Chapter 21
Jackie was excited and confused all the same time. She was going to Memphis, Tennessee! But what she couldn't figure out was why she had to dress up like she was going off world. She wandered into the Gate room with the most confused look upon her face.
Before the Gate and ready to go stood SG-1 who were about to play a joke on her. Teal'c stood expressionless. Sam stood gazing upward trying to look innocent. Daniel stood smiling. Jack stood before the team with a stern look upon his face.
She reached the team, "I thought you said we had to go to Memphis."
Jack gave a nod, "We do."
"Then why is the Gate going?" she wondered.
Jack then made up a tale, "There is a Gate right outside Memphis."
She pondered, "Really? You mean we have other Gates than just this one?"
Jack told her straight face, "Yup! We can step right through and go to any city with a Gate next to it."
She stood imagining the ability. "How would the Gate do that? Does it like loop wormholes around the planet?"
At that moment Sam realized quantum physics was certainly not Jackie's strong subject. "It's complicated." she stated.
Jack thought looping wormholes around a planet sounded awesome and went with it. "That's exactly what it does." he cheered.
She stood baffled, "Okay." She couldn't understand why that was never revealed to her before.
Jack motioned, "Let's go campers."
Jackie started up the ramp with Sam and started to chat, "How does that work? How do you loop it around the planet?"
Sam simply replied, "It's complicated." She started to ponder the notion and it was possible but it would take much work to do such a feat.
They stepped through the Gate and onto another planet. Jackie assumed she was still on Earth and in Tennessee. She looked about but all she saw was trees. "Where's Memphis?" she wondered.
Daniel pointed, "Other side of those trees."
"We must be outside of Memphis," she figured. It simply made no sense but she never thought of another city named Memphis.
He nodded trying not to laugh, "Just outside."
They continued the trek and within ten minutes they emerged from the tree line and gazed upon a Jaffa city build on an Ancient site.
Jackie turned to the team and stated, "That's not Memphis!"
Daniel smiled, "Actually it is."
She asked, "What?"
"Memphis is an old name. The first Memphis on Earth was in Ancient Egypt." he told her. "This is Memphis and it's occupied by the Free Jaffa."
She looked back at her father's glowing face, "You told me we were going to Memphis to study music."
"We are!" he cheered, "This Memphis! Not the one in Tennessee."
She shook her finger upon realizing she been had, "You owe me a trip to Memphis, Tennessee and you need to buy me a souvenir."
Jack grinned, "Got ya good."
She made a face, "This is war, Dad! Just you wait. I don't know what I am going to do but I will get you back." She then looked at SG-1, "And you guys actually went along with it! I must have looked pretty stupid thinking wormholes could loop around the planet." She threw up a hand in disgust.
Sam assured her, "Actually it is possible to do that but it's just never been done before and I don't know how to do that. But I thought it was a pretty bright idea."
She waved her off, "But you went along with his stupid joke."
She winced, "You're a musician and Memphis is major city and home to Elvis and I thought that was pretty funny."
She rolled her eyes and then looked at Teal'c. "You didn't say a word to warn me."
"I did not." he agreed.
"Why?" she asked him.
"Because I knew would be upset and demand an actual trip to Memphis in Tennessee and I would like to go." he confessed.
Jack looked at the Jaffa and asked, "You went along with it so you could get a free trip to Tennessee?"
"Indeed," he stated pleased.
Jack told him, "You're sneaky."
Sam tried to cheer Jackie up, "And Teal'c just played a fast one on your father."
"Whatever," she miffed.
They soon entered the city and made their way down the dirt streets lined with mud brick buildings to the ruins that lay underground. Then they entered the catacombs and started to make their way through.
As they walked pass skeletons piled neatly about Jackie shivered. "This place is giving me the creeps."
"It's just bones." her father replied.
"It's creepy." she repeated.
"Could be worse," Daniel told her.
"Such as?" she asked.
"Could be filled with giant rats and scorpions or snakes." he informed.
"Not helping," she miffed.
Jack used the tip of his finger, reached behind her and gently touched the back of her neck. She jumped and screamed.
"Oh' my god! What was that?" she frantically looked for spiders crawling on her.
He gave her a stern look, "You done acting stupid?"
She glared at him, "Was that you?"
A smirk crept across his face but he didn't answer.
She glared back, "Don't do that again!" She started to march forward even more upset than before.
Sam walked beside Jack, "That was cruel." She found it rather funny but couldn't tell him.
"I can't wait until Halloween," he confessed.
They soon entered the Ancient ruins and began to explore the technology underground.
Sam hooked up the computer to the inner workings of the ancient console that stood in the middle of the golden lined room. She quickly assessed, "This is some sort of pulse weapon. I will need time to study it."
Daniel started his readings, "It was some sort of base."
Jackie had also become fluent in reading the Ancient and reported, "This is a military outpost. I don't see any references to sound weapons."
Sam told her, "Computer looks clean so far. Just work with Daniel deciphering for now."
They were suddenly rocked by an explosion from above.
Jack looked above his head and then at Teal'c, "You're with me T." He then led his friend back through the catacombs and to the surface. Upon looking up he spotted Goa'uld gliders pounding the ground with laser bolts with each pass. He tried to contact Sam on the radio, "Carter!"
Teal'c stated, "The catacombs are interfering with the radios."
As the attack progressed women and children ran for the safety of the underground. Jack soon realized they would be cut off from the team. A Goa'uld mothership descended from orbit. Armed Jaffa enslaved to Maat emerged from the tree line after arriving by Gate.
Jack huffed, "We have to retreat."
"Indeed," the Jaffa agreed.
