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Chapter 19: Struggle Against Serpents, Part One
I'd been surprised by Daniel's account of what had occurred when he'd made it to the alternate Earth.
For starters, instead of an alternate O'Neill, there was apparently an alternate version of me. General Lennex MacDuff was the military leader attached to the 'Stargate Agency.' Daniel told us that my counterpart had been skeptical at first but overall helpful once Daniel had more or less confirmed his story.
Just like in the show, the alternate world was under assault by the goa'uld. I'm not sure exactly how different things were from the Earth I had seen in the original show but from what Daniel was told, the situation was still dire. He'd arrived and immediately been imprisoned due to the fact that nobody seemed to know who he was. Everyone was wearing different uniforms and they all seemed to be rushing around with a sense of urgency as they worked. It wasn't until Catharine Langford arrived and got him released that he learned about the invasion.
The goa'uld had arrived in force several days before Daniel did but had faced major problems when they'd gone up against Earth's ground forces. Thousands of jaffa had died to artillery bombardment, air strikes, and coordinated assaults from infantry. Gliders had been blown out of the air by SAM sites and by fightercraft which held a decisive edge in air-to-air combat. The jaffa hadn't died without inflicting damage, but they'd suffered tremendous losses by comparison.
All of that turned around when the motherships commenced with orbital bombardment and wiped the defender's cities off of the map. Earth had no defense for that clear advantage and they'd apparently paid the price for it. After those first engagements and the nightmarish losses they'd suffered, jaffa forces were far more rarely seen and only deployed in smaller numbers. Earth's ground forces never achieved the sort of victory like they had on that first day.
From their initial landing in Egypt, supposedly to use the same ancient sites Ra had once ruled from, the goa'uld swept across the map. They totaled major cities and showed no discrimination between industrial and population centers. Casualties reached hundreds of millions confirmed dead with many more missing and presumed so.
All of this was explained to Daniel by my alternate world counterpart as their Cheyanne Mountain complex was under assault by jaffa forces attempting to seize control of the stargate. His theory was that the jaffa casualties had been so high that the goa'uld had likely needed to seize control of the gate immediately in order to bring in much needed reinforcements.
They'd detonated the mountain's on-site nuke to wipe out the invaders and hopefully damage or destroy the mothership parked over their heads, but they didn't want any risks taken if the nuke failed to detonate, or was stopped, or one of the jaffa managed to transmit a message out at the last second. To reduce any chance of giving away the address to where they were going, the last of the defenders had dialed the planet with the quantum mirror to both allow Daniel a chance to return home and minimize the chances of anyone discerning the address to the Beta Site and transmitting that information before the nuke went off.
I was shocked by this much change. Was this alternate version of me recruited from his death bed like I was? The idea of being recruited to assist in a world already on the cusp of destruction made some sense when I thought about it, but was that all there was to it? Was he an alternate version of me? Another recruit brought into an alternate universe to serve a role, but also wearing my new face? Or was he an inhabitant of that universe with no extraordinary origins?
These were all both fascinating and troubling to contemplate. I had to put these thoughts aside for now and focus on a more pressing issue; invasion.
Daniel had returned with a gate address the attack in that world had supposedly come from. I wasn't intending to waste this opportunity but I was working through how I was going to get the support mobilized for the operation I had planned. As the second in command of this base, operations like this were well within my purview to plan and execute. The only person who's support I actually needed was Hammond's and I was confident I could get that. My only concern was getting the hell out of here before any of our superiors asked why I was committing our forces to an operation based on some fantastic story Daniel had told us. We still had to file reports and I couldn't hope to completely hide what we were doing. There was a risk someone might override my decision and order us to remain here. If that happened, we'd have to fall back on the plan SG-1 did originally and break out of here by force, making this much harder as we'd likely have less support and equipment that I wanted to bring along.
All of this was buzzing in the back of my mind as I half listened to Daniel describe his experience. I stopped all that consideration when Daniel reached a part of the story that truly surprised me.
