General Hammond got hold of the specialist team and they were on the base 6 hours later, having flown in from somewhere in Southern Brazil. They looked tired and grubby but ready for anything. The team was four strong, three men one woman. The leader, introduced as Riley Finn, shook hands with SG1 and listened to General Hammond go through the situation on the planet. The "demon team", as O'Neill had started referring to them privately in his head, took the confidentiality of the Stargate Project as read.
Their own work was also top secret and they did not seem at all surprised about the discovery and subsequently research and then journeys through the Stargate. The expression on Riley Finn's conventionally handsome face did not change as General Hammond elaborated on the circumstances. General Hammond finished the briefing and turned to Riley Finn.
"OK, Agent Finn, can you just run through basically the type of work you do, your normal approach to this sort of thing?"
Riley Finn, tall, handsome, blonde haired and blue eyed got to his feet. O'Neill instantly hated him but couldn't figure out why. He was too perfect, everything about him from his gleaming smile to his perfectly mussed up hair seemed too perfect.
"We deal with most types of demon, from the normal vampire to the more unusual demon. The usual approach for a vampire is a stake through the heart, decapitation, fire or sunlight. Any of those four options will kill. Holy water, religious signs or garlic also help although they won't kill. For them and any other kind of demon we use whatever we can lay our hands on, stun guns, swords, flamethrowers. We've got a pretty extensive arsenal." He smiled and O'Neill saw Carter return the smile and felt the irrational hate bubble up in him.
"To be honest with you, we are capable of handling this but we would need to think long term. Do we want to kill all the vampires on the planet? Do we want to move the human prisoners off and declare the planet dangerous?"
"We hadn't actually thought that far ahead" Carter said "At this point, my research has been on how to get rid of vampires."
Riley grinned "In that case we'll need help. And I know just the person to do it."
"Sir, can I have a word please?" The brunette to Agent Finn's left spoke and, with an apologetic look at Hammond, she and Riley moved into a corner away from the table, speaking softly.
"You can't get her involved in this, Riley" Samantha Finn
whispered "You know how she feels about the military"
"She'll want to help Sam. An entire planet populated by vampires? It's practically her duty to help."
"Yes, in this world! She's the Slayer and it is her job in this world. You can't burden her with this as well."
"Are you saying you think we can handle this? Because I don't think we can."
The two continued to argue quietly in the corner as SG1, Hammond and the other two members of the team watched.
"Are they always like this?" asked O'Neill to one of the guys who had introduced himself as Charles 'call me Tosh' Mackintosh.
"Yep, married life eh?"
There was silence for a moment as the SG team looked at each other and then at the couple in the corner.
"They're married? But marriage within the military…" Carter's voice trailed off.
"Yeah yeah we know all of that. But our situation is slightly different. You have to understand, Major, that we don't operate with normal Army rules. We can't, otherwise we'd never get our job done. A long life span is not one of the benefits that comes with this job, our superiors know that" he shrugged "It doesn't affect his or her judgment on the job and, if anything, it helps."
Riley Finn and his now named wife, Sam, returned the table. The expression on her face said it all - she was angry with him and not at all happy with what he was about to do.
"There are some people who are experts in this field, they've been dealing with this longer than we have and are highly experienced in fighting vamps. With your permission General, I'd like to contact them and see if they'd be amenable to helping us."
"Are they military cleared?" General Hammond asked.
Riley Finn shook his head "They're not but they are completely reliable and will keep this entire situation confidential. They've had to keep a lot of secrets over the years. This one is just one more."
"Is it by any chance the Slayer you'll be talking to?" Carter asked suddenly, working on a hunch. The hunch paid off as Riley Finn stared at her, an expression of caution spreading over his face.
"How do you know about the Slayer?" he asked.
"I've done some research on the subject and the word kept cropping up. Something about there being one in each generation?"
Carter kept going as she had obviously hit on something here but she could tell Riley Finn was not happy talking about it. Samantha Finn sighed.
"It is the Slayer we'd be contacting. Her name is Buffy Summers, she's one of the current Slayers. She lives in Sunnydale, California. Sunnydale is Boca De Inferno, the Hellmouth - a spot which attracts all evil, vampires, demons, you name it - it turns up there. There's a team of young people who work with her, her Watcher and some friends of hers. There is also another group in Los Angeles." SG1 looked at her dumbly as she revealed this information. When she finished O'Neill put his hand up cautiously.
"I have a question." Sam looked back at him with enquiring eyes.
