Chapter
Three: Casualties and Losses…
For a split second, Major Carter
had the look of a frightened animal caught on the tracks in front of an oncoming
freight train. She'd had plenty of encounters with strange with sometimes
frightening alien lifeforms before, but seeing Scorpius for the first time made
them all look quite tame in comparison. He looked like sin and evil in humanoid
form.
She glanced over to her right at Teal'c, his usual stone faced calm had given way to the look of astonishment as he stared at Scorpius. Apparently Teal'c had never seen anything quite like him before either. To her left, Hailey was also staring wide eyed, clearly shaken, but to the young lieutenant's credit, she managed to hold herself and her weapon steady.
Carter looked back to Scorpius, licking her lips that had suddenly became awfully dry. "I am Major Samantha Carter from the SGC. State your purpose here!"
Scorpius eyed the two human females and the Jaffa. The female was speaking Crichton's language as he had learned it from Crichton. Seeing these two species working together was quite a surprise, considering the golden emblem on the Jaffa's forehead showing that he was a First Prime, yet the human female was showing signs of being in command here.
More importantly, these three looked like gate travelers. They had crates stacked neatly about the gate area and were in the process of loading it all on the back of a small vehicle. It looked like a supply dump if there ever was one. These people just might have the answers he was seeking about the stargates.
He looked at Major Carter as she watched him through the sights of her P-90. Scorpius smiled, showing his dark yellow teeth. "My dear, we are merely travelers like yourselves. Tell me, have you been using the stargates long?"
Major Carter knew who she was dealing with and the vibes she was getting off him was making her ill. It was almost like the devil himself just popped out of the stargate. Remembering the massacre he had inflicted on P8J 898, she selected her words carefully and prayed that O'Neill and the others would get here on time.
"We just arrived here. Please tell your men to lower their weapons."
Scorpius watched Carter closely. Strangely, he found the human female rather quite becoming. There was something about her eyes too. Unlike most of the humans he had encountered through the stargates, this human's eyes had intelligence and confidence gleaming in them.
Such pretty eyes...
"I will consider your request Major Carter, but just tell me this. Do you know anything about the stargate and where it can take me?"
He was fishing for information, that much Carter could tell. "I don't know a thing, that's not my field of expertise."
Scorpius eyed her closely. He always knew when someone was hiding something from him, her body language was a dead giveaway, even from this distance. This Major Carter was being far from truthful, and he was delighted in the possibility of finding someone that knew something about the stargate.
"You are lying to me but no matter. You will tell me all you know soon. Peacekeepers, I want Major Carter alive, you can kill the rest of them."
***
Colonel O'Neill was no big fan of sand. It gets into everything. Equipment, weapons, boots, clothing, ears, eyes, and any other orifice, crack, or crevice that it can find. And trying to run across it, especially up towering sand dunes was no fun either. For every two steps you take, it feels like you're sinking back one. It just adds to the frustration when you desperately need to get somewhere else pronto.
He and the rest of the SG teams were running hard to reach the stargate. What had him worried was that neither Major Carter, nor the others, had radioed him back to say what had come through gate, or indeed if anything had at all. He knew that Carter was a very capable officer and soldier, having proved herself reliable in a tight pinch. Hailey although brave and able to think on her feet, was untested in a real fight. As for Teal'c, if there was one man that he would have chosen to be there with Carter and Hailey, it would be him. He was the toughest and bravest warrior he'd ever met, and he would defend them fiercely. O'Neill just hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.
An eruption of weapons fire from the direction of stargate suddenly brought O'Neill and the group to a stop.
"Oh hell!" he snarled.
The overwhelming cacophony of sound seemed to made up of alien weaponry being discharged all at once, followed the thunderous roars of two P-90's and a Goa'uld staff weapon answering back.
"Oh My God." Daniel Jackson whispered beside O'Neill.
They had four more dunes to cross before they could reach the stargate to help Carter, Teal'c and Hailey.
"Lets move people!" O'Neill shouted before breaking into a full out run again.
Hold everything together Carter, we're coming! He silently prayed.
