Author's Note: I admit I don't know a lot about the Ancients, but I figured
Dotty has some pretty cool technology at her disposal, and that there's
nothing that says the Ancients are a pacifist race of people. Only that
they're good folks. I figure someone that advanced has to have some pretty
nasty ways of killing folks, and that a mother protecting her son from
something as violent as an Ashrak (or four or five) would be willing to use
anything!
~*~
"They're on this level," Carter said, getting off the bed and going over to check on Janet's wounded Marine. The man was still out, but according to the doctor he was going to be fine.
Shawn looked at Jaffer, who was still on the bed. The dog had watched Sam move, but as soon as he decided she wasn't leaving the room – or his sight – he turned his attention back to the door, where it had been since Teal'c and the others had left. Almost as if the black lab expected trouble. Or maybe he was just picking up Shawn's own tenseness. It was always a possibility.
"Think they'll want to move us up to the surface, or will he keep us here under lockdown?" Fraiser asked.
"I'm not sure. It depends on what Hammond brought, probably, and how much trouble it would be one way or the other."
"Will it be safe to move him?" Sam asked, gesturing to the unconscious man.
"Yes, he's stable. It's probably no worse than the hit you took. He'll have a nasty headache when he wakes up."
"How's your head, Sam?" Shawn asked, turning from Jaffer to look at her, remembering that she was hurt and shouldn't be out of bed.
"Sore. Not much worse than a hangover."
"The B'kedricti pack a nasty wallop, but if they're not on the highest settings, they don't always kill. Many of the Ashrak are hired to bring back living captives."
"Let's just hope they're trying to catch us alive, huh?" Sam said.
Shawn didn't look hopeful, but he shrugged and played along, knowing she didn't think too much of those chances, either.
~*~
The squeaking hinge on the door was all that saved Jack and his team. They'd just separated from the other two teams and had started down the hall, carefully watching all around them, when a slight noise drew Jack's attention to the first door in the hall. His men, ever watchful of what they're commanding officer was doing, turned to look where he was looking, and they all saw the door opening so slowly they might not have noticed at all if not for the creaking noise.
"Down!" O'Neill dove one direction and his men went the other. The bolt of energy struck the wall right behind where they'd been standing. Jack rolled as he fell and turned the B'kedricti in his hand towards the open doorway, but even as he fired he knew the assassin could be anywhere – inside the room, or out in the hall.
Another bolt of energy shot out at him, this time from the middle of the hall, and Jack tried to dodge it as well by rolling once more – this time towards his men. The shot was a lousy one, but it was also extremely lucky, and it hit the back of the hand that was holding the alien weapon. With a yelp as he felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his arm, Jack dropped the B'kedricti and it fell to the concrete floor with a clatter.
Covering him, the Marines returned fire, but the assassin was smart enough to not stay in the same spot. O'Neill thought he felt something brush past his foot as he scrambled to get out of the way of another shot, and he fired off the Beretta that was still in his left hand, emptying the clip into the open hallway and scattering the bullets randomly, just hoping to get lucky. Which he doubted.
"Damn it!"
He lunged back into the hallway and grabbed up the B'kedricti in his hand – which was still numb from the jolt of energy – and swore again. It was bad enough they were getting shot at, but being shot at by someone you couldn't see (And therefore couldn't shoot back at) was just no fun at all!
"Are you all right, Sir?" One of the Marines asked, coming up to stand beside Jack as the other one covered him.
"Yeah."
"Then where's the blood coming from?"
Jack followed the man's gaze to the floor and saw that there were, indeed, a couple of drops of blood on the floor. Crimson against the gray of the concrete.
Jack's foot reached out and the toe of his boot smeared the blood. It was fresh.
"You must have got him, Sir."
"Huh..." O'Neill looked over and saw another couple of drops. He gestured to it. There was enough to be a trail. Which was good enough for Jack. "Blood trail." O'Neill handed the B'kedricti to the Marine and reloaded his Beretta really quick, then took the other weapon back. "Let's see where our wounded friend is going, shall we?"
Leading the way, with both weapons held in front of him, Jack started down the hall once more.
~*~
"The General said you turn it on with this button here, Sir," The Corporal told Teal'c. He and the rest of S-2 had made record time running up the stairs. With Jack able to warn them if they were in any danger, and the yellow lab quiet the entire way, they'd decided that haste was more important than caution, and had sprinted. No easy feat when you consider that they'd started on the 27th level. His men were panting, and so was Jack, but they were doing it quietly so Teal'c could get instructions on how to make the enemy visible. "They also have a range of 15 yards."
He nodded, and handed one of each of the devices to the men in his team. There were four devices and four of them so it worked well. The men turned theirs on, and waited for instructions, feeling a bit better knowing that they had a way to see their enemy, now.
"Tell General Hammond the sweep teams are on level 27 and are working their way up. We shall stay in contact with him as much as we can."
"Aye, aye, Sir."
Teal'c gathered his team. Now that they had devices that could counteract the advantage the Ashrak had over them, he was ready to split his group up. There were two sets of stairs that led – indirectly – down to the lower levels of the base. These weren't really for personnel, they were for maintenance crews to have access, but Teal'c knew of them because he'd asked a long time ago about any possible ways in and out of the base, and O'Neill had showed him.
The Jaffa sent three of his Marines – with three of the devices – down the east stairwell. The one they'd just come running up. He was going to take Jack and one Marine – carrying the remaining device – down the maintenance stairs where they would be able to cover more area than if they were all grouped together. And hopefully, they'd get the remaining Ashrak in a crossfire once they could see them, and simply mow them down with zats and his staff weapon.
"We are returning, O'Neill," Teal'c said into his radio, his voice jut as deep and solid as it always was.
