A/N: I'm back after a long period of being out of the loop. My dad passed away last October 2010, and there were some personal matters I needed to take care of first before I could pick up where I left off with this story. No, this is not beta-ed by kaseykc (beta-ed Heir chapters 3-14 & 37), so I hope you will forgive me for my crappy writing.
Chapter Spoiler: Stargate the Movie, Into the Fire, Deadman Switch, Redemption pt.1, Descent
38
"Three enemy fighters are advancing on our location," Teal'c calmly announced.
Great, Jack thought with great dismay. They sent out a squadron after us.
He quickly lifted his hands away from the helm as if scalded. His first instinct was to turn around, and get the hell away from there. But logic told him it wouldn't do them any good rushing things without assessing their current situation, and what other options they might still have.
"Carter?"
"I wish it was that simple, sir."
Anise came forward, scrutinizing the range indicator in front of Teal'c. "They are too fast to be death gliders," there was a sense of bewilderment in her voice. "Could it be…"
"It would seem to be so," was Teal'c's cryptic, without compunction, reply. "They will be here in one minute."
They seem to be in agreement about something. Jack had no idea what the heck they were talking about, and that bothered him. What else could they possibly be if they weren't death gliders?
He didn't want to get worried, but he's starting to get there. "Carter?"
"Finding a suitable replacement for each crystal is like looking for a needle in a pile of needles," Sam replied. And as if to substantiate her statement, soft clinking sounds could be heard somewhere behind him.
That's it, Jack thought, slapping both hands spread eagled against the globular helm with a resounding thwack, and quickly turned the ship around. Guess all you want, but I ain't gonna stick around to find out what they are!
"Forget cloak, major, just work on those shields. Shut off all but the necessary systems. We'll need all the extra power we can get. T, have those jump coordinates ready the second Carter gets our shields back up," Jack threw out the commands in rapid succession.
"O'Neill," Teal'c calmly looked at him sideways as the stars blurred, and the planet disappeared from view. "It would be impossible to outrun them given our present situation."
"Yeah? Well, staying put's not an option either," Jack retorted, returning the look the big guy just gave him. "They get one look at us, and we're done for."
Putting as much distance between them and their pursuers was not the only one he had to deal with. He hated the fact that the direness of their situation was holding him back from going full throttle. Warning bells rang at the back of his mind reminding him that the danger was not exclusive to the fighters behind them.
They knew with certainty that the ship sustained hull damage from the explosion, but just how extensive, they could only guess. The weakened parts of the hull might not withstand the rigors of hyperspace travel, and so without the protection of her shields, attempting a jump right now would be suicide. Period.
If they couldn't get the shields working again they're going to be stuck there with two remaining options left, and none of them good.
The colonel angrily shook his head. This was no time to entertain thoughts like that, not when the enemy was quickly closing in. Besides, they got Carter, one of the smartest brains on Earth, if not in the entire human race, with them, plus the Tok'ra so all he had to do was buy them some time. He needed his entire wits about him if they wanted this to pull through without a hitch. He needed to focus.
Darkness engulfed the entire ship as soon as the overhead lights were turned off. Their only sources of light illuminating the cockpit came from the control switches and the faint light coming from the stars outside.
"They are approaching from the light side of the planet," Teal'c informed, his huge dark eyes glued on the three small blips steadily moving towards them covering the distance between the two ships with ease. "They will be within target range in forty seconds."
Didn't even bothered being inconspicuous, Jack was as if the enemy was taunting them, flaunting their superior strength.
"And if it's not too much to ask,"-Jack kept seeing the words "butt naked" flashing an angry red in his mind-"weapons, too!"
A couple of scenarios played around inside Jack's head, all ending disastrously without the benefit of a shield. No matter which way he looked at it they were in a real bad shape, and that didn't made him one happy camper.
A cry nearly made the colonel jump from his seat.
"We have shields!" Sam cried out joyfully, her voice overflowing both with relief and disbelief.
"Then we're outta here!" Jack kicked the small cargo ship into high gear, the fastest it could go.
"Opening a hyperspace window," Teal'c beside him calmly announced his hand busy with the control panels in front of him.
Through the viewport, everyone could see traces of a light purplish-colored mist-like anomaly begun taking shape a few clicks ahead of them; the beginnings of a wormhole. Jack unconsciously leaned his body forward as if that would help the ship fly any faster towards safety that enticingly beckoned to them dead ahead.
He welcomed the familiar pull of tidal forces as the ship came within the proximity of the wormhole's event horizon. Jack could easily envision the cargo ship elongating when viewed from outside because of the push and pull of gravity warping space this close to the anomaly.
The stars became starlines as they begun their hyperspace jump, but instead of seeing streaks of blue and white, the starlines shrank back into tiny specks of light. The tidal forces that only seconds ago held them in a vise-like grip suddenly let go, jolting the tel'tak back to real-time space.
The wormhole had also disappeared.
What the-!
As if that wasn't enough, the helm lights started to flicker. Jack unconsciously held his breath as he stared down at the globe beneath his hands with wide distraught eyes. It flickered a few more times before totally winking out.
"Carter!"
The major's heavy boots thumped across the deck running towards the rear section of the ship where the hyperdrive panels were located. Anise disappeared from his periphery while Teal'c examined the remaining functioning instrumentation in front of him. There were several soft hisses as access panels were pulled being open somewhere behind him.
