As of this point, SGD is officially cancelled. I'm too busy to continue this story, and to be honest I don't want to do it anymore.
Now, that doesn't mean I'm just leaving everyone hanging. I've had that happen to me, it makes me really disappointed and a bit pissed off, and I'm not going to do that to you.
You'll get an ending. It may not be a great ending, or even a good ending, but it'll be at least as good as Mass Effect 3's ending. nBSG's ending, even.
Tentatively, figure one more episode concluding this story arc, then two to three episodes of the new ending, and then one short epilogue.
SGD 3x10 The Quest (Part 1)
February 26, 2006
SFB Cheyenne Mountain
"What do you mean there's nothing there? There can't be nothing there!"
"Sorry, Daniel, but there's nothing there," Jack O'Neill told him, fiddling with a pen. He leaned back in his chair. "I had the Prometheus divert from Tegalus to make a flyby. They didn't find anything but space."
"It's there, I know it, it has to be." Daniel adjusted his glasses. "Look, maybe Morgan Le Fay put some kind of protection on the planet to keep it from being accessed by ship.
"We tried dialling the gate," Jack told him. "Got a lock, viable atmosphere, strange energy readings and a couple of medieval villages."
Daniel's face turned from disappointed to shocked to confused to vengeful in the space of five seconds. "You knew?"
"The look on your face was priceless! Priceless, I say!" The immature General smacked his palm on the table.
"Jack, we're fighting a war for our survival, one that we may very well lose! How can you joke at a time like this?" Daniel nearly shouted.
"If you don't relieve the tension somehow, you'll go bananas. Making a joke once in a while staves off the feeling of imminent doom. It's worked up to this point."
He clapped Daniel on the shoulder. "The rest of SG-1 already knows. Since the Ori can't use their ships, we have the advantage for once. You're going in with heavy backup- a couple SG teams and most of the Third OEF. Carter's already packing her doohickeys."
Hebridan
"My god, they just keep throwing everything they have at that tower," Major Veronica Harper observed. She was on her stomach, on the roof of what was probably once an office building. The elevator was nonfunctional and several staircases had been blown out. Getting up to the roof was... interesting. In fact, it would have been impossible if not for the judicious use of their jump jets.
"They're wasting their men. For all their technology, they have no idea how to fight," Rick observed. Their target was the Tech Con corporate headquarters, a colossal structure the size of three Empire State Buildings. It had a broad base, perhaps ten stories tall, with a skyscraping tower extending from its centre.
Not only was the building huge, it was also incredibly well fortified. The thick steel and concrete structure was damaged, but showed no signs of collapsing. There was evidence of small fires, but clearly they had not threatened the tower. VLS cells for surface-to-air missile batteries were visible- they had observed one take down an Ori fighter earlier that day. Muzzle flashes erupted from the lower storeys, clearly visible even with the dull glow of battle and partially extinguished city lights. Drones floated around, exchanging fire with
That was another good thing about their Aegis suits. Muzzle flash didn't make the night vision useless.
He examined the area around the building. Lots of smashed cars, or what looked like cars, anyway. The corpses of Ori soldiers mixed with a smaller number of civilian casualties- the defenders wouldn't even let them get to their dead and wounded. What looked like a temporary base camp was set up a moderate distance away. As he watched, another group of Ori soldiers walked into machine-gun fire. "There's a good chance the HVI is still alive-"
"I know that," Veronica snapped at him. "The problem is getting in."
"Well, we had an easy time getting here. It's just balancing things out." They had actually used a technique that only existed in fiction and a handful of simulated drills before they had tried it. They had climbed to the top of a building, then, using their jump jets, hopped across the top of the city. It was dangerous- if one of them miscalculated, they would fall. Though the landing was probably survivable, they would be entirely at the mercy of the Ori at street level.
It was fast and they had only been detected a few times. The first and third were easy- they had the height advantage and were up against lone Ori patrols. The second was when they had to drop to street level to cross a highway. It had resulted in an intense firefight against an entrenched Ori position- eighteen elite soldiers and two women that shouldn't be there against fifty conscripts with garbage weapons. As soon as the energy bolts began flying, they took cover and began methodically tearing down the Ori forces. Textbook perfect.