There was a slight pause, then O'Neill's voice answered.
"Roger that, S-2. We left the welcome mat out." Meaning the door they'd left through was still open, and was being covered by friendlies.
~*~
"They're on this level," Carter said, getting off the bed and going over to check on Janet's wounded Marine. The man was still out, but according to the doctor he was going to be fine.
Shawn looked at Jaffer, who was still on the bed. The dog had watched Sam move, but as soon as he decided she wasn't leaving the room – or his sight – he turned his attention back to the door, where it had been since Teal'c and the others had left. Almost as if the black lab expected trouble. Or maybe he was just picking up Shawn's own tenseness. It was always a possibility.
"Think they'll want to move us up to the surface, or will he keep us here under lockdown?" Fraiser asked.
"I'm not sure. It depends on what Hammond brought, probably, and how much trouble it would be one way or the other."
"Will it be safe to move him?" Sam asked, gesturing to the unconscious man.
"Yes, he's stable. It's probably no worse than the hit you took. He'll have a nasty headache when he wakes up."
"How's your head, Sam?" Shawn asked, turning from Jaffer to look at her, remembering that she was hurt and shouldn't be out of bed.
"Sore. Not much worse than a hangover."
"The B'kedricti pack a nasty wallop, but if they're not on the highest settings, they don't always kill. Many of the Ashrak are hired to bring back living captives."
"Let's just hope they're trying to catch us alive, huh?" Sam said.
Shawn didn't look hopeful, but he shrugged and played along, knowing she didn't think too much of those chances, either.
~*~
The squeaking hinge on the door was all that saved Jack and his team. They'd just separated from the other two teams and had started down the hall, carefully watching all around them, when a slight noise drew Jack's attention to the first door in the hall. His men, ever watchful of what they're commanding officer was doing, turned to look where he was looking, and they all saw the door opening so slowly they might not have noticed at all if not for the creaking noise.
"Down!" O'Neill dove one direction and his men went the other. The bolt of energy struck the wall right behind where they'd been standing. Jack rolled as he fell and turned the B'kedricti in his hand towards the open doorway, but even as he fired he knew the assassin could be anywhere – inside the room, or out in the hall.
Another bolt of energy shot out at him, this time from the middle of the hall, and Jack tried to dodge it as well by rolling once more – this time towards his men. The shot was a lousy one, but it was also extremely lucky, and it hit the back of the hand that was holding the alien weapon. With a yelp as he felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his arm, Jack dropped the B'kedricti and it fell to the concrete floor with a clatter.
Covering him, the Marines returned fire, but the assassin was smart enough to not stay in the same spot. O'Neill thought he felt something brush past his foot as he scrambled to get out of the way of another shot, and he fired off the Beretta that was still in his left hand, emptying the clip into the open hallway and scattering the bullets randomly, just hoping to get lucky. Which he doubted.
"Damn it!"
He lunged back into the hallway and grabbed up the B'kedricti in his hand – which was still numb from the jolt of energy – and swore again. It was bad enough they were getting shot at, but being shot at by someone you couldn't see (And therefore couldn't shoot back at) was just no fun at all!
"Are you all right, Sir?" One of the Marines asked, coming up to stand beside Jack as the other one covered him.
"Yeah."
"Then where's the blood coming from?"
Jack followed the man's gaze to the floor and saw that there were, indeed, a couple of drops of blood on the floor. Crimson against the gray of the concrete.
Jack's foot reached out and the toe of his boot smeared the blood. It was fresh.
"You must have got him, Sir."
"Huh..." O'Neill looked over and saw another couple of drops. He gestured to it. There was enough to be a trail. Which was good enough for Jack. "Blood trail." O'Neill handed the B'kedricti to the Marine and reloaded his Beretta really quick, then took the other weapon back. "Let's see where our wounded friend is going, shall we?"
Leading the way, with both weapons held in front of him, Jack started down the hall once more.
~*~
"The General said you turn it on with this button here, Sir," The Corporal told Teal'c. He and the rest of S-2 had made record time running up the stairs. With Jack able to warn them if they were in any danger, and the yellow lab quiet the entire way, they'd decided that haste was more important than caution, and had sprinted. No easy feat when you consider that they'd started on the 27th level. His men were panting, and so was Jack, but they were doing it quietly so Teal'c could get instructions on how to make the enemy visible. "They also have a range of 15 yards."
He nodded, and handed one of each of the devices to the men in his team. There were four devices and four of them so it worked well. The men turned theirs on, and waited for instructions, feeling a bit better knowing that they had a way to see their enemy, now.
"Tell General Hammond the sweep teams are on level 27 and are working their way up. We shall stay in contact with him as much as we can."
"Aye, aye, Sir."
Teal'c gathered his team. Now that they had devices that could counteract the advantage the Ashrak had over them, he was ready to split his group up. There were two sets of stairs that led – indirectly – down to the lower levels of the base. These weren't really for personnel, they were for maintenance crews to have access, but Teal'c knew of them because he'd asked a long time ago about any possible ways in and out of the base, and O'Neill had showed him.
The Jaffa sent three of his Marines – with three of the devices – down the east stairwell. The one they'd just come running up. He was going to take Jack and one Marine – carrying the remaining device – down the maintenance stairs where they would be able to cover more area than if they were all grouped together. And hopefully, they'd get the remaining Ashrak in a crossfire once they could see them, and simply mow them down with zats and his staff weapon.
"We are returning, O'Neill," Teal'c said into his radio, his voice jut as deep and solid as it always was.
There was a slight pause, then O'Neill's voice answered.
"Roger that, S-2. We left the welcome mat out." Meaning the door they'd left through was still open, and was being covered by friendlies.