O'Neill divided them into teams to do the sweep. They were limited by the
fact that they only had four dogs – counting Jack. The base just didn't
have that many to begin with, and a couple were being loaned out with their
handlers to the local airports for drug-sniffing duties. They did have a
ready supply of zats, since the first stop Daniel and Jack had made on
their way to the briefing room had been the armory, which they'd cleaned
out of zats, then had locked up tightly to keep the rest of the weapons
from going to the wrong hands.
The other three dogs – the last of which arrived only moments after Davis got off the phone with Hammond the second time – were all German Shepherds, and were about the same size as Jack, who was fairly large for a lab. And they were all trained for this kind of thing. Even better than Jaffer and Jack were.
"You guys keep a sharp eye on the dogs." Jack told the Marines as he separated them. He put Daniel and Teal'c together with Jack and two Marines, and then motioned for three other Marines to come with him. They'd be the fifth team, even though they didn't have a dog. The other 12 Marines were put into teams with the German Shepherds and their handlers. "The dogs know these guys are there, even though they're invisible. Your dog starts going nuts on you and staring at empty air, and chances are the air isn't so empty, so shoot at it with a zat. They're invisible, but that doesn't mean you can't get a shot at them. Worst you can do is hit nothing, and it might save your life."
"Prisoners, Sir?" One of the Lieutenants asked, checking his zat.
"Hell, no. I want them dead." He made sure everyone understood that, and waited for the nods all around. "No heroics, guys and gals. Don't wait until you have a clear shot, just make sure what you're shooting at isn't one of us." The base was on lockdown and since it was the middle of the night, most of the civilians and off duty people were gone, anyways. The others would be in their quarters. Part of the sweep would send the teams with dogs to these rooms, just to make sure they're clear, and then the occupants would lock the door behind the team, to make sure it stayed clean. Jack and his team were the ones that would coordinate the other teams, and provide backup should someone run into one of the Ashrak. They had the most dangerous job, since they didn't have a dog, but it wasn't an assignment O'Neill would give to any of the others.
"If you get into a firefight, and someone goes down, call in to me, and my team will get that person to the infirmary. You will all stay together with your team and your dog. Understood?"
They all nodded, understanding the danger of being separated.
"Any other questions?"
There were none. O'Neill looked at Davis, who was the only man in the room not assigned to a team.
"We're going to clear the Command center first, Sergeant. Then you'll lock it behind us, and check off the levels as I call them in to you that they're cleared."
"Yes, Sir." They'd practiced this before, even though never with invisible enemies, so this wasn't anything they couldn't understand. He waited until O'Neill sent a team with one of the Shepherds into the command center, and declared it empty, then the rest of them left that room, and the Sergeant locked the door behind them, watching various monitors, but really not able to keep track of everything without relying on the radio chatter.
"We're down here, so we might as well start with the Gate room and work our way up to the top levels," Jack told the others. "Everyone ready?"
They were Marines, of course they were ready.
"Let's go."
~*~
"Do you have a radio in here?" Carter asked Fraiser. "At least we could see keep track of what's going on."
"I have one, Ma'am," The Marine said, holding his out to her. Sam was awake, but she was still aching, and she winced when she held her hand out to take it from him.
"Thank you."
She turned it on just in time to hear the teams do a radio check, which told her how many teams there were, and also who was which team number, and who was with which team. Sam recognized Teal'c's deep voice immediately and knew his team – whoever it was – was designated as S-2, the 'S' probably standing for 'sweep', although Sam wasn't sure. Jack's clear, serious voice was S-1, and three voices that only sounded slightly familiar to Sam made up the leaders of S-3, S-4, and S-5. The Marine with them furnished names, since he knew all the other Marines on the base.
"I should be out there with him," Shawn said, his jaw clenched.
"You've been ordered to stay where you are," The Marine told him, before Sam could. Sam, of course, had only been partially lucid when Shawn and Jack had argued. It had been their voices raised in anger that had roused her from her stupor in the first place.
"I'm well aware of that," Shawn said stiffly.
"Hush, both of you." Sam was trying to listen. The combined teams were going to converge on the Gate room, and she wanted to hear.
