by ALC Punk! and Ryuu
Chapter Six: In Which Dorothy Drops A House On The Wicked Witch Of The East
Sam crept closer to the cargo ships, watching carefully as the jaffa and super soldiers patrolled. As the only one of the two who could pilot one, she'd been the obvious choice. Jones was waiting to provide her cover, if the distraction of the gate opening wasn't enough.
A glance at her watch told her it was nearly time. She eyed the distance, then prepared herself and started to stand.
"I was wondering when I'd find you again."
The voice came from behind her, and Sam whirled to find the Replicator standing there, studying her with a little grin on her lips. Less than a minute left. Without hesitation, she opened fire on the machine, ripping holes in her with the bullets from the P-90.
"Really, that's not going to do you any good."
As she fired, she stepped closer until she was close enough to touch. Ten seconds. Moving, Sam dove, knocking them both to the ground and shoving the radio deep into the 'wound' she'd created in the Replicator's chest cavity, then rolled away as the creature tried to grab her.
The stargate opened, the sound echoing almost as much as the gunfire had.
"What were you trying to accomplish?" The Replicator sat up and reached into her chest. And the SGC's radio signal activated Carter's radio, which set off the electrical impulse and stimulated the battery.
The explosion scattered Replicator chips everywhere. Sam watched as they began rippling and slowly were drawn back towards the legs still seated on the ground, then turned back towards her goal.
More gunfire told her that Jones was taking care of his side of things, and she tossed all attempts to hide to the side and ran for the smaller cargo shuttle. Two jaffa stepped out and she dropped them with her P-90 without breaking a stride. Then she was inside, and three more fired at her.
Diving behind the nearest cover, she popped up and shot two of them before dropping down again.
The third took a little more time, which gave a fourth time to enter the ship. But he wasn't fast enough to kill her. She toggled the door closed and went for the pilot's seat.
A glance out the front windows showed Jonesplaying a dangerous game of tag with the super soldiers. Oddly, the jaffa were simply standing to one side. Shrugging and shelving the question for later, Sam powered up the ship and sent its nose upwards, angling as hard as she could. It climbed swiftly, and she leveled out and circled once before gauging her target properly.
Then she cut the engines.
Below her, Jones should be firing at Ba'al to keep him distracted. She moved into the back of the ship and smacked a hand on the ring controls only to discover she'd taken them out herself.
"Shit."
Two seconds later she was in an evacuation tube, jettisoning herself. And hoping it would work.
Sam counted the seconds before impact, reaching ten before the pod slammed into the ground. The impact was enough to slam her against the top, and everything went black.
The young jaffa wasn't sure what had happened. One moment, he had the bespectacled Tau'ri at staff point and completely at his mercy, the next, the shol'vah Teal'c had a zat'nikatel held to the back of his neck and was informing him that Ba'al was a false god and that if he would join the free jaffa, he would be released.
"I would rather die than betray my god!" he managed to gasp defiantly.
"Oh well." Daniel shrugged and watched Teal'c zat the jaffa into unconsciousness. "So, how many is that now, five?"
"They must be given a chance at freedom, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c replied calmly. "They may decide to fight as I have." He suddenly raised his arm and zatted a jaffa who had snuck up behind Daniel and was taking aim.
Daniel turned and blinked. "How about that one?"
"We shall attempt to convert him another day, perhaps."
"Right." Daniel gestured towards the general area of the stargate. "Think Jack will -" He was interrupted as his radio clicked on.
"This is Cobra Commander to Lady Jaye. Come in Lady Jaye."
Daniel made a face and pushed the talk button, "This is Lady Jaye, Cobra Commander, we're currently under fire from an indeterminate number of jaffa -" He broke off as his brain connected the sound he'd heard a second before. "Hang on, CC."
"Daniel Jackson, there has been an explosion."
And the sound of gunfire could clearly be heard. "C'mon, Teal'c." Daniel keyed the radio again, "Listen, guys, we're under fire and a little busy right now. Call us back. Lady Jaye out."
"Wait, Lady Jaye-"
Jack's query was ignored as Teal'c and Daniel took off at a run towards the explosion. They came across the crashed pod first, and opened it to find a woozy Colonel Carter with a small, bloody cut on her forehead.
"Sam!" Daniel helped her out. "What happened?"
"Cargo ship. Crashed." She managed a grin. "Right into Ba'al."
"You dropped a cargo ship on Ba'al's head?" Daniel asked, stunned.
"Yep!" She nodded. "Now I just need ruby slippers to take out his sister."
Daniel stared at her for a moment before grinning and shaking his head.
"Come on, Jones is -" Sam broke off as the Captain in question came crashing through the trees.
"Colonel! It worked!" He was grinning, "I don't think anyone could have survived that."
"What about the jaffa and super soldiers?"
"One of them was close enough to get caught in the crash. The other one is probably right behind me. The jaffa didn't seem all that interested in following me."
"Then let's move, people."
