.
The last soldier through was leaning forward and O'Neill could see that the young man was crying.
One of them hadn't made it.
…
====o0o==== End Part 4 ====o0o====
.
Part 5: Devestation
.
Colonel Roberts turned to O'Neill and Jack saw the pain and anguish in his eyes.
Roberts had just lost a man.
And, then Jack realized that Roberts was looking at him with a look of apology in his eyes… ….and that could only mean…one thing…. he tried to ask Roberts, he tried to get the words out, but his brain couldn't get his mouth to say them, his mouth and brain weren't tracking. He couldn't focus. He just looked back at the closed iris and the two soldiers who were trying to comfort their anguished teammate.
The gateroom was otherwise quiet in spite of the crowd of soldiers, technicians and medical personnel squeezed together.
It couldn't be her.
It -couldn't- be her.
She couldn't have been there.
And even if she had been, what were the odds that she would be the only one to not come back? What were the odds????
"Jack, I'm sorry," Roberts said quietly.
"Colonel Roberts," the General spoke gently from Jack's right side, "How did the mission go?"
"Mission completed, sir. The entire facility was wired and mined. It should have blown to smithereens – the reaction of the gate was a good indication that it all went as planned," Roberts reported. "We will to send a MALP through and check on the status of the damage for a proper assessment, however. And, sir, we need to send a recovery and retrieval team through for…," and he paused and glanced sympathetically at Jack, "for Major Carter, sir."
And with that he made it concrete.
He said it and that made it real.
Jack wanted to throw up and Daniel looked shattered.
Teal'c's face darkened and clouded over.
"Sir, with your permission, SG-1 will conduct the recovery mission," O'Neill controlled his voice.
"Of course, Colonel. Go and suit up. We'll send the MALP and assessment and recovery teams through as soon as we've finished a preliminary debriefing," the General instructed.
"Sirs?" The young Captain who had been the last one through was now standing in front of the senior officers. "Permission to accompany the recovery team? I know exactly where to look, sirs. And… I -have- to go. I…..just…we…," and his voice trailed off in misery.
"Sir, SG-8, would also like permission to return and assist with the recovery," this came from another direction in the crowd. And then the General was barraged with similar requests from throughout the assemblage of soldiers.
Holding up his hand to get their attention, they quieted and waited for him to speak. "Any personnel who wish to, may assist with the assessment and recovery – all personnel who are medically cleared for gate travel by the time that the debriefings are concluded," the General announced. "Go and get yourselves cleaned up and get yourself cleared by the doctors. We'll take it from there folks," and with that the medics began ushering their charges towards the infirmary.
"Sirs, may we speak to you privately for a moment?" The same young Captain was persistent.
The General nodded considerately, and stepped to the side of the gateroom, out of the stream of personnel who were heading out the door. O'Neill, Roberts, Teal'c, Daniel and the Captain's two teammates clustered around the General.
"Sir….," and here the Captain's voice faltered a bit and he glanced at Colonel O'Neill and the other members of SG-1, "Sir, there's a chance that the Major may have survived," and he stunned them with those words.
"Roberts?" Jack quickly asked his opinion.
Roberts was just looking at the young Captain. "Jack, I don't see how she could have made it through what we set up…..but, Captain Hiedall and Lts. Bedford and Ponce were the Major's team. They would have the best chance at this assessment." Turning back to the Captain, "How do you think she could have survived….?"
"We found some caves, sir. She was severely injured and she ordered us to leave her there while we completed setting the charges on the naquadah refinery and power control complex. She…stayed in touch on the radio and talked us through finding the main power source controls and then she talked us through where and how to connect the explosives to the crystal controls. We set the timers and then we had to run like hell to make it to the gate…..Colonel O'Neill, we wanted to go back, but there wasn't time, the caves were too far away. The timing was predetermined so that all of the factories and the refinery were to blow simultaneously…and there was no way we could get back to her. She knew it sir, when she sent us out. And we knew it too. And I hate it, sir," the Captain's voice was shaking.
Lt. Bedford spoke up now, "Major Carter was severely injured before the blast. We need to go back right now, sirs. If there is even the slightest chance that the cave survived the explosion, then the Major could be alive, but dying right now. Sirs, she may not be dead yet and we can't face the idea that she may be dying while we're getting clean clothes. If there is any chance that she made it, we have to go and find out. If we find out later that she died just because we didn't return quickly enough….I don't think that we can live with that, sir."