~*~
Jack was at the solid door that led to the Gate Room, and he was watching the others to wait until they were in place. The dogs would go in first, and they would be taken to every corner of the room, just to make sure that nothing – or anyone – was there.
The team leader all nodded their readiness, and O'Neill slid his entry card into the slot that cleared the door lock, and it swooshed open.
Immediately, Jack's hackles were up, although he didn't snarl like Jaffer had. The other dogs were acting similarly agitated, although none of them were snarling. Something was different.
"Turn them loose," Jack said, looking carefully into the room as the Marines let loose the dogs and Teal'c sent Jack into the room as well. The dogs all converged in the same spot just off to the left of the ramp. They all four had their heads down and were snuffling and growling, as if there was something on the floor there.
"Cover me," Jack told Teal'c and the others as he walked cautiously into the room, looking around, holding his zat in one hand and his Beretta in the other. He walked over to stand next to Jack, who was clawing at something with one front paw, and O'Neill reached out with a foot, expecting to feel nothing but thin air. What he felt was a body. An invisible body that was lying on the floor.
"I got one," Jack said, nudging a little harder with his foot. There was no motion, and no noise in response. "I think he's already dead." He obviously wasn't sleeping.
He kicked again, this time as hard as he could, and when there still wasn't a response, O'Neill risked crouching down next to the body, feeling for an arm. Jack watched intently as O'Neill sorted out invisible body parts, and finally found what he was searching for. He grabbed the cool metal of the invisible weapon in the invisible hand, and pulled hard, jerking it out of the dead Ashrak's hand. As soon as the weapon cleared the affective area of the cloaking device, it became visible, and Jack saw that he was carrying another one of those wicked-looking force bolt guns. The whatchamacallits. Jack stood up, put his Beretta in the waist of his pants, and looked over at the others.
"Call your dogs back."
There were assorted commands, and the dogs all backed away from O'Neill, still watching the empty area carefully. They were all sight hounds, meaning they used their eyes for hunting more than they used their noses, but all four of the dogs knew there was something there they didn't like. Jack waited until the dogs were clear, then stepped back and aimed the zat at the seemingly empty space on the floor. And fired three times. When he reached out a moment later with his foot, he didn't feel anything.
"Two down, and let's see how many more to go," he said, walking to the door, and waiting for it to close before he locked it down.
The other three dogs – the last of which arrived only moments after Davis got off the phone with Hammond the second time – were all German Shepherds, and were about the same size as Jack, who was fairly large for a lab. And they were all trained for this kind of thing. Even better than Jaffer and Jack were.
"You guys keep a sharp eye on the dogs." Jack told the Marines as he separated them. He put Daniel and Teal'c together with Jack and two Marines, and then motioned for three other Marines to come with him. They'd be the fifth team, even though they didn't have a dog. The other 12 Marines were put into teams with the German Shepherds and their handlers. "The dogs know these guys are there, even though they're invisible. Your dog starts going nuts on you and staring at empty air, and chances are the air isn't so empty, so shoot at it with a zat. They're invisible, but that doesn't mean you can't get a shot at them. Worst you can do is hit nothing, and it might save your life."
"Prisoners, Sir?" One of the Lieutenants asked, checking his zat.
"Hell, no. I want them dead." He made sure everyone understood that, and waited for the nods all around. "No heroics, guys and gals. Don't wait until you have a clear shot, just make sure what you're shooting at isn't one of us." The base was on lockdown and since it was the middle of the night, most of the civilians and off duty people were gone, anyways. The others would be in their quarters. Part of the sweep would send the teams with dogs to these rooms, just to make sure they're clear, and then the occupants would lock the door behind the team, to make sure it stayed clean. Jack and his team were the ones that would coordinate the other teams, and provide backup should someone run into one of the Ashrak. They had the most dangerous job, since they didn't have a dog, but it wasn't an assignment O'Neill would give to any of the others.
"If you get into a firefight, and someone goes down, call in to me, and my team will get that person to the infirmary. You will all stay together with your team and your dog. Understood?"
They all nodded, understanding the danger of being separated.
"Any other questions?"
There were none. O'Neill looked at Davis, who was the only man in the room not assigned to a team.