And then their great leader had nearly got them killed. A group of Hebridanian partisans, thinking they could seize the opportunity, charged from the other end of the bridge, firing wildly with their assault rifles and funny submachine gun things.
"What the hell are they doing? They're going to get themselves killed!" Veronica shouted, reloading her FAL rifle, which despite being shortened was almost too long for her body.
Rick peered through what he assumed was once the windshield of a car, now a mess of cracked and broken glass. Some of the Ori had turned to face the new threat, and had already dropped two of the partisans. "They'll keep the Ori distracted- they can't focus on two threats. We can sneak through."
There was a loud screech from a woman as she was hit by an errant staff blast. "And let them die?"
"It is not the mission!" a Russian-accented voice told her over the comm link.
"Over my dead body it isn't," Veronica spat. She cocked her rifle and stood up. "When I start shooting, hit 'em with everything we've got."
Normally, their modus operandi was to conserve ammo- carefully place shots, two- and three-round bursts. Despite their increased carrying capacity, they still had to be careful. They didn't have to worry about ammo being heavy, but it was still big.
"Hey, dumbfucks, over here!" In the open, facing the Ori soldiers, stood their commanding officer, Major Veronica Harper. She had loaded a 100-round C-mag into her rifle, and was firing wildly from the hip. Amazingly, she managed to hit two of the Ori warriors, shredding one's leg and blowing the other's chest wide open. Energy bolts slammed into her shields, but she stood fast "Come and get me!"
The rest of the Ori warriors quickly turned, taking the fire off the partisans. The commando group opened fire, wasting ammunition but ripping the Ori forces to shreds in record time.
Veronica was kneeling beside one of the rebels. She had slung her rifle and removed a bandage from her load carrier, pressing it to a bleeding energy bolt wound. "Keep pressure on it. Find somewhere to hide. And don't try that again."
He heard someone whisper from behind him, with a tone of reluctant admiration, "She's fucking crazy."
He had to admit, though, she had guts. And she was getting better.
Maybe even fast enough to keep them alive-
"Uh, we're seeing some activity here," a voice called over the radio, breaking the soldier out of his thoughts. "Looks like five humans, coming up the stairwell. They don't seem to be Ori, repeat, they do not appear to be Ori warriors."
"I'm on my way," Veronica replied, sliding back and standing up. She jumped through the roof access hatch and slid down the ladder. The rest of the team was arrayed defensively in a ruined office and several of the adjoining hallways. She strode to the partially destroyed staircase and peered down.
Five figures were visible in the shadows. With a few carefully controlled eyebrow movements, she scrolled through her night-vision modes until she found the clearest one. Three men and two women in bulky, opaque-masked armour stared up at her. They were all armed with Hebridanian SMGs, and most of them had an extra weapon, a rifle or machine-gun by the looks of it, on their back.
She shouted back, "Identify yourselves!"
One of the men moved to say something, but the taller of the two women stopped him. She replied, "Tech Con Risk Control Services. Heavy Security Division."
"Great, so we're dealing with heavily armed mall cops," someone whispered from beside Veronica.
She glared at him. "TCRCS is basically their army. HSD was formed to counter the Ori threat. They were actually meant to go offworld, but never got the chance before Hebridan was invaded. They've got semi-powered armour and the latest weapons to come out of Hebridan's arsenal." /infodump, move
She turned to the woman below, who continued, "I could ask you the very same thing, by the way."
"Major Veronica Harper, Allied Earth Space Forces, Special Warfare Command."
"You know, I'd love to keep shouting up and down this- well, it was a staircase when I worked here- but do you think you could lower us a rope or something?"
February 27, 2006
SFB Cheyenne Mountain
"Naquadah generator."
"Are you sure you need a full naquadah generator? Isn't it a little heavy?"
"We have no idea what we're going into, Daniel," Sam replied, reaching out with an armoured hand. It turned out that powered exoskeletons also made moving heavy items around far easier. "I ran the calculations myself, we should still be well underweight."
Using a flash-fabricated harness, she attached the generator to the bottom of her titanium framed pack. It was already stuffed to a ridiculous degree- full of all the gadgetry she would need to power up and interface with any of the alien technology they had encountered- and some they hadn't.
