CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Langaran Stargate Complex
Langara
Gettysburg. Lt. Col. Terry McNulty knew the famed American Civil War battle well. He had studied it extensively while in college and had visited the Pennsylvania hamlet after graduation. The Battle of Gettysburg had come to be due to a confluence of factors that neither side fully understood at the time. It was one of the most investigated clashes in human history, rivaling Cannae, Agincourt, Waterloo, Mons and The Bulge in the sheer amount of words written about it. Like many battles, it was an amalgam of tactical brilliance and command blunders. For McNulty, it provided an invaluable example for his current business.
The First Day. McNulty had invested a good amount of time studying July 1, 1863 and the actions of one man, Brigadier General John Buford, US Army. Buford commanded a brigade of cavalry at the time of the battle and it had been the first unit of either side to reach the town and its critical road junction. Buford correctly surmised that the Confederate Army would attempt to sweep south and position itself on the high ground outside Gettysburg. Buford knew that Confederate possession of the hills above Gettysburg would be disastrous for the Union forces moving from the south. That's when he made his move.
Buford had his outnumbered cavalry brigade dismount and fight a day-long delaying action against oncoming Confederate forces numbering in the thousands. Buford's men prevented the southerners from moving through the town in a speedy manner and forced them into battle. It gave Confederate commanders the impression that a much larger force awaited them in the town. That hesitation allowed the Union Army to invest the outlying hills and maintain a strong defensive position. The Confederates would spend the second and third of July attempting to evict the defenders, thereby sapping their strength and resources. The rest was history.
For McNulty and Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, history was coming back for a command performance. A much larger force was about to come knocking. For McNulty, the parallels were striking; he was about to play Buford to Nimar's Lee. McNulty's plan was roughly similar: make the Jaffa pay dearly for every inch of ground and make the Goa'uld's think they were facing thousands of well-armed soldiers. Hold Langara's key assets and await the Prometheus and reinforcements. Above all else: HOLD THE STARGATE. Without it, everything else was useless.
Langara's stargate had been moved after Anubis' attack to a newly constructed bunker complex. This complex was a series of inter-connected bunkers varying in depth from 150 to 200 meters below ground. The actual room holding the gate was similar to the one at the SGC except for a platform near the ceiling running around the three-quarters of the room facing the gate. This platform allowed riflemen a clear shot from above of anything coming through the gate. It would be put to use.
For this key mission, McNulty selected his lead company, Alpha Company, commanded by Captain Curtis Miller. Miller, a West Point graduate, was setting up the nastiest welcoming a Jaffa had ever received. Miller's 120+ Rangers would defend the gate room and the bunker complex. Miller was briefing McNulty, Carter and Commander Varan on the plan.
"Okay, we're in good shape. It's an integrated defense. We've got three positions facing the event horizon, each with a 240B…" The M-240B is a crew-served 7.62 MM machine gun capable of throwing out 200-600 rounds per minute. Needless to say, three facing the gate would put on a show. "50 Rangers will defend the gate room from any incoming assault troops both at ground level and from the catwalk. The rest of A Co. will be in the adjoining hallways and bunkers. We've got a series of machine gun emplacements and fortified positions. We've also set up claymores all over. If it becomes necessary, we'll set them off by hand." Miller had set up a classic defense-in-depth, meant to bleed the attackers white.
Carter was impressed. "Captain, I don't need to be telling you this. You've got to hold. This may be the only way home. You'll have SG's 5 & 11 with your force."
"I'll take all the help I can get."
In the gate room itself, preparations were complete. The Rangers had set up perfect fields of fire from which they could cut down any Jaffa coming through. The room had actually been rather quiet when, in the slang of the US military, the shit hit the fan…
The stargate began to activate with its usual turning and lighting of individual chevrons. To the Rangers, every lit chevron was like a countdown meant especially for them. They knew at seven hell was coming through that gate. Soldiers, both American and Langaran, took up their prearranged positions. As the seventh chevron activated, the men of A Co. tensed. The event horizon appeared and with it, its tell-tale swoosh. For a moment nothing appeared, and then two small silver orb-like devices rolled through. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they meant. Voices rang out:
GRENADE!
The two small silvery orbs rolled ever so gently down the ramp from the gate, as harmless as baseballs at a Little League game. The defenders waited for the inevitable explosion, but what came instead was a deafening sound and bright and intense light. They were not grenades or explosives but a Goa'uld version of flash bangs, used on Earth to stun and immobilize its intended targets. Luckily, the defenders were immune to most of its effects since they had taken cover. They recovered just in time to welcome Nimar's first invading warrior. A Jaffa ran out of the water-like wormhole with a blood-curdling scream:
AAAAAAHHHHH!
