Spearhead: Tides Of War

by Darksider

Final Part in the Spearhead Trilogy

TITLE: Spearhead: The Tides Of War
AUTHOR: Andrew Seivewright
EMAIL: a.seivewright@btinternet.com
CATEGORY: action/adventure, future
SPOILERS: Spearhead: Turning The Tide, Spearhead: Falling Back
SEASON / SEQUEL: Two weeks after the events in Spearhead: Falling Back
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: R – the occasional harsh word or two.
SUMMARY: Spearhead readies itself for battle…can General O'Neill and the rest survive the assault upon Spearhead?
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, this Spearhead idea started over a couple of beers and ended up become a full Trilogy…delusions of grandeur aside, this has been fun to write and hopefully, fun to read which is the whole point of the exercise really, isn't it? Enough of my babbling, get on reading the last part of my story…and don't blink, you might miss something.

Cast

Earth

General Stuart Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Army

Lieutenant General Hammond CO of the SGC, US Air Force

Spearhead

Brigadier General O'Neill CO of Spearhead

Colonel Carter 2IC

Dr Daniel Jackson

Teal'c

Master Sgt Booth

Sgt Jenkins

Colonel Amanda Lewis CO of SG-Alpha

Major Ranjeer 2IC

Lt Rachel Bannon 2nd Platoon

Sgt Powell 2nd Platoon

Colonel Tom Grant CO of SG-Beta

Major Andy Thorn 2IC

Tok'ra

Toran / Rath Tok'ra Liaison

Serena / Emmis Tok'ra Liaison

Goa'uld

Apophis Supreme System Lord of the Goa'uld

Bast Major System Lord

Hek'at Apophis' First Prime

Spearhead: Tides Of War

Chapter 1

Best laid plans…

"Incoming traveler!"

SHA-CHUNK!!

FFWOOSH!!

General O'Neill stood casually to one side as the wormhole energies flew out of the Stargate and then retreated into its pool-like state. Colonel's Carter and Lewis were in deep conversation beside him.

The wormhole rippled and Colonel Grant stepped out, followed closely by his 2IC, Major Thorn. They walked down towards the General as the rest of SG-Beta started to pour through the Stargate, along with armored rovers carrying weapons and supplies.

"Afternoon General." Grant said, saluting as he stopped in front of O'Neill. He looked at the two women beside him. "Colonels."

O'Neill returned the salute casually. "At ease, Colonel, Major. What word from back home?"

Grant smiled slightly. "Well, we've got the go ahead for two more Assault teams. Major Roberts of the SGC defense force is now Colonel Roberts and is going to head up SG-Kappa. Colonel Drake of the British Army is heading up SG-Omega."

"What about Colonel Colwell and SG-Delta?" Lewis asked.

"Colonel Colwell has been certified fit for duty by the docs and is still in command of Delta. He'll be back to strength by the end of the week. All three teams will be almost cherry fresh so Colwell and the survivors of the original Delta will be working hard with the new guys to teach them the hard earned lessons. I'm told they'll be ready for action by the end of the month."

Carter smiled at this good news. "What about Group Captain Dunsfield and the British pilots?"

Grant shook his head in amusement. "From what I'm told, they're creating hell back at Area-51. The Brit engineers constantly argue with our guys over the technology and the cock-up we made over the X-301 a few years back but apparently, Dunsfield says that they'll have a fully Earth-made fighter ready for testing by the end of the year."

O'Neill winced at the mention of the prototype fighter Area-51 developed from Goa'uld technology that almost killed Teal'c and himself. The wormhole suddenly disengaged and a voice crackled over the speakers. "All SG-Beta troops have disembarked. Setting the Iris to Level 2 closure…"

They all turned to watch as the Iris slid shut with it's usual grating sound but this time, as soon as it closed up, it flexed inwards. This was to prevent a wormhole from forming and replaced the need for them to physically bury their Stargate. Combined with the intense radiation levels blanketing the solar system, Spearhead was now completely isolated from the rest of the Galaxy.

Major Thorn turned back to face O'Neill. "General, if I might be so bold…why don't we just keep the Iris permanently shut like that in between missions. That way, it would be impossible for Apophis to attack us."

O'Neill nodded agreeably. "Your right, it would keep us safe. The only problem is that it would leave the threat of outside attack hanging over our heads, constantly. The core of it is…I want Apophis to attack. If we rig our defenses properly, we can lure in and destroy a significant portion of Apophis's forces, putting us a step closer to ultimate victory." He smiled slightly. "Assuming we survive the assault, that is…"

* * * * * * * *

Daniel took a sip of coffee as he studied the profiles of several System Lords that the Tok'ra had gained new intelligence on. Daniel, Rath and Emmis were sat in one of the smaller briefing rooms, around a circular table and surrounded by several video screens that displayed electronic versions of the reports Daniel was reading now.

Daniel put the report down and looked up at the two Tok'ra liaisons. "I'm slightly confused about something. The General and everyone else around here are anticipating Apophis sending an army through the Stargate…what I don't understand is why no-one expects Apophis to send through a bomb or something."

Rath glanced at Emmis and leaned back, steeping his fingers. "Goa'uld ego, Dr Jackson. A fascinating and very predictable mindset."

Emmis picked up a cup of coffee drank deeply. Since coming to Spearhead they had discard their Tok'ra clothes in favor of standard BDU's and had begun to sample various element of Earth culture. Teal'c had introduced them to coffee, as if had a very pleasant effect upon the symbiote. She smiled in satisfaction.

"The Spearhead facility is has become a definite threat to him, Daniel and he really should just destroy it as you describe, by sending a bomb through. I imagine this is what Bast has counseled him to do. The SGC and SG-1, however, have caused Apophis immense grief. Apophis's ego compels him to try and capture you alive so that you may die by his hand and his hand alone."

Rath nodded in agreement. "For all his power, Apophis is a very predictable Goa'uld. Bast, on the other hand, is dangerous, precisely because she carries no ego. She will retreat without embarrassment if it preserves her forces to fight again. She would send a bomb through although, again, I think the location of Spearhead would most likely prevent this also."

Confused, Daniel sat upright. "How?"

"Think." Rath replied. "This planet is in a location that is unapproachable by space, thanks to the intense and deadly radiation emitted from this system's sun. The only vector of attack is through the Stargate, all in all, an excellent defensive position. All Goa'uld would dream of having such natural defenses. Bast would not send a Naquada bomb through because she would risk destroying the Stargate and in all likelihood, the planet."

"No objective, not even the destruction of Spearhead would be worth losing the prize of this location." Emmis added. "If is safe to say that Spearhead is sitting on the most important piece of real estate in the entire Galaxy.

Daniel leaned back, slightly shocked. "I had no idea. I have to thank the Asgard for helping Sam find this place."

Rath nodded. "As well you should." He frowned slightly. "Speaking of the Asgard, the Tok'ra Council have wondered why the assault on Earth almost a year ago, didn't provoke a response from the Asgard. Earth falls under the Protected Planets Treaty still, does it not?"

Nodding, Daniel replied, "The General and Thor had a meeting soon after the Asgard learned of the assault. The Asgard have made advances in their war with the Replicators but they are still several years from being able to protect Earth completely with a fleet of ships."

Emmis looked confused. "Then how are you protected from being attacked?"

"We call it 'mutually assured destruction'. If the Goa'uld were to attack Earth, the Asgard would unlikely be able to prevent our destruction but that act would bring the full wrath of the Asgard upon the Goa'uld…"

"Which the Goa'uld would never survive." Emmis concluded.

Daniel inclined his head in approval. "Exactly. Not a perfect situation but one that we humans are used to. The President decided to let that attack slide and to fight back within our own means, hence the creation of Spearhead."

Rath gave a sly smile. "It also takes the attention and the threat away from Earth as well."

Daniel grinned in return. "An added bonus, don't you think?"

* * * * * * * * * * *

Lieutenant General Hammond was going over the latest readiness reports of the various SG-Assault teams when his intercom buzzed. "General Stuart has arrived, sir."

Hammond pressed a button on the desk unit. "Let him in then, Carol…"

"Yes, sir." His secretary replied. The door to his office opened and Army General Orin Stuart, Head of the Joint Chiefs strolled into his office carrying a small, black briefcase. "Hello, George."

"Orin." Hammond shook his hand and gestured for him to sit down. "What brings you all they way down here?"

"News from the NCA." Stuart replied, setting down the briefcase. NCA is a military acronym for National Command Authority, meaning the President. "Things are building up to a head concerning the Stargate."

"Oh?" Hammond asked, face blank. Things seemed to be going to good lately…

Stuart nodded. "In four weeks, I'm to meet up with my counterparts in the Russian, German, and French military. We're going to let them in on everything we and the Brits know."

"The Russians already know about the Stargate project but the French and Germans are going to be surprised." Hammond predicted.

"Supremely pissed off is more like it but yeah." Stuart acknowledged. "And this is just step 2 in the big plan. The next stage is to go before the UN and let pretty much everybody in on it."

Hammond's face became stern. "Orin, you had better tell me right now that the Stargate Program is not going to fall under UN auspices."

Stuart raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Relax, George. You're safe for now. The President has assured me that we will retain full control now and forever, or at least until the UN has shown that it can perform a military operation with screwing it up six ways from Sunday."

Hammond relaxed somewhat. "That's good to know." He turned in his chair and poured two cups of coffee from his personal coffee machine. He turned back and placed one cup in front of the General. "So, why are we letting the Germans and French in on it?"

Stuart took a sip of coffee and smiled slightly. "Things are going pretty well for us at the minute. Especially considering we are fighting a secret interstellar war. We are however, beginning to lose a large number of men. More than we can hide in our decreasing military actions here on Earth. Pretty soon, the Stargate and our precarious situation are going to have to be explained to the American people and the world at large."

He put his coffee cup down as he began to get animated. "George, the boys and girls at Area-51 are working miracles. Pretty damn soon, we're going to have a for-real space superiority fighter that makes the F-22 look like a 747 and the Space Shuttle look like a Greyhound bus. We've got the infrastructure to build a great many of them as well but it will be damned expensive. George, the American military has been acting like the world's policemen for a long time. It's a role we've been proud of but now we need to change. The Middle East is finally beginning to make headway and they don't need us anymore. China's relaxed somewhat and Eastern Europe has been quiet for a long time now, hell, even India and Pakistan have gotten tired of fighting and started talking."

"I don't believe that Millennium's broken out or that hundreds of years of trouble can be wiped out that easily but right now, the world is taking a breath and is ready to either make peace or to dive right back into the fighting. I believe, and the President believes, that the Stargate can be the one goddamn thing on the planet that stops us fighting each other and gets us working together."

Raising his eyebrow slightly at the enthusiasm in his old friend's voice, Hammond couldn't help but notice his friend's excitement. "You seem pretty passionate about this, Orin. What happened to that cynical, old warhorse I know and love?"

Stuart grinned somewhat embarrassed. "He's still there, George, but damn it all…I want a bit of optimism in my life right now. From what I read in your situation reports, Earth is on a knife-edge now between slavery and total destruction. Neither option appeals to me." He fell silent as his drank some more of his coffee.

Hammond nodded slowly. "You're not talking about anything I haven't already though about since this damn war began. It's the only way we'll win, you know. To put the whole resources of Earth behind the Stargate Program, the Goa'uld could never hope to defend against us."

"That's even more optimistic that I ever considered, George. What makes you think that?" Stuart asked guardedly. His old friend has never spoken like this in any of the reports he had read. In fact, most of Hammond's reports on the Goa'uld situation read as bleak and disturbing to say the least.