Beside it was the rest of her load. Two holsters- one for a pistol and one for a zat. Tactical vest loaded with ammunition, grenades and a few other sundries. The M700 and RAB she would carry were still kept in the armoury- they were casual at the SGC, but not that casual. Additional pouches held even more equipment. It was probably at least three hundred pounds worth in total- well in excess of what a normal human could carry.
"Gone through your own yet?" she asked Daniel after giving her pile a quick once-over.
"Yeah, I think so. I've got my notes, a few references, tools, and what seems to be half the armoury."
"Colonel Carter, Doctor Jackson?" a Sergeant interrupted. "The Asgard and Ancient delegates have arrived. They're waiting in the main conference room."
"Thank you, Sergeant," Carter acknowledged, heading toward the door. She turned to Daniel. "Any idea who they sent?"
"I know the Ancients sent Luthan- Captain Helia assured us that he's the best at what he does."
"That sounds about right."
"As for the Asgard, I have no idea who it's gonna be."
"If you pardon the interruption, sir and ma'am, the Asgard didn't send an Asgard at all. Now I didn't get a good look at him, but whoever walked through that gate was definitely human."
"Huh, I guess they went through with it."
"I'm sorry, sir?"
"Oh, something Thor was talking about. Using humans as part of their military." Daniel paused. "See, the thing is, the Asgard can't afford to risk losing even a single mind- they're already almost extinct. I guess whatever moral quandaries they had were outweighed by pragmatism... and desperation."
The Sergeant left them to enter the briefing room. Teal'c, Vala, and General O'Neill were already there, as were the two guests. One of them was a man- technically a male Ancient- in a Lantean uniform- Luthan. The other figure was much more dramatic.
He was clearly human, or at least humanoid in form, and at least six and a half feet tall. He was encased entirely in a silvery-white suit of armour, sleek with several blended and curved bulges. There appeared to be no seams, but when he shifted slightly, the movement was effortless, the smooth material changing shape. His face was obscured by a helmet with a slim, darkened strip of material over his eyes.
"Ah, there you are!" General O'Neill greeted. "You already know Luthan, and, well, I don't know who this is, but I'm pretty sure he's not Asgard."
"You would be correct about the latter, but not the former, General O'Neill," a feminine, and slightly familiar voice told him. As if by magic, the helmet receded from the top to the neckline, revealing a
"Gairwyn?" Daniel gasped in surprise.
"It has been a long time, Doctor Jackson."
Langara
The preferred method of delivery for a naquadriah bomb was from the air, though it had only been done once. A high-speed, high-altitude bomber, escorted by a wing of fighters, would rush over the enemy's defences and drop the bomb before making a sharp turn for home. If that was not possible, the high energy density of the naquadriah meant a bomb small enough to fit in an artillery shell could be built, though it had not been tried.
They didn't have a bomber. Even if they did have a bomber that wasn't smashed and an airstrip that wasn't cratered, the Ori would blow whatever they send out of the sky. Even if they sent a group- which was called for in several of their war plans- it was likely none would reach their target. And they didn't have any extra bombs to waste.
So the men of the Special Weapons Group were forced to improvise. If they couldn't attack from the air, they would have to do it from the ground. Six of the twelve bombs stored in the reinforced bunker were pulled out and loaded onto trucks. There was nothing special about the trucks, they were just ordinary supply trucks. In addition to the usual flow of supply trucks, they had send out several decoys.
The Ori clearly did not have a good grasp of warfare. An old adage said that an inexperienced commander thought in terms of tactics, but a truly cunning one thought in terms of logistics. Their logistics were under attack, but the Ori seemed focused on pacifying civilians and destroying military forces rather than what supplied them. There was still a good chance each of the trucks would be intercepted, but it was not the certain guarantee it should have been.
It would be a one way mission. Although the plan was to get the bomb as close as possible, then abandon it with a timer, it was clear what was actually going to happen. If one of them got close enough, they would detonate it. The stakes were too high to rely on a timer. All twelve men were volunteers, and knew exactly what they were going in to. With heavy hearts but stoic resolve, they wrote letters to the family and friends they still had left, and willed out their personal effects.
