Section 16: Guns n Roses
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"So does this happen often?" asked Sam.
The sound of the enemy ship landing in the hangar echoed down the hall.
"What can I say? People love us. Can't get enough of the Good Ship Lollipop," John answered dryly. He glanced quickly at the Major as she too watched and waited with a look of calm apprehension. God, he hated this part, the waiting. It was worse than the fighting stage, almost as bad as the frantic planning stage, but better than the everything's-gone-to-hell- in-a-hand-basket stage. Still, he hated it.
"Do *you* do this often?" he asked in return.
Sam nodded once. "Most of the time it's on a planet, but yeah." She paused. "I hate the waiting."
John only smiled at the words that mirrored his thoughts. The two of them were hiding behind the access grill across form the maintenance bay door. They were too far from the hangar to see anything useful so Aeryn and Jack, in a conduit of the bay's ceiling, were their eyes and trigger for the detonation of several C-4 charges they had set up from Sam's packs. Sam had assured him that they would be localized explosions that would kill the bad guys but limit the damage done to Moya. Frankly, John was just impressed they had real explosives and detonators that weren't jerry- rigged.
"Carter," Sam's radio sputtered to life. "On my mark."
John raised Winona as Sam did the same. He could feel the microts tick by individually as they often did before all hell broke loose. The calm before battle settled over him.
"Now!" Jack's voice cracked, and boom went the hangar. Instantly, John heard pulse fire from Aeryn and D'argo who were closer to the action, then he too was firing as the warlord's soldiers made it to the hallway.
And John saw that they had a problem.
"Frell! Frell, frell, frell! They're shielded!" Aeryn cursed. Shouting his own epithets, John watched the Qujagan body shields absorb Winona's pulse energy. His poor gun didn't have a chance. "Frell!" It was too early for the hell in a hand-basket stage.
John's mind had raced over the variations of retreat, regroup, and kill before he noticed that some of the soldiers were going down - the ones that Sam was hitting with her automatic machine gun of death.
"Okay," John snatched up the other military issue gun. "How does this work?"
In answer, Sam handed him her weapon which he immediately took as an invitation to open fire and prepped the other gun before rejoining the battle. Already the Qujagans were using their superior numbers to flood into the hallway.
"Teal'c, they're coming!" shouted Sam, one hand on her radio. "Energy weapons are useless!"
"Carter, what's you status?" shouted Jack.
"Our P-90's work against them, but there's too many to keep them all back."
"You have all our supplies?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright, we're coming to you."
"Aeryn," John said into his own comm. "How many did we blow up?"
"Not enough. Ten, fifteen maybe. They are about twenty more and they are all shielded. We're coming to meet you, but we'll have to take the long way round."
"They'll be through here by then."
"Aeryn, John," D'argo broke in, "We need to regroup fast. Pilot says they're heading for Norianti, Stark, and Teal'c. They won't stop many of them."
"Bullets work," John told him, firing on the last of the Qujagan in the maintenance bay. "All the live ones are headed toward Grandma's big teeth. We'll meet you on tier five. Come on," he said to Sam.
Grabbing her pack, Sam rushed after him as John made for the closest exit. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"To make sure there's no one left on their ship that will stab us in the back."
Sam looked like she was about to protest, but in the end, didn't and simply followed him into the hangar. They met no one. The ship was large, about five times the size of D'argo's.
"Looks like a rounded Teltak," Sam murmured as her eyes professionally swept over the craft. "This side's clear."
"Teltak?" John asked.
"Spaceship. About half this size though," Sam answered. John turned his attention back to his side of the ship. No one, for which he was grateful for once. Then, behind him a metallic ring suddenly made him start and spin around.
"Sorry." Sam smiled sheepishly, shaking he right hand in the air. "The ship's shielded too."
John took a hasty step back before the ship bit him. "Well, that answers that question. Alright, let's go."
It didn't take them long to reach tier five where the rest of the crew, including Grandma, Stark, Jack, and Teal'c were waiting for them.