"Shields and sublight are offline," Teal'c reported, his voice getting grimmer with each word, "as well as the hyperdrive."
Jack swore silently. Was there no end to the string of bad luck they've been having ever since arriving there? He swore some more. He would have to remind himself next time to make sure that these ships were carrying spares for each crystal before setting foot in them. Lots and lots of spares.
Behind them the Tok'ra Banos was also busy working behind the center console. "Sublight is once again operational," the helm lit up as soon as he said this. "It appears that they came loose from their connectors, although, such an occurrence is unheard of. As for the shield crystals, we detect no visible damage to any of them. Attempting to reactivate."
"Hyperdrive?" No answer. Jack waited two more seconds. "Carter?"
Her voice floated through the open bulkhead. "I don't know, sir. It was working fine one minute then…"
"The explosion must have caused the hyperdrive system to malfunction," suggested Banos.
The major grudgingly agreed. "Assuming that the explosion was strong enough to generate enough EMP, coupled with the instability of the core, it could very well be-"
"Oy!" Jack called out, looking over his shoulder. "Debate all you want, Einsteins, but do it after we get out of here!"
Teal'c looked at the timer. "Fifteen seconds."
"We've already used up all the crystals we could think of."
"What about the one that flushes the toilet?" Jack blurted out.
Teal'c stared at him from across the co-pilot's chair. Sam said nothing. It was a stupid idea anyways.
"You'll think of something, Carter," Jack encouragingly said, although his mind was churning. Sam Carter stomped was very bad news. Emphasize on very. "Don't worry."
His only option at the moment was to make the ship as little a target as possible, and to do that they had to be a step ahead of their enemy. If there was even the infinitesimal of chances that they were going to make it out of there alive, he had to do everything he could to make that happen.
Ten seconds… five…
Except for the engine's low hum, an eerie ear-splitting silence fell over the ship. It's as if time had slowed down to almost a halt, that's how it certainly looked like to Jack, except out of the corner of his eye, he saw Teal'c's dark eyes roamed the breath and width of the viewport of what he could see of the space outside.
Dread was creeping up to him despite his best efforts to keep it at bay. Jack felt his entire body growing cold his hands began to tingle and getting all sweaty. He strained his ears listening for any suspicious sounds coming from outside the hull. His eye twitched involuntarily as he joined Teal'c in scanning the space before them. Nothing. He stole a questioning glance at his friend. "Well?"
Teal'c said nothing as he checked his display screen again. If the proximity indicator was correct, the enemy should already be all over them by now.
"Maybe it got it wrong?" Jack suggested under his breath, along with that thought was a sinking feeling that they might've unnecessarily revealed themselves to the Goa'uld. Tau'ri and Jaffa looked at one another.
Just then a dark craft appeared on their starboard side, followed by another half a second later.
"Or not," Jack said, gritting his teeth, throwing the scout ship into a downward drop even the inertial dampener couldn't quite handle.
- - - o 0 o - - -
Static ended the radio conversation Army Col. Stephen Bennett had with their recon. He released the pressure on the earpiece of his throat mic and let his hand hang on his side. He looked up at the three individuals gathered around him.
"They're finding a place to set up camp while they're waiting for us at the mines."
"How many guards are we talking about here?" Maj. Lou Ferretti asked.
"From what they could see," Bennett's face was grim. "Close to a hundred."
"And the prisoners?" inquired Maj. Paul Davis.
"Close to three hundred," Jacob answered, remembering the information on the message. "Have they found any sign of Malek yet?"
Bennett shook his head at Jacob. "There's just too much going on down there. It seems that the camp was hard hit when the earthquake struck. Iras says from what he could hear, there are people trapped inside the mines when it caved in. The prisoners are concentrating their efforts to rescue them."
Iras was one of the four Tok'ras that went with Jacob to Earth and the one who volunteered to do recon alongside SG-11's Lt. Cummins.
"It would be a good distraction," Maj. Paul Davis nodded. "It'll be a lot easier for us to infiltrate the camp unnoticed."
The military officers all looked at the Tok'ra agent gauging his reaction at the news. If Jacob noticed the looks they were giving him, he never showed it. Instead, he turned around to where the rest of their party was, resting a few feet behind them.
"Have someone keep an eye on them," Jacob said, looking at where Daniel and Jonas were sitting down. They were both preoccupied conversing with Ferretti's teammates that none of them noticed Jacob looking their way. The older man said it not out of spite but concern for their safety. They shouldn't even be there in the first place, but they just didn't know when to quit.
He remembered the conversation he had with Daniel by the Stargate, of what Jonas told the archaeologist that prompted the two of them to disobey the SGC base commander to follow them all the way there at the risk of their own safety.
Jacob was a good judge of character and immediately knew that Jonas was a good kid long before anyone at Stargate Command did. He showed promise on their very first mission together. Although Jacob had to admit that there's a reckless side to him that had on so many occasions led him to danger, that did not stop the Kelownan from doing what he knew in his heart was the right thing to do. Both he and Daniel were like that.
As Jacob thought about it, he came to realize that he, too, secretly wished that Jonas was right.