When the first group to make it far enough immolated themselves in nuclear fire, it would change the course of the war.
February 28, 2006
SFB Cheyenne Mountain
"Alright, let's go over this one last time," Carter said to her team, consisting of SG-1 with the addition of Luthan and Gairwyn. The former looked uncomfortable in his borrowed armour, the latter perfectly comfortable in her Asgard suit. Both her scientific and her military mind had a deep desire to see what the Asgard had done.
"Why?" Vala asked belligerently. "You've already told everyone. Several times, in fact."
"Vala," Daniel warned. "This is important."
"Fine."
Carter cleared her throat. "The Third OEF goes in first. The recon elements are the first through- the tip of the spear. We've already scouted the area with UAVs-"
"And crashed one into some kind of force field," Vala added.
"Actually, it was a temporal anomaly. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out what it is when we get there. Anyway, we've already scouted the area with UAVs. There appears to be one large medieval town, as well as a few smaller ones. The recon team goes through first to see exactly what we're up against. The main elements will go through next and secure the gate and the town."
"Isn't that a little extreme?" Daniel asked. "I mean, I know this isn't the first time I've said it, but do we really have to roll in the tanks?"
"I'll be honest. I think we're going way too far," Carter told him. "This comes right from the top. If Merlin's weapon is really on that planet, we need to take it, whatever the cost."
"It is very likely that the outcome of the war will hinge on the outcome of this mission," Luthan mentioned sagely.
"Also, there's one last-minute addition-"
"You're being reinforced," a familiar voice interrupted. A second, more standard four-person SG team strode toward them. Leading them, battle rifle in hand, was Major Melissa Roberts. SG-114. "It's good to be working with you again, ma'am."
P9X-749
Two dozen men and women in heavy armour were the first to come through the gate. Unlike the rest of the 3rd OEF, they were equipped with full Aegis V suits rather than the cheaper Aegis IV. They used their jump jets to maximum effect, skimming over the treetops and dropping down in the middle of the town.
"Everyone stay calm!" Captain Colette Berger shouted at the villagers.
Some of the locals stopped and stared, but most of them panicked, running in the opposite direction, screaming. A few brave souls tried to attack, and were swiftly put down by zat blasts.
"We are here in peace. We wish not to harm you. Stay out of the way and do not be alarmed."
She switched off her external speakers and said, "Quarterback, this is Punter. Village appears to be clear. Villagers are nervous but not violent."
"Affirmative, Punter," Colonel Dillon Everett replied from his command vehicle, a modified M302, on the other side of the gate. "Linebacker, you are clear to advance. Proceed as planned. Quarterback out."
On his command, the mechanized forces of the Third OEF began moving through the gate. Linebacker was the defensive formation meant to hold the stargate, made up largely of tanks and IFVs. They moved through quickly and efficiently, taking positions to cover the portal from attack from either end.
"Linebacker in position, sir! No anomalous activity!"
"Copy that, Linebacker. Receiver, you are clear to move out." Everett felt a slight lurch as his command vehicle began to move. Receiver would move into and secure the village. It was a lighter element, consisting largely of IFVs and Humvees, as well as infantry on foot.
At the front of the three vehicle wide formation was a trio of what were affectionately referred to as "Killdozers"- the AESF's specialized engineering vehicles. They charged into the forest, cutting a swath toward the medieval town with heavy lasers and brute force.
When the armoured behemoths rolled through the streets of the town, it was the most terrifying thing many of the residents had ever witnessed. Most of them simply got out of the way, though a few again rushed at the invaders. They were, again, swiftly dropped with non-lethal force. The initial panicking crowds quickly calmed to a stunned silence.
"Sierra Gulf One, this is Quarterback," Colonel Everett said smoothly over the comm as he surveyed the village. "Looks like it's all clear. The villagers are fuckin' terrified, but there has been no hostile activity. The mission is a go."
"Copy that, Colonel," Samantha Carter replied, emerging from the stargate along with the rest of her team a moment later. Using their jump jets, they 'skated' across the messy path the initial force had cleared, except for Gairwyn, who simply flew about a metre above the ground.