My alternate self had Daniel record a message for him.
SG-Wolf (minus Daniel as he was still being treated in the Infirmary) and General Hammond had gathered in the briefing room to watch the recording. Carter quickly connected the camera to the TV we'd had someone bring out and hit play. Speeding through the irrelevant footage at the beginning, we all watched with interest as something bizarre showed up...
He wore a BDU with an unfamiliar camo pattern on it. His name on his chest and the stars on his collar denoted his identity to those watching but the firm set of the man's gaze is what drew in the viewer's attention.
"I am Brigadier General Lennex MacDuff of the United States Air Force and the current military commander of the Stargate Agency," he began.
"Doctor Jackson has informed me of his status and of where he comes from. The camera he carries contains enough proof to support his claims, so I have asked him to record this message. Our world has fallen under attack by the goa'uld and this very facility is now under concentrated assault. Soon, the last of our defenders and civilians will fall back through the stargate to the Beta Site. We hope to continue the fight while those who are staying behind build a resistance here on Earth."
"I have asked for Doctor Jackson to make this recording not just to ask for any supplies or intelligence assistance you may have to offer, but to pass on a warning. The events leading to this attack share enough similarity to events Doctor Jackson has described happening in your reality that it is likely such an attack is inevitable for your world as well. We've given Doctor Jackson the likely coordinates of where the attack originated from in our reality. Hopefully, this information will be of use to you."
The lights flickered behind him and a small boom was heard in the distance. The general looked off screen worriedly before turning back to the camera.
"And if my own counterpart or whomever is in charge of your stargate program is seeing this; don't wait to act. Take this warning to heart. Do whatever is necessary to protect your world. And if it's already too late, do whatever you have to in order to give yourselves the best chance to carry on the fight."
"Good luck... and godspeed."
He sighed heavily and redirected his attention off camera again towards someone we couldn't see.
"Alright, that's it. Dr. Carter, get Dr. Jackson and Catherine downstairs t-"
The recording ended there.
There was a long moment of silence as we all took in what we had just seen. Eventually, I was the one to break the silence.
"Well... it doesn't get much more dire than that," I said.
Our little watch party turned into a serious discussion as we all began speaking and speculating on what we'd just seen. The discussion that followed would be accompanied by an undercurrent of fear as this new and terrifying possibility sank in with those present.
~SG-WOLF~
General Hammond walked into the Infirmary with a familiar and rather unwelcome face standing behind him. Major Samuels, back from the Pentagon and apparently, here for more meddling."
"He'll be just fine, sir," Carter answered. Turning to Samuels, Carter nodded respectfully in greeting. "Major Samuels."
"That's Lt. Colonel Samuels now, captain," he said. The little prick was as smug as can be as he pointed to the silver oak leaves on his uniform.
"I apologize, sir. Congratulations on your promotion," Carter told him formally, clearly trying to hide her disdain for the officer's smug attitude.
"Shiny," I complimented him. "I suppose there are benefits to working at the Pentagon. All those people willing to do each other favors..."
Samuels made a face at me.
"Stargate mission analysis is a critical role to the overall functioning of this program," Samuels said, glaring back at me for the 'hidden' implication that he'd had to suck up to someone in power to earn his promotion.
"Never said it wasn't," I remarked, still staring the other officer in the eye until he eventually broke and looked away first. Yeah, maybe it was a bit petty of me but the smug prick didn't exactly endear himself to me on his last visit. Plus, his willingness to serve politicians for personal gain really rubbed me the wrong way. The man wasn't an officer who sought recognition for service so much as for serving specific individuals and that was the kind of thing that eroded trust and made someone untrustworthy to work with.
"May I ask what brings you back to Cheyanne, sir?" Carter asked, likely sensing the tension and attempting to move past it.
Samuels instead turned to General Hammond.
"You didn't tell them?" he asked.