"Where the hell have you been?" Jack was the first to jump on them. "We've been trying to raise you for ten minutes!" He frowned first at Sam then positively glowered at John.
"We went to check out their ship for any sentries, sir," Sam replied. "It's shielded. That must be what interfered with our radios."
"You should have told me first."
"I think we have more important things to worry about," John cut in. "Like what's going on?" Jack leveled another glare at him, but let D'argo explain.
"Pilot's got them trapped on tier eight for the moment," said the Luxan. "Our weapons are no good so after Norianti blew her stuff they got out of there. They haven't figured out the locking override yet."
"Which probably won't take them long," Aeryn added.
"Well our weapons work," said Jack handing his pistol to his black teammate. "Carter, Teal'c, and I can go take them out if they're trapped."
"Or ask them to leave," said Sam.
John recognized her desire not to outright murder the cornered soldiers, and he admired it even as he noted his own lack of sympathy. She still cared; he could see it in her wide eyes and the soft curves of her face.
"Right," said Jack with a glance in her direction. "The rest of you stay here."
He turned to go, but stopped when neither he nor Sam knew which way to turn.
Rolling her eyes, Aeryn muttered "This better work," as she fell into step beside John and D'argo as they led the way to tier eight.
"You don't all have to come," said Jack petulantly.
John glanced at him sideways, sure he hadn't imagined to concern in the older man's voice. "And let you have all the fun?"
Before Jack could comment though, all hell broke loose once again.
"Guess they figured out the override," said Aeryn as they scattered for cover. John pulled his gun more out of habit than necessity and listened while Jack, Teal'c, and Sam opened fire.
"They're making a break for it!" shouted Jack. "Pull back!"
Energy fire from the fridge-faces spattered around them as John, Aeryn, and D'argo bolted around the corner with the humans covering their retreat. "How many are left?" asked D'argo.
"A good handful," said Jack. "A few went down, but they're using the sides for cover too."
"Do you have a secure location where we could really trap them?" asked Sam. "A cell? You said this used to be a prison."
"Let's keep moving people!" Jack fired at the back hallway, ushering the rest of them forward.
"A couple tiers away, maybe - " John began but Aeryn cut him off.
"No," she said. "Give me one of your weapons. I'll circle around and take them from behind. I can take out at least two of them before they figure it out."
"No. Too dangerous," Jack immediately objected.
Aeryn just snatched Sam's gun from her. "I'm not giving you a choice," she glared at him. "Do you have more ammunition?" she turned to Sam. With a brief look at her CO, Sam gave her a fresh clip and showed her how to load it in.
"Cock this for a single shot. This switches it back to automatic."
And she was off. "Aeryn," John called after her. She spun around, still running.
"I know," she said before turning around again.
Behind them, the soldiers were still pressing their luck but Jack and Teal'c made them fight for every inch. John and D'argo led the whole battle slowly through Moya's halls toward the hangar. John had lost all sense of time as they kept moving. And then three shots rang out and the fighting stilled for a moment. One more exchange and it stopped completely.
John looked back at Jack who was peering cautiously around the corner.
"We're clear!" Aeryn called, appearing a minute later like a sexy Rambo. John took her hand when she joined them, more to reassure himself than anything. He knew she could handle herself, but there were no guarantees.
"So much for asking nicely," Jack muttered as they retraced their path. Eleven soldiers lay as good as dead by severe bullet wounds. John looked at them dispassionately, unconsciously checking their gear for salvageable weapons and equipment. "Such a waste."
John glanced up at Jack, his closed off face revealing nothing. John had to give him credit for knowing how to take out a threat. Teal'c was as unreadable as ever as he gingerly stepped over corpses. But John's heart ached for Sam who was avoiding looking at their faces. She was a soldier, yes, but with a good heart that hadn't yet been cauterized against necessity. John tried seeing what she saw in the young faces, what he would have seen a few cycles ago.
"Come on," John pulled on her sleeve to get her attention. "Let's go get Chi and your friend." He cast a last glance over the carnage to where Aeryn and D'argo had found a live prisoner, before leading the way down the corridor.