"Hold them off and I'll get the team." he instructed and ran back into the catacombs below. He was swamped by women children looking for shelter from the attack. He finally made his way back the console room.
Sam huffed, "What is going on up there! I can't reach you on the radio."
Catacombs are interfering," he told her. "We're under attack. Maat just showed up with the whole shebang."
"She's after the weapon," Sam assessed.
"Blow it," Jack instructed.
"Jack there is so much here." Daniel replied.
"If I can get it operational…" started Sam.
"How long will that take?" Jack asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But if I can get it to work it will blow that mothership out of the sky."
"You got 10 minutes." he told her. He looked at Jackie, "I could use you topside."
She gave a nod, "Understand."
Sam told her, "Be careful."
"I will," she assured her.
This was Jackie first major battle and they didn't have the luxury of back up. They couldn't get to the Gate to dial out. It was just them and city full of civilians.
Jackie followed her father back through the catacombs and emerged into a major battle that seemed very one sided. The women and children were no match for the armed forces bearing down on them. She quickly found cover and returned fire to protect the entrance of the catacombs.
Jack huffed, "You stay put while Teal'c and I try to get the Gate to dial in for support."
"There are so many," she replied unsure.
"Just protect the entrance," he told her.
Jack led Teal'c on an offensive right into heart of the oncoming army of Jaffa. His goal was to get to the Gate and get help but he could not for there were simply too many warriors of Maat coming for them. He and Teal'c both found themselves bogged down by enemy fire and no place to go.
As the women, children and elderly of the city ran for cover in an attempt to get underground Jackie provided cover as Maat's army continued to advance. She watched as a mother in tattered clothing held a child in her arms and ran across the dirt street towards the catacombs. A glider from above opened fire on the citizens as they ran and struck the mother in the back causing her to go down with the child in her arms. No other Jaffa stopped to help or even attempt to save the child.
Jackie sprang from her position and laid down a suppressing fire as she ran to the child. She rolled the dead mother off and grabbed the crying toddler. She ran towards the fleeing citizens and handed the child to the first Jaffa who would take her.
Jack looked on as she left her position to save the child. He yelled into the radio, "Get back in position!"
She tried to retreat but was struck by the Jaffa staff weapon blast to the back. It knocked her down and took her breath away. She laid down face first and could not breathe as she struggled to not lose consciousness. She had no idea how powerful the staff weapon blast could be. Before Jack and Teal'c could reach her Maat's army of Jaffa picked her up and carried her under the settling mothership. The rings emerged from the ship and surrounded Jackie and two of warriors. They disappeared inside the ship with the rings.
"Get to the catacombs," Jack instructed Teal'c. He had to stop Sam from using the weapon against the ship.
Onboard
Jackie's lifeless body was stripped of her tactical vest and brought before the Goa'uld queen. The host was an old wrinkled woman with white hair and Maat needed to find a new host that was suitable. Shakily Maat rose to her feet and made her way to the unconscious prisoner. She looked over Jackie's back and found the wound and then used the ribbon device to heal her.
Her First Prime entered the chamber and reported, "My lord. We have detected the weapon has been activated. It is centered on the ship." He was tall and muscular Jaffa with dark hair and a dark complexion.
Maat's plan to steal the weapon had been foiled by SG-1. "How much time?" she barked.
"Not much," he replied.
"Prepare my personal ship," she instructed.
"Yes my lord," the First Prime replied and quickly left the chamber.
Maat removed the top of her robe to expose the old host's shoulders. She then leaned over Jackie's back near the healed wound where the skin was exposed. She then reached across and pinned her down. She then lay across the middle of Jackie's back and closed the old woman's eyes. The symbiont left the old host and entered the new. She settled in well and opened the eyes of the new host as old host died. She turned over and rolled the old body off much like an old suit of clothes. She rose up and found she could run in this new and young body. She knew she needed to get to her evacuation ship for the shields would not protect the mothership from the device below. She may not have gotten the weapon she came for but she got a new host and she knew to cut her loses.
Meanwhile
Jack got to the control room and snorted to Sam, "Stop the weapon."
"It's too late," she told him. "It's at full charge and it's aimed directly at the mothership."
"Jackie's onboard that ship." he told her.
"What?" her eyes grew wide.
"Stop the weapon." he repeated.
She told him, "I can't! If it doesn't discharge it will blow the site and city above us."
"How much time we got?" He wondered if perhaps he could get onboard and rescue her.
Sam gulped, "Seconds!" Her eyes fell on her laptop as the countdown came to zero. The weapon discharged directly above them and a beam of energy went directly into the mothership tarring it apart. The energy wave rocked the surface with the power of an atomic bomb destroying the city and Maat's remaining warriors.
Daniel gulped, "You sure Jackie was on that ship?"
He nodded slowly, "They shot her in the back and beamed her up before T and I could get to her. She tried to save a little kid."
Daniel closed his eyes wishing he heard that wrong.
Sam asked shaking, "She's gone?"
Jack asked, "Is there anything left of the ship?"
She shook her head, "It was completely destroyed." She adjusted the sensors, "I'm not picking up any intact wreckage. Sensors indicate no survivors topside due to the blast." She started to shake as it set into her mind that Jackie was killed in the blast. Tears started to run down her face, she grabbed her helmet from her head and threw it hard across the floor and let out a scream in agony. They won the battle but lost so much more.
NOTE: Thanks for all the reviews. I was able to update today after all but won't be able to update again till tues because tomorrow is my birthday but somehow I have to take my daughter out for my birthday. I'm not too sure how I got hoodwinked into that arrangement.