"SG-Wolf returned from a mission in the early hours of this morning," Hammond responded. "There were a number of... complications to be dealt with in the aftermath of the debriefing."
"General?" I inquired, feeling a bit tense. I had a good idea of what was originally going to happen here but didn't believe that the SGC could be faced with being shut down in light of all of our outrageous successes. Fortunately, it seemed my anxiety was for nothing.
Mostly.
"Lt. Colonel Samuels is here on an inspection and fact finding mission for the Pentagon," Hammond explained. "To look for any shortfalls in our operations and to seek ways to improve our operating doctrine."
"Strange that I wasn't notified of this," I mention, directing my words to Samuels. "As someone who wrote most of the operating guidelines pertaining to our operations, or at least reviewed and approved them, I'd think you'd have at least sent me a notification of this visit, Samuels. You lose my email?"
That got just the reaction I was expecting. Samuels shifted his weight and averted his eyes for a moment as he compiled his answer.
"It was requested through channels that I make this a surprise inspection," he eventually offered. "No one was supposed to know about my presence until I had already arrived."
"I see," I said neutrally, staring him down and watching him avert his eyes again.
The little toadie was definitely here on behalf of someone, most likely Senator Kinsey. Even if unable to shut this program down with all the successful examples of advanced technology and exotic biology we'd brought back, it seems that he still likely had some sort of plans for the SGC. Under different circumstances, I'd be looking over his shoulder everywhere he went to ensure he didn't start digging up 'evidence' of how 'poorly' this place is being run. Today though, I had bigger problems.
"Regretfully," I informed him. "I won't be able to answer many questions or assist you for the duration of your visit. Operational needs must take priority over administrative ones and we just had some particularly urgent intel drop into our laps. You understand, I'm sure."
"Of course," Samuels replied smoothly. "Is there anything I can do to assist?"
"I'll let you know if there is," I informed him, just as polite. "Until then, I need to continue a discussion with the rest of SG-Wolf, so if you wouldn't mind...?"
Hammond took the cue before Samuels did and guided the man away from us and out of the Infirmary.
"That was..." Daniel paused mid-sentence. "Odd. Anyone else pick up on that, or was it just me?"
"Surprise inspections don't occur without informing someone," Carter mentioned, looking thoughtful. "And Samuels isn't the person they'd send if one was ordered."
"Forget about him," I advised them. "We've got a bigger problem right now. Daniel, I'm going to talk with Doc Frasier about getting you out of here ASAP. Carter, you and Teal'c hit up the other SG teams and get a briefing arranged as soon as we can get them assembled. Use your best discretion and just get as many as you can, even if they're off duty right now. This is an all hands on deck situation."
All three acknowledged my orders in their own ways. As Carter and Teal'c left the Infirmary and I went looking for Frasier, I started sorting through all the things we'd have to prepare for this mission. Particularly, what tools I'd want to bring along. Some of those were going to be easier to acquire than others...
Especially the nuke.
~SG-WOLF~
Later, I knocked on Hammond's office door to announce my presence.
"Enter!" Hammond replied, sounding terse.
Opening the door, I entered to see Hammond sitting behind his desk and looking harried.
"Is this not a good time, sir?" I asked.
"No, but come in anyway," Hammond sighed after seeing it was me. "I just got done having a rather unpleasant conversation with Lt. Colonel Samuels."
"May I ask what about, sir?" I inquired, seating myself in a chair without prompting.
"Apparently," Hammond began derisively. "There are individuals in Washington who are not entirely pleased with the job we've been doing here. Samuels has apparently been speaking with these individuals and I now have my suspicions as to how much he's been sharing."
"That's a pretty serious breach of security if it's true," I pointed out, a serious tone in my voice. "Did he say anything that might indicate he's done so?"
"Not directly," he admitted with a sigh. "But he did make several remarks that I found... concerning. I'll have to call up some contacts of mine in DC and make some inquiries about this. Be on your guard, colonel. Because I don't think you're immune from Samuels' scrutiny while he's here, busy or not."
