Chapter 18 – Assault
Hetarn turned to appraise the man stood in front of him. "Report."
"We think we have been successful in developing the formula you gave us and combining it with the-"
"You think?"
"We're ninety-nine percent certain, my Lord, but we had only the one subject to test it on and he was somewhat…broken by then."
A malicious smile crept onto the Goa'uld's face and his eyes flashed in appreciation and reflection. "Very well. Produce it en masse and distribute it to the troops…starting with those on the surface and working up to the fleet."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Hurry. We do not know when they will arrive; only that they will."
"Of course, my Lord."
"Go." Hetarn waved a hand haphazardly, the light reflecting off of the shiny metal of his hand device.
The man bowed, "My Lord," turned on his heel and left hurriedly.
Corran looked at Sam as she shifted from foot to foot, an odd expression on her face. She had, as usual, shut others off from sensing her feelings and emotions, but it didn't take a Jedi to see that she was bothered by something.
"Sam, please…will you at least tell me why you won't even consider it?"
"No, it's just…you have to trust me on this, Corran, training Jack to use the Force is NOT a good idea."
"Why not? It didn't stop you before."
"Oh please. That was a ten minute lesson to show him how do something that I'm pretty sure he does subconsciously anyway."
"I don't see why this is different…if he already uses the Force subconsciously then what's so bad about doing it consciously?" Corran was getting increasingly frustrated with Sam's question dodging and vague – but vehement – refusal of letting Jack be trained to use the Force. Jack's strength was minimal, to say the least…he was about on par with Tionne in that respect, but every iota of skill counted.
"You don't understand!" Sam told him, her voice rising slightly before she visibly bit back on her anger, controlling it.
"And I won't if you don't explain to me!"
"I…Jack is Special Forces trained…he's been ordered to do some damned distasteful things, he's seen more horrors that any person should ever have to, and he's been tortured more times than I care to count. He's a good man, and he acts so normally that you…you don't realise the darker side of him is even there until you see it for yourself. So much has happened to him, he has so many reasons to be angry, to hate, to be afraid…"
"And you don't want him to fall to the dark side." Sam nodded silently, her arms wrapped around herself in a pose he'd seen Daniel Jackson adopt countless times. "Let me tell you something, Sam; the first time I met you, I was struck by just how many of the darker emotions you harboured within you and just how few of the lighter ones there were, too. When I took you on as my apprentice, I was more than a little afraid that you would fall to the dark side. Even now, I don't know even half of what you've seen and suffered…but I know there's been a hell of a lot of it.
"I disagreed with Luke about training you, but I realised…well, I was persuaded that I was the best person to train you, not least because of your obviously military ties and your rare skill for energy absorption. I was wrong. The very fact that you'd managed to stay sane and to control yourself so well up to that point should have been an indication that you would be able to continue to do so. I'll admit that there were times when I thought I'd lost you but… we've all come close at one point or another."
Sam was scrutinising him closely, a slight frown creasing her forehead. "You're too insightful for your own damn good, Corran," she finally said, a slight smile turning the corners of her mouth. She couldn't deny the fact that, in all the years she'd known him, he'd never completely lost control. "I still don't see why I have to train him, though," she mock-groused.
"You said it yourself…'who the hell are we going to find that would be able to put up with the cynical, sarcastic, pain-in-the-ass'?" Sam snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Because you did so well teaching him starship mechanics?" he added with a grin.
"That's more like it." Sam was by no means completely certain that teaching Jack was the right thing to do, but she recognised both that he deserved the opportunity to prove himself and that they needed all the extra help they could get in two weeks' time. She also knew that she was the person who had the best hope for being able to teach him; she knew exactly how to deal with him.
"Come on; we've got to meet the teams that will be heading dirt-side with us."
Sam frowned. "Why?" she asked as she fell into step beside him.
"Well…they're seasoned professionals; the best that the NR has and, well…they are somewhat sceptical about the Jedi."
"And if this mission is going to work, they're going to need to trust us enough to follow orders without hesitation," Sam finished for him, nodding in understanding.
"I was going to say that they wouldn't be happy at being led by a mere Jedi Knight when Master Skywalker and ex-General Solo are going along, too, but there's that, too."
"Really? I though Luke would be in charge, not you." Sam looked at him questioningly.