The General hadn't interjected or interrupted any of the impassioned pleas and he noticed that Colonel O'Neill was simply listening intently….and that Jack looked…hopeful whereas just a few minutes ago he had looked devastated. Daniel and Teal'c were watching the General and the Colonel intently.
"General, please…," Daniel couldn't hold it in any longer.
"General, SG-1 can be ready to go in 15 minutes. The Captain and the 2 Lieutenants can be our guides," O'Neill recommended.
"You have a go, gentleman," the General agreed. "The MALP still goes through first, however. We'll see if we have a medic available to accompany you."
"Yes, sir!" "Thanks, General" "Thank you, GeneralHammond," they all chorused as they saluted and double-timed to get suited up.
In the locker room, as they were jumping into their field clothes and gear, Colonel Barnes and SG-10 approached Colonel O'Neill. "Jack, SG-10 is fully kitted with rescue gear and medical supplies and we have 2 paramedics as well. We are ready to come-with," Barnes offered.
Jack gratefully accepted as he collected Daniel, Teal'c, Col. Roberts, Capt. Hiedall and Lts. Bedford and Ponce. As they all trooped to the armory, SG-10 went ahead to set up the MALP with additional supplies and equipment.
Fifteen minutes after leaving the gateroom, they trooped back in. O'Neill took a quick look over the assembled men and women and noticed 2 additional members that he didn't recognize. Anticipating his questions, one of them stepped forward, "Sergeants Perry and Franks, sir. We are gate technicians and we have packed the portable DHD on the MALP. Sgt. Franks and I will work on getting it connected while the rest of you complete your search."
Jack was impressed. Now that they'd said it, it was obvious that the DHD on the other side was probably blown to hell…and they would need a way back. The two sergeants were looking at O'Neill with determination and resolution. He couldn't turn them down and he was impressed that they'd stepped up to fill the required hole.
"Your presence is gratefully accepted, gentlemen. But now, I think we need a couple of soldiers to watch your backs while you…" and he was interrupted as the 7 non-injured members of SG-2 and SG-8 walked into the gateroom.
"Permission to join your group, sir," Major Ferretti and Colonel O'Keefe asked formally.
O'Neill looked up at General Hammond and the General simply nodded. "Accepted, accepted, accepted," Jack couldn't help grinning. This brought their hastily assembled group to 20.
"Is everyone ready?" Colonel O'Neill met the eyes of each of them and was impressed by the solid determination and commitment that he saw in each set of eyes.
Looking up to the control room, Gen. Hammond was standing behind Sgt. Davis as he began dialing back to the Go'a'uld planet. Jack couldn't help but notice that there were a large number of technicians, scientists and other SGC personnel behind the general and the control room staff.
Off to the right side, he caught sight of Captain Wilson leaning on his crutches. Meeting the Captain's eyes, the Colonel nodded to him and the Captain answered with a small encouraging nod in return.
"Chevron Six engaged."
"Chevron Seven, locked," Sgt. Davis finished the count and the wormhole flushed outwards and then settled back to the rippling vertical pond.
The MALP was sent through first.
…
The first images showed no Jaffa.
…No images of life whatsoever.
Just a scene of total and absolute destruction.
Nothing but rubble everywhere.
…
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c quickly began to lose the small hope that had been building inside of them.
"Whooooo…..," Jack breathed lowly as they watched the screen that the technicians had jury-rigged for them in the gateroom.
"Captain, are you sure that there is a chance that Major Carter could have survived this?" He had to ask.
"Yes, sir," the Captain responded although his eyes and face were showing the doubt and despair that he didn't want to acknowledge. "The cave is back in the hills behind this main blast site – that was the main power complex."
"Right, then," Colonel O'Neill reset his objectives back on their mission.
"MALP telemetry indicates radiation levels are acceptable for short periods of time. You should stay no longer than 72 hours." This came over the microphone from one of the gate room technicians who was working with the scientists and a medical officer to assess the data.
"MALP readings do not indicate any signs of life….that is, nothing is moving," the technician continued.
