He didn't get his message sent off, and Carter and Anderson didn't make it off the base. Only moments after she left, alarms went off all over the base.
"Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room!"
Jack headed for the gate room at a run, and halfway there was almost run over by Carter and Anderson, who were pelting for the gate room from the opposite direction.
"Any clue who it is?" Sam asked as they ran the length of the corridor.
"No. No one's off-world right now."
They came through the door just as the alarm was being turned off, which indicated that there was an acceptable ID coming through the gate. A second later the iris opened and a moment after that Jacob Carter came through the gate, a serious expression on his face as he looked around to see who was about.
"Dad," Sam walked over, with O'Neill and Anderson close behind her, and Hammond joined them only a moment later.
"It's starting," Jacob said.
Hammond nodded, and gestured for the door. "Let's go to the briefing room."
....................
"About ten minutes ago we received a message from an operative with the major system lord Kilean. He tells us that the system lords have heard from Talon, who has given them his terms for peace."
"Which are?"
"He retains the armies and territories that he's already taken, plus a percentage of the territories of those system lords that were involved in the ambush on him."
"Oh, I'll bet that went over well." Jack said from the chair he was sitting in next to Anderson.
Jacob nodded.
"As you can imagine, the system lords balked. First of all, they can't stand the idea of letting anyone have any territory that they stole fair and square. Even more importantly, though, Talon controls more territory and armies than any of the other system lords, which already makes him dangerous. Were they to agree to his terms, he'd be the most powerful of them all, and they don't like that idea, either."
"Understandable."
"Had they not ambushed him and Mitchell, they wouldn't be in the mess they're in," Jacob said, grimly. "Talon's armies were increased dramatically during the retribution, and had they tried to deal with him and Mitchell before that they wouldn't have to worry about how many troops he has, or how much territory he holds. Now, they know he's unstoppable, and it'll gall them to think of him holding power they don't have. They're almost certain to try something absolute – and after the last failed ambush, whatever it is they decide to do, it's going to be extreme."
"Like another ambush?" Anderson asked.
Jacob nodded. "Only with a lot more ships – maybe all they have to throw at her. They have to make sure they win, because otherwise they know she'll come after them if she lives, and now they know she won't give them quarter."
"So you think they're not going to accept her terms?" Jack asked. If that was the case, he needed to send a warning off to Melony so she could be ready for an ambush.
Jacob shrugged. "I can't see them accepting them, Jack. Talon's demanding too much from them – and he has to know it."
"Which means he's probably goading them into another ambush?" Sam asked.
Another shrug. "You never know with Talon. He's ruthless, but wily. He might be expecting them to think he's forcing them into an ambush to keep them from actually ambushing them."
Jack scowled. He hated it when things got complicated.
"What do you think, Jacob?" Hammond asked. "You know Talon. What's he up to?"
"I don't have a clue, George. But I think it's a very good idea to send a warning to Mitchell that the system lords are almost definitely not going to accept her terms. At least she'll be expecting an ambush."
Jack was fairly certain they were expecting an ambush already, but he nodded, since he was the one who'd be sending the message. He started to say something, when he felt the slight vibration on his wrist that told him the device Mitchell had given him was activated. Something like a pager, only a lot cooler.
"Hold on."
He looked down at his wrist, and slid a finger along the panel on his device, and a message went across the small screen. He read it, then read it once more and shook his head.
"Colonel?"
Jack looked up at Hammond and saw everyone was watching him.
"Melony sent me a message, Sir." He explained. "She tells me that she and Daniel are going to parley with the system lords in a place called Keylow." Jack looked at Jacob, who nodded.
"It's supposed to be neutral territory."
"And is it?"
Jacob shook his head.
"It's a perfect place for an ambush, though. Plenty big enough to surround her sip and take her out."
"If it's that big, it's a good place for her to turn her primary weapon on the ambushers, though," Sam said. "With the shield breaker thing, she can take out a lot of ships and do a ton of damage."
"Enough to destroy all that the system lords bring to bear?" Jacob asked. He knew that Sam had spent a lot of time looking over the plans and technology Talon and Mitchell had at their disposal.
Sam visibly considered it, then nodded. "I can't even imagine the scope of the explosion that detonating the ship will create, but it's going to be something completely unseen before. Something akin to the sun exploding –"
"We've blown up stars before, Carter," Jack reminded her, interrupting.
"Something like the sun exploding, only magnified by about a million." Sam finished, looking at Jack. "It's going to take out everything, Colonel. No matter how far away they are, if they're in sensor range, they're dead. All of them."
Even Jack looked stunned at that. He couldn't even imagine an explosion of that magnitude.
"They'll never live through that," Jacob said.
"They can escape in time, if they time it right." Sam said. "As long as the wormhole that the escape device creates doesn't get caught in the explosion."
"What would happen then?" Anderson asked, certain it would be bad.
"They could be flung anywhere. Or it might completely shut down..." Sam said, shrugging. "I'm not sure which. It's very experimental technology, like Colonel Mitchell said."
"They're probably aware of that danger," Anderson said, uncertainly.
Sam nodded. "I'm certain they are."
"Colonel? Send Colonel Mitchell a message. Tell her to be careful, and make sure she gets their asses out of there the minute things take a turn for the worse."
"Yes, Sir."