"Honestly sir, I'd worry more about him if we didn't already have such a huge threat looming over our heads," I replied. "We need to discuss an immediate response and threat analysis mission."
"Right now?" Hammond asked, looking surprised. "Colonel, I think we have bigger problems with Samuels around right now. You, specifically, need to be worried about this visit."
"Me?" I asked, surprised by this response. "Why me specifically?"
Hammond sighed and leaned back in his chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked a bit frustrated before providing a reluctant sounding answer.
"I didn't want to worry you about this, and was in fact warned against discussing this with you," he began. "But there appears to be a sentiment among a few of those in the know about this program that you are acting above what is considered appropriate. Specifically, how you've had a very direct hand in many decisions made around here and how things are done."
I was completely taken aback by this.
"May I ask how this notion has come about, sir?" I asked, keeping the surprise in my tone to a minimum while I felt irritation rise within me.
"This isn't a popular opinion or any sort of official accusation, colonel," Hammond said, holding up a hand as if to gesture me to keep calm. "I for one, have only spoken of you in respectful terms and have made no such allegations about you. But someone, at some point, has made several remarks about the authoritative hand you've had in operations around here and whether that is a good thing for such an important clandestine operation like ours."
I mulled over the general's words silently as he spoke.
"Now, whomever said what and to whom is up for speculation," Hammond continued. "The fact is, those implications haven't gone away. Someone listened and it has been brought up more than once, which is enough for people to listen. I myself only heard about this once before in a somewhat unofficial capacity and again earlier from Samuels, so that's no indicator that you're in any sort of trouble. You've made excellent contributions to this program and that is still recognized above all else.
"However, the fact that this has now come up again means that I feel you should be made aware. You still retain the confidence of a lot of people, including myself and, I believe, the president. But now knowing this, I just want you to keep an eye out. Samuels trip here may be used as an opportunity to gather evidence against you, which is why I think you need to focus on not giving him any ammunition to take back to DC with him."
Overcoming my initial surge of shock and anger at such an implication, I started to see the reasoning for it as I considered the situation in full. I had been going pretty strong with this program ever since being brought back. I'd never really stopped to consider all that I was doing and how that might loo to an outsider. Did I seem obsessed? I considered it passionate, especially when I thought about all that was yet to come and all that I could see and do with this second chance at life.
But from the outside? I was literally writing a book on how I thought this place should be run and submitting it for official consideration. SG Team operational guidelines, first contact protocols, combat doctrine, even how the gate room should be redesigned. And I knew I'd probably already pissed off a few folks with things like not detonating the nuke at the gate on Abydos, insisting Teal'c remain here at the SGC and making him an active member of SG-Wolf among other, more minor choices.
Militaries were always cautious of allowing ranking officers to turn their commands into their own private fiefdoms. There were checks and balances in place to prevent that kind of thing from happening as well as efforts to make sure that such individuals never reached that high of a position in the first place. There were exceptions and no system was perfect, but the idea that I was making myself look like some kind of threat or unstable dictator in uniform had never crossed my mind.
Well, I was certainly paying for it now if the general's words were any indication.
"I... thank you for telling me about this, sir," I told him. "This is certainly something I hadn't considered until now. Nevertheless, I think we've strayed a bit from the reason I came to see you. We need to act upon the information Daniel brought back from the alternate reality."
"Actually colonel, I don't think now is the best time," Hammond replied, tilting his head. "Given Samuels' visit, I think we'd best wait a few days for him to finish and leave before addressing the issue of the information Dr. Jackson brought back with him. The video he brought back is of a... sensitive nature and I'm not even sure I fully believe it myself. It'll take time to let that sort of thing sink in and for an official response to be organized. It'll have to pass through the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs, the SecDef, and likely even the Oval Office before we get support for any sort of major offworld operation."