"You're married?" he asked.
"Yes" she said.
"Hell of honeymoon you must have had."
"It was spent in Paraguay killing vampires. It was fun."
O'Neill eyed her with respect "You have a bizarre idea of fun."
She grinned at him, a totally friendly, completely charming open smile and the little voice in his head said 'she's married to Action Man'? Some women get all the luck'.
"You said this girl, Buffy Summers, is one of the active Slayers. But the legend that I've been researching said that only one is born in each generation. But you imply that there's more than one active Slayer at the moment." Carter had listened closely to Sam's brief history of the Slayers and this was one of the things that had stood out. The other thing had been the respect that was in her voice when she spoke of her.
Samantha Finn took her gaze off O'Neill and nodded at Carter.
"That's right. The rule is that a Slayer has to die before another Slayer can be activated. We don't know if its how they pass on their powers or how they are called or really how it works. Some time ago Buffy was involved in a fight with a powerful vampire called The Master. She was dead for a few moments before being revived by one of her friends and then went on to successfully defeat the Master."
Riley Finn interrupted "She dropped him through a roof skylight straight on to a stake." O'Neill noticed the pride in his voice as he spoke. There was something else going on here but he couldn't quite figure out what. Samantha Finn continued with her story.
"The next Slayer to be called was Kendra. She turned up in Sunnydale, giving both Buffy and her watcher, Rupert Giles, quite a shock. I don't think the whole "Slayer death thing" had really hit home until that moment. During a fight Kendra was killed."
"Buffy always blamed herself for that" said Riles softly, under his breath.
"After Kendra came Faith. She is, technically speaking, the current active Slayer but I believe she's currently in a women's prison just outside of Los Angeles serving her sentence for manslaughter."
"She killed a human?" Carter asked incredulously.
"It's a long and very complicated story. But its all background you'll need to know if we're going to bring the Slayers in on this. Faith is getting herself back together and we've had good reports on her." Sam sipped her water from the glass in front of her, giving SG1 and Hammond time to digest everything she had said.
"I think we'll take a break here people. Reconvene in about an hour with ideas and solutions. I like the idea of bringing in these experts you mentioned. Can we contact them?" Hammond was back in control again, his quick mind sifting through options.
"I can contact the Sunnydale group now if you like. We can bring in LA and Faith if we need to but the Sunnydale group are the best hope." Riley answered.
"Do that please. I'll see you all back here in an hour."
Their own work was also top secret and they did not seem at all surprised about the discovery and subsequently research and then journeys through the Stargate. The expression on Riley Finn's conventionally handsome face did not change as General Hammond elaborated on the circumstances. General Hammond finished the briefing and turned to Riley Finn.
"OK, Agent Finn, can you just run through basically the type of work you do, your normal approach to this sort of thing?"
Riley Finn, tall, handsome, blonde haired and blue eyed got to his feet. O'Neill instantly hated him but couldn't figure out why. He was too perfect, everything about him from his gleaming smile to his perfectly mussed up hair seemed too perfect.
"We deal with most types of demon, from the normal vampire to the more unusual demon. The usual approach for a vampire is a stake through the heart, decapitation, fire or sunlight. Any of those four options will kill. Holy water, religious signs or garlic also help although they won't kill. For them and any other kind of demon we use whatever we can lay our hands on, stun guns, swords, flamethrowers. We've got a pretty extensive arsenal." He smiled and O'Neill saw Carter return the smile and felt the irrational hate bubble up in him.
"To be honest with you, we are capable of handling this but we would need to think long term. Do we want to kill all the vampires on the planet? Do we want to move the human prisoners off and declare the planet dangerous?"
"We hadn't actually thought that far ahead" Carter said "At this point, my research has been on how to get rid of vampires."
Riley grinned "In that case we'll need help. And I know just the person to do it."
"Sir, can I have a word please?" The brunette to Agent Finn's left spoke and, with an apologetic look at Hammond, she and Riley moved into a corner away from the table, speaking softly.
"You can't get her involved in this, Riley" Samantha Finn
whispered "You know how she feels about the military"
"She'll want to help Sam. An entire planet populated by vampires? It's practically her duty to help."
"Yes, in this world! She's the Slayer and it is her job in this world. You can't burden her with this as well."
"Are you saying you think we can handle this? Because I don't think we can."
The two continued to argue quietly in the corner as SG1, Hammond and the other two members of the team watched.