- - - o 0 o - - -
Sam Carter cried out in alarm from inside the cargo hold. The sudden maneuver made her momentarily lose her balance prompting Jack to quickly mumble out an apology.
A third fighter appeared right in front of them. Jack's heart stopped beating for a full second as he immediately cuts his dive. He did a tight barrel roll before leveling out, leaving behind the three-pronged squadron in their wake, but it wouldn't be long before they caught up with them again. Tel'taks were maneuverable vessels, but they were not built to face the smaller, more agile, and much faster fighters head on.
"Those aren't death gliders!" was Jack's outburst once he felt his heart started beating again. There was a nagging sense of familiarity with the circular design of the fighters, but couldn't put a finger on it.
"That was our assumption, O'Neill," Teal's replied, indicating the conversation he had with Anise earlier. "They are called henu'sek, the fighters that compliments a smau'Tep. It is the precursor of the present day death gliders. Master Bratac called it-"
"The needle-threader."
Jack nearly jumped out of his skin for a second time when he heard Sam's voice so close to his ear. What's she doing here out front? She was leaning so close to him that if he fully turned his head he could reach out and easily plant a kiss on her flushed cheek. Why the heck was she leaning so close like that? And what in the world was he thinking!
She must've sensed him looking at her, but misinterpreted the look he gave her entirely. "It's the ship that Teal'c and Gen. Hammond used back in Hathor's planet to rescue us," she said. She popped open the hatch of the now defunct hologram console between the pilot and co-pilot's chair, and pulled out several control crystals, carrying them off with her back to the rear compartment.
That jarred the colonel's memory. No wonder the curved wing around the central hull secured on both sides by two horizontal airfoils looked familiar.
A fighter shot overhead, so close to the cargo ship, the proximity indicator was going off like crazy. The Air Force officer did another round of evasive maneuvers. He didn't forget that he wasn't onboard a fighter, and controlling the globular steering console was still a bit tricky, but he's doing his best to keep them away from the enemy's target range.
Another fighter surfaced from below, passing directly across their flight path. Jack broke hard to starboard. Another made another pass directly below them, again he evaded, leaving the fighter behind. They were popping up everywhere like great predators playing with their food before the kill. If only they had weapons, he'd shoot the bastards and be done with it.
He chanced a glance down the proximity indicator. A sudden thought occurred to him. The enemy had a lot of opportunity to take a clear shot of the tel'tak, counting how many times it entered their target ranges, but none fired a single shot. It was something Jack found very odd… unless they were doing it on purpose.
Without any warning, Jack tried to ram the closest henu'sek, but it deftly avoided the collision.
"Colonel O'Neill," Anise protested. "Are you trying to kill us?"
"That's the idea!" He attempted a second time, and still with the same result. Jack was wearing a tight smile on his face. It definitely confirmed his suspicions.
"Carter, how far out do you think that EMP can reach?" He could visualize his 2IC's mind going a mile a minute. "You think it hit that ship?"
"There are certain factors to consider," Sam began, thoughtfully. "The range and effectiveness of an electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear explosion is determined by the altitude of detonation, energy yield, gamma ray output, the electromagnetic shielding of targets-"
"Carter."
"It's a possibility."
A possibility. "Alright, I get it. So let's say that it did hit that Goa'uld ship, it's also possible that the fighters in her glider bay got affected, too, right?"
"Assuming that, then, yes. Even if it is a weak EMP, it would still cripple them to some degree."
"Like weapons?"
A pause.
"Colonel, you think that the reason they're not shooting at us is because…"
"They can't," Jack was smiling devilishly for the very first time since all this happened.
Teal'c finally spoke up. "That is a possibility."
"They thought we'd never see through their bluff," Jack allowed himself a small laugh. He wanted to hit his head against the console for not thinking about it earlier. Maybe their situation's not so bad after all. "Those things got shields?"
"I do not believe so," Teal'c replied, looking out the viewport. "Like the death gliders, they have no shields and hyperdrive engines. However, the likelihood that these fighters having been modified is also possible."
"But still vulnerable to an EMP attack," Jack thought aloud.
"Do you have a plan, Colonel O'Neill?" Banos inquired.
"I just might," Jack nodded curtly. He asked how long to fix the hyperdrive in which Sam replied that she needed a few more minutes. "I'll let them haul us in. We'll let them think that we still haven't noticed their lack of "force." I'll try to stall as long as I can. You have one minute to fix the hyperdrives and the shields."
Thunk!
The words were barely out of his mouth when the tel'tak shuddered violently, sending everything and everyone not secured flying forward. Jack braced himself against the controls to avoid getting smashed against the viewport. The impact was so strong it rattled Jack's teeth.
Dammit, the colonel screamed inwardly. We're hit!
Alarms rang overhead. A panel flashed angry red near Jack's left elbow. He recognized the markings on it, and knew that something had penetrated the hull. He tried to regain control of the ship, intending to keep it moving, but the helm was unresponsive, or rather its response was sluggish. The globe was shining a bright red which meant the helm was working fine, but the ship was moving at a snail's pace, like it was moving underwater.
"What the…" Jack mumbled out, feeling the sublight engines whining under considerable strain.