"The Goa'uld really only have one advantage over us. Their space fleet, Orin...it's their Motherships, bombers and Gliders that give them the edge. Take that away and you're left with their Jaffa army and simply put, they aren't worth a damn as soldiers. Man to man, my people have beaten them almost every time, a situation that hasn't changed much in over six years of war."

Stuart frowned slightly. "How do you explain the loss of SG-Delta?"

Grimacing, Hammond replied, "That was a combination of bad Intel and tactical overkill. They were ambushed and my men and women still had a kill ratio of over 2 to 1. They were outnumbered by at least 4 to 1. Overwhelming numbers has pretty much been the contributing factor to all our combat defeats." He leaned forward, intent of making his point. "That's what I mean though…the System Lords control a large portion of the Galaxy and the Tok'ra tell me that they estimate that the Jaffa number around 1.5 million, galaxy-wide. When you take into account the numbers placed into garrison duty on occupied worlds and such, the Tok'ra think that they have a mobile force of around 300,000 or so."

Stuart nodded. "I see where you're going with this. Fully mobilized, the United States could field an army at least that size."

"That's right." Hammond confirmed. "By my estimates, if we added in troops from Britain, Russia and the rest of NATO, I figure we could have a standing army of say 3 million. Factor in the rest of the world, who knows how many troops we could have?"

"They wouldn't stand a chance." Stuart added, softly.

Hammond sat upright and took a deep breath. All this conjecture is pretty much for the future and was doing them no good right now. "Anyway, regarding this briefing of our allies on the Stargate Program…I'm assuming you want me there."

"That's right. We'll be meeting in Washington, at an Embassy dinner and then we'll all fly back here where they can have a good nose around. Let them see everything."

Stuart picked up his briefcase, opened it up and pulled out a thin blue folder. He passed it over the desk to Hammond. "That's all the details, the people and the itinerary. Go over it and if you have any problems, call my office. We'll make changes as necessary."

Hammond quickly flipped through the folder and then placed it on the side of his desk. He would read it later. He looked up at the clock on the wall. Stuart saw what he was looking at and inclined his head.

Hammond saw the unspoken question and smiled tightly. "I sent SG-Beta through to Spearhead a little while before you arrived. O'Neill should have locked Spearhead down by now, while he prepares for the Goa'uld assault."

Stuart frowned. "You really think Apophis is going to attack there?"

"Everything points to it." Hammond replied in resignation. "We just stole a bunch of his ships, in effect kicking the hornet's nest. He can't attack Earth in response, he won't send ships and we've closed our Stargate so a wormhole can't form. The clincher is that he knows where Spearhead is now. He lost a Mothership to the radiation and now knows that avenue of approach is out and the Tok'ra assure me that they won't send a bomb through to destroy Spearhead because they want to take the planet and SG-1 in one piece."

Smiling, Stuart accepted the convoluted reasoning and moved on. "Can O'Neill hold? I wouldn't normally ask but I read the Tok'ra reports as well, he's going to be outnumbered, what…4 to 1? By your own admission, all our defeats are thanks to odds like that, so what makes you think we can win this time?"

Hammond, silent for a moment, slowly looked straight at his superior. "He has no choice."

Chapter 2

Countdown

Hek'at stood on the balcony of his office within the Jaffa barracks on Sohag. The suns were rising and cast long shadows across the mustering field where innumerable Jaffa trained individual, in pairs and in small groups. He smiled in satisfaction as he watched them. The mighty army of Apophis, his to command in his Lord's name. Becoming First Prime had been his goal ever since the shol'var Teal'c abandoned his God. Several First Primes had come and gone since that day, for Apophis had trusted none after such an insult but Hek'at had proven himself different. Trusted by Apophis and revered by his men, he enjoyed a close 'relationship' with his God that no First Prime had enjoyed since Teal'c.

His musings were interrupted as he heard the doors to his room slide open. Turning silently, he moved slowly towards the balcony door, ready to pounce on the intruder and peered inside. He relaxed with an almost explosive breath of air and spoke wryly. "My Queen, although I would never willing attack my Gods, to enter my sanctuary unannounced is to court injury or death."

Gracefully walking into the room, Bast smiled with no little amusement at Hek'at's stentorian warning. She knew as well as he that he would never attack a System Lord and that made his pronouncement that much more ironic. Bast contemplated that it took a lot to amuse her but this powerful, fanatical First Prime seemed to do it with ease. She wondered what that meant.

Hek'at would never have imagined saying such a thing to a Goa'uld of Bast's rank and power but working together these past months, they had come to appreciate each other for their various strengths. Their relationship bordered on the personal but for now, they were content to be 'friends'.

"Tell me, Hek'at…what do you think of the Tau'ri?" She asked, adjusting her thin, white gown as she sat in a chair that was placed in front of Hek'at's desk. She glanced at several display pads lying on the desk. From what she could make out, they were readiness reports from his various divisions.

"I think they are dangerous." He replied, without hesitation.

Bast seemed to nod slightly, as if his answer confirmed something for her. When she didn't say anything more, Hek'at felt he had to ask her why she had posed the question.

"I don't agree with Apophis on a lot of things." She replied. "Sometimes Apophis finds this useful, others, it annoys him no end. Usually he listens to me but the Tau'ri…the Tau'ri enrage him beyond reason. His blind hatred will be his downfall."

Hek'at lifted his chin in defiance of her statement. "Apophis will not fall as long as I live."

"But you yourself say that the Tau'ri are dangerous. Do you acknowledge just how dangerous?" She asked, leaning forward intently.

"The Tau'ri have one of the most populated planets in the known Galaxy." Hek'at replied. "If even a thousandth of their number are as capable fighters as the soldiers belonging to Spearhead, then I cannot guarantee success in this war. If I had my wish, I would send a fleet and destroy the Tau'ri homeworld from orbit."

Bast nodded. "Yes, and the Asgard would come and wipe us out in vengeance. Right now, the Replicators keep the Asgard occupied and we got away with a relatively light attack through the Chappa'ai before but if we were to provoke them with an orbital bombardment…" She trailed off, the conclusion not needed to be said. "Fear not, for right now, the Tau'ri population is too busy fighting one another to unite against us. Now that Apophis has brought the other System Lords to heel, the Goa'uld are united for the first time since Ra's demise. This is our advantage."

"The Replicators…bah!" Standing up, Hek'at scowled in disgust and moved to the balcony again, looking down upon the Jaffa legions. "Those damn machines are worse than the Tau'ri. Lord Apophis barely survived his encounter with them when they destroyed Sokar's planet. I was barely in time to transport him off the flagship."

"You did well destroying the few Replicators that traveled with him." Bast replied.

Hek'at nodded. "It took nearly thirty Jaffa to destroy just four of the damn things using our staff weapons as clubs. Clubs!" He shook his head, as if to try and shake loose the memory. "The Tau'ri handled them better than us!"

"Their weapons and tactics are very different from ours." She comforted.

He snorted in disgust. "The Tau'ri are…devious and intelligent fighters. They have been fighting each other for thousands of years and have been developing weapons and strategies for which we have no counter. I'm trying to change that."

Bast smiled slightly. "Yes, I know. I've seen you quietly teaching Tau'ri tactics to your select group of Jaffa. I doubt Apophis would approve of you copying Tau'ri techniques."

Hek'at turned to look at her, his visage stern. "It is for his glory that I do this. The Jaffa army is an army of terror, fit for scaring peasants or killing each other with equally useless weapons. The Jaffa are a blunt instrument, the Tau'ri are a sharp blade…they are warriors. They have perfected combat to a fine art and it will take us a long time before we can match their training…and it is training that matters!"

He leaned forward, hands resting upon his desk. "I will match the bravery and intelligence of any Jaffa against any Tau'ri soldier, doubt that not!"

"You believe you simply lack the 'training' to fight and win against the Tau'ri…" Bast concluded.

Hek'at nodded, a bit calmer when listening to her smooth, controlled tones. "It will take time but it can and will be done."

"Are your troops prepared to do what they must for this assault, First Prime?" She asked abruptly.

Hek'at scowled slightly at her question as he reseated himself behind his desk. "They are always ready, my Queen." He inclined his head in slight admission. "They can, however, never be too ready. We will continue to train until it is time to attack."

Bast took note of the unspoken question. "The Spearhead Chappa'ai is still non-functional. I would expect it to remain so until O'Neill is fully prepared for our attack. I can see no way to force his hand."

"The longer he has to prepare, the more of my men will fall when we attack." He stated.

"Unfortunate, but unavoidable. You have sufficient Jaffa to do the job. Almost two thousand, I believe?" She asked.

He nodded once in reply but said nothing so she continued, "The situation demands we do this the hard way. Spearhead is too much of a prize to destroy out of hand and Apophis wishes to make an example of O'Neill and SG-1."

Hek'at understood all the reasons put forth by Bast and Apophis, but it didn't mean that he had to like them. He would, however, do his duty and do it gladly. "Do you happen to have any of your 'toys' to help me defeat Spearhead?" He asked her, referring to the many inventions Bast and her team of scientists have created over time. She was responsible for the compound that could penetrate the Tau'ri Iris, the various upgrades to the hyperdrive that cut a journey of two years down to less than twelve hours as well as being responsible for the zat'nik'atel.

Bast smiled grimly, giving her 'Grecian goddess' beauty a decidedly predatory slant. "You know, Hek'at…I believe I have several things you might appreciate immensely. Bring yourself and your best three Glider pilots to my facility in one hour." She ordered, rising up out of chair. Favoring him with another brief smile she then turned and gracefully glided out of his sanctuary.

Hek'at's eyes followed her as she left and twinkled in anticipation.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Bast walked the corridors of Apophis's palace deep in thought. Every time she talked to Hek'at, he seemed seem to reveal another layer of depth to his personality that made him more attractive in her eyes. These thoughts just made things worse for her, for Goa'uld were supposed to be above a mere Jaffa. To have personal feelings for a Jaffa, even a fine First Prime such as Hek'at was unheard of among the Goa'uld.

For a long time, she had realized that she was different from other Goa'uld, that she was more like a Tok'ra. The Goa'uld System Lords took hosts forcibly. They spent a fair amount of time and effort subduing the host's personality. Her host was voluntary. Almost fifty years ago, while in transit to her base, the transport she was flying at the time was severely damaged in an explosion. A piece of sabotage intended to kill her outright but instead, it caused the transport to crash on an inhabited world. The female host she had at the time barely survived the crash. The natives, who were fairly advanced, soon rescued her from the wreckage. They were quick to determine the presence of the symbiote within and she was taken to a secure location for study. She was not expected to live long.

She had plotted several attempts to leave her host and join with one of the researchers but they were too careful around her and no opportunity presented itself. However, the female scientist that was placed in charge of her study soon became enamored of the idea of joining with a symbiote and enjoying the benefits of a long life and advanced intelligence. The scientist was herself a genius on her world and when she freely joined with Bast, the joining produced a unique union of two minds never thought possible. Their combined intelligence became second to none. She quickly escaped and made her way through their Chappa'ai back to her base. She then returned to the planet soon after with a fleet and battered them into submission. Symbiote and host felt nothing but satisfaction at the conquest.

Her unique intelligence resulted in many things, not least of which was an attitude that didn't perpetrate the belief in her own superiority over all other beings. That being said, it was this fact that made her considered herself superior to other System Lords. Their somewhat racist viewpoint would result in their own destruction. She was sure of it. She would not make the same mistake.