They landed at the edge of a town, where a group of soldiers was stringing out barbed wire and deploying machine guns. One of them, a male Lieutenant, waved them through.
"We're not gonna hurt you- we're not gonna fucking hurt you! We're just here to look around!" a Master Corporal shouted at a group of women. He turned to his immediate superior, a very slim Sergeant. "Sergeant, what do I do? These people don't understand the concept of a firearm, what the fuck am I supposed to tell them?"
She shrugged in response. "Be reassuring. Make it clear that we're only trying to help. Hell, if that don't work, try giving them Charms."
Beside them, a group of men were being forced to the ground at gunpoint and their wrists zip-tied together. One of the soldiers standing over them shouted, "That's what you get for messing with Earth, motherfucker!"
A young woman with the single chevrons of a private was trying to give a chocolate bar to a scared child. He stared at the Mylar wrapped sweet. She smiled at him through her transparent faceplate, and he quickly snatched the offering before bolting away.
"This town is now under the protection of the Allied Earth Space Forces," a voice blared from loudspeakers. "Stay inside unless you have urgent business to attend to. Do not make any aggressive moves. Above all, stay calm. Your life and liberty is not under attack."
This is despicable, Daniel Jackson thought. We're occupying this town, with no regard for these people's way of life, no regard for their culture or our differences. We're no better than the Ori.
Except we leave when we're done, a voice at the back his head mentioned. It was countered by another. But what happens after? These people won't just go back to their everyday routine after we leave. Just by being here, we've fundamentally changed their understanding of the world.
"Our goal is not to change your way of life, nor is it to interfere with your everyday activities," the loudspeaker continued. "Make no mistake- we are in control. We will strive to be as transparent as possible."
"Maybe you should tell them why," Daniel said over the comm.
A moment later, the speaker blared another statement. "We believe this town may be under threat from a hostile force known as the Ori. Our intent is to protect you from that force."
"You invaded our village, you bastards!" a young woman shouted at them.
Her companion, a rugged man of similar age, urged her to be quiet. "Don't be threatening, they will use their magic against us."
"How are we supposed to get any of them to cooperate with us now?" Daniel asked ruefully.
"Hey!" Vala called. "We're looking for the Sangraal! It's a red thing about this big. Does anyone have an idea where it is?"
"Vala, I don't think that's going to work," Daniel chided.
"We know what the Sangraal looks like," a man with a green vest and tan tunic told them. "It's been many generations since anyone has come in search of it and taken up the quest."
Daniel walked toward the man, the rest of the team following his lead. "This quest, how do we take it up?"
"Don't help them!" a burly man shouted at him.
"Shut up!" someone said to him.
Daniel held up his hands. "Everyone relax. We just want information."
"If you truly seek the Sangraal, you must consult with the Parchment of Virtues in the village library," the man told them. He pointed to a squat stone building. "It will prepare you for the journey to come."
"That way?" The man nodded. "Thank you."
As they headed toward the library, the man warned, "I should warn you. No one has ever returned from the quest alive. Clearly, however, you are not the same as the other adventurers."
Daniel turned. "What do you mean?"
"They were like us. You possess magic like Merlin did, so long ago."
"Someone's going to have to explain to these idiots the difference between magic and technology," a voice growled over the comm net.
"Clear the comms!" Colonel Everett snapped back.
The library was small, dark, and musty. A pair of candles and parchment-covered windows provided minimal illumination. Scrolls of parchment and primitive leather-bound books, covered in dust, were piled high on shelves and on tables.
"Hello," Daniel called. "Is there anyone in there?"
"One lifesign," Gairwyn told them. "Picking up some anomalous readings, but I am not sure what they are."
"What kind of anomalous readings?" Carter asked.
"I do not know. My suit's microframe is processing the data as fast as possible."
"Right, Parchment of Virtues," Vala said. "Do we look under "P" for parchment or "V" for virtues?"
"I say look for any and all materials related to the Sangraal," Daniel told her.
"Or you could simply ask me!" an aged voice called. An old man in red robes with a grey beard and balding head stepped into the room. "I am Osric, keeper of the village archives."
"Hi. We're looking for something called the Parchment of Virtues," Carter replied, getting straight to the point.