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"So does this happen often?" asked Sam.
The sound of the enemy ship landing in the hangar echoed down the hall.
"What can I say? People love us. Can't get enough of the Good Ship Lollipop," John answered dryly. He glanced quickly at the Major as she too watched and waited with a look of calm apprehension. God, he hated this part, the waiting. It was worse than the fighting stage, almost as bad as the frantic planning stage, but better than the everything's-gone-to-hell- in-a-hand-basket stage. Still, he hated it.
"Do *you* do this often?" he asked in return.
Sam nodded once. "Most of the time it's on a planet, but yeah." She paused. "I hate the waiting."
John only smiled at the words that mirrored his thoughts. The two of them were hiding behind the access grill across form the maintenance bay door. They were too far from the hangar to see anything useful so Aeryn and Jack, in a conduit of the bay's ceiling, were their eyes and trigger for the detonation of several C-4 charges they had set up from Sam's packs. Sam had assured him that they would be localized explosions that would kill the bad guys but limit the damage done to Moya. Frankly, John was just impressed they had real explosives and detonators that weren't jerry- rigged.
"Carter," Sam's radio sputtered to life. "On my mark."
John raised Winona as Sam did the same. He could feel the microts tick by individually as they often did before all hell broke loose. The calm before battle settled over him.
"Now!" Jack's voice cracked, and boom went the hangar. Instantly, John heard pulse fire from Aeryn and D'argo who were closer to the action, then he too was firing as the warlord's soldiers made it to the hallway.
And John saw that they had a problem.
"Frell! Frell, frell, frell! They're shielded!" Aeryn cursed. Shouting his own epithets, John watched the Qujagan body shields absorb Winona's pulse energy. His poor gun didn't have a chance. "Frell!" It was too early for the hell in a hand-basket stage.
John's mind had raced over the variations of retreat, regroup, and kill before he noticed that some of the soldiers were going down - the ones that Sam was hitting with her automatic machine gun of death.
"Okay," John snatched up the other military issue gun. "How does this work?"
In answer, Sam handed him her weapon which he immediately took as an invitation to open fire and prepped the other gun before rejoining the battle. Already the Qujagans were using their superior numbers to flood into the hallway.
"Teal'c, they're coming!" shouted Sam, one hand on her radio. "Energy weapons are useless!"
"Carter, what's you status?" shouted Jack.
"Our P-90's work against them, but there's too many to keep them all back."
"You have all our supplies?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright, we're coming to you."
"Aeryn," John said into his own comm. "How many did we blow up?"
"Not enough. Ten, fifteen maybe. They are about twenty more and they are all shielded. We're coming to meet you, but we'll have to take the long way round."
"They'll be through here by then."
"Aeryn, John," D'argo broke in, "We need to regroup fast. Pilot says they're heading for Norianti, Stark, and Teal'c. They won't stop many of them."
"Bullets work," John told him, firing on the last of the Qujagan in the maintenance bay. "All the live ones are headed toward Grandma's big teeth. We'll meet you on tier five. Come on," he said to Sam.
Grabbing her pack, Sam rushed after him as John made for the closest exit. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"To make sure there's no one left on their ship that will stab us in the back."
Sam looked like she was about to protest, but in the end, didn't and simply followed him into the hangar. They met no one. The ship was large, about five times the size of D'argo's.
"Looks like a rounded Teltak," Sam murmured as her eyes professionally swept over the craft. "This side's clear."
"Teltak?" John asked.
"Spaceship. About half this size though," Sam answered. John turned his attention back to his side of the ship. No one, for which he was grateful for once. Then, behind him a metallic ring suddenly made him start and spin around.
"Sorry." Sam smiled sheepishly, shaking he right hand in the air. "The ship's shielded too."
John took a hasty step back before the ship bit him. "Well, that answers that question. Alright, let's go."
It didn't take them long to reach tier five where the rest of the crew, including Grandma, Stark, Jack, and Teal'c were waiting for them.