Nothing was moving….so either everything around the gate was dead, or their enemies were lying in wait to jump on them after they sent people instead of robots through the gate.
And anyone waiting on the other side would be out for deadly revenge.
Colonel O'Neill took one more look at the men and women assembled to go through the gate with him. Looking back up at the General, "Sir, we are ready to depart on your word."
"You have the word, Colonel," Hammond responded solemnly.
O'Neill nodded and turned back towards the gate, "Let's head out, folks," and they all turned and quickly walked up the ramp and stepped through the gate in double file. Nearing the top of the ramp, just before stepping through, he turned back to the control room window to give the General a final sketchy salute, and the General sent the following words after him as he stepped into the rippling blue mirror, "Bring her back, Jack."
==========================
Stepping through and exiting the gate, the devastation was even more overwhelming.
The members of the recovery team were moving down the gate steps carefully.
There was debris and rubble… and silence.
The portable DHD had been an unexpected gift recently from the Tollan. Jack did not know how this 'gift' fit into the Tollan policy of not sharing technology with 'less advanced races,' but neither could the SGC look a gift horse in the mouth…so to speak. Perhaps, O'Neill thought, the Tollan fudged their own rules a little and made themselves believe that they were still within the letter of their own laws by rationalizing it with the fact that they were only giving the Tauri Go'a'uld technology that the Tauri already had experience with. The Tollan simply did not share Tollan technology…?
After a few minutes surveying the immediate surroundings and destruction, O'Neill ordered the DHD technicians to get to work and he ordered Major Ferretti and Colonel O'Keefe to set up SG-2 and SG-8 in positions around the gate to watch for any incoming hostiles and to protect the sergeants while they worked.
Leaving O'Keefe in charge, O'Neill and the others struck out across the devastated region. Capt. Heidall and his two teammates took the lead as they headed in the direction of some hills approximately 4-5 miles (roughly 6.5-8 kilometers) away.
After s couple of hours or so of walking laboriously through, around, and over the rubble, they got past the majority of the broken buildings and debris and the walking was easier and they were able to pick up their pace. The group had been walking in a long, quiet single-file string, with everyone on alert and constantly scanning the surrounding area for hostiles.
With Teal'c taking the rear position, O'Neill quickened his pace until he had joined Capt. Heidall at the front of the procession.
"Lieutenant Bedford, take point for awhile," the Colonel ordered the Lieutenant up to the front of their group.
The Colonel then walked quietly alongside the young Captain for 10 or 15 minutes before speaking again. "Captain, what were the extent of the Major's injuries when you last saw her?"
Jack saw the young man nod his head when the expected question came, and the Captain cleared his throat before responding. "Sir, the most serious injuries were a broken right leg and a staff wound to her upper left arm. She also had a knife wound in her right thigh, along with various cuts and bruises – and I think she had some broken ribs.... She may have also had a concussion. I'm not a medic, sir…," the Captain apologized.
"Its allright, son, it's not your fault," Jack tried to ease a bit of the younger man's pain, although he knew that his words would only help a little. "And, Captain, Major Carter has lived through worse, and she can do it again," and he gave the young man an encouraging grin.
The Captain gave him a small, shaky, hopeful smile in return. "I sure hope so, sir."
Jack wondered what had transpired over the past few days on this planet. It was obvious that the Captain and the Lieutenants were extremely attached and loyal to the Major. They were acting like teammates that had served with her for years instead of just a few days. Of course, days in intense battle and special ops forged bonds between soldiers that otherwise took years to develop.
"So, Captain, tell me what happened over the past few days," Jack tried to make his voice as casual as he could under the circumstances.
The Captain looked over at him as they continued side-by-side at the front of the group. "Well, sir, we gated to P6X-484, which was set up as the staging area and launch point for our mission." The SGC and Beta Site gates were under such a heavy load dealing with the refugees and those returning from completed missions, that this last, large mission had required a separate assembly point. "We were there for 4 days as the troops were assembled and we were given a few days to work with the Tokra, run though our mission objectives, plan routes, study the maps of the terrain, etc."
Glancing over at the Colonel and then turning his eyes back to the hills in front of them, he continued, "I believe that Major Carter arrived late on the second day or early in the morning of the third day that our team was at the staging area..."
.
====o0o==== End Part 5 ====o0o====
.