"Ah, another band of stalwart heroes come to tempt fate in the hopes of claiming the legendary prize," Osric mused.
"Actually, we need to find it in order to save not one but two galaxies from an unstoppable invasion force," Vala told him.
Daniel coughed and asked Osric, "What do you know of the Sangraal?"
"Only what I have heard from legend. That it is located in a cave beyond the outlying forest. But, that the journey there is fraught with peril," Osric informed, searching the archives. Finding what he was looking for, he began climbing up a small wooden ladder. "Ages ago, Morgan Le Fay enchanted the area with a terrible curse."
He reached for a large wooden box and handed it to Carter. "Since then, it has claimed countless lives."
"Well, we don't put much stock in curses, so…" Daniel muttered.
"Neither did Phaedra, the cobbler's wife. Several weeks ago, she set off in search of her son who had strayed too far from the village. Neither have been seen nor heard from since."
Osric took the box back and opened it, removing a pristine, rolled up parchment. "This parchment was purportedly left behind by Morgan herself, as a guide for knights of noble spirit, since it is said that only the most virtuous will succeed in claiming the Sangraal."
Daniel held out his hand. "May I?"
"Of course," the old man replied, handing the scroll over. The text was written in Ancient.
"Only those of virtue true may win the prize concealed beyond the reach of the flawed and tainted. The Sangreal shall instead belong to he who speaks the guardian's name," Daniel translated. He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Guardian's name?"
"They say that the Sangreal is protected by the most powerful of magical beasts — a dragon."
They exchanged skeptical looks. "Dragon?"
"You doubt the legend?"
"Well, I'm sure the Sangraal is protected by something very powerful," Carter replied, "But I don't think it's an actual dragon."
"It may be similar to what the Asgard created for the Protected Planets," Gairwyn mentioned.
Osric laughed. "Believe what you will. With luck you may have the opportunity to prove the truth for yourselves."
"Prudence, wisdom, charity, kindness, and faith. Let these be your guide on this perilous quest."
Vala's frown was visible behind her clear faceplate. (/seems just like canon, except, not) "Well, I'm sorry, but I think we're going to need a little bit more than that to go on."
"No, all Morgan left behind was this parchment," Osric replied.
"Are you sure there is not more?" Luthan asked.
Osric gently took the parchment back, rolled it up, and placed it inside the box. "And… the map."
"Uh, there's a map?" Roberts asked.
Osric laughed again. "Yes."
"May we see it?" Teal'c asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
"It was taken by the last group of adventurers, a long time ago. They repaid my kindness by stealing the map, and it has not been seen since."
"He's holding something back," Chazan said quietly, only over their comm link.
"Okay, look," Roberts said, taking him aside. "I don't think you understand what's at stake here. There are other worlds out there- hundreds of them. Doctor Jackson, about how many people live on this planet?"
"Uh, probably in the tens or hundreds of thousands," Daniel replied. It was an extremely rough estimate- there could be no more villages or a massive city on the other side of the planet. But he understood what the Major was trying to do.
"Some of those worlds are much like your own." She tapped a few buttons and brought up a holographic image of planet with a population figure below it, projected above her wrist. "This is my homeworld, Earth. That number is not a mistake. Over five billion people live on my world."
"Six... billion?" Osric gasped.
"We have the highest population of any known planet. Hebridan- two billion and dropping fast." The hologram changed to one of a planet decimated by nuclear detonations. "Tegalus- it used to be three billion. Now it's two. That's one billion people dead. Langara- hundreds of millions have died already, and the rate is about to increase."
"What is happening? How can this happen?"
"They're called the Ori," Daniel informed him. "They're a group- a massive group of people- that insist on forcing their false religion on everyone in the galaxy. Their technology is more advanced, even more advanced than our own. Unless we do something, they're going to kill or enslave the entire galaxy.
"Now, we believe the key to defeating them lies with the treasure Morgan Le Fay left here. If we can get that device before the Ori do, then we can stop the crusade and defeat the Ori. We can't win this war conventionally. It's our last hope."
The old man appeared stunned at the revelation. "I had no idea..."
"I didn't expect you would," Daniel replied.
"In that case, there is still one copy left." Osric pointed to his head. "In here."