The obviously impassioned warrior had just enough time through the gate that his eyes widened in recognition of his impending death at the hands of the Tauri, otherwise known as Alpha Company, 7th Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment of the United States Army. Captain Miller gave the order:
OPEN FIRE! DROP THESE ASSHOLES!
A sheer wall of flame, like that of some vengeful god these very Jaffa might worship, leapt out at the warriors running through the gate. The first warrior was hit in the midsection above the waist by a stream of 7.62 rounds which cut him nearly in two. The second Jaffa was decapitated with similar gusto. Soon a massacre was in the making as warriors streamed through in groups of 5-10. Each successive group was torn apart before they knew what was taking place. It got to the point that Jaffa were tripping on bodies and body parts as they came through and were shot. A lone warrior came through, and having enough time to see the fate of his colleagues, jumped off the ramp to the side. He managed to get off a shot at a Ranger, missing wildly, before a soldier on the catwalk tore open his chest with a burst of 5.56 MM from his M-4 rifle.
Each of the Rangers was a superbly trained marksman but the current fight came down to throwing a massive amount of lead at the incoming invaders. Blood, bone and tissue was splattered in all directions as rounds of various calibers tore through Jaffa.
As quickly as the Jaffa assault and its attending slaughter had commenced, it ended with the stargate's wormhole disengaging. For a moment, there was an eerie stillness. Then A Co.'s First Sergeant yelled out:
"Any wounded!"
Amazingly, none of the American or Langaran defenders had suffered a scratch, while arrayed in front of the now-dormant gate lay 75 to 100 Jaffa bodies in varying states of immolation. Carter came out of the fighting position she had fought from and stared at the carnage wordlessly. She knew immediately that the SGC and Earth had just entered a new realm in its existence. No more covert stuff for us, she thought, we've thrown down the gauntlet.
Captain Miller was busy supervising the quick removal of the Jaffa strike team and the resupply of ammunition. As he and his troops reorganized, he managed to take a brief look at the beating his men had inflicted. Miller had see much in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and various other holes, but this was something entirely different. While he knew the Jaffa only as an enemy, he was moved by their sacrifice. He remembered his Shakespeare, which humans invariably fell back on in such moments. A piece of Henry V, Act IV came to him:
O God, thy arm was here;
And not to us, but to thy arm alone,
Ascribe we all! When, without stratagem,
But in plain shock and even play of battle,
Was ever known so great and little loss,
On one part and on th' other? Take it, God,
For it is none but thine!
Joint Ruling Council Building
Langaran Capitol
For Sergeant Pat Joyce, Shakespearean prose was the last thing on his mind. Since word had come of the initial Goa'uld assault on the stargate, SG-19 had been in position with the Langaran Army's 8th Regiment of Foot guarding the main government complex. Before them was a large square facing the main part of the city. From their rooftop position, they could defend against a frontal assault. Or react to any sudden change in Goa'uld strategy.
Word had reached them that the Rangers had put a beating on a small Jaffa force. Commander Rexford and his Langaran colleagues expected as many or more would try to take the capitol in short order. So far, Nimar was playing by the Goa'uld "playbook" and apparently was unaware that Earth had thrown in with the Langarans. His loss, Joyce thought.
As if on cue, multiple Death Gliders and Al'kesh's began buzzing the city, shooting at various communications towers and other targets of significance. They apparently were trying to both cut communications and scare the hell out of the locals, Joyce thought. In no time, two Tel'tak transport ships hovered overhead and began to descend into the square below. Joyce looked over at Commander Rexford, who was hunched a few feet away.
Rexford used hand signals to telegraph what he wanted:
Wait until they're on the ground, then take 'em out with AT-4's.
Joyce nodded his acknowledgement. The AT-4 is small man-portable anti-tank weapon that was found to be useful against Goa'uld ships on the ground. Major McGann helped Joyce set up and ready the weapon. Then, they waited. As the second ship landed, the first opened its hatch and Jaffa started to come out. Joyce took aim and squeezed. The rocket launched and made straight for the defenseless transport, hitting perfectly inside the hatchway. Jaffa infantry, not ready for the sudden shot, were blown in several directions. The transport itself exploded in a shower of sparks that set off a fusillade of secondary explosions. To Joyce's left, Commander Rexford launched his rocket at the second Tel'tak, with similar results. Concentrated fire from the Langarans finished off any survivors.
Without missing a beat, Joyce looked over the ledge, smiled and shouted:
"WELCOME TO THE NIEGHBORHOOD!"
Commander Rexford called out. "Let's re-deploy to a new location."
The fight was on…
To be continued…