The last soldier through was leaning forward and O'Neill could see that the young man was crying.
One of them hadn't made it.
…
====o0o==== End Part 4 ====o0o====
.
Part 5: Devestation
.
Colonel Roberts turned to O'Neill and Jack saw the pain and anguish in his eyes.
Roberts had just lost a man.
And, then Jack realized that Roberts was looking at him with a look of apology in his eyes… ….and that could only mean…one thing…. he tried to ask Roberts, he tried to get the words out, but his brain couldn't get his mouth to say them, his mouth and brain weren't tracking. He couldn't focus. He just looked back at the closed iris and the two soldiers who were trying to comfort their anguished teammate.
The gateroom was otherwise quiet in spite of the crowd of soldiers, technicians and medical personnel squeezed together.
It couldn't be her.
It -couldn't- be her.
She couldn't have been there.
And even if she had been, what were the odds that she would be the only one to not come back? What were the odds????
"Jack, I'm sorry," Roberts said quietly.
"Colonel Roberts," the General spoke gently from Jack's right side, "How did the mission go?"
"Mission completed, sir. The entire facility was wired and mined. It should have blown to smithereens – the reaction of the gate was a good indication that it all went as planned," Roberts reported. "We will to send a MALP through and check on the status of the damage for a proper assessment, however. And, sir, we need to send a recovery and retrieval team through for…," and he paused and glanced sympathetically at Jack, "for Major Carter, sir."
And with that he made it concrete.
He said it and that made it real.
Jack wanted to throw up and Daniel looked shattered.
Teal'c's face darkened and clouded over.
"Sir, with your permission, SG-1 will conduct the recovery mission," O'Neill controlled his voice.
"Of course, Colonel. Go and suit up. We'll send the MALP and assessment and recovery teams through as soon as we've finished a preliminary debriefing," the General instructed.
"Sirs?" The young Captain who had been the last one through was now standing in front of the senior officers. "Permission to accompany the recovery team? I know exactly where to look, sirs. And… I -have- to go. I…..just…we…," and his voice trailed off in misery.
"Sir, SG-8, would also like permission to return and assist with the recovery," this came from another direction in the crowd. And then the General was barraged with similar requests from throughout the assemblage of soldiers.
Holding up his hand to get their attention, they quieted and waited for him to speak. "Any personnel who wish to, may assist with the assessment and recovery – all personnel who are medically cleared for gate travel by the time that the debriefings are concluded," the General announced. "Go and get yourselves cleaned up and get yourself cleared by the doctors. We'll take it from there folks," and with that the medics began ushering their charges towards the infirmary.
"Sirs, may we speak to you privately for a moment?" The same young Captain was persistent.
The General nodded considerately, and stepped to the side of the gateroom, out of the stream of personnel who were heading out the door. O'Neill, Roberts, Teal'c, Daniel and the Captain's two teammates clustered around the General.
"Sir….," and here the Captain's voice faltered a bit and he glanced at Colonel O'Neill and the other members of SG-1, "Sir, there's a chance that the Major may have survived," and he stunned them with those words.
"Roberts?" Jack quickly asked his opinion.
Roberts was just looking at the young Captain. "Jack, I don't see how she could have made it through what we set up…..but, Captain Hiedall and Lts. Bedford and Ponce were the Major's team. They would have the best chance at this assessment." Turning back to the Captain, "How do you think she could have survived….?"
"We found some caves, sir. She was severely injured and she ordered us to leave her there while we completed setting the charges on the naquadah refinery and power control complex. She…stayed in touch on the radio and talked us through finding the main power source controls and then she talked us through where and how to connect the explosives to the crystal controls. We set the timers and then we had to run like hell to make it to the gate…..Colonel O'Neill, we wanted to go back, but there wasn't time, the caves were too far away. The timing was predetermined so that all of the factories and the refinery were to blow simultaneously…and there was no way we could get back to her. She knew it sir, when she sent us out. And we knew it too. And I hate it, sir," the Captain's voice was shaking.
Lt. Bedford spoke up now, "Major Carter was severely injured before the blast. We need to go back right now, sirs. If there is even the slightest chance that the cave survived the explosion, then the Major could be alive, but dying right now. Sirs, she may not be dead yet and we can't face the idea that she may be dying while we're getting clean clothes. If there is any chance that she made it, we have to go and find out. If we find out later that she died just because we didn't return quickly enough….I don't think that we can live with that, sir."