Hek'at was worthy of her respect.

* * * * * * * * * * *

General O'Neill marched down the corridors of Spearhead, heading towards the briefing room. He had just finished talking to General Hammond, back on Earth using the long-range communications device they had adapted for their personal use. They had talked about upcoming battle and the possibility of losing the fight and Spearhead being completely overrun. Neither General was greatly optimistic about their chances but they recognized that they had no choice but to stay and fight. To abandon Spearhead would be worse.

O'Neill passed several troops in the various corridors and nodded to them distractedly as he mind whirled with plans and counter-moves to the Goa'uld threat.

O'Neill and Hammond were also making a large gamble as well. O'Neill had at his disposal, Assault teams Alpha and Beta to defend Spearhead, along with a large number of soldiers usually assigned to defend the installation, all in all, a little over 350 men and women. Hammond was prepared to send Colonel Clarke and SG-Gamma but O'Neill had other plans for them. Several key Goa'uld installations located at the heart of their territories had been stripped of a number of Jaffa in order to bolster the attacking force. From what the Tok'ra had told them, given enough time, Apophis could have assembled an invasion force without stripping men from important locations but that would require time that Apophis didn't seem inclined to give.

This gave him an opening. He asked Hammond to send SG-Gamma out and attack these installations, something not possible before their defenses had been weakened. He planned to introduce to the System Lords, the doctrine of 'deep strike', something the American military trained for and was very effective at performing back on Earth. This would be 'deep strike' Stargate style.

He was brought out of his mental planning as Carter and Daniel appeared from another corridor and pulled up smoothly on either side of him.

"Hey guys…shouldn't you be waiting for me in the briefing room?" He asked, innocently.

Carter grinned as Daniel just rolled his eyes. "You can't fool us, General. You're just as late as us and there's no use trying to hide that fact." She replied.

"A General is never late." O'Neill pontificated. "Besides, I was talking to Hammond. What's your excuse?"

Daniel shrugged slightly as they began to finish the journey to the briefing room together. "We were looking over some Goa'uld tech that Gamma brought back last month. We think it's a forge for creating the smart metal the Goa'uld use in their armor."

Carter nodded excitedly. "We've studied captured Jaffa armor for years but we've never been able to duplicate it. The armor is made of some strange alloy combination and utilizes a construction process we don't understand completely. If Daniel's right and what we've captured is a forge for creating smart armor…well, let's just say we could do some pretty neat things with it."

Instead of smiling, O'Neill's face became dark. "I don't suppose the SGC has anything in their tech stash that resembles it."

Confused, Carter shook her head. "Not that I know of. We get to study everything first and then turn it over to Scientific Support at the SGC later, when it's deemed safe. They do all the reverse engineering there. Why do you ask?"

They stopped as they came to the double doors to the briefing room. The murmur of voices coming through clearly from inside. O'Neill turned to look at his 2IC. "After this meeting, I want you wring every bit of information you can get from that 'forge' thing, put it along with everything else you think is important to the war effort…no, in fact, I want the both of you to get absolutely every bit of information Spearhead has collected, examined and analyzed over the last year and then transmit it back to Earth using the long-range communication device."

Still not sure where he was heading with this, they nodded acceptance anyway.

O'Neill gave a slight grin, his features lightening up slightly. "Look, Spearhead might not survive the next week and it we've overlooked the fact that we have some important data stored here. I've locked down the 'Gate so we can't send the captured technology back to Earth but what we can do is send what data we have and bury the important stuff somewhere safe, say near the 'Beach', where Apophis's boys won't find it. Hopefully, we might be able to retrieve it one day."

Carter and Daniel nodded in understanding. "It'll take a while, but we'll get it done, Jack." Daniel finished.

"Good, now let's get this show on the road. We kept everybody waiting long enough." O'Neill pushed open the doors and walked into the briefing room. The officers of Spearhead all stood to attention as the General walked in. O'Neill casually waved them down and then proceeded to sit at the head of the long table that had little control pads inset into the tabletop in front and to the side of each person. The briefing room itself was windowless but on each of the four walls hung a video screen show various tactical data and readiness reports on the war.

Carter and Daniel sat in the two empty chairs on his immediate right. On the same side, along the table sat Rath and Emmis, the Tok'ra liaisons as well as Teal'c and Master Sergeant Booth who commanded the regular defense forces of Spearhead. Opposite them sat Colonel Lewis and Major Ranjeer of SG-Alpha, Colonel Grant and Major Thorn of SG-Beta and Sergeant Jenkins, of the Spearhead Command and Control Center.

O'Neill looked around the table, at the faces of his fellow soldiers and wondered how many would still be alive after the assault. "Okay, let's get started. I suppose you've been wondering why SG-Gamma hasn't joined here at Spearhead before we locked down the Gate. Their going to use this opportunity to strike at a few key Goa'uld facilities while their attention is focused on us."

Colonel Lewis frowned faintly. "All things being even, General, I'd still rather have SG-Gamma here."

Colonel Grant leaned forward, sending a calculating look at O'Neill. "It's not just about guns, Amanda. If Spearhead is wiped out to the last man, we really shouldn't put all of our eggs in one basket. Leaving Gamma out of this means preserving a large, experienced portion of our forces with which to start anew, somewhere else in the Galaxy."

O'Neill nodded. "Grant's right, plus the opportunity of striking at these facilities is too good to pass up on. Anyhow, Gamma isn't joining us so we have to work with what we've got."

Master Sgt Booth cleared his throat. "Colonel, me and my boys have come up with something to help us out with the manpower situation."

"Go ahead, Master Sgt…" O'Neill acknowledged.

The thickly built, twenty-two year Marine veteran pressed a button on the tabletop control pad next to him. The various video displays blanked out and then started showing a rotating wire-frame schematic of a tripod construction built around a machine gun. "This, sir, is an automated sentry machine gun. It's something the Corp looked at a couple of years back but it was dropped because it was deemed too impractical." He gave a slight shrug. "Why have a one-job robot when you can put a multi-talented Marine on guard instead? That being said, the technology seems ideal for our situation. I had my crews start work and they're cranking out as many of these babies as possible, I figure we'll have around forty or so completed with the equipment we have in Supplies." He nodded once at Colonel Carter with an almost undetectable grin. "The geeks over in Science support have rigged up some infrared and motion sensors for the guns so all we do is set them up and let them blow away any Jaffa that so much peeks a head round a corner."

O'Neill had to fight to control his laughter after he watched Sam's face twist up in annoyance at the 'geek' comment. Amusement aside, the guns were a great idea. "Great job, Master Sergeant, you got two days to get 'em up and ready."

He looked round at everyone before pressing a button on his own control pad. The sentry gun schematic disappeared and in its place was a map of the immediate area around the Stargate and the Spearhead complex. "Okay, here it is…we'll keep it simple. Two main lines of defense, one at the Gate facility and one around the Spearhead compound. We'll use the sentry cannons inside the facility as well as supporting the defensive ridge that surrounds the facility itself."

Some nodded as they all thought about large wall built around the Gate facility. It was built especially for this purpose. The Jaffa would flood through the Stargate and, although being slowed down by the sentry guns, the tide of soldiers will come charging out of the facility and crash into the ridge and a solid line of guns.

"Elements of SG-Beta will man that ridge, Tom…" O'Neill continued, addressing Colonel Grant. "Just don't get too attached to the place. Pour on the fire and thin their numbers as much as possible but when they focus their attacks and you start taking casualties, pull back. We'll need every soldier manning the line here. Once you pull back to waypoint Charlie, we'll commence a mortar bombardment. It'll keep 'em as disorganized as they prepare to attack us."

He pointed to waypoint Charlie on the map. "Hold position here until I give the word. I want to lure as much of their force in along the perimeter as possible and then, when their too busy focusing on us, you come charging in from behind. You'll be the hammer to Spearhead's anvil. Punch your way through the enemy line and rejoin the defense perimeter, ready for their next attack."

Colonel Grant nodded. It was a lot to ask his troops to do but his was confident they'd accomplish the mission.

Colonel Lewis looked at Teal'c. "What kind of weaponry will we be facing? Any surprises to expect?" She asked.

Teal'c bowed his head in agreement. "They will most likely bring heavy cannons and defensive shields, as well."

Colonel Grant grimaced. Goa'uld shields were almost always bad news. "Why do they need a shield anyway? They can't fire through one…"

"Once the Jaffa fight their way out of the Facility and clear the defensive ridge of troops, they will wait while they bring the rest of their force through and then form up and march towards Spearhead. During such marches they would be most vulnerable to air attacks. Hence, the shields."

Lewis looked at 'Neill with disgust. "That means a mortar barrage will be ineffective."

O'Neill nodded, his mind already whirling, trying figure out a countermeasure to the shields. He was distracted when he noticed Colonel Grant and Major Thorn whispering to each other. O'Neill looked at them both quizzically. "Care to share with the rest of the class, Colonel?" He asked.

Major Thorn stopped whispering with a slightly guilty look as Colonel Grant cleared his throat and tried to stifle a small grin. "Yes, sir. I believe that we have the answer to the formation shields, sir. Major Thorn has just reminded me that in the supplies we brought from Earth, we managed to procure some late-model PMN's before they were decommissioned and destroyed as per the treaty regulations."

Rath and Emmis, quiet up to this point, both shifted uncomfortably in their seats, not understanding the small smiles of relief and anticipation appearing on everyone's faces after Colonel Grant's announcement. Rath turned to his right and saw that in contrast, Daniel had an expression of reluctance on his face. He opened his mouth to ask Daniel what PMN's were when O'Neill coughed to gain everyone's attention and resumed speaking.

"Okay, we'll send 'em a mortar barrage just before we hit 'em with the PMN's. With any luck, we'll do some serious damage because at that point, they'll be ready to hit Spearhead and all our fancy tactics and countermoves get thrown out the window. It's going to come down to who can kill the most the fastest."

As he spoke, everyone sobered up at the thought of wave after wave of Jaffa crashing upon the defenses of Spearhead. In these situations, the defenders always had the advantage of being able to stand up to a numerically superior foe…for a short while. No one needed to say it but the similarities to the Alamo or the Seventh Cavalry were to close for comfort. Hopefully, they'd fare better than Colonel Travis or General Custer did.

"Okay, the plans pretty simple and you all know what needs to be done. When you go back to your troops, you tell 'em that if we hold this line now, we'll hold it forever. This is exam day for Spearhead. We've proven to everyone we can fight as an offensive force. If we can defend our own here and now, the President won't hesitate to expand our operations even further. We have to prove…no, wait, that's wrong, I know we can do it. We simply have to show the Goa'uld that we can. Dismissed."

Chapter 3

The Longest Day

On Sohag, the sun was beginning to rise over the mountains, cast long shadows throughout the fortress city of Apophis. Three figures stood near to a round pedestal that the Tau'ri call a DHD. The slender figure of Bast was in stark contrast to the towering bulk of Hek'at, First Prime to Apophis. As they stood silently, the third figure, one of Bast's Goa'uld scientists stepped forward and began to dial the address for Spearhead.

Although they tested the Spearhead address every two hours, for the first test of every morning for the past week, Bast and Hek'at both made sure they were present. It had become almost a ritual and in fact, was another example of the fact that they were increasingly found in each other's company. Apophis had ordered them to work together and, although their differences are many, they seemed to have found kindred spirits in each other.

Neither speaking, the Stargate finished its dialing sequence and as the seventh chevron locked, instead of the silence that had greeted them for the past five mornings, the Stargate exploded into life.