"No, you are…we agreed that you had the most experience, you know the place best and you understand the Stargate thing best."
"Yeah, but you said a Jedi Knight; I'm only an apprentice."
"Did I? Sorry, must have been a slip of the tongue." Corran gave her his best innocent look as they marched towards the Grand Audience Chamber, where they were no doubt about to meet the new teams. Sam pondered this for a moment, staring unseeing at the rapidly approaching doors, her face creased in a frown.
"Corran, what are you up to? Corran? Corran!" The other Jedi barrelled on ahead, seemingly not hearing her, though she could sense his amusement through the Force.
When she reached the grand audience chamber, she saw Luke standing on the raised dais at the end, many of the Jedi gathered and stood watching him, obviously taking on a moment out of their busy preparations and training. The three men of SG-1 were there, too, standing at the back of the crowd, where she joined them, listening to Luke's little pep talk and welcoming of another new candidate – a Twi'lek called Ro'shaan.
"Finally, before you return to your previous tasks, I would like to make an announcement and a presentation." Sam idly wondered what he was talking about, pondering what Corran had just said. "Having displayed immense skill, responsibility, and having proved herself beyond all expectations…I am pleased to tell you that Sam Carter has earned and achieved the rank of Jedi Knight."
Sam didn't move for a moment, and it was only when Jack and Daniel gently pushed her forwards that she registered the fact that she was grinning massively and everyone as applauding her. "In honour of her Correllian Master and her…unique birthplace," only a few of the Jedi knew about the Stargate at this point…the less people knew the less chance of betrayal. "We have a very special token for her." Corran stepped forwards and presented her with a silver chain with small silver disc on it, vaguely reminiscent of Corran's own Jedi Medallions…a tradition of the Correllian Jedi. On it were embossed the symbols of the Jedi, and the 'Gate symbol of earth.
Still speechless, Sam nodded her thanks as she was reminded of another occasion, so many years ago when she had been promoted by surprise.
"You earned it," Corran told her, grinning from ear to ear.
"Thank you," she finally managed to say, her face lit up by a dazzling smile. Impulsively, she threw her arms around both Corran and Luke, earning a few good-natured wolf-whistles from the crowd.
"You better put my husband down before I get jealous," Mirax's smiling voice announced from behind Sam as she released the two Jedi and Luke dismissed the people gathered. "Congratulations," she added.
"Way to go, Sam," Daniel announced his arrival, along with Jack and Teal'c.
"I second that!" Jack commented, as Teal'c bowed deeply and smiled. Not one of his half-smiles, but a full-blown smile. Dentralla came barrelling up and enveloped her in a fierce hug, ruffling her hair affectionately.
They made their way to the war-room, where they'd held their previous briefing, chatting animatedly, pushing their worries and fears aside for the few minutes the trip took.
Their higher spirits were soon dampened as the group of eight specialist troops walked in; their movements crisp and concise without any of the mindless unison displayed by Stormtrooper and Jaffa alike. Five humans, a Bothan, a Twi'lek and a Kalix; all of them the best at what they did.
That fact alone made Sam more than a little curious and apprehensive. Why, after they had opposed it so thoroughly before, would Fey'lya and his cronies suddenly give in and even start to go that little bit extra for the mission?
Stepping forwards as Luke finished his introduction, Sam could feel all of them bristle at the realisation that they would not be lead by the Master. She sighed inwardly as she stepped up to the main area. Leia, Han, Mara, Luke, Chewie, Corran, Derren, and the two droids had all joined them for the brief.
"Now, I'm sure you've all been briefed a little on just what the mission is about, but I'm here to make sure that you all understand in depth exactly what will be happening once we're dirt side. This is also an opportunity to build trust between us. I know that there have been bad feelings about the Jedi, and that some people are nervous of the power that we hold, but if you don't trust me…or any of the others on this team, then this mission will fail before it even leaves the hangar." Sam could sense the slight, grudging appreciation for this coming from them but realised right away that it was going to be hard to convince them. "First things first…a clear chain of command. First and foremost, I am Team Leader. If I am incapacitated, command goes to Colonel Jack O'Neill…after that to Teal'c…beyond that to either the Solo's, the Skywalkers, or Corran Horn, and then to your Team Leaders. At any given point, no matter who is in command, the input of myself, O'Neill, Teal'c or Daniel Jackson is to be taken in, used and in no way doubted. Do you understand?"