"Are they always like this?" asked O'Neill to one of the guys who had introduced himself as Charles 'call me Tosh' Mackintosh.
"Yep, married life eh?"
There was silence for a moment as the SG team looked at each other and then at the couple in the corner.
"They're married? But marriage within the military…" Carter's voice trailed off.
"Yeah yeah we know all of that. But our situation is slightly different. You have to understand, Major, that we don't operate with normal Army rules. We can't, otherwise we'd never get our job done. A long life span is not one of the benefits that comes with this job, our superiors know that" he shrugged "It doesn't affect his or her judgment on the job and, if anything, it helps."
Riley Finn and his now named wife, Sam, returned the table. The expression on her face said it all - she was angry with him and not at all happy with what he was about to do.
"There are some people who are experts in this field, they've been dealing with this longer than we have and are highly experienced in fighting vamps. With your permission General, I'd like to contact them and see if they'd be amenable to helping us."
"Are they military cleared?" General Hammond asked.
Riley Finn shook his head "They're not but they are completely reliable and will keep this entire situation confidential. They've had to keep a lot of secrets over the years. This one is just one more."
"Is it by any chance the Slayer you'll be talking to?" Carter asked suddenly, working on a hunch. The hunch paid off as Riley Finn stared at her, an expression of caution spreading over his face.
"How do you know about the Slayer?" he asked.
"I've done some research on the subject and the word kept cropping up. Something about there being one in each generation?"
Carter kept going as she had obviously hit on something here but she could tell Riley Finn was not happy talking about it. Samantha Finn sighed.
"It is the Slayer we'd be contacting. Her name is Buffy Summers, she's one of the current Slayers. She lives in Sunnydale, California. Sunnydale is Boca De Inferno, the Hellmouth - a spot which attracts all evil, vampires, demons, you name it - it turns up there. There's a team of young people who work with her, her Watcher and some friends of hers. There is also another group in Los Angeles." SG1 looked at her dumbly as she revealed this information. When she finished O'Neill put his hand up cautiously.
"I have a question." Sam looked back at him with enquiring eyes.
"You're married?" he asked.
"Yes" she said.
"Hell of honeymoon you must have had."
"It was spent in Paraguay killing vampires. It was fun."
O'Neill eyed her with respect "You have a bizarre idea of fun."
She grinned at him, a totally friendly, completely charming open smile and the little voice in his head said 'she's married to Action Man'? Some women get all the luck'.
"You said this girl, Buffy Summers, is one of the active Slayers. But the legend that I've been researching said that only one is born in each generation. But you imply that there's more than one active Slayer at the moment." Carter had listened closely to Sam's brief history of the Slayers and this was one of the things that had stood out. The other thing had been the respect that was in her voice when she spoke of her.
Samantha Finn took her gaze off O'Neill and nodded at Carter.
"That's right. The rule is that a Slayer has to die before another Slayer can be activated. We don't know if its how they pass on their powers or how they are called or really how it works. Some time ago Buffy was involved in a fight with a powerful vampire called The Master. She was dead for a few moments before being revived by one of her friends and then went on to successfully defeat the Master."
Riley Finn interrupted "She dropped him through a roof skylight straight on to a stake." O'Neill noticed the pride in his voice as he spoke. There was something else going on here but he couldn't quite figure out what. Samantha Finn continued with her story.
"The next Slayer to be called was Kendra. She turned up in Sunnydale, giving both Buffy and her watcher, Rupert Giles, quite a shock. I don't think the whole "Slayer death thing" had really hit home until that moment. During a fight Kendra was killed."
"Buffy always blamed herself for that" said Riles softly, under his breath.
"After Kendra came Faith. She is, technically speaking, the current active Slayer but I believe she's currently in a women's prison just outside of Los Angeles serving her sentence for manslaughter."
"She killed a human?" Carter asked incredulously.
"It's a long and very complicated story. But its all background you'll need to know if we're going to bring the Slayers in on this. Faith is getting herself back together and we've had good reports on her." Sam sipped her water from the glass in front of her, giving SG1 and Hammond time to digest everything she had said.
"I think we'll take a break here people. Reconvene in about an hour with ideas and solutions. I like the idea of bringing in these experts you mentioned. Can we contact them?" Hammond was back in control again, his quick mind sifting through options.
"I can contact the Sunnydale group now if you like. We can bring in LA and Faith if we need to but the Sunnydale group are the best hope." Riley answered.
"Do that please. I'll see you all back here in an hour."