"Where the hell have you been?" Jack was the first to jump on them. "We've been trying to raise you for ten minutes!" He frowned first at Sam then positively glowered at John.
"We went to check out their ship for any sentries, sir," Sam replied. "It's shielded. That must be what interfered with our radios."
"You should have told me first."
"I think we have more important things to worry about," John cut in. "Like what's going on?" Jack leveled another glare at him, but let D'argo explain.
"Pilot's got them trapped on tier eight for the moment," said the Luxan. "Our weapons are no good so after Norianti blew her stuff they got out of there. They haven't figured out the locking override yet."
"Which probably won't take them long," Aeryn added.
"Well our weapons work," said Jack handing his pistol to his black teammate. "Carter, Teal'c, and I can go take them out if they're trapped."
"Or ask them to leave," said Sam.
John recognized her desire not to outright murder the cornered soldiers, and he admired it even as he noted his own lack of sympathy. She still cared; he could see it in her wide eyes and the soft curves of her face.
"Right," said Jack with a glance in her direction. "The rest of you stay here."
He turned to go, but stopped when neither he nor Sam knew which way to turn.
Rolling her eyes, Aeryn muttered "This better work," as she fell into step beside John and D'argo as they led the way to tier eight.
"You don't all have to come," said Jack petulantly.
John glanced at him sideways, sure he hadn't imagined to concern in the older man's voice. "And let you have all the fun?"
Before Jack could comment though, all hell broke loose once again.
"Guess they figured out the override," said Aeryn as they scattered for cover. John pulled his gun more out of habit than necessity and listened while Jack, Teal'c, and Sam opened fire.
"They're making a break for it!" shouted Jack. "Pull back!"
Energy fire from the fridge-faces spattered around them as John, Aeryn, and D'argo bolted around the corner with the humans covering their retreat. "How many are left?" asked D'argo.
"A good handful," said Jack. "A few went down, but they're using the sides for cover too."
"Do you have a secure location where we could really trap them?" asked Sam. "A cell? You said this used to be a prison."
"Let's keep moving people!" Jack fired at the back hallway, ushering the rest of them forward.
"A couple tiers away, maybe - " John began but Aeryn cut him off.
"No," she said. "Give me one of your weapons. I'll circle around and take them from behind. I can take out at least two of them before they figure it out."
"No. Too dangerous," Jack immediately objected.
Aeryn just snatched Sam's gun from her. "I'm not giving you a choice," she glared at him. "Do you have more ammunition?" she turned to Sam. With a brief look at her CO, Sam gave her a fresh clip and showed her how to load it in.
"Cock this for a single shot. This switches it back to automatic."
And she was off. "Aeryn," John called after her. She spun around, still running.
"I know," she said before turning around again.
Behind them, the soldiers were still pressing their luck but Jack and Teal'c made them fight for every inch. John and D'argo led the whole battle slowly through Moya's halls toward the hangar. John had lost all sense of time as they kept moving. And then three shots rang out and the fighting stilled for a moment. One more exchange and it stopped completely.
John looked back at Jack who was peering cautiously around the corner.
"We're clear!" Aeryn called, appearing a minute later like a sexy Rambo. John took her hand when she joined them, more to reassure himself than anything. He knew she could handle herself, but there were no guarantees.
"So much for asking nicely," Jack muttered as they retraced their path. Eleven soldiers lay as good as dead by severe bullet wounds. John looked at them dispassionately, unconsciously checking their gear for salvageable weapons and equipment. "Such a waste."
John glanced up at Jack, his closed off face revealing nothing. John had to give him credit for knowing how to take out a threat. Teal'c was as unreadable as ever as he gingerly stepped over corpses. But John's heart ached for Sam who was avoiding looking at their faces. She was a soldier, yes, but with a good heart that hadn't yet been cauterized against necessity. John tried seeing what she saw in the young faces, what he would have seen a few cycles ago.
"Come on," John pulled on her sleeve to get her attention. "Let's go get Chi and your friend." He cast a last glance over the carnage to where Aeryn and D'argo had found a live prisoner, before leading the way down the corridor.
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