"Would it not be better for General Solo or Master Skywalker to be in command?" The Bothan asked, ignoring Han's exclamation of 'EX-General!'
Sam gave him a feral grin, "Tell me…?"
"Kul'yer."
"Kul'yer…do you know how to wire up and manually dial a Stargate in the event that the DHD has been destroyed or removed? No…there are currently four people in this room with a working knowledge of the Stargate Network…Han Solo and Master Luke are not among them."
"Aren't you about to teach us this?" the Kalix asked, supplying his name as Krix.
"Yes."
"So doesn't that mean they'll be just as qualified in that area?"
"Not when you account for the fact that they have no idea of how to tell if a person has become host to a Goa'uld. Nor do they know the tactical and strategic information that would leave them best equipped for dealing with one if they do encounter it…not to mention any of the hundreds of other threats that are out there." Krix nodded; the only indication of any emotion was the almost imperceptible twitch of on of his outrider 'ferrets', who were currently perched on his shoulders, long claws giving them access to his neural workings. This allowed him to give them commands and share information when they were in contact…a more than slightly advantageous development of their initial role as scouts for tribal Kalix hunters.
"Right, now I've been told that Colonel Krix is leader of Alpha team, whilst…Colonel Brinan Mey is CO team Beta?"
A tall man with long, shaggy, dark hair stepped forward and threw Sam a sloppy mock salute; the precise movements of his lanky limbs belying his outwardly scruffy appearance. "That's me. Majors Foy, Stent, and Pelari are also on Beta team." He gestured a short human male, a wiry-looking human female, and the green-skinned Twi'lek in turn before Krix introduced the remaining two female humans as Majors Gelk and Chom and the Bothan as Dit'yen.
"Right, now things will become clearer as we continue; you'll just have to trust that this arrangement is the best for now." Sam gave them all a look that quite plainly stated that she wouldn't take any crap from them. She then moved over to the holo-projector and keyed a code into the pad. "Now, this is a Stargate." She waved at the large holo that had just appeared. "Because of the importance of this mission, everyone in this room will be getting a little more than the basic Gate 101 that we gave the others involved…I assume you all read the data pads?" Her question was directed at the teams who had not been present for the previous briefing. "Glad to see you're so enthusiastic," she commented dryly at the few murmured affirmations she got.
"It's just so…" The petite blonde Chom shrugged and trailed off, leaving the comment open.
"Unbelievable?" Dit'yen supplied.
"Surreal?"
"Impossible!" Blue-haired and olive skinned, Major Gelk seemed adamant in her exclamation.
"Impossible, Major Gelk?" Sam asked, trying not to smirk.
"I'm the team's mechanics specialist…I know for a fact that there is nothing in the Galaxy that is possible of not only creating but stabilising and controlling a wormhole."
"That assumes that it was designed and built in this Galaxy," Sam replied easily, knowing that none of the really sensitive information had been added on to the encrypted datapads.
"And we all know what it is to assume," Jack couldn't help but add, not even trying to hide his own smirk. He was met by a crowd of non-plussed, curious faces. "What?"
"None of us know what it is to assume," Corran supplied for him, wondering at Sam and Daniel's bemused expressions.
"You don't?"
"Nope."
"I thought everyone knew that."
"Well, we're obviously not everyone."
"Right," Jack looked to his team mates for help, but all three of them took on innocently amused looks that told him he was on his own for this one. "Well, if you divide up the letters in assume you get 'ass', 'u' and 'me'." Once again, he was regarded with blank stares. "So…to assume makes an ass out of you…and me…still not getting it?"
"Nope."
"Really? 'Cause I'm thinking it's pretty easy."
Sam finally decided to put him out of his misery and explained a key detail to him. "Basic uses a different phonetic alphabet, Jack."
"I knew that," he replied quickly. "I was just…demonstrating both a difference, and a similarity between…our two galaxies…" Daniel snorted in amusement and hid his laughter behind his hand. Teal'c raised an eyebrow as the two Wookies in the room burst out into loud laughter; apparently sharing a joke that was funny only to the Wookie community.
"But there's no way to travel between two Galaxies…the expanse between would take centuries to navigate," commented the Twi'lek Pelari continuing as if Jack hadn't spoken at all.