"Respectfully sir, I think waiting would be a mistake," I insisted. "While I appreciate you telling me this and warning me of the consequences of my actions, I still have a job to do. That means that I have an obligation to advise you that I believe the sooner we act on this intel, the better chance we have of getting at least a warning back here of what we might be facing."
"Colonel, even if we agree with the likelihood of a goa'uld invasion, don't you think such action may be premature?" Hammond asked. "We have no way of knowing if such an attack is weeks or even years away."
"That's precisely my fear, sir," I said honestly. "It could be days for all we know. According to Daniel and Carter, events are similar enough in that alternate world that I think we may already be on an irreversible course for the same kind of invasion Daniel saw here, in our reality. Too many things match up for us to simply disregard the possibility. Whether our actions can prepare for or avert this attack, we need to begin as soon as possible. Therefore, I advise that we immediately warn our offworld teams of the possibility and start taking preemptive measures now in order to avoid a catastrophe."
Truthfully, even if I was being generous with the original timeline, I didn't think we had more than a few days until those Ha'tak showed up. Originally, the SGC was in the process of shutting down when SG-1 took off on their own to do what they could. Such a thing must've taken several days at least to organize and arrange, as well as to allow for the recall of all offworld teams. If we were lucky, we'd have several days before those motherships entered hyperspace and made the journey to Earth. I hoped to make use of the time to prepare as much as I could.
Hammond gave me a deadly serious look as he asked his next question.
"Colonel, just what are you suggesting here? If this was merely about warning personnel, we could issue a briefing instruction or a recall of offworld teams. What else are you planning here?"
And so, I told him.
He didn't like it.
We spent over an hour hashing out the reasoning and my plans before I managed to bring him around to my way of thinking on the matter. In the end, I knew he'd agree with me. He was a good man like that and even without my advance knowledge, he saw the wisdom in being proactive now instead of potentially regretting it later.
Hammond even had his assistant cancel the rest of his appointments for the day as we talked strategy, both of us delving to the logistics and mapping out the orders that'd have to be given to kick this off. In the end he'd given his approval to the mission, although it was with clear reluctance. By the time we'd wrapped up as much as we could in this one meeting, he had one parting bit of advice to give me before I left to go find Carter and check on the status of the other teams' briefing.
"I hope that for once, you're dead wrong, colonel," he told me seriously. "But, you have my authorization to begin planning for as well as the eventual execution of your plan. I just hope you know what you're doing here, son."
"Honestly, sir?" I replied solemnly. "So do I."
~SG-WOLF~
While Hammond handled calling up our current offworld teams and other details on his end, I had my own briefing to run.
I called for a meeting of all the SG teams currently back on Earth. Off duty or on duty, Carter had made sure they were all in attendance as I was sure nobody would want to miss out on this. We assembled in one of the larger briefing rooms we had under the mountain in order to ensure that everyone had enough seats. They all sat in small groups, more or less by teams, with low conversation going on between one another as they discussed what this was about and likely passed on what I'm guessing were fairly accurate rumors to each other as well.
Might as well get the truth out there now, no matter how bad it is.
"Thanks for coming, folks," I began. "Let's get this started."
I had decided that this was going to be a more informal gathering due to the nature of the mission we'd be discussing. As much as each of these men and women were professionals, I didn't want to feel like I was burdening them any more than I had to. Thus, I had ignored the podium set in front of the room and was seated in a chair in front. This meant I was able to look everyone else present more or less in the eye.
I laid it out for them as straight as I could. I told them where the information we got came from and even showed them the video that Daniel had brought back. Disbelieving looks turned grim as they took in the key details and realized where this was headed. Even the more skeptical ones in the room became serious as I had Daniel provide details of his experience that painted a grim picture of facing an attack from space. Teal'c even confirmed that the descriptions provided were in line with standard goa'uld strategy.
"How soon are we thinking we're due for an attack like that, sir?" one brave sergeant finally asked.
"We're not sure," I told him. "But we're thinking soon. We can't afford to believe we have the luxury of time. If an attack like this isn't already in the works, then we'll have to assume one is in the near future.