The words "tractor beam" came to mind, but ruled it out just as quickly. No ship the size of the henu'sek could possibly possess a powerful enough device to stop a ship as big as a tel'tak, or make that any ship for that matter. Goa'uld technology was advanced by human standards, but not that advanced as with the Asgards and the Ancients. Besides, he discovered a second later that he could move the ship sideways without any problems, so the tractor beam scenario was thrown out the window.
He checked the range indicator. His brows furrowed as he stared at the small screen. "Uh, Teal'c, what's that?"
One of the henu'seks was directly behind them, and in between them was a line connecting the two crafts, flashing red along with the enemy fighter. Beside him the Jaffa said nothing as the latter continued staring bewildered at the display. "What is it, Teal'c?"
The big guy uttered something in Goa'uld. Realizing that Jack couldn't understand him, he took a moment to search his memory for the correct word in Tau'ri.
"Grappling hook."
Jack bolted upright in his seat. "What?"
"They have secured a grappling hook into the ship's hull with the intention of towing us back to the smau'Tep."
"You've gotta be damn kidding me!" Jack O'Neill bellowed out in rage.
"On the contrary, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, clearly not getting it. "It is one of the features on the fighter's original design."
"You're telling me this now?" Jack gritted his teeth.
"It did not cross my mind that they would employ such a crude mechanism on an enemy."
"Colonel O'Neill, the engines might fail completely if you continue to push them too hard," cautioned Banos.
He heeded the Tok'ra's warning and eased a little on the sublight engines, but still had enough power to fight off the smaller craft's attempts at towing them towards the mothership. Jack growled out in annoyance. It felt like the enemy was always one step ahead of them, cutting off all possible escape routes. These guys were good at frustrating him to no end.
"The smau'Tep has begun to move," Teal'c informed them. "It is coming for us."
- - - o 0 o - - -
"We detected no weapons discharge just as master have expected."
"The explosion wiped out their capability to do so, being near the explosion as they were," the Goa'uld nodded, his long shiny black stresses flowing over his shoulders as he did so. "What of our long range communications?"
One of the beefier Jaffa flanking his right side turned his head to address him. "Repairs are still ongoing as we speak, but they assured us that it shall be operational before we reach al-Kahira."
The system lord nodded again. "I need to contact my first prime soon or he will likely have a fit," a ghost of a smile appeared on his handsome face. He heard the Jaffa's sudden intake of breath at his casual statement. Kalen's temper was legendary. They feared his First Prime more than they did him. "Of course, I shall intercede on their behalf. What kind of master am I if I allow discord to take root within my own household?"
The foot soldier bowed his head respectfully.
"Now then," the Goa'uld said, flicking his long hair back with an elegant hand. "Let us meet them halfway. I cannot wait to see what our fishing line has caught."
- - - o 0 o - - -
"They are in no hurry," Anise said a moment later. "They know we do not have the means to fight them off."
"We'll stick with the plan," Jack fiercely said once they were sure that the ship was not leaking atmosphere. He turned to look at both Banos and Sam. "You have one minute. Go."
Jack stood up and asked Teal'c to man the helm and to continue their tug-of-war with the henu'sek. Banos once again flopped behind the center console trying to repair their shields. Anise occupied the co-pilot's chair after checking on the still unconscious form of Inares.
The colonel popped his head inside the cargo hold. "Anything I can help you with?" he asked in a cheerful voice.
His 2IC looked up from her inspection of nearly two dozen colorful crystals inside one of the file cabinet-sized hyperdrive access panels. She pointed her thumb distractedly over her shoulder towards another open panel on the other side further down the cargo hold.
Jack inspected the crystals inside hyperdrive access panel number two. The cylindrical Goa'uld control crystals were all laid out in rows of varying length and color. There were a few empty sockets here and there, and also a few unlighted crystals.
Sam continued on with her explanation. "Concentrate on the unlighted crystals. There should only be four of them bunched together on your upper left, one in the middle and another on your right. The one on your right is the one we need lit. Its counterpart here burned out, and that's the one we want replaced. I'm going to try switching crystals around to see which one will work."
Okay, he nodded. Jack turned to look at Sam. Crystals were scattered all around her. Some were placed on top of one of the nearest crates, a few more were strewn around her feet. He looked at the panel in front of him. I can do this, he told himself. How hard can it be, right?
"These are the last crystals we haven't tried yet," Sam looked at him anxiously, indicating the handful of crystals in her left hand. "Let's hope one of them works."
They worked silently, only speaking in monosyllables. Despite the cool air circulating around the ship, Jack was sweating like crazy. Twice they thought they got the right crystal only to see the light sputter and die out leaving them both frustrated, and Jack short-fused.
"Here," Jack extended out the hand holding a pale watery blue crystal towards Sam. It got knocked off her hand when her elbow accidentally brushed against the edge of the panel. He quickly swooped down to retrieve it before it could hit the deck.
She smiled her thanks, and almost had it in her grasp when they were both nearly knocked off their feet. There was another thunk! quickly followed by a loud sickening sound of crunching metal as the ship continued to shudder. The crystal fell on the deck, rebounding a few times before rolling out of sight. But that was the least of their concerns.
Sam Carter tried to grab hold of the access panel, but it proved to be too far for her to reach. Her world violently careened sideways, about to collide hard against a pile of wooden crates. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the bone crunching pain that was about to come.