Sam shot Jack a smirk before replying, "With your current technology; yes."
"You mean…this wormhole travels to other Galaxies?" Gelk asked, eyes wide.
"Of course…time and distance are of no consequence when travelling through a wormhole that essentially bends space." Brinan Mey's face lit up with a smile. "So you've actually been to another Galaxy?"
"Not quite," Sam replied, masking her grin as Mey's face fell. "We're from another galaxy."
"But you're human."
"You noticed, huh?"
"I am not," Teal'c informed them as the differences between the Jedi Knight Sam Carter that stood before him, dealing with these people and the Major Carter that he had known back on earth impressed themselves on him. Unlike Jack and, to a lesser extent, Daniel, he had not had much time to spend with her as he had been focussing on trying to solve the problem of his Tretonin dependency.
The Major Carter that he had known, despite showing an occasionally wicked and sarcastic sense of humour had been far more reserved and well spoken; never using the Earth equivalent of the curses that he had frequently heard falling from her mouth recently. It was strange to observe in that he recognised the similarities and the fact that she was essentially the same person, but the differences were there and hard to ignore. It was, however, highly unlikely, that she could go through what she had and remain unchanged. When he coupled that with the fact that he suspected she had withheld much of the harsher things that had happened to her from everyone around her, it was surprising that she had remained as 'normal' as she had. Perhaps that was why she reminded him of O'Neill sometimes…he knew that there were many things in the other man's life that had caused him to be so quiet, cynical and…so O'Neill.
"You're not?"
"Indeed. I am Jaffa," he raised an eyebrow, daring anyone to challenge him.
"While I'm sure Teal'c's heritage is simply fascinating, there are other, more important things to be dealt with today," Sam interrupted them with a look that would have made lesser men tremble before continuing to explain some of the more basic science behind the way the gate worked.
Next, she brought up a holo of a DHD, with the small power-enhancing unit attached to the front. "Now, this is a DHD; a Dial Home Device. Normally, to dial a planet we'd need seven symbols: six co-ordinates and a point of origin." Moving to the holo-projector, she deftly began to manipulate the image, drawing a 3D box and adding the six points joined together in pairs. "Now, as you all know, any point in space needs six co-ordinates to pinpoint it exactly." She received murmurs of agreement; this was basic navigation to them. She added a seventh point, a little way out from the box and linked it the central point of the other six co-ordinates by a long line. "To travel to any place, you need to know where you're starting from; the seventh symbol is a point of origin." Again, a round of agreement and understanding. This time, Sam added an eight point to the hologram, extending the line away from the original point of origin. "For our purposes, we're going to need an eighth symbol to add an extra distance calculation to the address to account for the fact that this Galaxy is so far from ours. On the datapads in front of you is a list of addresses that you need to memorise as a back-up plan in case anything goes wrong, along with a lot of other, important information." The people picked up the datapads and began looking over them. "At the top of the list is the address for Earth – my home planet – in both the eight- and seven-symbol format. Earth's gate is protected by a Trinium alloy iris that will require a code to get through; which we will provide you all with. However, the only iris code that we have is the one issued to SG-1 before they came through several months ago, so we don't know whether it will still be active. To this end, we'll be taking radios along with us to talk to General Hammond at the other end before we travel through…yes, Colonel Krix?"
The bulky Kalix tilted his head to one side, asking; "What happens if we go through without having this Iris open? Will we be bounced back through the wormhole?"
"Ah, no." Sam grimaced in recollection of the ominous sound that she associated with the thoughts. "You will simply fail to rematerialise at the other end. The iris is set less than a millimetre from the event horizon, making it impossible for the matter stream to re-materialise and leaving your molecules scattered."
"So you'd die?" Chom asked bluntly
"Yes."
"Now why couldn't you have said that to begin with?" Han exclaimed, rolling his eyes.
"When you say radios…?" Mara asked, smirking at Han's impatience.
"They're kind of like comlinks, but they work using a different wavelength and frequency of radio waves," Sam explained. "We're going to rig the comlinks to allow us to switch to match the SGC frequencies."
"We?" Luke asked inquisitively.
"Jack and I."
"You and Jack…?" Han interrupted dubiously, obviously not believing her.
"You people really should stop falling for his dumb act," Sam told him, exasperatedly. "He would never have made Colonel if he didn't have a degree."