Teal'c took point and they headed back towards the stargate. As they neared it, a troop of jaffa appeared. "Your God is dead." Teal'c informed them as they leveled their staffs at SG-1.
"You are the shol'vah," the one in the lead said. He appeared almost uncertain. "It is not possible for our God to be dead."
"That's what they all say," Daniel noted.
Sam glanced around, suddenly uneasy. "Where is the drone?"
As if on cue, the black-clad form of a Cul warrior stepped into the clearing and leveled its weapon at SG-1.
"Thanks, Sam," Daniel said caustically. "Next time, could you wait until-"
The drone opened fire, its first shots missing everyone. SG-1 dove for cover, Sam and Teal'c rolling easily and coming up to fire at the super soldier. Their shots didn't do more than make it stagger slightly.
"Well, hell," Sam heard Daniel mutter.
She glanced at him to find him standing and throwing something.
A moment later, a tremendous explosion shook the area, and the super soldier was thrown back several feet and slammed into a tree.
"Sir! I've got an idea."
"Make it fast, Jones," she snapped as the drone returned to its feet and began stalking towards their position.
"Won't be a second, sir." A moment later, he was up and running, skirting the clearing and staying out of the sights of the super soldier as it fired repeatedly at the rest of SG-1. Sam and Teal'c returned fire, but really didn't do much to stop it.
Sam watched in horror as the young captain suddenly appeared behind the drone and walked up to it, grabbed the back of its armor and shoved something inside of it before turning and running as the creature started to whirl around to counter this new attack. She jumped up and yelled at the drone, "HEY!"
It stopped, confused, and that was all the time Jones needed to get back into cover.
The super soldier fired at her, and she dropped flat, regretting the move to break cover, but knowing it had been needed.
And then a concussion ripped through the air, and she felt as though the ground had dropped out from underneath her as the sound slammed through her. Something clanked as it landed nearby, but she didn't hear it.
"Colonel Carter!" Teal'c sounded like he was whispering. Then he was grabbing her, hauling her backwards as the half-destroyed drone reached for her.
Jones and Daniel continued firing at the near-dead super soldier until it stopped moving.
The silence was deafening.
Sound suddenly snapped back into being, and Sam shook her head. "You can put me down, Teal'c."
"Indeed." He sounded almost amused as he set her gently on her feet.
"All of you shall be taken to our lord!" The lead jaffa announced, as if they hadn't just been fighting for their lives against the drone.
Teal'c faced them commandingly. "Your god is dead," he repeated. "You are free to join us and fight against the goa'uld who have enslaved you."
"Gods do not die," the lead jaffa announced, a bit desperately.
"Oh, this one did," Daniel said, nodding. "Smashed nice and flat right under his own cargo ship."
"We need to go." Gesturing with her P-90, Sam tilted her head and asked the jaffa, "Do you believe your God is false?"
"I do-I..." The lead jaffa faltered.
"Then let us pass. All we really want to do is get to the stargate and leave."
"No!" Two of the jaffa stepped forward, raising their staff weapons. "For if you have indeed killed our God, then you shall suffer."
Two bullets.
Daniel looked at the fallen men and glanced at Sam, "I was going to zat them."
"Not enough time." She looked at the rest, "Are you going to get in our way?"
The remaining jaffa looked at the four grim-faced tau'ri and stepped back.
"Thank you." Sam nodded and led her team away.
"Wait..."
She turned back to find the lead jaffa stepping forward and readjusted her grip on her weapon. "What?"
"I... I wish to go with you," he replied, nodding his head.
"Why?"
He swallowed, then straightened, "I have heard tales of the shol'vah and the tau'ri for nearly eight years now. In the beginning, Ba'al would -"
"Fine," Sam cut him off, "You can tell us the story while we walk. Teal'c, you're on point. Daniel, then Jones, our new friend, then me. Let's go before the Replicator gets herself back together."
"My lord Ba'al -" The jaffa interrupted. "He could control the woman. The one who looks like you."
"We were right," Daniel murmured.
"How?"
"There was a device in his ship, he uses his gravity," he frowned. "Engine?"
"Gravity engine." Sam tilted her head, "That -"
"Wait, Sam," Daniel waved a hand, "That's really familiar. Jack used to tell me about a device Ba'al used when he was captured. It altered the center of gravity."
"If we could get that..." Sam looked up at the jaffa. "So, you know where this thing is?"
"Yes."
"Will you take us there?" Sam asked, starting to smile.
He nodded. "Indeed."
Sam gestured ahead. "Lead on-uh, what is your name?"
"Mat'rik," he replied, looking oddly shy.
"Mat'rik." She nodded. "I'm Samantha. Welcome aboard."
They spread out again, Mat'rik moving forward at a gesture from Sam. Daniel watched the woods around them as the jaffa led them back to the site of the landing. It occurred to him to wonder where the other jaffa were, but since they hadn't appeared-and there was still no sign of a mothership-he was content to let the question rest.
A thought occurred to Sam and she stepped forward, beckoning Theo aside. "A word, Captain?"