Hek'at's head whipped round to look at Bast in excitement. She had raised her palm in a silent gesture to calm himself. She nodded once to the other scientist and he quickly moved to the Stargate, pulling out a small silver sphere from beneath his robes. He stepped up to the event horizon and gently tossed the sphere in.

Bast pulled out a display tablet from under her own robes and watched the data from the probe come scrolling down the tablet's display. She looked up at Hek'at with a mixed expression of satisfaction and resignation. "The Chappa'ai is open at their end. As I predicted, no obstructions and no life signs in the immediate vicinity. He wants us to attack."

Nodding in apparent understanding, he started to walk back to the palace. "They have probably marshaled all their manpower in defensive perimeter outside the immediate area. We must inform Lord Apophis at once."

Bast placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "I'll inform Apophis, you go and see to your men. Assemble them and all their equipment here while we wait for Apophis to arrive. We shall waste as little time as possible."

Hek'at nodded. "As you wish."

* * * * * * * * * * *

A short time later, Apophis and his entourage of guards and attendants arrived at the Stargate. The sun, higher in the sky, it's rays gleaming of the red armor the Apophis had inherited from Sokar. His expression, Bast thought disgustedly, was one of triumph, as if the conquest was already complete and Spearhead was his.

She wiped all trace of true feelings from her face. "My Lord. We are ready to begin." She swept out her arm, displaying the ranks of Jaffa that stood ready to storm through the Stargate.

Apophis nodded absently as he moved past to stand in front of three huge, long, black cylinders of overlapping armor plates. Apophis studied one and then glanced at the Stargate. He turned to Bast and raised an eyebrow in question.

Bast smiled internally. He's not a complete fool, then. "A surprise, my Lord, for the Tau'ri. These should ensure our victory."

Apophis approved. Bast's surprises were always worth their weight in Naquada. "Hek'at, bring me O'Neill and SG-1 alive. Do you understand me?"

Hek'at pounded his right fist against his chest. "Completely, Lord Apophis. Spearhead will be yours before the sun sets."

Apophis nodded. "Then go. Take the blessings of your God with you."

Hek'at's eyes seemed to burn with a fire as he nodded once, sharply, and then turned towards his Jaffa army. "Jaffa, kree!" He shouted.

"JAFFA, APOPHIS!!!" The army roared in return, raising their staff weapons in the air as their voices were heard all over the fortress city. Hek'at nodded to one of the Jaffa Seconds. The Second nodded once in return and looked at his troops. "Kree!" He shouted and, simultaneously, the first one hundred Jaffa pressed a button on the collar of the armor, causing it to expand and grow into a helmet, covering each of their faces with the head of a snake. The Second barely had his helmet in place before he ran towards and into the Stargate. Hek'at watched in satisfaction as the rest of his men streamed in after him.

He felt Bast move next to him. "They're brave. Foolish but very brave." She stated, quietly.

Turning his head to look at her, he spoke softly, almost sadly. "It is our way." His face grew stern as he reflected on the hard work necessary to turn the Jaffa into a fighting force worthy of the Tau'ri. "But that will change."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

After they had finished preparations for their defense, O'Neill had given everybody a day of rest to prepare for the attack and then, this morning, had unlocked the Stargate.

O'Neill stood in the Command Center, wearing full combat gear. He intended to fight alongside the men and women it was his fortune to command. The Command Center was in a state of controlled chaos.

He was not disappointed as two hours and twenty-three minutes later, the Stargate engaged and exploded into life. Seconds later, a small, silver Goa'uld probe appeared. Its arrival heralded the beginning of the attack and readiness reports were requested and then flooded in from all sectors. The sentry cannons were engaged and armed. Everybody had loaded his or her weapons. Everybody was on the line. Even Daniel. Now they waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

O'Neill looked at the clock. Had it really only been five minutes since the Stargate engaged. It seemed more like an hour. He looked around the Command Center as, somewhere in the past five minutes, everyone had fallen silent and where all watching monitors of the Gate room and readouts on the wormhole.

"I've got fluctuations!" Sgt Jenkins voice echoed in the silence of the room. "Incoming traveler!"

The Command Center watched as a lone Jaffa charged out of the Stargate and was cut down by a hail of fire from the sentry cannons. Another Jaffa followed and he too was cut down but the third Jaffa arrived faster this time. Before the cannons could retarget, he had enough time to fire a shot from his staff. The shot went high and hit the far wall. The Jaffa was then torn apart from the cannon fire.

The next Jaffa came through, and another, and another, faster and faster they came. Each Jaffa managed to get one or two shots off before they were killed but in this manner, the inevitable struck. The twelfth Jaffa through managed to hit and destroy one of the sentry cannons as he was riddled with bullets. His accomplishment allowed the rate of Jaffa flowing into the Gate room to increase. The remaining cannons couldn't stem the flow, Jaffa continued to die as they exited the Stargate but one by one, the sentry cannons were all destroyed and silence fell.

Dead Jaffa strewn the approach ramp and the Jaffa began to push their bodies off to the side so that the rest of their forces could arrive unhindered. In less than five minutes, more than sixty Jaffa had arrived through the Gate untouched. Another Jaffa Second arrived from Sohag; this one wore the head of a cat, the signature armor of Bast. He quickly studied the Gate room. It was much larger that the Tau'ri facility on Earth but quite similar in appearance. On either side of the Stargate were large doors. He pointed to the doors on either side. "Jaffa, kree!"

Several Jaffa ran to either side of the Gate room and looked for the door controls. Everybody had studied Tau'ri technology and so they found what they were looking for within seconds. Both doors rose upwards to reveal four sentry cannons on either side. Surprised, the Jaffa hesitated, only for a moment but long enough for the cannons to open up, their streams of fire cutting down the Jaffa that had arrived unopposed and had gathered in front of the Stargate. Over fifty Jaffa were killed immediately. The Jaffa that continued to step out of the wormhole walked into a hailstorm of bullets and barely lasted long enough to comprehend what had happened.

The Jaffa that had opened the doors had survived by being outside of the line of fire. Before the guns on the opposite sides could target them, they moved along the edge of the wall and put a single staff blast into each cannon, destroying them completely.

Back in the Command Center, General O'Neill studied the video displays and was cheered by the way the sentry cannons were working out. They had killed over a hundred Jaffa for the loss of twelve sentry cannons. This was only the beginning though. The entire Command Center watched as camera after camera was destroyed as the Jaffa spread throughout the facility. They must be coming through the Gate at quite a pace now. "Is the defense ridge getting these video feeds okay?"

Sgt Jenkins turned and nodded. "Everybody is. It's being routed through their tactical comm units. We're getting no jamming at all."

O'Neill nodded. Its what they were training to expect from an enemy back on Earth but nobody had really expected the Jaffa to try and jam their communications.

Within minutes, the last video feed was cut off. The invading force had completely secured the Gate Facility. The most optimistic Tok'ra projections on troop strength put the invading force at eleven hundred Jaffa. Worst-case scenario was almost three thousand. At 10 to 1 odds, he might as well pack up now and save everybody the time and effort.

He shook his head, mentally turning away from these dark scenarios, as Sgt Jenkins swung round in his chair. "General, the Jaffa have made it out of the Gate room and have cleared entire facility of sentry cannons."

Colonel Lewis appeared at his side, whistling in respect. "They move fast." She commented.

Sgt Jenkins agreed. "Yes, ma'am, but they're taking the losses to prove it. They've removed the sentry cannons but counts put their losses at almost two hundred."

"Impressive, Sergeant. Remind me to buy Master Sergeant Booth a beer when we get back to Earth."

Jenkins smiled. "I think his idea rates an entire distillery…ma'am." He quipped.

O'Neill nodded. "That it does, Sergeant." He moved up next to the head of the Command Center staff. "Switch our monitors to the feed from the ridge."

"Aye, sir." Jenkins replied, and then he pointed to two other technicians. Seconds later, the static on the monitors was replaced by a panoramic view, from several different angles, of the Gate Facility, as viewed from SG-Beta's position on the ridge.

As they watched the radio crackled and Colonel Grant's voice could be heard. "Heads up, people! Here they come!"

Jaffa stormed out of the exits of the Facility and the troops and remaining sentry cannons manning the ridge opened fire. Jaffa fell by the dozens. Before they regrouped and fell back into cover, inside the Facility.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hek'at stepped out of the Stargate, flanked by several of his elite troopers. The Jaffa Second belonging to Bast was standing at the end of the exit ramp, waiting for him. As he approached the Second, the cat-shaped helmet armor retracted into the collar and revealed a fairly young face that was offset by the large scar running down the left side of his face. The Second assumed a position of respect.

"First Prime, we have captured the entire facility but it appears to be less substantial than the one on Earth."

Hek'at felt confused as considered the Second's report. "Not unexpected, this is a relatively new base. What is the status of the Tau'ri defenders?"

The Second stiffened slightly. "We didn't encounter any Tau'ri until we attempted to leave the facility. They have erected a defensive wall outside this building. We were cut down before we could establish an effective offensive strike. We are setting up the heavy weapons now to support our second attempt."

"Excellent." Hek'at replied, pleased at the initiative evident in this Second. Bast trained her Jaffa well.

* * * * * * * * * *

Colonel Grant wanted to swipe at the trail of sweat that he could feel working it's way down his neck but he dare not take his attention from the building in front of him. After wiping out the first attacking charge, they had quickly reloaded and were waiting for the Jaffa to make another attempt. It was not long in coming. A cheer rose up from inside the Gate facility and then Jaffa began to swarm out.

Grant was about to give the order to open fire when the walls of the Gate Facility facing the defensive line exploded outward, spraying the ridge with metal and concrete fragments. Everybody manning the ridge ducked reflexively as the shrapnel flew over the ridge. When Grant pulled himself back into position, the Jaffa were much closer. Frantically, one by one, the defenders along the ridge began to shoot at the mass of Jaffa that had risen up and threatened to overrun their position. Suddenly, a soldier came skidding up beside him. It was his 2IC, Major Thorn.

"Colonel, we got several people hit with shrapnel, nothing serious…Lieutenant Hicks took a staff blast on his head."

Grant flinched as a staff blast hit close to his position. He looked back at the Major. "Is he alright?" Daft question, he realized belatedly.

Surprisingly, Major Thorn smiled. "He will be. The blast glanced off his helmet. Damn near broke it in two and flash-burned his face pretty good. He'll have a headache and a nice tan but he'll live." He looked past the Colonel at the charging Jaffa and fired off a burst at a trio of Jaffa that were heading towards their position. "How long are we gonna hold this ridge, sir?"

"We're doing pretty good so far, Major…" The Colonel replied, coughing slightly.

The mix of smoke, dust and gunpowder was beginning to make Grant's throat sore and eyes water. They were all firing on full auto now, the field of view thick with targets. He ducked down behind cover again as he reloaded his weapon. So far, they had killed a large number of Jaffa with only a few minor casualties of their own. That thought buoyed his spirits when, without warning, twenty meters to his right, wall exploded in a fountain of flame and dirt, sending a dozen of his troops flying through the air.

Another explosion, to his left this time, and then another right at the other end of the line. He scrambled back to the top of the ridge and looked out, trying to see what was happening. His radio crackled. "zzzz…Copper-six to Beta-Six…we just lost Gold-Six and her entire squad…we're taking hits…zzzzz...heavy guns, sir!"

