Hello, everyone!
This is a XCOM x Stargate fanfic, inspired by Hotpoints's marvellous XSGCOM series. My premise will be different in that it use the the Fraxis rebooted XCOM series instead of the original. I hope everyone enjoys what I wrote. Please tell me your comments about you what think.
P.S I got Hotpoints' approval if anyone recognizes some overlap with his original work
Chapter One "Stargate Initiative"
Stargate - Planet PX9-757 – 6 July 2039
The splash-like energy backwash caused by the stargate's incoming wormhole brought the half dozen Jaffa to full alert. The Jaffa, who were guarding the stargate, raised their staff weapons and charged them. Anything that came through the shimmering event horizon of the gate in a hostile manner would find itself with plasma bolts raining down upon their position.
What came out through the gate was a machine of some kind that clattered through the stargate on metal tracks. That didn't mean the Jaffa let their guard down. In their centuries of service to their gods, the Goa'uld, the Jaffa had encountered and fought against all manners of things that called the Milky Way Galaxy home.
"Shall we destroy it?" One Jaffa asked, aiming his staff.
"If there is anyone with some skill with machines, check it out!" The commanding Jaffa shouted.
One of the Jaffa slowly crept up to the machine with his staff poised ready to fire if he ever felt endangered. He didn't touch the machine for there were many tales of machines that were bobby-trapped.
Part of the machine swung around to point itself at him as he approached. Assuming it was a camera the Jaffa could not help but give it a wave. A split second later some kind of external speaker fitted to the machine spoke up.
"Lay down your arms and surrender," the machine commanded in a slightly distorted electronic tone. "If you fail to do so immediately you will face lethal force."
The Jaffa laughed. "It is not us that should surrender, but you!" He gestured at a nearby statue of the Goa'uld he served. "Reveal the location of your world and our god will bring peace and prosperity to your people."
"You were warned, no second chances," the machine replied.
What happened next caught the Jaffa by surprise. A section of the machine that hadn't been shown before popped out and it was pointed at the Jaffa wearing the most ornately decorated armor. There was a blinding flash, followed by a boom. Instantly, a gaping hole formed at the Jaffa that had been selected as a target. It didn't matter how tough the Jaffa's armor was, which had been designed to take a plasma shot or two before failing.
The first Jaffa was still falling to the ground with an astonished expression on his face when the machine's weapon started to swing swiftly around to engage the next target.
The remaining Jaffa quickly got over the shock of their fallen comrade and years of constant training and combat experience kicked in as the first of numerous staff-blasts hit the machine just before it fired again.
Unfortunately for the Jaffa, the plasma merely scorched and slightly pitted the thick armor plate of the SHIV. More staff blasts rained in, but the machine simply shrugged them off and kept firing. It had been designed as a miniaturized tank in a more compact size, sacrificing the more powerful weapon and thicker armor in favor of going where its larger cousin could never hope to go or operate in.
So distracted by the SHIV, which was armed with cannon and thick armor plating of an infantry fighting vehicle, the Jaffa didn't have time to notice that more splash-like energy backwash appeared in the stargate. Out of the stargate came out heavily armed and armored human figures.
"Oh, man I never get tired of seeing Jaffa getting their asses whipped by a SHIV," Colonel Johnathan "Jack" O'Neill chuckled at the sight of the SHIV firing its 30mm railgun in rapid succession, which made mockery of the cover that Jaffa hid behind as protection.
"Sir, I still think a 30mm railgun is overkill for SHIV in most circumstances," Said Major Samantha "Sam" Carter as the SHIV continued its rampage. "A 12.7mm heavy machine coilgun would be more appropriate for the Jaffa. A 30mm railgun is overkill and a waste of resources. Every little bit saving we can make helps with the war effort against the Ethereals and ADVENT."
"There is no such thing as overkill," Jack replied with a smile.