A pair of strong arms suddenly grabbed her, wrapping her in a tight embrace against a warm, hard, and solid body. She felt an arm wrapped around her slim waist, the other protectively cradling her head. They stumbled here and there, but thankfully remained upright. Were it not for the support she would undoubtedly have been injured from being thrown around the cargo hold like a rag doll.
She still had her eyes shut when the rocking finally subsided. Above her, she heard the unmistakable voice of her commanding officer.
"What's happening out there?"
"They have attached another grappling hook on the tel'tak," was Teal'c's reply.
"Colonel O'Neill! Major Carter! Are you all-" There was no mistaking to whom that voice belonged to.
When Sam finally opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that she had her face nestled close against the curve of the colonel's neck. The second thing that caught her attention was how her hand managed to snake its way tightly around her CO's back. The third she noticed was the look of something akin to jealousy in the other woman's eyes.
"We have the shields functioning again," Anise calmly looked up at Jack then back at Sam who was still in his arms. "But we were not able to raise them in time."
Jack O'Neill held Sam at arm's length, his soft brown eyes searching her face for any hint of pain. "You okay, Carter?"
Sam nodded robotically, caught herself, and cleared her throat to utter the words, "Yes, sir."
Jack quickly let her go, suddenly conscious of Tok'ra staring at them. He threw a covert glance at the Tok'ra before giving his 2IC a curt nod. "I'll be right back," he ducked out of the cargo hold, leaving the two women alone.
"Are you all right, Major Carter?" Anise inquired with all sincerity a few seconds later.
"Yes, thank you," Sam replied, making herself busy with the access panel she was working on earlier. Anise's next words simply blew her away.
"Forgive my host, Freya, for her behavior a few moments ago," the Tok'ra said, watching her with unblinking eyes. "She was caught off guard with what she saw. We both know that she has taken quite a liking to your Colonel O'Neill," the symbiote unabashedly explained.
Sam could only smile weakly in return.
"We are at a deadlock," Teal'c said as soon as Jack stood beside him. "With the two fighters combined, they now almost have the same power as that of the cargo ship. None of us are gaining any ground. We are fortunate Banos had the shields running before they could attach a third grapple on us."
"How's the ship holding up?"
"We cannot extract anymore power from the engines without endangering them," the Jaffa explained. "In the current state we are in, only the shields can ensure our escape from this place."
"How're the shields doing?"
"Not at full capacity, but they will hold for hyperspace travel. The left shield took the brunt of the EMP burst. As long as that side does not get a direct hit, we will be fine," Banos explained.
"Finally, some luck coming our way," Jack muttered, lightly tapping Teal'c by the shoulders. The Jaffa understood, and obliged by returning to the co-pilot chair.
The Tok'ra cleared his throat. The two men at the controls looked at him. "We have also been able to bring our weapons system online, but"-he quickly added, seeing the delighted look on the colonel's features-"we are afraid it can only be used once."
Jack was crestfallen. "Once?"
"The connectors were badly burnt from the electromagnetic pulse it is a wonder we were able bring it to function at all."
Jack wanted to roll his eyes in frustration. Luck was coming their way alright. In trickles!
"Can we jump start her engines?" Jack asked his friend out of the blue.
Teal'c's brow lifted. "What do you intend to do, O'Neill?"
"Making sure we're not going anywhere near that thing," Jack replied before calling Banos over.
- - - o 0 o - - -
A pair of a quick curt knocks on the door broke the stillness in the room. Its only occupant bade the person enter.
"Here are the requisition forms you asked for, general," CMSgt. Walter Harriman said once his salute was returned. He handed a short blue folder to the man sitting behind a huge oak desk.
Gen. George Hammond thanked him and placed the folder aside unopened along with a few others. "Also, have Dr. Fraiser to come down to my office as soon as she is able," and returned to the stack of papers he'd been reading earlier.
The chief Gate operator excused himself, and was about to open the door when Hammond called out to him.
"Is SG-8 ready yet, chief?"
"Yes, general," Harriman replied. "They're already gathered in the Gate room waiting for the techs to finish loading the equipment and supplies they're taking at the excavation site."
Hammond nodded absently, staring off into space. SG-8 was supposed to leave for their next off world mission tomorrow morning, but due to events that were out of his control, it would be better if they left earlier than scheduled. He suddenly remembered that Harriman was still there and quickly snapped out of his reverie to dismiss the chief sergeant with a curt nod of the head before returning back to what he was doing.
As soon as he heard the lock click into place, the general lifted his eyes at the door. With a sigh, he puts down the fountain pen he'd been holding on top of the stack of papers in front of him, and leaned back in his chair. He rested his chin on his hand as his mind went over the events that happened in the last forty-eight hours.
Yesterday Anise paid Stargate Command a visit, requesting that SG-1 accompany them to an uninhabited system to conduct tests on a planet where an al'kesh had appeared, released something of unknown origin above the planet and left as soon as it came. Small explosions erupted on the surface until the entire planet was engulfed into flames a few minutes later.
They were able to flush out the NID agent on the base early this morning, but they were still unable to get a confession out of him. He was already handed to the MP much to their disgruntlement, but they couldn't detain him there at the base indefinitely. Laurenti nearly escaped, but was apprehended soon after without any casualties, which Hammond was thankful for.