Grant looked out into the clearing dust and smoke and saw that the walls that had exploded outwards had revealed several of those heavy cannons they use as mobile artillery. They were blasting huge holes in his defensive line.

Major Thorn swore. "Time to go, sir!"

He nodded and grabbed his radio. "Fall back…all units, fall back. Get to your transports and double-time it back to waypoint Charlie. And remember to use the safe lanes! Beta-Six out."

The troops of SG-Beta pulled back from the ridge. Picking up their fallen comrades, they ran to the waiting transports. Over a dozen small 4x4 quad bikes, towing long trailers, acted as troops transports. The sixty men and woman climbed on board the trailers and they sped off, away from the ridge and heading towards waypoint Charlie. As Grant caught his breath, a shadow flitted across the ground, catching his attention. He looked up in the blue sky, squinting from the sunlight. He thought he could make out a plane. "…Or a UAV." He realized softly.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The air conditioning was having a hard time trying to keep the Command Center cool. The press of too many bodies trying to watch a handful of monitors was not helping the situation either. The monitors showed the view from the UAV Colonel Carter had launched several minutes ago.

O'Neill watched as the side of the Gate Facility blew open, disgorging a huge mass of Jaffa. Rank after rank of Jaffa, were brought down by the fire coming from SG-Beta but they were paying a price. For every five or six Jaffa they killed, one of their soldiers would go down and the Goa'uld had more troops available. He hoped he wouldn't regret not bring in SG-Gamma to help defend Spearhead.

Someone gasped as a big, yellow bolt of energy flew out from the Facility and slammed into the ridge, sending of fountain of dirt and men into the air. They couldn't see from the angle the UAV was at but O'Neill guessed they had some of those big cannons and that they were going to methodically demolish the ridge.

He bit his lip, absently, in frustration when suddenly the radio chatter was overridden by a signal from Colonel Grant. "Fall back…all units, fall back. Get to your transports and double-time it back to waypoint Charlie. And remember to use the safe lanes! Beta-Six out."

O'Neill nodded. The Colonel had made the right call. His position had become untenable. They all watched as the troops of SG-Beta ran back to their transports and in a cloud of dust, rode away from the battle before the Jaffa could clear the ridge.

Colonel Lewis picked up her P-90 and put her helmet on her head. "I'll be off now, sir. Better get everyone primed for the big attack."

"Good luck, Colonel." The General offered.

Lewis smiled. "Better than the other kind, sir." Then she turned and left the Command Center, the several members of her squad that had filtered down to the Command Center trailed in her wake.

Sgt Jenkins spoke up. "Sir, the Jaffa are up to something…"

O'Neill turned to the Sergeant and the monitors. "Specifics?"

Jenkins gave an almost mental shrug. "No idea, sir. They appear to be dismantling the rest of the Gate facility."

The UAV feed clearly showed that the Jaffa were blast the support struts and connections of the pre-fab structure and were tearing it down with brute strength. Within minutes, they had destroyed the concrete and metal base with concentrated staff blasts and pulled down the roof and the entire section that surrounded the Stargate. They had left alone the adjoining barracks and medical facilities.

"They seem to want to expose the Stargate for some reason." O'Neill surmised.

Sgt Jenkins agreed. "Yes, sir. They could be bringing something through…" The words had barely left his lips when his console started beeping. "Sir, I getting strange readings…yep, something's coming through the 'Gate and it's big!"

O'Neill looked at the monitor and his jaw dropped slightly. "What the…"

The event horizon of the Stargate rippled violently and then seemed to disappear as a cylindrical object, practically the diameter of the Stargate, appeared and extended out from the Stargate. Several Jaffa ran up to the front of the cylinder and helped guide it down the ramp as it continued to extrude from the Stargate.

"How long is that thing?" Someone asked, breathlessly. It had been several minutes since it first appeared and it was still coming, albeit, fairly slowly. Suddenly, it ended and four Jaffa appeared, pushing the cylinder from the other end.

Sgt Jenkins studied the UAV feed. "It's almost 100 meters long, sir."

Colonel Carter, in full combat gear, came jogging into the Command Center. "What the hell is that thing?"

O'Neill shrugged. "I was gonna ask you the same thing."

Carter pulled up a chair at the station next to Sgt Jenkins and began to access the computer, bringing up the sensor data from the UAV. "It's got an internal power source and multiple heat signatures I think could be weapons. It could…"

Whatever she was about to say suddenly became moot as a thin blue light streaked along the sides of the cylinder and the top half lifted up a hands width, steam jetting out from various ports along the side. The read end of the top half, swung upwards from the hinge at the front. As it reached a 90-degree angle it stopped, revealing masses of machinery and armor plating inside. The internal machinery seemed to blossom outwards, twisting and folding into what quickly became three huge armored legs on either side of the cylinder. After legs had folded outwards, a thick tail with what was obviously a large cannon on the tip, rose up from the rear end as the top half of the cylinder came swinging slowly downwards again. As the two halves merged once more, the six legs pushed downwards and lifted the entire machine off the floor. The armor plating on the top half began to slide backwards, revealing a cockpit head at the front with two cannons slung underneath and arms the slid out with cannons in the place of claws.

In less than two minutes, a massive cylinder had transformed itself into a monstrous scorpion. The Command Center was deathly silent.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hek'at was incredibly pleased when the third and final Pra'kesh came through the Stargate and transformed itself from its transit mode to the fearsome shape of the scorpion.

Bast had taken the original design of the combat vehicle from the System Lord De'sai and had modified it so that it could be transported through a Chappa'ai. All in all, an exceptional piece of work that would improve the odds of success immeasurably.

The Jaffa Second appeared at his side. "First Prime, the Pra'kesh are ready. Our advance scouts have also reported that they have located the main base of the Tau'ri, some distance beyond the ridge. We only await the rest of the force to come through the Chappa'ai and we shall begin our assault."

Hek'at scowled slightly. "No. We have sufficient numbers to advance now. The rest can follow on as they arrive. Load your men onto the Pra'kesh and form up for the march to Spearhead."

"As you command, First Prime." The Second replied.

The Jaffa began to form up into squads for the march towards Spearhead. Almost eight hundred of them lined up into ranks around the three large scorpions which themselves, contained over fifty Jaffa each. Hek'at climbed onto the back of the lead Pra'kesh and stood tall, surveying his massive army, ready for battle.

"JAFFA, KREE!" He shouted.

The Jaffa replied in a single voice, "JAFFA APOPHIS!" as they began to march forward.

The ranks of men marched forward, feet pounding in a rhythm set by the monstrous stomping of the scorpion transports. They began to kick up a massive dust trail and even as they began to march away from the Stargate, Jaffa continued to stream out of the wormhole.

* * * * * * * * * *

Back at Spearhead, everybody was scrambling to get as many heavy weapons ready as they could find. Nobody had thought to carry anti-tank missiles because nobody realized that they could transport heavy vehicles through a Stargate.

"How many Javelins do we have in the armory, Master Sergeant?" O'Neill asked as he strode into the armory, Teal'c in tow.

Booth shrugged, slightly annoyed with himself for not having foreseen this eventuality. "SG-Delta used up a good chunk up of our stocks last month taking out that fortress but we did get a small supply of them with the last shipment in from Earth. Too small." He sighed with resignation. "We've only got six launchers and eleven reloads. Seventeen shots in all."

O'Neill shook his head. "Not enough, Master Sergeant. These things are heavily armored and probably shielded. We've overloaded small shields before but even so, we needed a lot of shots before we can do it."

Teal'c had walked over to a weapons rack and had pulled his heavy cannon, the one they had salvaged from a crashed Death Glider. "O'Neill, perhaps you can use them as a diversion to allow me to get close enough to use my weapon."

O'Neill thought it over briefly and nodded. "Do it, gentlemen. I've got to get back to the Command Center."

As the General quickly left the armory, a platoon of troops from SG-Alpha entered, ready to grab bigger guns. Booth stepped forward smoothly, stopping them in their tracks. "Right, you guys just volunteered."

Lt Bannon turned to her left and looked at Sergeant Powell in confusion.

Sgt Powell simply shrugged.

Bannon scowled at his lack of support and turned back to Booth. "What did we just volunteer for, Master Sergeant?" She asked.

Booth pointed at Teal'c. "Teal'c here is going to take that over-sized cannon of his and attack those scorpion tanks from their flank. I want your squad to go with him and give him cover support."

Lt Bannon stared at him for a couple of seconds and then stood to attention. "You got it, Master Sergeant." She turned to Sgt Powell beside her. "Sergeant, triple everyone's ammo load. If we're going to go behind enemy lines, I want us prepared for it."

Teal'c nodded in satisfaction. "Master Sergeant, you will take care of the diversion?"

Booth turned to Teal'c cuffed him on the arm. "Diversion, like hell. I plan to take out those tanks on my own. If my attack creates an adequate diversion for your attack, then it's an added bonus."

Teal'c smiled slightly at the challenge implicit in the Master Sergeant's tone.

* * * * * * * * * *

O'Neill arrived back at the Command Center to find Daniel, Rath and Emmis there, watching the displays intently.

"Anything happen yet?" He asked.

Daniel shook his head, not taking his eyes off the screen. "You made it back in time though. The mortar barrage is just about to begin."

O'Neill nodded.

Sgt Jenkins studied the displays and as soon as the first rank of Jaffa stepped over the predetermined mark, he pressed a button on his radio. "All mortars, fire for effect!"

The crew of the three 81mm heavy mortar batteries started feeding mortar shells into the firing tubes. The THUNK of launching shells echoed throughout on the compound.

The shells arced high into the air and fell precisely towards the lead ranks of the Jaffa force. The Jaffa watched the shells fly straight towards them and then detonate as they hit a previously invisible azure blue shield. Explosion after explosion rippled across the shield, completely ineffective against the Jaffa hordes.

Back in the Command Center, Rath let loose a Tok'ra curse and spitted O'Neill with a glare. "Your weapons are no better than rocks against them, I do not see how you have achieved as much as you have with such useless technology."

O'Neill held up a hand to forestall his tirade and continued to watch the monitors. All of a sudden, dirt and flame blossomed up in the ranks of the Jaffa. Thinking the mortars had penetrated the shield, the Jaffa began to run forward faster and every few seconds, the ground would explode, killing a handful of Jaffa.

O'Neill calmly turned to the disbelieving Tok'ra and gave a superior grin. "We may not have your oh so advanced technology, Rath, but we know a thing or two about warfare." He swung an arm at the monitor feed from the UAV. "Those mortars are just a diversion, to distract the Jaffa from the fact their walking right into the PMN's."

Emmis stepped forward and placed a restraining hand on Rath's arm, trying to calm him down somewhat. "Yes, you mentioned them in the briefing, what are they?"

Daniel shook his head in disgust. "Land mines. Anti-personnel land mines. Banned on Earth by treaty for being too vicious and indiscriminate a weapon."

Emmis looked at Rath and then at O'Neill, still not understanding. O'Neill tried to explain. "The mines are high-explosives buried under the ground and set to detonate when someone, anyone, steps on them. They things are easy to use but damned hard to find. Back on Earth, civilians started dying due to forgotten minefields. We stated banning them from use. We thought they might come in handy against the Goa'uld."

Rath nodded in understanding. "We have nothing remotely like them."

Sgt Jenkins interrupted the conversation. "General. I think whoever's in charge just realized what he's facing. The Jaffa have halted their advance and are beginning to fire at the ground ahead, probing for mines."

O'Neill turned back to the displays. "He's smart. Hardly matters, they're practically through the minefield anyway. What are their losses?"

