Into The Fire: Part Three - Chapter Two
As the MALP had shown, it was night on the other side of the wormhole.
Pulling on a pair of night vision goggles, Orr cautiously made her way down the steep stone steps surrounding the stargate, P-90 at the ready.
After fanning out and searching the perimeter, Colonel Trapper called the 'all clear' and radioed in to the SGC that it was safe to shut down the gate. With an indescribable poof the wormhole deactivated and the area fell into darkness only penetrated by a few silvery stars and the team's NVGs. It was very quiet.
Gathering at the foot of the steps, the five explorers discussed what to do next.
"The prelim seems to be that this place has been forgotten – no paths anywhere to be seen, at least not in this light. So," Trapper nodded to the team's archaeologist who pulled out a palm pilot with a smile, "where does the bidding start?"
Welfing raised his hand with a smirk, "I say primitive civilization."
Nodding with enthusiasm Keller noted the sergeant's choice down on the palm pilot, "and what are ya betting today?"
Welfing looked thoughtful, "how about my cookies?"
Keller glanced at Trapper, who shrugged.
"Okay… sir, how about you," he tapped captain Perschke with his stylus. "So far we've got cookies on a primitive civilization, and I'm betting my fruit cocktail on ruins, what do you say?"
Perschke leaned against the stone steps and rubbed his chin, "I say abandoned naquadah mine."
Keller marked it down, "and what'll you be betting?"
The older man un-slung his pack and rummaged through one of the compartments, cursing as he searched for his IMPs. With disgust he pulled out a metallic package and read the label outloud. "Baked cherry pie desert."
The rest of the team backed away, hand out to signal they would have nothing to do with the captain's desert. Perschke laughed and tossed it back into his bag.
Trapper grinned, "You'd better win, Ian, or you just might actually have to eat that."
Perschke smiled and mocked a revolted shudder before shouldering his bag again.
"What're you betting on then, Mike?"
Eyeing Keller's upheld palm pilot the team commander shrugged, "how about lots of little happy bunny rabbits and giant scary monsters that eat them?"
The four men laughed and wrapped up their betting.
The didn't need to ask Orr what she would bet – the first few times they had she'd just glared at them and made some annoyed sound in the back of her throat. She made it clear that she didn't approve of what they were doing, but since the team leaders were doing it, she made no effort to stop them. She was too by-the-book and stuck up to join them.
At least, that's what they thought of the silent Canadian in their midst.
Deep down, Rhoannan was laughing along with them and betting her peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the possibility that some absurd scenario might take place. Deep down, all she wanted was to be friends with these people, to joke around and go out for a beer after work, but something held those desires down. She couldn't let them see her like a friend, and her training told her why – but that didn't stop her from not joining them.
In the end, it was fine with her that they saw her as a stone-cold figure that won't bend and definitely never break. That's how soldiers are supposed to be. And so while they joked and made bets, Orr was scanning their surroundings and searching for clues.
She found one.
"Terra Lima, Terra Echo, over."
The men stopped their jokes abruptly and listened silently as Trapper answered on the radio. "Terra Echo, Terra Lima. Go ahead, over."
Keller looked over to where he had last caught glimpse of the silent lieutenant; she was further way now and crouched down by the edge of what looked to be a coniferous forest.
"Terra Lima, I've found what looks to be a path here, sir. It's faint, but appears to lead into the forest. Over."
Trapper smiled and nodded to the rest to fall out and head down her way.
"Alright, lieutenant, we're on our way."
Keller could almost taste Orr's disgust at the lack of proper radio procedures from where he stood at the back of the pack heading down the hill.
Welfing leaned over and smiled at the civilian, "that'll get her riled up, huh?"
They snickered quietly together on their way down the hillside.
The path wound through the forest, going past stone alters and shrines, and looping through a set of ancient ruins that looked very well-kept. The grasses around the path looked like they were kept trimmed and a border of stones were carefully placed in unfamiliar patterns.
"Looks like I'm in the lead," Keller whispered over the radio.
Rhoannan smiled to herself, she could allow it – she was in point and the others wouldn't be able to see her. His using the radios without the proper procedures, she didn't mind that much. Really, she didn't give a damn about it, she just didn't want any carelessness on her part to come back and bite them all in the ass. Like it did with…
Orr shook the thought out of her head and made herself pay more attention to her surroundings, the lack of birds or animals, and the four bumbling males behind her.
She suddenly halted.
No birds?
She listened carefully – other than that of her companions, there wasn't a single sound to be heard. This definitely wasn't good. She held her hand out and signaled for the others to get down.
"Echo," Trapper whispered into the radio, using her call sign. Even though he himself didn't care for the protocols, there was no reason to agitate her further by using her name on the radio. He'd had his head chewed off by the feisty young woman enough times to have learned his lesson – and respect her devotion to the rules. "What's up?"
In an unusual dismissal of those rules she seemed to love ever so much, Orr answered back shortly and quickly. "Something's up. I don't know what, but something just ain't alright."
Keller and Welfing exchanged worried glances – if she was so disturbed that she didn't use call signs and 'over', they must be in deep shit.
For at least ten minutes they crouched there, stalk still and silent as the grave, before Orr broke the silence. "I'm going to check up ahead – stay here."
Trapper and Perschke, even though they were in charge, trusted her skills enough to follow her order, but that didn't give them the right to just let her go off by herself.
Trapper motioned for the others to stay together and he went ahead after Orr.
She glared at him like a pissed off Goa'uld, but he ignored her – pointing to the rank insignia on his vest. "Rock, paper, rank – I win!" He whispered to her.
She just glared back.
They continued on, creeping quietly down the path until they reached a stone marker unlike any of the others they had seen so far. It was at least two stories high and shaped like a miniature pyramid.
Orr began circling carefully around it when Trapper suddenly felt cold dread wash over him. He looked over to where Orr had been only moments before and saw a dark figure rising up like a snake about to strike. He tried to call out, but a sharp pain to the back of his skull made the world seem to spin and fireworks exploded in his eyes. Then darkness took him.
Rhoannan turned soon enough to see her commanding officer fall under the blow of a hooded figure and, guessing that the thing wouldn't be alone, spun around and came face to hood with the scariest thing she had ever seen in her life.
There wasn't anything to see – really – just darkness that seemed to jump out at her and blot out all traces of warmth or light. It hit her in the chest, bashing her back and effectively knocking the wind out of her. Gasping for air, she tried reaching for her radio to warn the others, but the black spots that had flooded her vision took hold and she passed out.