The General hadn't interjected or interrupted any of the impassioned pleas and he noticed that Colonel O'Neill was simply listening intently….and that Jack looked…hopeful whereas just a few minutes ago he had looked devastated. Daniel and Teal'c were watching the General and the Colonel intently.
"General, please…," Daniel couldn't hold it in any longer.
"General, SG-1 can be ready to go in 15 minutes. The Captain and the 2 Lieutenants can be our guides," O'Neill recommended.
"You have a go, gentleman," the General agreed. "The MALP still goes through first, however. We'll see if we have a medic available to accompany you."
"Yes, sir!" "Thanks, General" "Thank you, GeneralHammond," they all chorused as they saluted and double-timed to get suited up.
In the locker room, as they were jumping into their field clothes and gear, Colonel Barnes and SG-10 approached Colonel O'Neill. "Jack, SG-10 is fully kitted with rescue gear and medical supplies and we have 2 paramedics as well. We are ready to come-with," Barnes offered.
Jack gratefully accepted as he collected Daniel, Teal'c, Col. Roberts, Capt. Hiedall and Lts. Bedford and Ponce. As they all trooped to the armory, SG-10 went ahead to set up the MALP with additional supplies and equipment.
Fifteen minutes after leaving the gateroom, they trooped back in. O'Neill took a quick look over the assembled men and women and noticed 2 additional members that he didn't recognize. Anticipating his questions, one of them stepped forward, "Sergeants Perry and Franks, sir. We are gate technicians and we have packed the portable DHD on the MALP. Sgt. Franks and I will work on getting it connected while the rest of you complete your search."
Jack was impressed. Now that they'd said it, it was obvious that the DHD on the other side was probably blown to hell…and they would need a way back. The two sergeants were looking at O'Neill with determination and resolution. He couldn't turn them down and he was impressed that they'd stepped up to fill the required hole.
"Your presence is gratefully accepted, gentlemen. But now, I think we need a couple of soldiers to watch your backs while you…" and he was interrupted as the 7 non-injured members of SG-2 and SG-8 walked into the gateroom.
"Permission to join your group, sir," Major Ferretti and Colonel O'Keefe asked formally.
O'Neill looked up at General Hammond and the General simply nodded. "Accepted, accepted, accepted," Jack couldn't help grinning. This brought their hastily assembled group to 20.
"Is everyone ready?" Colonel O'Neill met the eyes of each of them and was impressed by the solid determination and commitment that he saw in each set of eyes.
Looking up to the control room, Gen. Hammond was standing behind Sgt. Davis as he began dialing back to the Go'a'uld planet. Jack couldn't help but notice that there were a large number of technicians, scientists and other SGC personnel behind the general and the control room staff.
Off to the right side, he caught sight of Captain Wilson leaning on his crutches. Meeting the Captain's eyes, the Colonel nodded to him and the Captain answered with a small encouraging nod in return.
"Chevron Six engaged."
"Chevron Seven, locked," Sgt. Davis finished the count and the wormhole flushed outwards and then settled back to the rippling vertical pond.
The MALP was sent through first.
…
The first images showed no Jaffa.
…No images of life whatsoever.
Just a scene of total and absolute destruction.
Nothing but rubble everywhere.
…
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c quickly began to lose the small hope that had been building inside of them.
"Whooooo…..," Jack breathed lowly as they watched the screen that the technicians had jury-rigged for them in the gateroom.
"Captain, are you sure that there is a chance that Major Carter could have survived this?" He had to ask.
"Yes, sir," the Captain responded although his eyes and face were showing the doubt and despair that he didn't want to acknowledge. "The cave is back in the hills behind this main blast site – that was the main power complex."
"Right, then," Colonel O'Neill reset his objectives back on their mission.
"MALP telemetry indicates radiation levels are acceptable for short periods of time. You should stay no longer than 72 hours." This came over the microphone from one of the gate room technicians who was working with the scientists and a medical officer to assess the data.
"MALP readings do not indicate any signs of life….that is, nothing is moving," the technician continued.