Jenkins consulted his computer tally. "Heavy. We counted at least two hundred or so dead. Most in the final push forward before they realized it wasn't mortars killing them.

"Not bad." O'Neill replied, in full General mode. This was his way of dealing with the horror of battle. Not to think about it until it's all over. So far, they had killed around four hundred Jaffa for the loss of thirty or so soldiers of SG-Beta.

He placed a hand on Sgt Jenkins' shoulder. "Send the word out, Sergeant…prepare for attack!"

* * * * * * * * * *

Hek'at stood on top of his Pra'kesh and pounded his fist into his leg in frustration. He had lost two cohorts of men before he realized that the Tau'ri had placed explosive devices under the ground. He had initially thought the Tau'ri had found a way to penetrate the shield and so ordered the charge to get out from under the artillery barrage. He had been wrong and he had simply drove his men to their deaths at the hands of these devious devices.

His Jaffa Second appeared below and hailed him. "First Prime, we appear to have clear the field of explosive devices. There is nothing between us and Tau'ri dogs."

Hek'at's angry features melted into a grin in anticipation. It would be a glorious battle. "Have the men form up into two prongs. The Pra'kesh will drive up the center and the infantry will strike from both flanks."

The Second nodded once and then moved off, giving orders to assemble his men.

Say what you want about the Jaffa, their maneuver drill is excellent. Within minutes, they had reformed and were marching forward to either side of the Spearhead complex. Everything was underscored by the constant thumping of the Pra'kesh, pounding their unstoppable advance.

The route from the Stargate to Spearhead was covered on either side by thick forests. His scouts had reported no obvious Tau'ri traps along the way and so the Jaffa used the tree line to cover their movements as the slowly surrounded the Spearhead complex on three sides.

Hek'at was impressed by the fire discipline of the Tau'ri soldiers. His men were maneuvering just inside their effective range, teasing them to waste ammunition and yet the guns remained silent. The other two scorpion tanks moved quickly to either side of Hek'at's Pra'kesh. They were ready to begin.

Hek'at pressed a glyph on his gauntlet and activated his radio. "JAFFA, KREE! HAK SHAR!" He ordered.

Along the tree line, the two Jaffa 'prongs' charged forward with a single roar, "JAFFA, APOPHIS!!"

The Tau'ri troops waited for several heartbeats and then opened fire as one. The front lines of Jaffa ran into an almost solid wall of metal. Firing from the hip, the Jaffa continued to rush forward, regardless of any injury or fallen comrade.

The Pra'kesh stomped forward and their tails begin to lean forward, seeking targets. Together they fired and three huge blasts flew forward and hit the ground in front of the Tau'ri defenses.

Plumes of smoke appeared along the edge of the Spearhead perimeter as the Javelin missiles began to fly out in response.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Master Sergeant Booth marched along the perimeter, glaring at the approaching mechanical scorpions, their tail guns glowing with suppressed energy. "Alright people, ready your weapons and pick your targets. Two launchers to each scorpion."

The missile crews lined up along the perimeter and sighted along the length of their launchers, placing the scorpions dead center in their sights.

General O'Neill voice came clearly over their radios. "All units…hold fire until I give the order."

Booth noticed several of the gun and missile crews nearby shift in barely suppressed tension. "Steady people. Machine gunners, wait for the General's word…missile crews, you wait for my signal."

A roar rose up and hordes of Jaffa began to rush out from the tree line and run straight towards them. Booth shook his head in disgust. "No subtlety."

Their radios clicked. "OPEN FIRE!!"

The rapid staccato bursts of the P-90's mixed in with the 'chutter' of the big M-60 machine guns. The leading Jaffa dropped like flies but the rest just kept on coming. They began to fire their staff weapons, the blasts kicking up dirt in and around the dug-in positions of the Alpha and remaining Beta troops. Colonel Grant and the other platoons of SG-Beta that had manned the defense ridge around the Stargate had not joined the rest of the perimeter around Spearhead like planned. Booth wasn't sure at all where they were.

Three massive explosions rocked the front positions as the blasts from the scorpions fell short. Booth ignored the mystery of Colonel Grant and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, those scorpions have a fairly short range. Let's see if we can keep 'em at arms length. Missile crews, fire at will!"

He ducked slightly as the immediate area suddenly filled with smoke as the six missile crews fired their Javelin missiles. The missiles flew out and spread out in three directions, towards each of the scorpions. The scorpions suddenly disappeared under the blue crystalline effect of a force shield as five explosions racked the three tanks.

"Shit!" One of the missile teams swore a constant stream of vulgarity as they reloaded their launcher. Their first shot had missed.

Booth moved over to them and jumped into their pit. "Okay, you boys missed that one. What happened and how do you intend to fix it?"

The youthful Second Lieutenant holding the launcher looked thoroughly disgusted with himself. A staff blast hit nearby causing them all flinch as the 2LT turned to the Master Sergeant. "I frigging twitched at the last minute as a staff blast almost took my head off."

Booth nodded sagely. "Well, that would definitely be a bad thing. You think you can hit it a second time?"

The 2LT stiffened. "Your damned right I will…Master Sergeant."

Booth bounced his fist of the 2LT's helmet and grinned. He climbed out of their pit and moved along the perimeter. He could hear Colonel Lewis shouting into her radio nearby.

"No, I realize you don't have the range preset but that force shield is down and I want you to put some mortar rounds into those advancing Jaffa and I want you to do it now! Guess the goddamn range, for pities sake!" She snarled at the radio and then fired a long burst at the Jaffa to try and work out some of her stress.

Booth moved away from the Colonel and jumped into an unoccupied trench on the perimeter. Looking out over the front, he could see the waves of Javelin missiles continue to crash into the front of the scorpions, steadily draining their shield power. Unfortunately, they'd run out of missiles before the scorpions ran out of power.

* * * * * * * * * *

2nd Platoon, along with Teal'c, had prepared a camouflaged bunker inside the tree line, along the route between the Gate and Spearhead. For the pass ten minutes, they had watched the Jaffa hordes pass them by. The three scorpion tanks were almost parallel to them now and Teal'c was getting ready to open fire. Explosions suddenly obscured the front of the scorpions as the first wave of Javelin missiles impacted on the shields.

Lt Bannon pulled back from her view slit and turned towards Teal'c. "Fire when ready. Everyone else, get ready to defend this position!"

Teal'c nodded slightly as looked round the small bunker and found a slit pointing in the right direction. He hefted the cannon up on his shoulder and poked the end of the barrel through the slit. Sgt Powell came around one side and help Teal'c support it as he tried to aim with limited success at the nearest scorpion.

"Fire in the hole." He said calmly, and started firing.

Blast after blast flew out from the camouflaged bunker and impacted into the rear shields of the nearest scorpion. As each blast hit, concentric circles of energy spread out from the point of impact and rippled across the surface of the shield.

Moments later, three Javelin missiles smashed into the shields of the same scorpion, this being enough the bring the shield down enough so that Teal'c's weapon blasts began to hit the naked armor of the scorpions. Armor plates melted and ran as Teal'c concentrated on the base of the tail. The gun on the tip faltered in it's firing and then suddenly exploded, the explosion rippled down the length of the tail and blew the ass end off along with the rearmost legs. Jaffa began to stream out of open hatches; some of the Jaffa were on fire and began rolling on the ground in an effort to douse the flames. The massive scorpion halted in it tracks and it remaining four legs gave out and the entire thing simply collapsed in place.

* * * * * * * * * *

Hek'at, still stood on the back of the center Pra'kesh, laughed as the Tau'ri missiles began to rain, ineffectively, against his shields. It was nice to see something going right for a change. The massive tail cannons of the Pra'kesh were tearing a hole in the front positions of the Spearhead complex. With the Jaffa charging in from both flanks, most of their defensive positions were busy beating back the tide and being unable to concentrate their fire upon the Pra'kesh. The missile positions were a threat to be sure, but only in the long term, they needed to fire a lot more of their missiles before the shield gave way and by then, it would be too late. He would be upon their positions momentarily.

The crackling of energy to his right caught his attention. He turned to see the other Pra'kesh's shields aglow with energy, circles of energy rippling across the shield sphere. The Pra'kesh obscured his view and so he couldn't see what was causing this but it seemed fairly obvious. The Tau'ri was counter-attacking his flank.

He brought his arm up in a protective gesture as the shields on the other Pra'kesh crackled and disappeared, the tail cannon exploding in a blinding flash, sending a cascade reaction down the length of its tail and blowing the rear half of the vehicle apart.

As the destroyed Pra'kesh collapsed and burned, his and the other Pra'kesh continue to move inexorably forward, still destroying Tau'ri positions with every shot. They were beginning to open a hole in the Tau'ri lines.

He flinched violently as the shields on his vehicle rang almost like a bell as cannon blasts began to smash into them. He could see now that they came from the base of a small knoll that was quite obviously a camouflaged bunker.

Hek'at turned to face the Jaffa that were near his Pra'kesh, firing the heavy cannon 'artillery' pieces. He waved once to catch the attention of one of the Seconds leading that cohort Jaffa. The Second looked up almost immediately.

Swinging his arm up, Hek'at pointed at the bunker that was firing heavy cannon blasts. "Jaffa, kree!" He ordered.

Several Jaffa stayed behind to man the cannons but the rest grabbed their staff weapons and charged forward towards the bunker. Teal'c ignored the Jaffa and continued to pour fire into the middle scorpion. They were doing the most damage to the Spearhead forces and had to be removed from the fight as soon as possible.

As the Jaffa came into range, Lt Bannon and 2nd Platoon opened fire simultaneously. The volley cut down the Jaffa like so much wheat yet they continued to charge. Several Jaffa sought cover and began to fire staff blasts at the bunker, kicking up small explosions all around it. It caused little damage, however. The bunker was covered with a least a meters worth of soil on all sides. The only weak spots were the firing slits.

Several cohorts of Jaffa were running up the trail from the Stargate and saw the pinned down by the fire from the small bunker. The Jaffa Second in charge led his men into the forest and moved up on the rear of the bunker.

Sgt Powell and several of the soldiers in 2nd Platoon saw the movement and opened fire.

Within minutes, the bunker was besieged on all sides.

Hek'at watched the Jaffa return fire and cursed softly, the bunker was too well protected for an immediate victory. The Pra'kesh upon which he rode shuddered slightly as several missiles impacted against the front shields again and Hek'at realized that the shield wouldn't hold out much longer, not with the damned energy blasts coming from that bunker. As if to underscore that realization, small holes began to appear in the shield and allowed one of the energy blasts through, hitting one of the legs and causing the Pra'kesh to falter in its movement forward.

He realized that this Pra'kesh was doomed as well and decided to get himself as far away as possible before the damn thing blew up. The ran up to the left edge of the Pra'kesh, to a point between the two front left legs, and jumped, hitting the ground and rolling forward to a crouch. Another missile seemed to fly over his head and hit the Pra'kesh right in the head, where the pilot sat. The head exploded in a ball of flame send chunks of armor everywhere. The scorpion collapsed in a similar fashion to the first one, its tail intact but lying lifeless on the ground

Hek'at ran forward towards on overturned Tau'ri vehicle. Several Jaffa were using it for cover as the remaining Pra'kesh continued to move forward. The Pra'kesh was now out of range of the bunker and was systematically killing the Tau'ri fighters. He skidded up beside them in a cloud of dust. One of the Jaffa recognized him and eyes widened slightly as he spoke. "First Prime! What are you doing at the front, it is not safe!"

