of them but felt she needed to ask only one for now.
"Yes; do you know a John Ronald Reuel Tolkien?"
There was silence for several moments.
"No; I have never heard the name; who is he?" asked the Elf Lord.
Claire looked at Hammond; to see him shaking his head slowly.
" A writer and a poet; he's dead now," replied Claire carefully.
Celeborn was silent for a few seconds. He knew this was not an idle question but his instinct warned him to leave it be.
" I see; Dr Bradett; General; i will have to leave you now to further assess the Uruk-kai threat; hopefully we will speak again."
"Thanks again for your help," replied the General.
"You're welcome General." Celeborn handled the radio over to O'neill then left him and the rest of SG1 who had waited a short distance away . O'neill nodded to the other members of the team to come nearer.
"O'neill here sir."
Hammond took back the mike from Claire. "Colonel' we're got about another 13minutes before the gate shuts down. Any more information we could use?"
"Not much i'm afraid except that Celeborn's ancestors met the Ancients. The elves buried their gate because they believed it may be more trouble than it was worth," replied O'neill.
"Were the Ancients their enemy?" asked Hammond with a puzzled frown.
"I don't think so; I get the impression the decision to bury the gate was agreed on by both sides," replied the Colonel.
"Any past history of Gould influence?" asked the General
"Celeborn stated and I quote; Martouf is the 1st Gould to land on Middle-Earth."
Tony smirked; it was widely known that O'neill didn't completely trust the Tok'ra.
"Colonel try and get as much information as you can on the Ancients ," Hammond paused not keen to say what had been weighing on his mind for the last half hour. "Well; I'm afraid I have some worrying news of my own."
Everyone in the SGC control room looked at the general.
"What's going on sir?" asked O'neill in a wary tone.
"I got a call from the President and the Joint Chiefs before we dialled the gate," he paused
" The NID are very interested in your current location and are already on their way to the SGC. Colonel Maybourne is heading the team."
Now i know why he was upset; thought Tony Steinberg with dismay.
O'neill barely restrained himself from swearing. However; Hammond wasn't finished.
"They have expressed strongly that they wish to send one of their own teams through the gate to assess Middle-earth's technology and weapon systems; as well as open up diplomatic negotiations with the elves and assist in the extraction of SG1."
"Bullshit!" exclaimed Daniel hotly ; startling the rest of SG1 " they just want the Ring!"
O'neill nodded agreeing with the angry archaeologist.
" General; as much as I detest the NID; I would strongly recommend they do not come through the gate. They will be slaughtered."
"I agree with you Colonel which is why I'm relieved to tell you that the President and the Joint Chiefs have left it my sole discretion as to decide when to use the gate."
O'neill smiled coldly. " Also sir; there is the added fact that so called diplomatic negotiations would go very badly if we disregard the advice of one of the rulers of Lothlorien by sending personnel through the gate."
"Precisely," agreed Hammond " the rest of the Tolkien Research Team may have a few questions for you."
"Sure; but i've got one; any information on the Tolkien guy?" asked O'neill.
Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman took over at this point.
"We're still trying to gather up information about the family; we're asked our colleagues in the British Secret Service for help but so far we have nothing more than is generally known of the family."
"Okay; what questions have you got for us?"
"Sir ; has there been any mention of the other rings?" asked Walter.
O'neill looked at his teammates in confusion. Only Teal'c and Daniel seemed to know what was going on.
"Would anyone care to explain?" asked the Colonel.
Daniel and Teal'c exchanged looks; it seemed O'neill missed that part of the movie.
The Jaffa explained.
"Long ago; Sauron convinced Elven smiths and an elven leader to make a number of rings; Nine for 9 human kings; 7 for dwarfen lords; 3 for Elven kings; then Sauron made his own which was stronger than the others so that he could control them. During the ages he was able to overpower and enslave the human kings; they became the Ringwraiths. He conquered the Dwarfen kings; only the Elf kings are free because they refused to wear the Rings while he had his."
O'neill had a sneaking suspicion where this was going.
"Galadriel has one of the elf Rings doesn't she?" he said into the radio.
"Our notes stated she has Nenya; used to defend and conceal Lothlorien; Gandalf has Narya and Elrond ; another elf of Rivendell has Vilya," stated Dr Pierson " Colonel; the One ring is connected to these 3; if the One ring is destroyed so will these rings lose their powers."
O'neill was silent; he was replaying over his mind the words Celeborn stated earlier .
"The One Ring which we are determined to have destroyed despite the consequences."
Dr Pierson was still talking. " Colonel; is it possible for us to study Galadriel's ring or Gandalf's ring? It could give us valuable..."
"No can do doc," interrupted O'neill " the Uruk-kai are literally camped on their doorstep and they are still in the middle of a long ongoing war. Imagine if our roles were reversed how we would react to having our most effective weapon taken for study."
Pierson turned red with embarrassment.
Hammond looked at the clock. " Colonel; we have 5 minutes before the gate shuts down; when would you recommend a dial in update.?
"4 hours sir; hopefully the reinforcements and Gandalf would be back with the Rangers ; then we can work towards getting back home."
"Colonel; are the elves trustworthy?" asked Hammond ignoring the shocked look from Bradett.
"I think so sir; so far they have been very eager to get us home and they have treated us well."
Hammond nodded but knew deep down inside he would not be satisfied until the team was back on Earth.
"We'll dial again in 4hours, SGC out."
"Yes sir," said O'neill before the transmission cut and the worm hole disengaged.
Hammond turned to Steinberg. " Double the guard in the gate room in-case we get unexpected unfriendly guests from SG1's present location. Good work people; I will speak to you later." The General left.
The TRT watched him go.
"Wow," exclaimed Tony " SG1 has won story of the century! They are really in Middle Earth."
"Do you guys know what this means ?" asked Walter Harriman in a low voice; he was looking at a piece of paper which he had memorised before this current dial in.
"What?" asked Claire.
"In 2 days time it will be February the 26th; the battle near Parth Galen ."
There was silence as the implications set in.
"The death of Boromir; the breaking of the Fellowship," muttered Dr Pierson.
"And they don't want to know about their future?" asked Claire in surprise.
"Maybe they do know a bit; " they turned to Tony " Galadriel had ...or has the talent of forseeing possible futures; maybe that's why they want SG1 back here as soon as possible. Let's face it folks. They don't belong there."
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