Gunfire sounded from behind them, and Teal'c and Mitchell both dove for what little cover they could find as yet more Wraith came into the clearing, their own stunning weapons firing now and what little advantage of surprise they had was gone, now.
Where the hell are they coming from?
Talon didn't answer, and Mitchell knew he was too busy keeping her mind clear – because there were some weird movements going on around the clearing as well, and she could hear Teyla yelling that they weren't real – although she wasn't sure who the Athosian was yelling to.
Jack had decided almost instantly that it was far more important to survive this encounter than to get any of the Wraith's stuff, and his P90 was firing full automatic, in short, controlled bursts designed to make the most of each one. He took careful note of where the members of his team where, and opened up, dropping the Wraith closest to him, and then the ones that were advancing on Teyla – who was closest to him. But there were a million of them, it seemed. The woods were filled with movements and shapes and they were starting to confuse him.
Teyla noticed he kept turning away from the fight, and shouted her reminder, but she was hard-pressed, also – even though the biggest part of the battle was waging around Mitchell and Teal'c, who had to be driving the Wraith crazy with want with their enhanced life-forces, only to be delivering death to them as they tried to figure out a way to knock them out without killing them, so they could feed and maybe find out if there were more like them.
So far, they hadn't managed to land a blow with their stunner gun, but even Jack knew it was just a matter of time, and he pressed the attack on the creatures that he had in front of him, shooting them and clearing the way, and then moving into another forward position as soon as he had them down.
Sheppard was behind him, watching their left flank while Teyla was watching the right, but those two were also doing a kind of clean up duty at the same time. They'd dropped their P90s and were using zats, now, shooting the downed Wraith to make sure they were stunned, then kicking away weapons and whatever else looked like technology before they shot them twice more, making the Wraith vanish before they could regenerate and pose a threat from behind.
It was scary work, because they had to be so close to the Wraith – especially for Teyla who could actually feel them inside her somehow – but they worked quickly, taking turns guarding each other, and Jack when they could, and the numbers of the Wraith were diminishing rapidly.
Because of the two behind him, Jack was more or less entirely focused on the front, firing at anything that got in his way – as long as it wasn't Melony or Teal'c – and mowing through the Wraith with a deadly efficiency. So intent was he on the front, though, and secure that Teyla and Sheppard had his back, he missed the one that was sneaking up beside him, less than twenty feet away, but unwilling to kill him because he wanted to feed on him. While this one didn't have the incredible life-force that the two in the front did, he was appealing – many Wraith preferred to feed on warriors because they tended to be the ones that fought the hardest against it, making the meal that much more satisfying, and this Wraith was no different.
Jack turned just as the Wraith made his move, bringing the P90 up. The weapon jammed at the worst possible time, and O'Neill reached for his Berretta, knowing he'd never be able to drop the thing with the smaller caliber weapon, even if he did manage to get it up in time.
A snarl like nothing he'd ever heard before sounded, and suddenly a heavy gray form was streaking in between him and the Wraith, huge teeth flashing dangerously close to Jack for a moment, and then clamping down tight on the Wraith's neck, ripping its throat out with a sickening sound that was punctuated by yet another snarl. As Jack (and Teyla and Sheppard) watched in shocked awe, the wolf that was Kale shook his head hard, snapping the dead Wraith's neck and almost ripping its head off of what little was left of its neck. Then it dropped its bloody victim, and the golden eyes looked over at Jack.
"Thanks."
There was a definite canine snort, and Kale bounded away, looking for another victim while Jack loaded a fresh magazine into his P90, and Sheppard squeamishly decided to just evaporate that particular Wraith. All its equipment was covered with Wraith blood – and other pieces – and he figured they wouldn't miss one. The Wraith vanished, and the fighting continued – although now O'Neill was a lot closer to getting into a defensive position with Mitchell and Teal'c, and there were very few Wraith left to shoot back.
But they weren't going to wave any white flags, and everyone knew it.
"Jack! Just use your zat, now!"
Melony had seen enough. Plenty of the Wraith that Teal'c had dropped had lost their weapons before she'd zatted them into oblivion, and she desperately wanted to make sure none escaped to warn the other Wraith – wherever they may be – of what had happened. She wanted the darts, and whatever other ships there might be, and she didn't want any of them to be flown away by escaping enemies.
Teal'c had already switched over to a zat as well, and was proving just how good a shot a First Prime could be. The Wraith couldn't find cover quickly enough – and it didn't help that they were seeing technology that they couldn't possibly have seen before. Shocked by the viciousness of the attack and subsequent defense of the clearing, they were the ones that were outnumbering, and yet, they were having their asses handed to them, vanishing left and right.
Mitchell and Teal'c were an effective team, and even as Jack came up beside them, his own zat sounding off – although he was having trouble finding any targets, now. Another flash of gray, and a startled cry that ended in a gurgling rumble, and Mitchell lowered her zat, letting Teal'c cover her as she looked for any other targets.
It was Kale who officially ended the firefight. The Light One's senses in wolf form were much better than any of the humans, and when he shifted form back to human, standing in the middle of the clearing naked and unconcerned, the others all lowered their weapons as well.
"No more?" Jack asked, standing up slowly, looking around.
"They are all dead," Kale answered.
"What about the ones that ran?" Teal'c asked, looking around as well. He had seen a few turn and run the way they'd come.
"None escaped."
Which was Kale's way of telling them what he had been doing during the fight before he'd made his appearance.
"The Wraith are not effective fighters," Teal'c said, looking around at the clearing, which was littered with weapons and technology of all sorts.
"They rely on greater numbers, and fear," Teyla agreed.
"And they screw with your head," Jack said.
Teyla nodded her agreement.
"A group this large is going to be missed fairly quickly," Mitchell said, looking around as well. "Let's look for their ships and get this stuff back to the Lava base."
"The ships are back this direction," Kale said, pointing the way the Wraith had come from. "There are only darts, but there are several."
"Let's see what we've got," Mitchell said, feeling just a bit smug. They'd fought off quite an attack, and hadn't even taken an injury.
Kale turned and headed in the right direction, and the others followed