"What's a degree?"
" A qualification that requires a certain – very hard - amount of work on a specific subject. Jack's, for instance, is in Physics."
"Jack has a degree in physics?" Daniel asked incredulously.
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Jack replied petulantly, the look in his eyes showing that he enjoyed seeing Daniel so dumbfounded for a change.
"I just always thought it would be in…Advanced Sarcasm and Warfare or something."
A melee of sounds erupted from the people gathered; the equivalent of a crowd of laughter, making Jack bristle.
"No Daniel; that's my PhD."
"Enough!" Sam's harsh tone contrasted with the humour displayed on her face as the two men stopped their bickering and turned back to her sheepishly.
Sam knew enough of the people gathered well enough to know that they were starting to get antsy and a glance at her chrono confirmed that it was dinnertime. "That's it for today, I think. Go get some dinner and rest and be back here bright and early at 0800 tomorrow morning. Dismissed." Sam had unconsciously fallen back to the military training in dismissing the people gathered and was slightly surprised when Colonel Krix sent her a salute. She raised two fingers to her temple in a sloppy almost salute and nodded to him, faintly hearing Jack tell Dentralla, Daniel, and Teal'c that they'd meet them in the mess hall shortly but he had a question for her.
Shutting down the holo-projector, the side of Sam's mind that passively monitored the area around her in a paranoid habit that had saved her life on many occasions, Sam subconsciously noticed that only she and Jack were still in the room. Any information gained from that passive observation was only thrust into her consciousness when she sensed danger, so it came as a surprise to her when she felt Jack's arms slip around her from behind, embracing her as she reached for the datachip. Smiling and slipping the chip into her jacket, she half turned and shared a kiss with him.
"I take it you didn't actually have a question then?"
"Well, seeing as we were going to take it slow and not broadcast it to everyone…"
"Right," Sam paused a little and must have frowned because Jack's smile slipped.
"What?"
"It's just…" This was a little more difficult than she expected. "Well, I was talking to Corran earlier and…he wants me to train you."
"I thought you already were."
"No…I mean train you in the Force."
"Oh. Oh! I thought I wasn't 'strong' enough."
"Only just; much like Tionne."
"Well, that's good isn't it…it will be useful, right."
"Yeah."
"But? I'm sensing a but here."
"It's just…"
"What? You don't think you can? C'mon, Sam, you taught me how to fix Doohickeys that make ships fly."
"It's not that."
"Then what, Sam?"
"I don't want to risk losing you to the Dark side."
Jack nodded slowly, recalling what she had said about the Dark Side before. "Why am I so different to anyone else?"
"Don't kid yourself, Jack, we both know that you aren't a saint," she told him bluntly.
"Neither are you," he shot back savagely, wincing as soon as the words left his mouth. "Sorry I-"
"No, you're right." She sighed and looked away again, adopting the self-hugging pose that he'd first seen her use after Daniel 'died'. At the time he'd thought it was a subconscious way of keeping a little bit of Daniel alive, but he later realised it was just as much to comfort herself when she remembered the things that haunted her the most. "You're right, and you don't even know the half of it. Just as I don't even know the half of what you've seen and done."
"So why am I different?"
"You're not, I guess. But then…" She searched her mind for an example before settling on one. "Do you remember K'Tau? The planet where we 'gated in through their sun and caused the sky to shift to the red end of the spectrum?"
"How could I forget?"
"When you went after the man...I forget his name…the one who ordered the destruction of the rocket, you nearly lost it. I remember being faintly shocked at the time; I couldn't understand what could drive someone to kill like that. It was different to killing someone in battle…that was murder."
"But I didn't, though."
"No…but it was close."
Jack was growing increasingly annoyed with Sam, but, mindful of what she'd said about the Dark Side, he consciously fought it down. "Are you trying to tell me that you've never had a moment of rage like that?" He saw her flinch and took her silence as an affirmation. "Maybe I'm not perfect; maybe I do over-react a little occasionally, but you can't tell me that any one of the people here hasn't had a brush with 'darkness'." He paused for a long moment before walking over to Sam and making her turn back to face him. "Please, Sam; just trust me."
Sam saw the sincerity and resolve in his eyes, the warm touch of his hand on her arm a comforting reassurance. She nodded eventually. "You do realise that this means a whole helluva lot of training, right?"