"We're going to clear the Command center first, Sergeant. Then you'll lock it behind us, and check off the levels as I call them in to you that they're cleared."
"Yes, Sir." They'd practiced this before, even though never with invisible enemies, so this wasn't anything they couldn't understand. He waited until O'Neill sent a team with one of the Shepherds into the command center, and declared it empty, then the rest of them left that room, and the Sergeant locked the door behind them, watching various monitors, but really not able to keep track of everything without relying on the radio chatter.
"We're down here, so we might as well start with the Gate room and work our way up to the top levels," Jack told the others. "Everyone ready?"
They were Marines, of course they were ready.
"Let's go."
~*~
"Do you have a radio in here?" Carter asked Fraiser. "At least we could see keep track of what's going on."
"I have one, Ma'am," The Marine said, holding his out to her. Sam was awake, but she was still aching, and she winced when she held her hand out to take it from him.
"Thank you."
She turned it on just in time to hear the teams do a radio check, which told her how many teams there were, and also who was which team number, and who was with which team. Sam recognized Teal'c's deep voice immediately and knew his team – whoever it was – was designated as S-2, the 'S' probably standing for 'sweep', although Sam wasn't sure. Jack's clear, serious voice was S-1, and three voices that only sounded slightly familiar to Sam made up the leaders of S-3, S-4, and S-5. The Marine with them furnished names, since he knew all the other Marines on the base.
"I should be out there with him," Shawn said, his jaw clenched.
"You've been ordered to stay where you are," The Marine told him, before Sam could. Sam, of course, had only been partially lucid when Shawn and Jack had argued. It had been their voices raised in anger that had roused her from her stupor in the first place.
"I'm well aware of that," Shawn said stiffly.
"Hush, both of you." Sam was trying to listen. The combined teams were going to converge on the Gate room, and she wanted to hear.
~*~
Jack was at the solid door that led to the Gate Room, and he was watching the others to wait until they were in place. The dogs would go in first, and they would be taken to every corner of the room, just to make sure that nothing – or anyone – was there.
The team leader all nodded their readiness, and O'Neill slid his entry card into the slot that cleared the door lock, and it swooshed open.
Immediately, Jack's hackles were up, although he didn't snarl like Jaffer had. The other dogs were acting similarly agitated, although none of them were snarling. Something was different.
"Turn them loose," Jack said, looking carefully into the room as the Marines let loose the dogs and Teal'c sent Jack into the room as well. The dogs all converged in the same spot just off to the left of the ramp. They all four had their heads down and were snuffling and growling, as if there was something on the floor there.
"Cover me," Jack told Teal'c and the others as he walked cautiously into the room, looking around, holding his zat in one hand and his Beretta in the other. He walked over to stand next to Jack, who was clawing at something with one front paw, and O'Neill reached out with a foot, expecting to feel nothing but thin air. What he felt was a body. An invisible body that was lying on the floor.
"I got one," Jack said, nudging a little harder with his foot. There was no motion, and no noise in response. "I think he's already dead." He obviously wasn't sleeping.
He kicked again, this time as hard as he could, and when there still wasn't a response, O'Neill risked crouching down next to the body, feeling for an arm. Jack watched intently as O'Neill sorted out invisible body parts, and finally found what he was searching for. He grabbed the cool metal of the invisible weapon in the invisible hand, and pulled hard, jerking it out of the dead Ashrak's hand. As soon as the weapon cleared the affective area of the cloaking device, it became visible, and Jack saw that he was carrying another one of those wicked-looking force bolt guns. The whatchamacallits. Jack stood up, put his Beretta in the waist of his pants, and looked over at the others.
"Call your dogs back."
There were assorted commands, and the dogs all backed away from O'Neill, still watching the empty area carefully. They were all sight hounds, meaning they used their eyes for hunting more than they used their noses, but all four of the dogs knew there was something there they didn't like. Jack waited until the dogs were clear, then stepped back and aimed the zat at the seemingly empty space on the floor. And fired three times. When he reached out a moment later with his foot, he didn't feel anything.
"Two down, and let's see how many more to go," he said, walking to the door, and waiting for it to close before he locked it down.