"Sir, do we have any options for defense if this attack happened now or sometime soon?" another asked.
"We currently have little in the way of defense against an attack from space," I admitted. "Those gliders we procured from Abydos are still in a hundred pieces each on a lab floor somewhere. But even fully assembled, they'd do us little good against this kind of assault. We don't know how well our missile tech would hold up against spacecraft but I'm not too optimistic in that regard. No, our best option is to get a recon of what sort of forces we can expect and either stop or slow them down at the source while they're still on a playing field we can meet them on."
Quiet descended as my words sank in. A mission into an enemy base or staging ground meant it'd be heavily defended. Thousands of jaffa, at a minimum and on their own turf. Even if we assembled every team, a battalion of hardened soldiers, and brought along armored support, we'd be facing a colossal challenge. Instead, all we had was the contents of our armories and the total manpower of what was assembled in this room.
It didn't bear saying aloud, but anyone going on a mission like that is not likely to return.
"You all know the stakes for this one," I told them. "Which is why I'm not going to order you on this mission. It's volunteer only. Those of you who come along... should know there's a good chance that none of us will be coming back."
I'd barely finished speaking before the first man stood up.
"I've seen this happen once already," Daniel spoke up, still wearing an almost haunted look from his description of that other Earth's invasion. "There's no way I'm not doing everything I can to make sure it doesn't come to pass again. I'm going."
The man who stood up next was perhaps the least surprising volunteer I'd get today.
"I have pledged myself to the service of this world, MacDuff," Teal'c intoned. "I am coming with you."
Kawalsky jumped in next.
"We talked about it before coming here," the major said. "Dragon is on board, colonel. Just point us in the right direction and say when."
'Good man, Kawalsky,' I thought to myself. 'You know what goes on under this mountain almost as well as I do. And I can always count on you to have my back.'
But the volunteers didn't stop there.
"It goes without saying you've got the marines' support," Makepiece said, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward. "We can provide all of the backup you'll need."
Team leaders and even individual members were standing now to volunteer themselves and it was starting to get loud in here. Others present started to step forward with their own words of support, overlapping one another in their rush to get the words out. Thankfully, they all quieted when they saw me raise my hand for silence.
"Everyone, please," I said with a light chuckle. "Each of you is a credit to the uniform you wear, and I mean that in the most sincere manner possible. But we're not going to win this by betting it all on black. Only two teams will be required for this operation and thus, Wolf and Dragon are the only ones going on this operation. Everyone else will be tasked with fortifying the Alpha Site and making other preparations in case we need to begin evacuating. If we screw this up and don't make it back, it'll be up to the rest of you to provide your experience and knowledge in order to support our successors going forward. Lord knows we can't afford to have to relearn all of this shit the hard way if none of us made it back."
There were some mutinous expressions as I had started speaking. Those expressions had turned solemn by the time I'd finished. I couldn't speak for all of those present, but I believe I understood how they felt. While nobody here was particularly eager to martyr themselves, there was an expectation that soldiers in uniform often developed in regards to themselves when it came to these things. It was an expectation that you didn't shirk from what duty and your buddies required of you. While this outpouring of support was somewhat unexpected on my part, it probably shouldn't have been. I'd just told them that their world and their loved ones were potentially under threat. It shouldn't be surprising that they all wanted to step up and do their part.
The briefing continued in the form of another Q&A session as personnel inquired about things like who would be evacuating offworld and how far along the Alpha Site was in preparation for becoming a full fledged base like we'd require it to be. After that, it was primarily concerns about family and how prepared we were to protect the Earth in general and their loved ones specifically. While it may have not been wholly agreed upon from the brass, I had made sure to advocate for the families of personnel living in the area to be on the evacuation list. 'Best and Brightest' arguments aside, it had eventually been settled when it'd been pointed out that our personnel would do their jobs far more effectively if their loved ones had a chance to be removed from danger as well.