Then his old friend, Jacob Carter arrived asking for the SGC's help to rescue Malek who became a prisoner while working undercover for a minor Goa'uld System Lord named Merenptah on a planet called al-Kahira. It was rumored to be a naquadah-rich planet, undiscovered until about a year ago. Merenptah might only be a minor Goa'uld System Lord, but he was crafty enough to keep the planet's Gate address and its location a secret from everyone else. It stayed that way until about a few weeks ago when another System Lord came swooping in, wrestling the planet from his cold, lifeless hands.
Hammond agreed to render assistance, lending two of their SG teams to go with them. Like Maj. Davis he, too, had his doubts about the authenticity of the message the Tok'ra received, but they couldn't turn their allies away, more so when it's Jacob that was asking for help.
Then there's Jonas Quinn who insisted on coming with the rescue party, without any regards to personal safety. On two separate occasions he stated that he needed to be there because it would be disastrous to the party if he didn't. And Daniel Jackson… he went ahead and jumped through the Gate with Jonas in tow. Gung-ho heroics.
Hammond never doubted their good intentions, but they were both wanted individuals with the headhunters hot on their trail, that was his main concern. Even the Tok'ra was involved in finding out the Goa'uld that placed the bounties on their heads.
The Gate klaxon cut short his thoughts as the Stargate began to spin. Hammond left his office, and stood by the wide observation deck in the briefing room. He looked down to see SG-8 standing on one side watching the MALP carrying supplies and equipment roll into the Gate room.
Project 806, as everyone began calling it, had been continuous ever since they connected with the P3Y-806 Stargate nearly three months ago. On the planet they discovered two steles: one full of inscriptions that to this day still confounded Dr. Jackson, and another stele full of Stargate coordinates. One hundred and forty-two Gate addresses to be exact, plus one that was incomplete, the last two symbols erased for unknown reasons. They've visited sixty of these addresses, and so far, the off world teams had accumulated dozens like the so-called 806 inscription steles. This mission would be their sixty-first.
The dialing sequence complete, the Gate came to life. The watery blue of the event horizon shimmered as the MALP began to climb the ramp towards it. Once there SG-8 would walk a little bit further before reaching the excavation site where another SG team was on babysitting duty.
Capt. Brendan Griffith must've sensed someone watching them, and quickly looked up. Hammond stared back at the young man for a full minute before nodding his head down at him. Griffith returned it with a nod of his own. Good thing the captain was levelheaded about all this.
Griffith's men slowly marched up the metal ramp right behind the MALP. He must have said something to them then because they all looked back at him nodding their understanding, mouthing the words "Yes, sir!" and went on their way.
As soon as the Gate disengaged the general sighed deeply. There were so many things happening all at the same time he felt his head was going to explode. He was getting too old for this. It's not like something like this had never happened before, but all the excitement was proving to be too much for his nerves to handle.
He just hoped that when this was all over, everyone got to come home safe and in one piece.
- - - o 0 o - - -
Banos stared at him as if he'd finally lost his grip on reality.
"So," Jack inquired a second time when Banos simply continued staring at him. "Can it be done?"
"It is possible," the Tok'ra pointed out, his brows furrowing deeper. "However, our sublight engines might completely fail in the attempt."
"If you got a better idea, I'm open to suggestion."
Banos exchanged a look of uncertainty with Anise. "We will see what can be done."
When the Tok'ras left them, Jack noticed his friend's sideways look. "What?"
"I think this is what the Tau'ri call a "harebrained idea", O'Neill," Teal'c said out loud, one brow raised in thought. "But then again it is with these kinds of ideas that mostly took us out of very dangerous situations in the past."
The colonel gave him an inscrutable look, but Teal'c remained silent. "How are we doing back there, Carter?"
- - - o 0 o - - -
Please work, was Samantha Carter's silent prayer as she slowly slid the remaining control crystal she had into the empty socket. She held her breath as she gently pushed it down to lock it in place. There was an almost inaudible click and-
Nothing.
"How are we doing back there, Carter?"
She started at the sound of her CO's voice. Sam rested her forehead on the hatch dejected, all strength drained out of her. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She could hear the conversation from the flight deck. Her commanding officer was not going to like it once she broke the news.
What was she going to do now?
"Colonel…"
- - - o 0 o - - -
Jack pushed the engines a little bit more, hearing it whine at the additional strain. Sam didn't respond. He was about to repeat his question when she finally answered.
"Colonel, I'm afraid the hyperdrive's useless."
"What?"
"None of the crystals worked, sir."
Teal'c cuts in, telling Jack that they had less than thirty seconds before the smau'Tep reached them.
Jack thought for a bit. "Are you sure you've tried everything?"
"Everything I could think of," Sam replied, frustration bled through her voice. "I took out crystals from auxiliary systems, dead consoles, and whatever's left of the spare ones the Tok'ra brought with them. I even took out crystals from the ones we don't need-"
The abrupt stop made Jack wary. "Carter?"
"Just go ahead with the plan, sir! I'm going to test something out."
"Wh-"
The tel'tak shuddered again, groaning like a large wounded beast as the sound of twisted metal reached their ears.
Now what?
"A grappling hook has come loose," Teal'c reported. "Whatever you are intending to do, O'Neill, now would be the time to do it."