"Jack, it seems like we might have hit a goldmine," Captain Daniel "Dan" Jackson interjected.
"What kind of goldmine are you talking about?" Jack asked with a serious expression.
"This planet has a major mining, refining and industrial facilities for producing all manner of Goa'uld war material." Daniel responded as he scanned the minds of the still living Jaffa fighting for their lives against the SHIV.
"Damn, we really did hit the goldmine," Jack whistled. "George would love to hear that. More resources to use against the Ethereals and ADVENT on Earth."
"We must flee!" One of the remaining Jaffa shouted as he broke away from the fight.
"Oh, no you don't!" Jack shouted as he prepared to aim and fire his 12.7mm heavy machine coilgun at the fleeing Jaffa.
"Jack!" Daniel shouted as he placed his hand against Jack's gun and forced it down. "We need survivors to gather intel on this planet's military capabilities and defenses."
"Alright, you heard Captain Jackson! Take out your Arc Throwers and shoot to disable." Jack shouted as more infantry under the command of SG-1 made their way through the stargate.
About an infantry platoon strong, the Jaffa kept firing their staffs to no avail at first as their shots only caused the refractive coating that provided the SHIV with additional protection from energy-based weapons to evaporate. Jaffa one by one were killed as they popped out of cover to shoot or the 30mm railgun rounds penetrated through the cover the Jaffa hid behind. Yet, the sacrifice of their comrades was not worthless. Continuous shots like water weathering away rock evaporated the last of the refractive coating and started to melt the armor plating.
The SHIV started to take damage to internal components and a few more shots would have disabled it, but sadly for the Jaffa the battle was far from over. An infantry company-sized unit of carefully selected XCOM and Resistance fighters seconded to the Stargate Initiative started to join in the fight.
Following Jack's command, the Stargate Infantry, or SGI for short, fired their weapons to disable the Jaffa's limbs. Quickly outflanked and surrounded, the remaining Jaffa were knocked unconscious from the shock of having the limbs shot or by the Arc Throwers used on them.
Since the battle was over, SGI started the time-honored tradition of grabbing every bit of alien tech and biology that they had inherited from their parent organization, XCOM. Yet this task didn't last any more than five minutes before new Jaffa that were supposed to be reinforcements to the Jaffa, which SGI took down, came crashing down.
"We should be helping, sir." Said Sam in a concerned tone as she watched SGI start fighting back. "It doesn't feel right just to watch when we could be joining in the fight."
"You know why, Sam." Jack sighed. "Orders straight from XCOM, rumored to be the Commander themself. I quote, 'commanding officers are to observe SGI in action against any threat through the Stargate and report what can be done to improve SGI performance in the future unless a situation where mass casualties will likely happen without the intervention.' Besides, I think the boys got it."
Jack and Daniel were not too concerned about Sam's concerns for the following reasons. The SGI were equipped to deal with the more dangerous and tougher Mutons commonly deployed by the Ethereals. Each SGI was equipped as standard 7.62mm LMG coilgun and medium Warden armor. Additionally, they were equipped with genemods that made them physically and mentally superior to the unaugmented human.
As SG-1 monitored the situation, the battle between SGI and the Jaffa grew furious. Each side's advantage began to show. The Jaffa had the advantage in numbers and military training, but SGI were better equipped and more combat-hardened from their constant fight against the Ethereals and ADVENT.
A Jaffa might go down, but the other Jaffa often used their hit comrade as an opportunity to take down the SGI that shot their comrade with numerous staff blasts. If the same thing was to happen to the SGI, they would have focused more in suppressing the Jaffa with covering fire as their hit comrade was taken to a medic for emergency first aid treatment.
The start difference in combat doctrine was further shown when the Jaffa possessed a more centralized command structure where the grunts would hold back in personal initiative when they saw an opportunity until a superior ranked Jaffa gave the order while an SGI took whatever opportunity they saw without being told too.
SG-1 continued to observe, but Sam was the first to speak.