"It can't be any harder than basic, can it?" Sam grinned and turned around, marching off towards the mess hall. "Sam? SAM!"
"Come on; I'm hungry."
"Oy."
Sam allowed a small smile to form on her face at the sight of Jack O'Neill grinning like a small boy having only just opened his eyes to the sight of the blade of his M9 Bayonet held just a fraction of a millimetre from the surface of Sam's arm.
They were sat in a living room in a disused section of the crew quarters aboard a New Republic Star Destroyer, en route to the small planet where the Stargate was. The exercise involved using the Force to sense the layers of depth around her arm and – with eyes closed – move his hand in so that the blade stopped just short of touching her. It was a level up from the basic routine of doing it with a small stone; the extra length and the fact that it was a sharp blade adding a dimension to it that increased fine control.
"Sweet," he commented, re-holstering the black-bladed military issue knife.
"I know. You're doing well; you've learned a lot in only two weeks."
"Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" Sam snorted and rolled her eyes at him, rising from her cross-legged position without using her hands to push off. "Show-off," Jack mumbled as he pushed himself up, suddenly putting his head to one side. "Someone's coming." As if to prove his statement, the door chime sounded.
"Now who's the show-off?" Sam asked as she waved a hand, keying the door open.
"Fey'lya," Jack's voice managed to combine both surprise and the specific tone that he usually saved for Kinsey – a mix of contempt, hatred, disgust and a myriad of other negative emotions too numerous to list.
"Mister O'Neill. Jedi Carter."
"Actually, that's Jedi Apprentice O'Neill," Jack told him smugly.
"I'm sure. Jedi Carter, I just wanted to wish you good luck before you leave. I'm sure you are aware of the significance and importance of this mission to the New Republic."
"Of course; no-one wants slave trading abolished as much as I do."
"What? Oh yes…I was of course referring to the good that obtaining pieces of technology such as a sarcophagus could do."
"A sarcophagus? Are you kidding? Those things are far from good; they corrupt people and they're addi-"
"I think you will find that it is best to leave these evaluations to qualified specialists, Mister O'Neill." Jack took a step forwards, hands clenched into fists as he pushed his anger away, but he stepped short when the security guard at Fey'lya's side snapped his rifle up to point at Jack.
"I think you'll find I am more than qualified." He growled through clenched teeth.
"You base this on the fact that you have been healed in one?" Contempt was clearly evident in Fey'lya's voice and his fur rippled in disgust.
Jack took a deep breath, blowing it out through his mouth and releasing his anger with it. He was acutely aware of the fact that Sam was stood only inches away, remaining silent to see how he would cope with it. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to be tortured? To die? Slowly and painfully; giving in to the bliss of death only to be brought back to life to go through it again, losing a bit of your soul each time?"
Fey'lya snorted. "It is one thing to be healed, but it is entirely impossible to be brought back to life."
Jack glared at the Bothan for a moment before turning away, muttering, "Yeah, that's what I thought," as he stalked into the sleeping room.
"Get out."
"Jedi C-"
"You are not welcome here; now kindly get out before I throw you out," Sam ordered him calmly but with a steel to her voice that was unbreakable.
"Very well. Do not fail," he threatened as he turned and left.
Mentally giving him the finger, Sam turned on her heel and went after Jack, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. "You okay?"
"No, but I will be."
Sam had been more than a little surprised at his openness about it but accepted that something must have happened to change him in the last few years. She nodded slightly before glancing at her wrist chrono. "You up for sorting out the modifications to Threepio and Artoo before one final check?" She knew that neither of them were going to get a wink of sleep within the few hours it would take to reach their destination. She also knew that they needed to get it done, though it was only a few minutes to give the two droids an extra transmitter and programme in the iris code; they'd had everything else necessary uploaded into their systems at the Academy.
She also knew that Dentralla would be in the hanger, doing a final check of the systems in the Troop Transport they would be taking to the surface. Both the Wookie and the Human had been more than a little busy and pre-occupied over the last week and hadn't seen much of each other. That, coupled with Dentralla's continuing guilt over letting her get injured on Coruscant had meant that she was missing the over-grown teddy bear.
"Sure," he told her, leaping to his feet with too much gusto and false bravado to cover the morbid mood that had arisen over the memory of torture.