"Sir?"
She walked beside him, waving at Mat'rik and the rest of the team to stay ahead, then gave Theo a stern look. "You realize that you were extraordinarily lucky just then, Captain Jones?"
"Sir?" he asked again, clearly attempting to maintain an innocent, polite demeanor. Sam snorted inwardly. Did he really think she'd fall for that move?
"Blowing up that super soldier was very brave, Captain." Her tone became harder. "It was also very reckless."
A look of mingled guilt and rebellion flashed over his face so quickly that anyone else might have missed it. "With respect, sir, I didn't see any other option to get us out alive. I felt it was worth the risk."
"It wasn't, Captain," Sam replied, suddenly feeling a retroactive stab of sympathy for Jack. She tried to keep her voice even, although what she wanted was to reach out and shake the knowledge of what a stupid risk he'd taken into him. "Your life is too valuable to throw away on a foolish risk."
"Sir-"
"Every member of this team is important, Captain," she interrupted, her expression serious. "They aren't expendable and neither are you. Got it?"
He paused, then quietly replied, "Yes, sir. I understand."
She nodded. "Good. Then we won't have this discussion again, will we, Captain?"
Theo shook his head, respect deep in his eyes. "No, sir."
Her expression softened faintly. "Good." The two officers lengthened their stride, catching up to the rest of SG-1.
Once they were within sight of the clearing, Sam scanned it with her field glasses, studying the still-smoking wreck of the cargo ship for a moment before moving to the other one. Two jaffa stood, guarding it.
There was no sign of either of the other super soldier, and Sam took a brief moment to hope that the one left had been underneath the crashed ship and was now dead. She doubted it, but hope was always a good commodity to have on hand. "Where is this device?"
Mat'rik shifted, "There were two. One was in his cargo ship, the other was his hand."
"Hand." Sam frowned, then glanced at Teal'c for a translation.
"Mat'rik refers to the hand device all goa'uld wear, Colonel Carter."
"Ah. And that would be buried in the crash with him."
"Indeed."
"The one in the shuttle, does it require the hand device?"
"This, I do not know."
"Damn."
"Sam, where's the Replicator?" Daniel had been studying the site, searching for the elusive blonde head of the creature that had nearly killed his friends.
"In pieces still, hopefully."
"What?"
"We blew her up." She explained.
He blinked. "Um... how?"
"MacGyvered the radio's batteries. Shot a hole in her chest and tossed it in." Sam gestured eloquently. "When the SGC contacted us, she went boom."
Daniel nodded. "Nice. Any ideas on how long it'll take her to get back together?"
"Nope." Sam shot a quick worried glance back at Daniel.
"So... we should get this device very quickly, then?"
Sam nodded.
It was simple to zat the two guards and then the five of them filed into the bridge of the cargo ship. It was quite ornate, but in an understated way. Sam eyed it, a little surprised. She was used to the goa'uld tendency to be all glitter and glam. This was more designer interior.
"Over here." Mat'rik pointed at a console.
"Jones, watch the door."
"Yes, ma'am."
Sam inspected the panel with Daniel looking over her shoulder. "Any ideas?"
"Got an instruction manual?"
She shot him a look, then sighed, "Mat'rik did you ever see him use this?"
"Yes." Moving over, he gestured. "He would place his right hand into the depressions here, and it would come on."
"Okay." Sam considered, then placed her hand into the correct spot, feeling the slight ridges and dips. Nothing happened. No dancing lights, no indication. "Damn. He must have it calibrated for -" She paused, feeling the ridges. "For a hand wearing a hand device."
"So, we need a hand device," Daniel said.
"Yeah."
"But the only hand device here -"
"Is buried under a cargo ship attached to a dead God." Sam completed for him.
"We must dig, then," Teal'c stated.
Sam frowned. "But do we have that much time?"
"If this thing works-" Daniel began.
"It's worth the risk." She nodded. "And it might even be possible to reverse-engineer a version that people without naquadah in their blood can use." She looked away and softly finished, "I owe the Asgard that much at least."
"Sam-"
"Let's get digging," she replied quickly.
"Any way to blow the wreckage out of the way?" Daniel asked hopefully.
"Not unless you want to risk blowing up the hand device too," Sam answered.
With care, they moved across to the crashed ship and began inspecting the debris field. Sam set Jones, Mat'rik and Teal'c to digging through while she and Daniel kept an eye out for anything hostile.
"Colonel Carter."
She glanced at Teal'c. "What is it?"
"Large portions of the metal of the cargo ship appear to be eroded."
"Show me."
The metal hadn't been like that when she crashed the ship. Large chunks were gone, as if acid had burned it. Or it had been eaten. "dammit."
"What?"
"There could be more Replicators on the planet than her now." Sam moved back to stand with Daniel. "Keep working." A sense of dread touched her. This was a machine with her own memories and motivations. It was highly possible she'd already recovered the hand device. Which was a thought that really didn't bear thinking about.