Yeah. It was now or never. With only one small fighter tethered to them, its engines weren't powerful enough to completely stop the cargo ship from moving forward, but could still slow them down.
"Banos, on my signal!" Jack slowly added more power to the sublight at a steady pace, the engines protesting loudly. Banos said nothing as he once again took position behind the open center console panel.
Jack concentrated on the task at hand. The ship shook as they continued to strain against the remaining line that tethered them to the henu'sek. He was taking great risks at driving the engines like that, but he needed just about enough force to execute the plan he had in mind. This was their only shot to freedom. If the sublight engines wouldn't give out first, that is.
Just a little bit more. A bit more…
"Now, Banos!"
The Tok'ra quickly yanked the sublight crystal off the panel. The helm lights instantly died out, and the sublight fell deathly silent. Almost immediately the ship's occupants felt a definite backwards tug. Those standing up staggered a little at the sudden change in momentum. Outside, the only evidence they were moving were the stars on the edge of the viewport that seemed to be moving away from them.
Jack loudly counted to five. At the end of the count, the Tok'ra placed the crystal he had pulled out earlier back to its connector. For a second it seemed like nothing happened. Jack intently stared at the round apparatus in front of him. The helm lights flickered to life.
He immediately pushed the engines forward, pushed them to their limit. The sudden, and stronger pull of the cargo vessel proved to be too much for the unwary henu'sek, and like a puppet on a string, it trailed along helplessly behind the larger ship.
The sudden change in direction caused the cable between them to slacken momentarily. It was the opening Jack had been waiting for. He quickly pulled the cargo ship into a tight upward turn, almost spinning it on its axis, and fired a single shot at the cable that tethered them to the fighter in one fluid motion.
Just then Sam cried out from the back. "The hyperdrive, sir," she exclaimed. "Try it now!"
The cargo ship spun like some lazy gigantic aquatic creature as it continued the dive, the three henu'sek fighters chasing frantically after it. A hyperspace window started to form directly below them.
In a desperate bid to prevent the tel'tak from escaping, one of the fighters shot a grapple at the fleeing craft, but it bounced harmlessly on her shield, sending ripples of soft orange light through the length and breadth of the shield surrounding the cargo ship as it absorbed the force of impact.
The wormhole opened up to receive the tel'tak. The fighters started taking potshots at the fleeing ship to no avail. They only broke off their pursuit when the wormhole disappeared.
No one said anything for a while as they all either sat or stood there simply staring out the viewport as the cargo ship cruised through the blue and white hyperspace tunnel.
Jack O'Neill finally broke the silence, searching for his 2IC. "I thought you said you weren't able to find a replacement for that busted crystal?"
"I didn't, colonel," Sam answered truthfully. "You did."
"Huh?"
Sam Carter smiled mischievously, showing those toothpaste ad-worthy teeth as she leaned against the bulkhead, waving a slender cylindrical crystal in front of her. "Toilet crystal."
- - - o 0 o - - -
The Goa'uld lord nearly rose from his chair as everyone in the pel'tak watched the display screen in stunned silence.
The atmosphere was rife with tension. Everyone in the pel'tak wouldn't dare lift their eyes to where the System Lord sat, and simply squirmed inwardly on where they stood.
They were so close. A few seconds more, and they could've captured the unknown tel'tak. If the First Prime was there it would have already been a volatile situation the second it happened. If Kalen was around, someone's head would definitely roll.
"Well, well," the Goa'uld finally spoke, his voice as calm and composed as always but there was a hint of amusement in it. "That was rather unexpected. They've managed to see through our fighter's lack of firepower and successfully deceived us into thinking that we have them at our mercy. How unfortunate. I was really looking forward to meeting them personally."
He stood up, and headed for the door with the order to recall their fighters. "I would like to check the progress of our main engines. There is no more reason for us to stay here. I cannot wait to be on our way."
As he approached the door, the Goa'uld turned his head a notch over his right shoulder expecting to see someone there. It was purely out of reflex since he knew that the person he was looking for still needed "rescuing." He entered the main corridor, his personal guards trailing at a respectful distance towards the nearest ring room.
One more hyperspace jump, and they would be reunited with Maya again.
- - - o 0 o - - -
Jonas Quinn casually looked over his right shoulder expecting to see someone there.
A pair of small bright yellow eyes stared right back at him from inside a hollowed out fallen trunk a few feet away from them.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
The Kelownan tore his eyes away to look at Daniel Jackson walking right beside him. They've been trekking uphill for a good twenty minutes now. The climb became dangerous after the strong earthquake loosened the snow and had taken them twice the length of time to maneuver through unseen holes, cracks and fissures. There was also the danger of an avalanche. Their going was so slow it felt like they were going uphill forever. They were all cold and sweaty at the same time.
Jonas watched as Daniel's breath turned to vapor as his friend exhaled. "Nothing," he shrugged, a little out of breath just like the rest of them.
Daniel looked skeptical. Jonas stopped to point out the eyes that were still watching them. Aside from the eyes, there weren't any other discernible features they could see. The creature must've sensed it was drawing unwanted attention unto itself. It blinked once before vanishing further into the trunk's darkened interior.
Daniel simply grunted, and turned to catch up with the rest. A shuttered look appeared across the Kelownan's face the moment his friend turned away, him following at a much slower pace.
It was back.