"Safe!" Hek'at roared. "Safe is for Tau'ri dogs who hide behind armor plating and fixed defenses!" He looked around and saw a dead Jaffa lying nearby, his staff weapon beside him. He leaned out, retrieved the staff and turned back to the handful of Jaffa looking at him.

"Come, my loyal Jaffa! The Pra'kesh have opened a hole in the Tau'ri lines. Let us advance and see what fate will provide!"

He stood up, tall and proud, almost daring the staff blasts and bullets that sprayed in all directions to hit him. Despite the losses so far, he could smell victory in the air.

"JAFFA, APOPHIS!" He shouted and charged forward into the buckled Tau'ri defenses.

Chapter 4

Click your heels three times…

O'Neill was leaned out from behind the shattered barracks building and fired his P-90, dropping three Jaffa that were trying to sneak up on his position. The barracks had taken several direct hits from the heavy cannon artillery and not much was left standing, including the two soldiers assigned to protect him. The overall situation was starting to look grim. His mortars and missile teams had few remaining and those that did have ammo were firing sporadically. Teal'c and 2nd Platoon were apparently pinned down and although O'Neill had ordered Colonel Grant to attack, there had been no sight of him since he had left waypoint Charlie. The Jaffa seemed had them all nailed down pretty good. On the plus side, they had managed to destroy two out of three of those huge scorpions but the remaining one was slaughtering them all, one by one.

Right now, he had a huge gap in his defensive perimeter and almost no troops with which to fill it, on top of which, there seemed o be a never-ending stream of Jaffa coming through the Stargate.

He looked out across the war zone and heard a cheer rise up. A massive Jaffa was leading charge right into the gap in the perimeter. Without a second thought, O'Neill ran forward alone, pulling his empty clip from his P-90 and replacing it with a fresh one. He headed for the gap and dived into an empty trench. As he hit the bottom, he realized it wasn't quite so empty. One of his troopers was lying dead beside him. O'Neill gritted his teeth in anger. It was Lt Daniels from SG-Alpha. The kid had a wife and son back home and was in the process of restoring a '69 Mustang. He liked to play poker and loved watching the Three Stooges.

All these thoughts flashed through O'Neill's mind in less than a second, his face darkening as he pulling the bolt on his P-90 and aimed out over the lip of the trench at the oncoming Jaffa. They were out of range but closing fast. He gripped his weapon tighter as several staff blasts flew over his head. "Just a little closer…"

Smoke had started to drift across the battlefield and blocked his view of the rest of the area. It was as if this moment was being focused between him and the Jaffa charging towards him, as though nothing else existed.

The Jaffa were close now. Almost upon him, he sighted his P-90 upon the massive Jaffa leading the charge.

O'Neill could hear nothing except the beating of his heart and the blood pounding through his ears.

In range, he placed his finger on the trigger and focused on his target's face.

The face was filled with the flush of battle and O'Neill watched as it changed to a look of shock.

He smiled grimly and began to tighten his finger when the leading Jaffa suddenly and without warning dived into a trench.

Swearing to himself, O'Neill pulled the trigger and the entire line of Jaffa exploded in sparks and blood.

Slightly shocked, he stopped firing but the Jaffa continued to die in a hail of bullets. Whipping round, he saw a bunch of soldiers slowly walking out of the smoke, P-90's tucked in to their shoulders, firing short, sharp bursts of fire at the Jaffa.

Within seconds, they had stopped the charge completely. The surviving Jaffa had pulled back, no doubt to regroup for another assault.

The soldiers, almost twenty in all, spread out in small groups and jumped into the trenches filling the gap in the perimeter. Three soldiers ran up to O'Neill and jumped in beside him.

O'Neill grinned in recognition. "Carter, Daniel…Sgt Jenkins, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Carter gave him a brilliant smile that seemed both out of place and perfect on the battlefield. "We noticed you were going to try and stop that charge all on your own and we thought we'd come and give you a hand."

Sgt Jenkins handed the General a pack of P-90 ammo clips. "I figured I needed some fresh air after being cooped up in the office all day…"

Daniel gave a resigned shrug. "We were falling back anyway. The last scorpion was about to overrun our position so we skedaddled out of there."

O'Neill nodded. "Any ideas on how to finish off that thing?"

Carter looked up over the lip of the trench as the firing began to pick up again. The Jaffa were making another charge. "Master Sergeant Booth said he was going to take care of it."

* * * * * * * * * *

Booth grunted as he rolled away from the collapsed wall he was using for cover exploded. The remaining scorpion was stomping along the perimeter, methodically blasting at the defensive positions along the way.

His missile teams had finally run out of ammo and Teal'c was too far away to take the damn thing out. He was going to have to take it out himself and to do that he had to get creative.

He rose up from his crouch and ran towards a nearby equipment storage shed. Several SG-Alpha troopers were using it as a makeshift bunker. Fire poured out from the shed in several directions. Unfortunately, the scorpion had noticed it as well and was turning to engage.

As he approached the shed, the door swung open and a Major leaned out, firing an M-60 from the hip and dropping several Jaffa that had emerged from the smoke behind Booth. "Y'all best get inside, Master Sergeant. It ain't all that healthy out here…" The Major drawled.

Booth dived into the shed and heard the door slam behind him. The Major immediately moved to the closest window and began firing once more, the steady 'chutta' of the weapon mixing in with the tinkle of empty shells falling on the floor. Booth looked around and counted six soldiers, including the Major, at various windows around the shed almost ankle deep in shell casings, smoke from the continuous weapons fire swirling round the room. This equipment shed apparently stored lots of ammo, grenades and explosives, for a handful of ammo crates in the center of the shed were open and almost empty in sharp contrast to the far side of the shed where the entire wall and ammo crates stacked six feet high and three feet deep.

Booth was about to pick up grenade launcher when he spied several satchel explosives. Inspiration hit almost immediately. He grabbed two of the explosive packs and then looked up at the soldiers. "You boys might want to think about taking this party elsewhere. That scorpion is heading this way and I imagine that this shed will go up in a pretty big bang."

The Major stopped firing and glanced at the rest of the soldiers. They all turned and started grabbing as much ammo and grenades as they could carry.

Booth smiled briefly and then left them to it. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by the 'zing' and 'whop' of bullets and staff blasts flying left, right and center. Grimacing slightly, he spotted the scorpion heading this way and ran towards it. He spotted a small trench in its path and skidded into it, slightly pleased to find it unoccupied by a Jaffa since he carried no weapon except for his two satchel packs.

The scorpion fired its tail cannon, the sound of it incredibly loud to Booth, the blast flying over the top of his trench. The ground seemed to rumble and a pressure wave from a massive explosion, passed over him. He guessed that the equipment shed had just been hit. "I hope those guys got out…" He mumbled under his breath.

The ground started to pound in a steady rhythm. The scorpion was getting close to his trench he guessed when suddenly, his entire body tingled with a mild electrical charge. He raised his head slightly and swore as the massive vehicle blocked out the sun, its legs pounding into the ground not six feet away from his trench. "I guess I'm inside its shields…" He said, smiling grimly at his correct guesswork. He took a deep breath pulled the arming cord on each of the satchel charges.

Rising up from the trench, he lobbed the first charge into the neck joint behind the pilot. The Jaffa at the controls saw the movement out of the corner of his eyes and turned his head in time to see the satchel fly into the joint. He didn't need to be a Tau'ri soldier to realize what it was. He attempted to swivel the chin cannons around but Booth had already thrown the other satchel into the shoulder joint and dived back into the trench.

The Jaffa opened his mouth to say a prayer to his god Apophis but the world suddenly turned white…

* * * * * * * * * *

Hek'at swore as watched the head and the shoulder on the Pra'kesh exploded, shattering the scorpion vehicle and sending bits of wrecked machinery flying across the battlefield. He turned and faced the mass of Jaffa behind him. The last attack had almost broken through the Tau'ri lines, because as far as he could tell, they had used up all of their reserves. This final attack should break them. He hoped so because his losses today had been murderous and if it wasn't for the Pra'kesh, he didn't think he would have got as far as he has.

He had gathered almost two hundred Jaffa from the surrounding area and some of the Jaffa that were still filtering in from the Stargate. Some of them were in poor shape, injured with bullet wounds and mortar fragments, some even had staff blast wounds, testament to friendly fire accidents. He himself had a bullet wound in his left arm.

Taking a deep breath, Hek'at addressed them. "JAFFA! HEAR ME! Today we have struck a grievous blow to the Tau'ri dogs. If you achieve nothing else this day, be proud of that! But our Lord Apophis demands more! He demands that we take this place from them completely! So we shall attack once more! And we shall prevail!"

He raised his staff weapon high into the air and swung it towards the Spearhead line. "JAFFA, APOPHIS!!"

The Jaffa roared in reply and together, they all charged forward.

Hek'at ran like a madman, the Jaffa almost racing to see who could get to the Tau'ri first. He could feel the adrenalin flow through his veins like blood. The pain and raw ache from the wound in his arm faded away to nothing, even as he swung his staff weapon up and began firing at the Tau'ri positions.

Flashes of gunfire erupted along the length of the Tau'ri line and he was pleased to note how thin it seemed compared to the initial attacks. Thin or not, Jaffa on either side of him began to fall, the Jaffa right next his left taking a bullet in the face. Hek'at hardly noticed the Jaffa silently collapse in a puff of blood, the dead body causing several Jaffa right behind him to stagger and fall over. He charged forward, firing from the hip at the muzzle flashes.

One by one, Tau'ri soldiers crouched in trenches fell to staff blasts. Again the tide of Jaffa smashed against the rocky shores of the Tau'ri defenses but this time, they were as nothing.

Hek'at saw that they were almost upon the remaining positions of the Tau'ri. In a burst of acceleration, he surged ahead with a wordless cry of victory just as the air around him exploded…

* * * * * * * * * *

O'Neill was firing in long bursts now. Barely any need to pick a target, a solid line of Jaffa swept towards him and the remnants of the defensive perimeter.

They were hardly slowed by the bodies of Jaffa fallen in previous assaults. Onwards they came and O'Neill realized that this could be it, the end to his war.

He glanced at Carter, crouched next to him with a grim expression as her P-90 roared endlessly. She sensed his attention and stopped firing to look at him. He opened his mouth to say something…anything…when the charging Jaffa seemed to run into an invisible wall. A hail of bullets smashed into the Jaffa, punctuated by a large energy blast, which exploded in the center of their lines, sending Jaffa flying in all directions.

As he tried to comprehend what had happened, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Daniel point to their left excitedly.

"Jack, Sam, its Colonel Grant and SG-Beta!" Daniel shouted.

"What the…?" O'Neill exclaimed. Not one of his best moments. He could make out Colonel Grant running out at the front, along with Teal'c and Lt Bannon of 2nd Platoon, all firing from the hip.

The shattered Jaffa saw the oncoming rush of Tau'ri soldiers on their right flank and quickly reoriented themselves to face this new foe. A large Jaffa rose up from the front and yelled something in Goa'uld. Immediately, the Jaffa began to fall back, away from Spearhead and towards the Stargate.

O'Neill was tempted to try and shoot this obvious leader but since he was ordering the retreat, he settled for a smile as Sgt Jenkins rose up and cheered as he watched the remaining Jaffa collapse under the onslaught.