Nothing was moving….so either everything around the gate was dead, or their enemies were lying in wait to jump on them after they sent people instead of robots through the gate.
And anyone waiting on the other side would be out for deadly revenge.
Colonel O'Neill took one more look at the men and women assembled to go through the gate with him. Looking back up at the General, "Sir, we are ready to depart on your word."
"You have the word, Colonel," Hammond responded solemnly.
O'Neill nodded and turned back towards the gate, "Let's head out, folks," and they all turned and quickly walked up the ramp and stepped through the gate in double file. Nearing the top of the ramp, just before stepping through, he turned back to the control room window to give the General a final sketchy salute, and the General sent the following words after him as he stepped into the rippling blue mirror, "Bring her back, Jack."
==========================
Stepping through and exiting the gate, the devastation was even more overwhelming.
The members of the recovery team were moving down the gate steps carefully.
There was debris and rubble… and silence.
The portable DHD had been an unexpected gift recently from the Tollan. Jack did not know how this 'gift' fit into the Tollan policy of not sharing technology with 'less advanced races,' but neither could the SGC look a gift horse in the mouth…so to speak. Perhaps, O'Neill thought, the Tollan fudged their own rules a little and made themselves believe that they were still within the letter of their own laws by rationalizing it with the fact that they were only giving the Tauri Go'a'uld technology that the Tauri already had experience with. The Tollan simply did not share Tollan technology…?
After a few minutes surveying the immediate surroundings and destruction, O'Neill ordered the DHD technicians to get to work and he ordered Major Ferretti and Colonel O'Keefe to set up SG-2 and SG-8 in positions around the gate to watch for any incoming hostiles and to protect the sergeants while they worked.
Leaving O'Keefe in charge, O'Neill and the others struck out across the devastated region. Capt. Heidall and his two teammates took the lead as they headed in the direction of some hills approximately 4-5 miles (roughly 6.5-8 kilometers) away.
After s couple of hours or so of walking laboriously through, around, and over the rubble, they got past the majority of the broken buildings and debris and the walking was easier and they were able to pick up their pace. The group had been walking in a long, quiet single-file string, with everyone on alert and constantly scanning the surrounding area for hostiles.
With Teal'c taking the rear position, O'Neill quickened his pace until he had joined Capt. Heidall at the front of the procession.
"Lieutenant Bedford, take point for awhile," the Colonel ordered the Lieutenant up to the front of their group.
The Colonel then walked quietly alongside the young Captain for 10 or 15 minutes before speaking again. "Captain, what were the extent of the Major's injuries when you last saw her?"
Jack saw the young man nod his head when the expected question came, and the Captain cleared his throat before responding. "Sir, the most serious injuries were a broken right leg and a staff wound to her upper left arm. She also had a knife wound in her right thigh, along with various cuts and bruises – and I think she had some broken ribs.... She may have also had a concussion. I'm not a medic, sir…," the Captain apologized.
"Its allright, son, it's not your fault," Jack tried to ease a bit of the younger man's pain, although he knew that his words would only help a little. "And, Captain, Major Carter has lived through worse, and she can do it again," and he gave the young man an encouraging grin.
The Captain gave him a small, shaky, hopeful smile in return. "I sure hope so, sir."
Jack wondered what had transpired over the past few days on this planet. It was obvious that the Captain and the Lieutenants were extremely attached and loyal to the Major. They were acting like teammates that had served with her for years instead of just a few days. Of course, days in intense battle and special ops forged bonds between soldiers that otherwise took years to develop.
"So, Captain, tell me what happened over the past few days," Jack tried to make his voice as casual as he could under the circumstances.
The Captain looked over at him as they continued side-by-side at the front of the group. "Well, sir, we gated to P6X-484, which was set up as the staging area and launch point for our mission." The SGC and Beta Site gates were under such a heavy load dealing with the refugees and those returning from completed missions, that this last, large mission had required a separate assembly point. "We were there for 4 days as the troops were assembled and we were given a few days to work with the Tokra, run though our mission objectives, plan routes, study the maps of the terrain, etc."
Glancing over at the Colonel and then turning his eyes back to the hills in front of them, he continued, "I believe that Major Carter arrived late on the second day or early in the morning of the third day that our team was at the staging area..."
.
====o0o==== End Part 5 ====o0o====
.