Sam rolled her eyes and stepped out after him, nudging him playfully with her shoulder in an attempt to lighten his mood.
He nudged her back, a bubble of amusement rising in him.
What was wrong with being childish every now and then? He thought as they carried on out of the door and down the corridor, ignoring the bewildered looks of passing crewmen.
A vibration ran through the ship as they decelerated from hyperspace and Sam immediately brought the last of the Troop transports' systems online and followed Rogue Squadron out of the hangar. It seemed that having Fey'lya overseeing the mission had the added bonus of working with the best the New Republic had to offer.
Onboard her ship were – along with Alpha team – Dentralla, Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, and Corran. Luke, Leia, Mara, Derren, and Beta team had taken the other transport with Han and Chewie.
In no time at all, the space around the ships was a roiling mass of flashes and explosions…eerily silent to the people in the two troop ships as they skirted the action, heading straight for the planet's surface and the facility they knew was down there.
Leaving the battle behind them and focusing on the task ahead of them, they made their way steadily dirtside, gunning the engines of the bulky transports for all they were worth. Within twenty minutes of leaving the hangar, they had landed, the battle still blazing above them, but they remained thankfully unnoticed.
Something was giving Sam an uneasy feeling, though, and she remained on edge as she followed Jack, Daniel, Corran, Teal'c and Dentralla out of the cockpit and down the ramp. Alpha team had taken up position; weapons raised and ready to defend them.
A few minutes later and the Solo-Skywalker task force – droids and all - appeared, Derren calmly standing in their midst as Beta team took similar positions to Alpha team. Sam caught a faint trace of something strange at the edge of her senses, coming from the other ship, but on closer inspection she found nothing and dismissed it.
All of the Jedi had their senses stretched to full, but they couldn't sense any danger or any people within any significant distance.
"Did that seem a little too easy?" Corran asked, eyeing the walls suspiciously.
"Oh, you don't need the Force to tell you that." Jack was on edge too…something wasn't right here. Sam unclipped the safety on her holster and took one Lightsaber out of its custom-made holster, her thumb hovering over the activation switch.
"Daniel, Teal'c, I want you with Beta team. You know what to look for." Teal'c raised an eyebrow but didn't comment while Daniel grimaced and wondered what had given her reason to suspect a Goa'uld. Sam just hoped that she was being paranoid. "Luke, you take the Command centre; we'll head for the 'gate room and make sure no-one gets out that way."
"Everyone got a GDO?" Everyone nodded or affirmed that they had one of the devices that Sam and Jack had modified to send an identical signature to SG-1's last iris code…hopefully the SGC would open the iris when they recognised the code.
"Good," Jack finished, nodding to Sam.
"Right." She gave them all a 'here goes nothing' look. "May the Force be with you. Move out!" The two 'civilian' groups moved towards the large blast doors; Alpha team flanking the right, Beta team flanking the left.
Artoo whistled a warble and cheerfully whirred ahead, slotting himself into the interface port.
"Artoo, do be careful; last time you tried this, you plugged yourself into a power socket." The small astromech warbled a reply that sounded distinctly like an electronic raspberry. "What do you mean you've done this plenty of times since then?" Another warble. "Well yes, I know that but-" Artoo cut him off with a triumphant warble and the large doors began to rumble upwards and into the ceiling.
The two teams filed out silently and they started their stealthy jog through the dark corridors, continually on the lookout.
Something wasn't quite right, and she knew that Jack felt it too…she could sense his limited and diffuse Force awareness at the edge of her mind. He was a comforting presence, and it made her feel better to know that he had their six.
They were getting close to the 'Gate room when everything started to fall apart. Sam's danger sense suddenly flared, calling for attention as she poked her head around a corner…to find a squad of troopers waiting for her. She turned and signalled to run the other way only to find that a second squad had descended to block their way after them, leaving them trapped.
"Stang!" she muttered as the disembodied voice of the Stormtrooper squad leader rang out.
"Lay down your weapons. You are surrounded. Lay down all weapons and kick them away." Lights flared to life the white gleam of Stormtrooper armour was suddenly everywhere, almost blinding in its brilliance.
She nodded tersely to the rest of the team, laying down her blaster and Lightsaber and kicking them away.
Why couldn't she sense them?