Afterwards, with everyone feeling the drain of a long briefing, everyone broke into their individual teams to discuss matters among themselves or left to speak with their friends on base about what was happening. I saw little reason in trying to stop them from doing so as this was not the kind of thing that could be kept quiet and would get out anyway. I was slightly more concerned about Samuels sniffing around and making his own report about our planned operation, but even he wouldn't be able to stop us if we left quick enough.
No, I was a bit more concerned about the one person I didn't hear speak up; Carter.
Can't really say that I blamed her if she was on the fence about a suicide mission. Originally, SG-1 had gone out on a forlorn hope mission, with little hope of returning for anything other than a court martial. All of them looked to have more or less assumed that they would die on their mission. Perhaps the overriding reason for them still going was their faith in Daniel, combined with their dissatisfaction with the SGC shutting down and wanting to do something about it, even if it was just the one last mission.
Here, things were somewhat different. There was a lot at stake and we didn't have the pressure of the program being shut down, no matter what Samuels might seem to imply. And I was asking for a big leap of faith all the same. I had asked for volunteers originally because I was unsure if some or all of SG-Dragon would be up for this mission. As much as it would pain me to leave her behind, I'd understand if that was what she wanted.
I stepped aside the podium where Carter was removing the laptop with the video on it. She looked up and stopped messing with it when she saw me coming.
"Hell of a thing to ask of anyone, isn't it Carter?" I asked before she could say anything.
"Sir?" she sounded confused.
"Asking someone to go on what may be a suicide mission," I elaborated. "We go into danger every day but there's something different about it when the stakes get raised beyond what was expected. And I don't think the stakes can get much higher than this."
She was quiet after I said that. Smart as she was, she'd probably picked up on where this conversation was going.
"I suppose what I'm getting at is that I can't blame you for wanting to stay, Sam," I told her softly. "You are probably too valuable to risk on this mission. As it is, I'm considering ordering you to stay."
"No sir!" she protested suddenly, nearly cutting me off as I spoke. "I'm going. I'm a part of this team too. Just tell me who I've got to shoot and I'm there."
I smiled. It seems like I was worried for nothing.
"While I'm sure there'll be plenty of angry jaffa to shoot," I told her. "I've got some ideas in mind for how you can help out. Meet me in the labs later with Teal'c and that Harper kid. I want all my best brains working overtime on this and you're the perfect candidate for helping implement them in the field."
"Yes sir!"
~SG-WOLF~
The Next Day...
We entered the gate room in a quiet shuffle, few words being said by anyone. We'd all traded in our usual green uniforms for black BDUs for this mission, giving everyone present an air of extra menace as we stood waiting and checked our gear one last time. Even the techs wheeling in the MALP were subdued as they sensed the tense atmosphere.
We'd all loaded up with as much ordinance as we thought appropriate, which came out to be a lot. MP5s, .45 sidearms, an LMG, Teal'c's staff weapon, grenades, claymore mines, a couple of LAWs, and enough C4 to bring down a skyscraper. All that, plus the little surprise I'd had strapped to the bumper of the MALP; a tactical nuclear warhead.
There'd been some protests when I'd told my teammates about this addition to our mission loadout, particularly from Daniel, who recalled the mission to Abydos where we had one and kept it a secret. This time, I was up front and honest about it and the guy was still sour.
There's just no pleasing some people.
Still, he'd accepted it, if only grudgingly. Pretty much everyone, including Kawalsky and Carter, had explained to him the usefulness in having it as an option. Especially if we failed and needed a last ditch option for taking out a mothership. I had no intention of leaving myself without an additional option if it turned out we needed to take out two motherships and only had enough C4 to guarantee it for one.
Before long, General Hammond entered the control room above us. I was slightly surprised to see he wasn't alone as Samuels came to stand beside him. Whatever he was saying or was trying to appeal to the general with, Hammond clearly wasn't having it as he blatantly ignored the man and made an announcement into the microphone on the control panel.