***
The initial onslaught from the Peacekeeper Commandos was nearly overwhelming. Major Carter, Teal'c and Lt. Hailey ducked behind what little cover they could grab.
From her position behind the MALP, Carter could see that Teal'c and Hailey on either side were taking most of the alien fire. This Scorpius did in fact want her alive. Perhaps it was time to see just how badly he wanted her in one piece.
With her weapon ready, Carter popped up from behind her cover and fired a full burst on automatic into the front rank of Peacekeepers. The P-90's new armor piercing rounds had proved to be very effective against Jaffa warriors of the System Lords, so it was no surprise that they had little trouble against the Peacekeeper Commando's armor. As Carter continued to rake her fire across their ranks with her P-90, several Peacekeepers collapsed to the ground from fatal hits.
Now, with Carter taking some of the pressure off them, Lt. Hailey and Teal'c started to return fire, adding their firepower to Carter's. Unfortunately, these were veteran Peacekeepers and crack marksmen. Even under the incredible pounding they were receiving, several took their time to aim and shoot.
Hailey was the first to go down. A single pulse blast struck her P-90, and her weapon disintegrated in her hands, it's ammunition detonating all at once. The resulting concussion and spray of shrapnel knocked the young woman back, leaving her with severe bloody wounds about her hands and face.
Teal'c went down next as the Jaffa warrior took three hits across his body, but he ignored his injures with superhuman strength and continued to fire his staff weapon. Carter saw the horrific wounds he was taking and she screamed at him, pleading.
"Teal'c! Get down!"
Four commandos leveled their weapons and fired together, striking the Jaffa squarely. Teal'c collapsed and fell to the ground unmoving, with a thin white column of smoke raising from his body.
Carter was now thoroughly enraged. First Hailey and now Teal'c. She was going to make the Peacekeepers pay dearly!
With malevolent hatred in her eyes, Carter fired her weapon repeatedly, taking down four more Peacekeepers before her weapon ran dry of ammunition with a deafening click.
The Peacekeepers must have heard it too, because those that were still standing, twelve in all, charged her as one.
Carter threw her main weapon down and tried to reach for her sidearm. One Peacekeeper had almost completely leapt over the MALP when Carter drew her pistol and fired several times, killing him. Another Peacekeeper charged at her from the right and met the same fate as Carter emptied her pistol into him.
Scorpius had seen enough. He moved forward with deliberate strides, waving the remaining Peacekeepers away.
"I will deal with her."
Seeing Scorpius suddenly advancing on her was a scary sight as she reached for a fresh ammo clip while backing away. In three easy moves, Carter ejected the old clip, slammed the new one home, and chambered the first round. She could never recall doing those moves so fast in her life before, but however fast it was it wasn't fast enough.
With unbelievable speed, Scorpius closed on Carter, seizing her weapon from her hands before she could aim it. He grasped her tightly by the throat with his other hand. Carter fought back trying to free herself, but this made Scorpius apply just enough pressure to cut off her air, which caused her to cease struggling.
"Fascinating," Scorpius said as he inspected Carter's sidearm, while still holding her by the throat. "It has been awhile since I've seen a slug thrower. Primitive, but effective in the task of killing one's enemy."
"Scorpius?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Carter saw a small group of Peacekeepers about Lt. Hailey. The young blond was groaning, slowly regaining consciousness.
One of them was pointing to her. "This human is still alive."
"Bring the little one here." Scorpius said while staring at Carter.
She had such lovely eyes...
Two Peacekeepers reached down and pulled Lt. Hailey to her feet then dragged her before Scorpius.
Carter was struggling for breath as Scorpius continued to grip her painfully by the throat, but she still managed to gasp at the bloody sight of Hailey. Her face was covered with numerous ragged gashes and bruises and her left eye was slowly swelling shut. Hailey glanced up with her good eye towards Scorpius then to Carter, but had little strength left to do anything else. The two Peacekeepers holding her by either arm was the only thing keeping her from falling over.
"Now, Major Carter." Scorpius said politely before pointing the pistol at Hailey's head. "Tell me what you know about the stargate or I will get the chance to see what this primitive slug thrower can do to a human skull."