Jonas sensed it the moment he stepped, or rather in his case, jumped, through the Gate, but it quickly disappeared as soon as they started moving. It once again made its presence known as they neared the naquadah mine with Jonas becoming more and more aware of it. The best he could describe that feeling was like a pair of eyes boring holes on his back watching him.
At first, Jonas couldn't see the point of telling anyone about it. He shrugged it off as nothing more but a heightened sense of awareness of his surroundings, coupled with his "abilities" honed during his brief stint as a member of SG-1. He thought he'd already gotten used to it since it started right after he returned to Kelowna. The presence, whatever it was, never once felt threatening. It was just that, a presence, watching him.
He believed that it was that same presence that showed itself out in the hallway when Jonas was cleaning out Rhougan Dubois' room at Stargate Command. That was the only instance he was aware of in the two months he'd been staying at the base.
Jonas stared at Daniel's back. Maybe if he told him about it...
No, he shook his head adamantly. He couldn't possibly tell his friend, not yet at least. He wasn't even sure what was happening himself. So far Daniel had been receptive of the things Jonas had told him about where others would most probably have given him a look of disbelief, and say that it was just all in his head. Daniel believed him, and that meant a lot. The two of them here, on al-Kahira, was proof of that.
He'd been relying on the anthropologist too much these days, Jonas figured it would be too much for one person to handle all the weirdness that surrounded him. He decided to get to the bottom of this on his own.
Their party finally reached the camp recon had set up ten minutes later. As the team prepared to settle in for the night, Jacob beckoned Daniel and Jonas forward.
"We're going to scout out the mines while there's still light. Want to come?" Jacob asked, face void of expression. The two young men looked at each other before nodding their heads in reply. The older man grunted. "Knew you would."
"Have they found Malek?" Jonas couldn't help asking. Jacob Carter grimly shook his head.
They continued uphill due west of the camp until they found themselves on a ridge where the Tok'ra Iras was patiently waiting for them, binoculars in hand. Jacob looked at him questioningly. When Iras shook his head, Jacob sighed tiredly.
Jonas Quinn had read about Goa'uld naquadah mines on SG team reports, but had never actually seen one until now. It was the same as any other Goa'uld owned mines everywhere else: huge and dangerous, the ever present master-slave system, poor living conditions and forced manual labor with the prisoners worked to death.
As far as they knew, Malek was the only Tok'ra prisoner among its ranks.
Jonas Quinn contented himself to listening at how best to infiltrate the camp as he took in every sight and sound unfolding below them.
Destruction was everywhere. The place was a hive of activity, mostly concentrated on the farthest side of the camp. It was where the mine was located, Iras pointed out to them. That section of the mountainside had collapsed during the quake, burying the mine shafts that once dotted its surface.
Around the camp, there were places where the ground had opened up. Smoke can be seen rising from some of them. Containers were tipped over, their contents strewn on the ground.
Dozens were injured, prisoners and guards alike. Injuries varied from person to person. Others were sitting up, a few were laid out on the ground. Those that needed medical attention were tended to. Two Jaffa prisoners carefully laid down a fallen comrade along with the rest of the dead several yards away. A female Jaffa was kneeling beside one of them, her head bent low to her chest, no doubt silently mourning for the dead.
Off to their right were the prisoners' quarters where dozens of large ill-kept makeshift tents huddled together in a haphazard way. Several Jaffa prisoners were there repairing toppled over tents or assessing structural damage to those sturdy few that remained standing. Another pair of prisoners was looking down at a burned down tent, each holding an empty bucket that had seen better days. They shook their heads as they spoke to each other, watching smoke rise from the charred remains of what once had been home to several Jaffa prisoners.
The same could be said true of the tents on the other side of the camp where Jaffa guards were also bent on their own tasks.
Of course, the prisoners' quarters would be the most obvious place to look for Malek, but Jonas found himself irrevocably drawn to a certain tent located on the other side of the encampment.
"He's there," the Kelownan softly said. Everyone fell silent. He turned to look at them. "Malek. He's down there right now," he repeated, this time with more conviction.
They all turned their heads in unison. The tents on that side were well kept and organized. Everyone stared at the tent Jonas was looking at. It was the largest tent in the group, and a single hulking Jaffa, with dark copper red hair, guarding the entrance.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Ferretti frowned in confusion. "But didn't he just point at that Goa'uld tent right down there, did he?" Iras replied that, yes, it was. More importantly, it was the Goa'uld overseer's tent. He craned his neck at the Kelownan. "Jonas, that's a Goa'uld tent."
Jacob searched the Kelownan's face. "You sure?"
Jonas' confidence faltered for a second, recalling how Davies voiced out his doubt at the authenticity of the information that the Tok'ra communications device held. He quickly regretted his sudden outburst, but the look of encouragement from Daniel was all it took for his self-doubt to disappear.
"Yes."
"But that's a Goa'uld tent," Ferretti said a second time. "What could Malek be possibly doing in a place like that?"
"I know," the look the SG-2 leader gave him strongly reminded Jonas of Col. O'Neill. "But he's there. I don't know why, but Malek's definitely there."
Jacob looked from Jonas to Daniel. One wore the determined look of a man always wanting to prove himself, while the other stared right back at him challengingly. Jacob sighed.
This was going to be a very long cold night.