"SG teams Wolf and Dragon," Hammond intoned. "We will be beginning the dialing sequence momentarily. Stand by."
If I was going to say anything inspiring before our departure, now would be the time.
Stepping up onto the ramp a bit, I looked upon the members of Wolf and Dragon. I'd trained with these people, fought along side them, and shared meals with them. I knew as much about them as any commander could be expected to and probably more. Now, I was asking them to put their lives on the line for what basically amounted to my own hunch, even backed by some pretty convincing, if bizarre, evidence.
"Again," I started. "I wish to tell you all how proud I am of you. All of you have volunteered for what is likely one of the most dangerous missions we've ever embarked on, at least knowingly. Not that it's a contest, but three of the guys present have actually blown up a big ol' pyramid ship before, so don't hesitate to ask if you feel like you need some advice."
There were a few smirks at that and one loud bark of laughter from Kawalsky.
"Not that I'm bragging or anything," I said with an exaggerated tone. "I'm sure you all know I'm above such things."
The smirks got a little wider at that and the chuckles just loud enough to hear before the gate started spinning behind me, which meant it was time to get serious.
"Let's all go over this one more time," I said, turning serious. "This will be a Force Recon into enemy territory. We suspect this will be an enemy stronghold and will be heavily defended. Our objective will be reconnaissance and taking targets of opportunity. If we see a target too valuable to ignore, then we use the C4. Until our cover is surly blown, we will remain as quiet as possible and maintain the illusion that nothing is amiss.
"If it turns out we're in over our heads and have to make a run for it, that's what we've got the nuke for. It's a going away present for the goa'uld, not a suicide tool, got it? That's why there's a timer on it, so don't anybody get any ideas about martyrdom when a perfectly good escape route exists. As it is, I'm the closest one to retirement here, so if anybody's gonna get to martyr themselves, it'll be me as per the rules of drama."
The groaning of the hydraulic mechanisms on the stargate behind me didn't do much to hide the groans from the audience in front of me at that joke.
"The MALP is going through to establish the area is secure. Once it does so, we'll be following through right after it. No delays, no further prep, we just go. Any questions?"
There were none.
"Then get ready!" I ordered.
The stargate finished dialing and made a successful connection behind me. I stepped aside as the MALP rolled up the ramp and passed through the event horizon while everyone made last second checks to their equipment. The techs left the gate room and us as we awaited confirmation from the control room of a clear arrival zone.
"SG-Wolf, SG-Dragon," Hammond's voice came over the speaker. "Arrival site is clear. You are clear to proceed. Good luck and godspeed."
I was the first one up the ramp and to step through the event horizon. I could hear the boots of the others behind me and I whispered a quick prayer as I led these men and women into what was likely our most dangerous and important mission yet.
'Into the serpent's lair we go...'
AN: I hope nobody's sour about me having Carter's little moment of reluctance there. We all know she's a badass but asking someone onto a suicide mission is something most folks just aren't prepared to jump on. Even among military folks. Also, that reluctance is actually pretty characteristic for her since she was also a bit hesitant to go on the original mission in the show. Although circumstances here are different, it's still something big to ask of another person. I thought it made a nice little character moment for her.
I wanted to get this chapter out to assure you all that neither I or this story were dead. Many of you follow my Star Wars story and know I'm alive, but the guys who only follow me for this story deserved something after such a long dry period.
Originally, I was going to finish this all up with one big finale chapter but stuff got in the way and then I got sucked into my other story. I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as I can but please understand if it takes awhile or if I have to focus on my other fic and handle a butt load of real life stuff. The next chapter should be the conclusion to Season One of SG-WOLF. But no worries, because I'll definitely be continuing this fic in a separate doc that will mark the beginning of Season Two! The plan is for big changes right off the bat with something I've been sitting on for awhile now. I'll post a notification to this fic so that you all get a heads up when chapter one of the next season is up.
Until next time!