Climbing out of the trench, O'Neill whistled, attracting the attention of Major Thorn who nudged Colonel Grant and pointed in their direction. Grant tapped Teal'c and Lt Bannon on the shoulder and the three men and one woman ran over to the General. The rest of SG-Beta ran onwards, sweeping up the rest of the Jaffa forces and herding them back to the Stargate. The defenders of Spearhead jumped up from their foxholes and trenches and joined in the pursuit.

They had finally broken the Jaffa forces. An almighty cheer rose up from the Spearhead troops as they chased after the retreating Jaffa. "We've won…" Daniel said wonderingly.

As Grant and the rest stopped in front of him, O'Neill grinned as they came to sharp attention and saluted. O'Neill returned the salute and they all laughed.

"SG-Beta, reporting as order, sir…albeit a little late." Grant added.

"Just glad you made it, Colonel." O'Neill replied. "What took you so long?"

"We heard over the comms that Teal'c and Lt Bannon here were in trouble. We altered our approach so we could pick them up and then I waited until the Jaffa could group en mass. When that happened, I used Spearhead as the anvil and SG-Beta as the hammer, as per the plan."

O'Neill nodded, his jubilation at the victory already fading as he saw the corpses of both sides strewn all over the battlefield. He could a few cries from the wounded. Too few, he thought.

Everyone else seemed to pick up on the direction of his thoughts and began to look around. Colonel Carter broke the silence that had fallen to ripple off orders. "Colonel Grant, you'd better go after your men and help secure the Stargate. See if you can locate Colonel Lewis as well. Daniel, find out what the medics are doing back in the main facility and help them with our wounded. See if the Tok'ra are still alive as well. Lt Bannon, 2nd Platoon can help out with that also. Teal'c…your job is to secure any Jaffa still alive and re-establish a defensive perimeter. There might be some stragglers who could do some damage before we can take the time to look for them. Get the Spearhead defense teams to help you. Find Master Sergeant Booth if you can. Sgt Jenkins, get back to the Command Center and see what you can do to restore control of the Stargate once more. Once the Jaffa had retreated back through it, I want it locked down until we're ready to evacuate our wounded."

An overlapping chorus of "Aye, aye" and "yes, ma'am" answered her and they all filtered off to do their jobs, leaving her alone with O'Neill.

"Jesus, sir…that was a close one." She said, tiredly, as she attempted to wipe the sweat and grime from her face but only succeeding in smearing it worse than before.

O'Neill nodded, still distracted slightly by the number of dead. They had killed innumerable Jaffa but in doing so, SG-Alpha and SG-Beta had been savaged. Looking around, he realized that the military term 'combat ineffective' didn't begin to describe the situation. Out of nearly four hundred men and women, he would be lucky if two fifths of them had survived. The smoke from the heavy weapons fire and the three ruined scorpions drifted over the battlefield. Gunfire echoed in the distance as them remnants of SG-Alpha and Beta hounded the retreat of the Jaffa.

"We held, Carter…" He said with a sigh, trying to summon back that spirit of victory, "…we held."

Epilogue

In the throne room on Sohag, the Jaffa guards shifted uncomfortably as they watched their First Prime abase himself before their Lord Apophis. The Queen Bast stood to one side, watching silently.

Hek'at stood before Apophis feeling great personal shame. He had failed in his attempt to defeat the Tau'ri at Spearhead. Apophis sat on his throne and glared at his First Prime, his anger building with each passing moment.

"You dare return from battle in disgrace…It would have been better not to have returned at all!" Apophis roared.

Hek'at said nothing, head bowed in shame. Apophis seemingly leapt upwards and strode towards him.

"Tell me, Hek'at…" Apophis sneered, "…what should become of you?"

Raising his head, Hek'at answered in a neutral tone. "My life is yours to take as punishment."

Apophis nodded once in satisfaction. "Very well then…First Prime."

His eyes flashed briefly as he raised his right hand, which was adorned with the ribbon device, and directed his palm at Hek'at's face.

Hek'at watched the jewel in the center of Apophis's palm glow with immense energies and braced himself for the pain.

"My Lord!"

Both men turned to look at Bast who had spoken. She stepped forward and again positioned herself midway between the two men and then turned to face Apophis.

"My Lord Apophis, I…understand your anger at the situation but you knew that this would be a difficult conquest at this time. Punishing your First Prime would be, as the Tau'ri put it, 'removing your nose to spite your face'."

"Explain Bast, why I should let this 'kri'tak' live after failing me." Apophis asked with deceptive softness.

Bast, for her part, seemed unruffled. "Hek'at is your most experienced and loyal Jaffa. In warfare, there are never any guarantees of victory. To punish troops for failure would be…problematic."

Apophis stared at her while he considered her words. Knowing of her vast intelligence, he always forced himself to at least think about her suggestions even if he would sometimes dismiss them out of hand. He had no guarantee that the next First Prime would be as effective as Hek'at, despite his failure at Spearhead.

"Alright Hek'at. It light of your faithful service thus far, I return to you your life." Apophis said, with a casual wave of his hand.

Bast suppressed a snort. He even managed to sound magnanimous about it.

Apophis turned abruptly and walked over to his throne, sitting down imperiously. "You would do well not to fail me again." He turned to address Bast directly.

"I cannot strike at Earth and Spearhead is too well defended. This is not a state of affairs I would like but their alliance with the Asgard leaves me little choice. Do you have any ideas as to how I can strike at the Tau'ri without retaliation from those small, gray 'rak'shar'?"

Bast nodded. "For a while now, I have been compiling a list of worlds that have trade agreements with the Tau'ri, as well as a number of worlds with significant Tau'ri presence for scientific and material purposes. I propose we destroy the outposts and terrorize their allies. We must make the rest of the Galaxy aware of the price for allying themselves with the Tau'ri."

Apophis nodded in satisfaction. "Hek'at, do you think you are capable of such a task?"

Hek'at dropped to one knee in respect. "I do my Lord. I will not fail you again."

Apophis eyes flashed and then narrowed. "See that you do not."

* * * * * * * * * * *

Six weeks later…

General O'Neill walked the corridors of the SGC, trying to remember the days of when he was just a simple line grunt. It couldn't have been more than eight months since his promotion to flag rank but it seemed more like half a lifetime. He felt jubilant about their victory but weary beyond belief, for he had seen friends die before, soldiers under his command killed in the line of duty but never two hundred and twelve men and women in a single battle. That's how many had died during the defense of Spearhead. He had hand written a letter to the next of kin for each of his fallen soldiers. It was the very least he could to try and show the respect and admiration he felt for them all.

A week after the battle, things had started to return to some semblance of order. People were being promoted and decorated for their heroism and everyone was taking the time to catch their breath and prepare themselves to continue operations against the Goa'uld. Everybody was in the process of shaking off celebratory hangovers when the first envoy from one of their allies came through the Stargate to tell them of the Goa'uld retaliation raids against their worlds. Barely a day later, no less than three more diplomatic envoys arrived, one actually cutting off all diplomatic relations due to the Goa'uld attacks.

The attack on Spearhead had succeeded for the System Lords in one respect; it had resulted in cutting the number of attacks upon their assets to almost zero while Earth rebuilt its forces and these new attacks were having the desired affect of cutting Earth off from its allies. This could not be allowed to happen.

SG-Delta, SG-Kappa and SG-Omega were rushed through final training and were sent on multiple strikes. Disrupting mining operations, liberating slaves and destroying outposts, business as usual, really. Soon after, SG-Alpha and –Beta were back online and began a new mode of operation. They were sent on weeklong roving patrols through the Stargate system, their route taking to each of their allies' home-worlds and colonies that had been attacked. In this manner, they had managed to intercept several Jaffa raids and help cement relations between us.

It was taking a toll on the teams admittedly. Everybody was dog-tired and O'Neill was considering scaling down operations so that the teams got more rest, especially in light of their latest coup. SG-8 had scouted out an allied planet that had recently been overrun by the System Lord Seraphim. Two days ago, SG-Gamma, -Kappa and –Omega had deployed on the ground, through the Stargate and destroyed the Jaffa occupation army while the Brits had flown a squadron of Bombers and two Squadrons of Death Gliders to the planet and engaged the Mothership in orbit.

Losses were light, less than one hundred killed but they had destroyed a Mothership and its fleet of Gliders, as well as smashing an entire legion of Jaffa. Group Captain Dunsfield had allowed several Transports to escape so as to be able to spread the story of what had occurred there.

That victory had seemingly revitalized the President who was beginning to take heat from parts of the government over rumors of the Stargate. They expected that he would go public by Christmas. Next year was an election year after all.

That thought made him smile briefly just as an alert sounded throughout the SGC.

"UNSCHEDULED INCOMING WORMHOLE!"

O'Neill jogged through the corridors and came to the bottom steps of the Command Center only to meet General Hammond coming down.

"What's up, General?" O'Neill asked, slightly uncomfortable by the déjà vu he was getting.

Hammond shrugged slightly as they both headed towards the Gate Room. "It's the Tok'ra IDC. Who knows what up?"

"Oye…" O'Neill replied.

They entered the Gate Room just as the wormhole rippled slightly and General Carter stepped out, alone, the wormhole shutting down almost immediately.

"George…Jack!" Carter greeted.

Hammond shook his old friends hand. "What brings you back home?"

Carter shrugged slightly. "I'm not sure yet whether it's good news or bad news but it's definitely news."

O'Neill rolled his eyes dramatically. "So, don't keep us in suspense."

Carter smiled thinly and placed his hands behind his back. "It's about Apophis…"

* * * * * * * * * * *

Apophis walked around Hek'at, almost studying the large Jaffa, as the First Prime stood tall yet carried an air of shame about him.

Coming to a halt in front of him, Apophis clenched his fists in absolute rage. "You allowed Seraphim to be killed, his army to be destroyed. I sent you to be a military advisor and look what has happened…the Tau'ri have defeated you once more!"

Hek'at stood as still as a stature. Apophis seemed not to notice and he raised his ribbon device and placed his palm towards the First Prime's face.

"You will fail me no more…" He stated as the crystal flashed and with an intense hum, sent a yellow stream of energy into Hek'at's face. The First Prime grunted slightly but made no more noise than that.

The humming of the ribbon device intensified and Hek'at dropped to one knee, pleasing Apophis greatly.

Hek'at was near breaking point when he felt more than heard an energy pulse that stopped the pain in his head. He staggered upright and shook his head to clear his vision, only to see Apophis lying on the floor, blood trickling from his nose, ears and mouth.

Turning slightly, vision swimming, he could just make out Bast walking toward him, lowering her arm that was adorned with a ribbon device which was glowing also.

Hek'at looked at Apophis lying dead on the floor and then up at Bast. She stood there motionless, hands at her sides, looking somewhat saddened but resigned at what she had done.

"By all rights I should kill you where you stand." Hek'at snarled in shock, his gratitude and feelings for her at war with his loyalty to Apophis. Apophis might have been taking the life of his First Prime but it was his life to take.

Bast nodded but took several steps towards him. "You won't." She stated positively. Placing a hand on his cheek, she smiled softly. "My First Prime, my loyal Jaffa. Apophis may have held your heart but you hold mine. I could not allow you to die."

Hek'at studied her face, her delicate mouth and pale blue eyes. So strange that someone so ruthlessly vicious one second could look so beautiful the next. "You're not like other System Lords…" He said, reverently, as he gently brushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear.

"No…" She said, pulling him close to her, lips inches apart. "I'm different. I'm dangerous." And then they kissed.

The End

Well, what can I say? After I finished this, post-project letdown inevitably set in.

Spearhead will be back…maybe…probably

Email: a.seivewright@btinternet.com