"It seems the standard SGI genemods are superior to the natural healing process that the Jaffa are blessed with as incubators of immature Goa'uld larva." Sam noted with interest.
"The actual difference is not that much too different in the grand scheme of things," Said Daniel. "If you want exact figures, Jack; on average an injured SGI takes 2 seconds for the wound to clot and prevent further blood loss while the Jaffa can do the same in 15 seconds. The difference in several seconds doesn't mean much as long as death by blood loss is prevented."
"What about healing from injuries themselves?" Jack asked as he kept an eye on other observable factors of the battle.
"More Jaffa are dying while SGI are surviving, but they are either rendered unconscious or no longer fit to fight." Sam noted as she collated data. "Those Jaffa that are not killed outright continue to fight despite their wounds."
Daniel added, "That's likely due to two factors. The Jaffa's military training conditioned them to fight despite how wounded they were. Another factor being that their altered biology grants them a higher pain tolerance then SGI."
Jack nodded his head in agreement and was about to comment regarding the difference in equipment when an opportunity demonstrated itself. A Jaffa and SGI both stood up at the same time and fired upon the other. The SGI took a staff blast to the chest without much problem as her Warden armor had a small dent where the metal was glowing and melting, but she was unharmed to continue firing on the Jaffa. On the other hand, the Jaffa was not so fortunate as he went down immediately after firing his staff as 7.56mm rounds penetrated through his armor and tore through his organs.
The same repeated several times across the battlefield, but not as simultaneously as the first example. It continued to happen too many times that SG-1 had come to the foregone conclusion that the standard Jaffa were inferior in equipment to SGI.
Finally, more SHIVs and MECs entered the fray as they arrived after the last of the SGIs. Their heavy weapons brought much needed firepower to negate the Jaffa's advantage in numbers and their thick armor allowing the SHIVs and MECs to shoot when an SGI would have been killed.
It was nearly half an hour after the battle after the SHIVs and MECs had arrived that who the victors would be.
SGI was impressed that the Jaffa were still able to hold on for so long despite the difference in firepower and armored support. Despite taking heavy losses, the Jaffa did not show any signs of military discipline. It was only when their numbers had become uncomfortably low that they were not confident enough that they would be able to come winning without making the sacrifice too high did the Jaffa show any signs of retreat. The more ornately decorated Jaffa gave the command and under well-disciplined fall back with covering fire did the battle end.
"What's our casualties?" Jack asked as he turned to Daniel.
Faster than if the SGI were to report their casualties, Daniel replied quickly with the number of three UFFAs (Unfit for further Action) and sixty-eight lightly to moderately wounded.
"Thank god for the XCOM developed MedKits and genemods." Sam noted happily. "If the battle had taken place before the current war with the Ethereals and ADVENT the UFFAs would have been KIAs."
"Damn right," Jack nodded in agreement.
In fact, Jack was outright jealous of the equipment and genemods that SGI possessed. During the first years of the war casualties rates were ridiculously high compared to the current ones where there was more than fifty percent chance of ending crippled or dead. Jack's face unconsciously hardened as he recalled the number of comrades that he had seen crippled or dead during his time in XCOM.
"Sir, are you alright?" Sam asked in a concerned tone as she noticed Jack's facial expression.
"Just thinking how lucky the SGIs are compared to us during the first years of the war," Said Jack as he snapped back into reality. He soon got into the radio as he noticed the SGI chasing after the Jaffa. "Do not pursue the retreating Jaffa."
"I already let Hammond know that we have the stargate on this side secured and requesting additional personnel to guard and build the forward operating base." Daniel spoke as if reading Jack's mind, which might have happened given that Daniel was a psion.
Jack smiled. "Thanks, Daniel. I appreciate the gesture."