Jack bent over his wrist once more, and the conversation went on around him as the others discussed other possibilities, all more far fetched than the others.
"Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room!"
Jack headed for the gate room at a run, and halfway there was almost run over by Carter and Anderson, who were pelting for the gate room from the opposite direction.
"Any clue who it is?" Sam asked as they ran the length of the corridor.
"No. No one's off-world right now."
They came through the door just as the alarm was being turned off, which indicated that there was an acceptable ID coming through the gate. A second later the iris opened and a moment after that Jacob Carter came through the gate, a serious expression on his face as he looked around to see who was about.
"Dad," Sam walked over, with O'Neill and Anderson close behind her, and Hammond joined them only a moment later.
"It's starting," Jacob said.
Hammond nodded, and gestured for the door. "Let's go to the briefing room."
....................
"About ten minutes ago we received a message from an operative with the major system lord Kilean. He tells us that the system lords have heard from Talon, who has given them his terms for peace."
"Which are?"
"He retains the armies and territories that he's already taken, plus a percentage of the territories of those system lords that were involved in the ambush on him."
"Oh, I'll bet that went over well." Jack said from the chair he was sitting in next to Anderson.
Jacob nodded.
"As you can imagine, the system lords balked. First of all, they can't stand the idea of letting anyone have any territory that they stole fair and square. Even more importantly, though, Talon controls more territory and armies than any of the other system lords, which already makes him dangerous. Were they to agree to his terms, he'd be the most powerful of them all, and they don't like that idea, either."
"Understandable."
"Had they not ambushed him and Mitchell, they wouldn't be in the mess they're in," Jacob said, grimly. "Talon's armies were increased dramatically during the retribution, and had they tried to deal with him and Mitchell before that they wouldn't have to worry about how many troops he has, or how much territory he holds. Now, they know he's unstoppable, and it'll gall them to think of him holding power they don't have. They're almost certain to try something absolute – and after the last failed ambush, whatever it is they decide to do, it's going to be extreme."
"Like another ambush?" Anderson asked.
Jacob nodded. "Only with a lot more ships – maybe all they have to throw at her. They have to make sure they win, because otherwise they know she'll come after them if she lives, and now they know she won't give them quarter."
"So you think they're not going to accept her terms?" Jack asked. If that was the case, he needed to send a warning off to Melony so she could be ready for an ambush.
Jacob shrugged. "I can't see them accepting them, Jack. Talon's demanding too much from them – and he has to know it."
"Which means he's probably goading them into another ambush?" Sam asked.
Another shrug. "You never know with Talon. He's ruthless, but wily. He might be expecting them to think he's forcing them into an ambush to keep them from actually ambushing them."
Jack scowled. He hated it when things got complicated.
"What do you think, Jacob?" Hammond asked. "You know Talon. What's he up to?"
"I don't have a clue, George. But I think it's a very good idea to send a warning to Mitchell that the system lords are almost definitely not going to accept her terms. At least she'll be expecting an ambush."
Jack was fairly certain they were expecting an ambush already, but he nodded, since he was the one who'd be sending the message. He started to say something, when he felt the slight vibration on his wrist that told him the device Mitchell had given him was activated. Something like a pager, only a lot cooler.
"Hold on."
He looked down at his wrist, and slid a finger along the panel on his device, and a message went across the small screen. He read it, then read it once more and shook his head.
"Colonel?"
Jack looked up at Hammond and saw everyone was watching him.
"Melony sent me a message, Sir." He explained. "She tells me that she and Daniel are going to parley with the system lords in a place called Keylow." Jack looked at Jacob, who nodded.
"It's supposed to be neutral territory."
"And is it?"
Jacob shook his head.
"It's a perfect place for an ambush, though. Plenty big enough to surround her sip and take her out."
"If it's that big, it's a good place for her to turn her primary weapon on the ambushers, though," Sam said. "With the shield breaker thing, she can take out a lot of ships and do a ton of damage."
"Enough to destroy all that the system lords bring to bear?" Jacob asked. He knew that Sam had spent a lot of time looking over the plans and technology Talon and Mitchell had at their disposal.
Sam visibly considered it, then nodded. "I can't even imagine the scope of the explosion that detonating the ship will create, but it's going to be something completely unseen before. Something akin to the sun exploding –"
"We've blown up stars before, Carter," Jack reminded her, interrupting.
"Something like the sun exploding, only magnified by about a million." Sam finished, looking at Jack. "It's going to take out everything, Colonel. No matter how far away they are, if they're in sensor range, they're dead. All of them."
Even Jack looked stunned at that. He couldn't even imagine an explosion of that magnitude.
"They'll never live through that," Jacob said.
"They can escape in time, if they time it right." Sam said. "As long as the wormhole that the escape device creates doesn't get caught in the explosion."
"What would happen then?" Anderson asked, certain it would be bad.
"They could be flung anywhere. Or it might completely shut down..." Sam said, shrugging. "I'm not sure which. It's very experimental technology, like Colonel Mitchell said."
"They're probably aware of that danger," Anderson said, uncertainly.
Sam nodded. "I'm certain they are."
"Colonel? Send Colonel Mitchell a message. Tell her to be careful, and make sure she gets their asses out of there the minute things take a turn for the worse."
"Yes, Sir."
Jack bent over his wrist once more, and the conversation went on around him as the others discussed other possibilities, all more far fetched than the others.