He turned his attention to an SGI that was approaching SG-1. If it wasn't for his HUD displaying the SGI's rank and name, Jack would have likely not noticed who had been approaching him. It bothered him that he couldn't recognize the soldier without his HUD telling him, but that meant the Stargate Initiative's military protocols were working as intended to protect higher-ranked officers from being distinguished from the grunts that they served aside and picked off during battle.
"Master Sergeant Marwis, what brings you here?" Jack asked.
"Sir," Said Marwis politely instead of giving the military salute that may allow a potential enemy sniper if they were nearby to know Jack was a target worth taking a shot at. "My men were able to capture a Jaffa that would be equivalent in rank to a Captain in our command structure. Sir, would you like to interrogate him right now, or at a later time?"
"Bring him up," Jack wavered his hand. "I want to see what intel we can extract from him before sending him off back to HQ."
While it seemed overkill, a squad of SGIs brought over the Jaffa wearing an ornately decorated armor and they treated the Jaffa as if he was a dangerous prisoner ready to escape at any moment.
"Who are you?!" The Jaffa demanded as he inspected his enemy's commander. The weapons and armor that the enemy used were very different from the enemies that the Jaffa had learned about.
"We would be the 'Tau'ri' according to your language," Daniel replied as he spoke in the native tongue of the Jaffa.
"The First Ones?" The Jaffa responded with surprise.
"That is correct," Daniel nodded. "If you are willing to cooperate then you will not be tortured and treated respectfully."
The Jaffa never got to respond as Jack fired his Arc Thrower at the Jaffa, who collapsed onto the ground and started to convulse before blacking out.
"Hey, Daniel, how many times do I have to tell you? Not to reveal who we are? Our greatest asset is our secrecy!" Jack berated his cultural expert.
"I doubt any captured Jaffa or Goa'uld would ever escape given how strictly monitored they are or how heavily guarded the Stargate, the only way off Earth, is." Daniel scoffed. "Besides, research shows that our identity as the Tau'ri seems to have an effect on the Jaffa and Goa'uld. They are more willing to cooperate after learning our ancestors managed to defeat one of the greatest Goa'uld warlords, Ra."
"Daniel has a point, sir." Sam added. "It is a great psychological weapon, and our secrecy is bound to break sometime in the near-future given how aggressively we are exploring the Stargate network."
"I know that," Jack sighed. "But orders are orders."
"Sir, I think we should let Daniel interrogate the prisoner," Sam said with a smile. "He is the most well suited for the task given his expertise in ancient writing systems, languages and cultures or his psionic ability."
"You are right about Daniel being more suited than me." Jack nodded. He turned to Daniel and asked, "How does it feel being able to apply the craft that you spent so long before the war learning? The Stargate Initiative to explore worlds beyond the Stargate after all started little more than a week ago."
A huge smile grew on Daniel's face. It would be an understatement how happy he was in the Stargate Initiative. He had spent nearly two decades after graduating from high school earning the degrees and qualifications to become an archaeologist, linguist and expert in ancient writing systems, languages and cultures. His career had been put on hold when the Ethereals had appeared on Earth to conquer and enslave humanity. Now, despite the war going on, he was out in other worlds applying the life skills he had honed and been waiting in the dust due to the Ethereal War.
"Give me an hour and I should have all the intel we need on this planet's military capabilities and defenses." Daniel spoke in a grim tone as he grabbed the unconscious Jaffa and hauled him to a quiet location for interrogation.
Hello what do people think? Did you like the story premise I am using?
If how SGC or SG-1 seems very different from canon it is because a decades long war to keep humanity from being conquered and enslaved tends to cause alot of death and misery. War, especially long ones tend to change people.
I also wanted to note that some puts of portraying the Goa'uld and Jaffa have been altered because some portrayals in canon don't seem realistic for several reasons. The first being that for entertainment sake or productional reasons when Stargate was being published some parts of the canon seemed to be shown in a lazy or unrealistic manner. I hope people can forgive me for what I believe were realistic alteration to canon.