Chapter Fifteen:
I stepped out of the wormhole onto the metal ramp in the SGC's gateroom. I looked around warily, alert for anything out of the ordinary and found it eerily quiet. What was going on? I had expected someone to notice our rather obvious entrance, but no one seemed to be around. And that made me really nervous.
"Where is everyone?" Daniel asked quietly.
"You'd think Anubis would be watching the gateroom." Sam added.
"He is." I said as a shiver of fear ran down my spine. "You can count on it."
I walked down the ramp and onto the concrete floor of the gateroom. Something told me to get out of there now. "We need to move." I snapped.
"Indeed." Teal'c agreed. "There is a strange feeling here."
I glanced around the gateroom as I hurried out, the sense of nervousness in my gut growing. Not to mention that the eerie silence was really starting to freak me out!
"This doesn't make sense." Mom muttered. "The base would have gone under lock-down as soon as those soldiers entered. So where did everybody go?"
No one had an answer to that. "Man, this is really freaky." I said softly, wanting to break the oppressive silence.
"You can say that again." Daniel agreed.
Mom led the way up to the control room, knowing we should check the computers that controlled the gate. "I wonder how they got through the iris?" she asked herself.
"Anubis." Dad answered quietly. "As a half-ascended being he can pass through solid matter."
"Can you?" Janet asked Dad.
"I'm afraid not." Dad replied.
"We'll have a problem with bullets too." I said. "They'll pass right through him."
"That will be a problem." Daniel blinked.
"But not yours." I stated firmly, trying to sound more confident than I really felt. "I'll deal with Anubis."
"No, Shan." Dad disagreed. "We'll deal with him. The two of us are in this together." Then he shot a glance at my mother. "Of course, that means the super-soldiers are all yours."
Mom smiled faintly. "Great." She said dryly.
By now we were in the control room and mom nodded to Teal'c before turning to Dad. "Help guard the door, will you?" she said.
"Yes, ma'am." Dad replied.
Mom just raised an eyebrow and began typing away at the computer terminal. The situation seemed surreal to me as I stood there watching everything. I wasn't used to the teasing banter in the middle of a dangerous situation like my parents obviously were. Hell, I wasn't even used to dangerous situations!
The thought brought all my insecurities to the surface. What the hell was I thinking, doing this? Why wasn't I stuck in a lab somewhere filling out a stream of endless paperwork?
The answer was simple: because I was too much like my parents. Good to know that the compulsion to save the world was genetic.
"The computer system is fine." My mother said. "I can't find any evidence of tampering."
"When did they last dial out?" Dad asked.
Mom tapped a few keys. "The gate last dialled out around six hours ago for a routine mission of SG-3." She answered.
"Well, we can rule out mass evacuation." Dad said. "No one went to the alpha site."
"So where is everyone?" Daniel asked.
"And where's Anubis?" Janet added.
I sighed. That's what we needed to find out.
"Daniel, Janet, stay here." Dad said. "If anything happens, get us on the radio."
"What are you doing, Jack?" Mom asked.
"Doing what we came here to do." He replied. "Finding Anubis and destroying him."
The Dad moved closer to me and studied my face. "Are you ready for this?" he asked softly.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I told him.
Dad smiled softly. "Don't worry." He said, before kissing me gently on the forehead. "We can do this."
I nodded. "Let's go." I said in a louder voice.
"Where to?" Mom asked.
"Well, where would you go if you were trying to protect the base from an attack?" I asked her.
"The lower levels." She said, not even needing to stop and think. "That's where the generator, infirmary and armouries are located."
"Then that's where everyone else will be." I said.
"It would explain why we can't here anything either." Daniel agreed. "These walls and floors are fairly thick."
"We'll head down the shafts." Dad said. "If anything happens to us, head to the alpha site." His last comment was aimed at Daniel and Janet.
"No." I said. "If anything happens to Dad or I, head back to Atlantis. The others will contact you there."
"Shannon…" my Dad began, but I shook my head.
"Atlantis can do more than the alpha site to stop Anubis." I said.
"But we don't have the address." Daniel pointed out.
Damn, I'd forgotten about that. But it was easy enough to fix. I was my mother's daughter, after all. I turned to the computer and input the address. Then I turned back. "Just press the button." I said.
"Won't they be able to follow us?" Janet asked.
"Probably." I said. "But they know where Atlantis is now anyway. Just don't let anyone through."
Daniel and Janet nodded as I began to follow Teal'c and my parents who were already moving out. Moving out. Damn, I was spending far to much time around the military. I was beginning to sound like a soldier!
"Good luck." Janet called out softly as I left.
I smiled softly at the concern in her voice and hoped we wouldn't need it.
We exited the maintenance shaft into an empty corridor. Fear and dread curled in my gut, making me feel slightly nauseous. We should hear something by now!
Then the muffled sound of weapons fire drifted down the corridor. I don't think I've ever been more relieved to hear the sound of gunfire before in my life as I was now. Both mom and dad took off running towards the sound as soon as they heard it. I was a beat behind them with Teal'c bringing up the rear – but I think that was more to with watching our backs than hesitation.
We burst around a corner and Teal'c immediately pushed me against the opposite wall and out of the way. Two energy bolts whizzed through the air where I had been a second before. "Thanks." I told Teal'c shakily.
He nodded his head slightly before moving off to where dad and mom were already firing at the super-soldiers. I glanced around me at all the soldiers, but noticed there was no one else. Then I spotted a familiar face.
"What's going on?" I asked Mac, pitching my voice to carry over the sounds of the battle as I crept up next to him.
I saw him jerk with shock, before turning surprised blue eyes in my direction. "Carter?" he asked incredulously.
"Hello, Major." I replied.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, dragging his eyes back to the battle and continuing to fire.
"It's a long story." I told him. "Where's everyone else?"
"Most of them are holed up in the infirmary, but Anubis has a few hostages." Mac told me.
"Where?" I asked, my tone hardening.
"One of the diplomatic rooms down the hall."
I nodded, my thoughts spinning. I had to get Anubis. I had to stop him!
I sent Dad a brief thought, trying to get him to understand what I was planning, before I shoved away from the wall. I saw Dad saying something to mom and Teal'c, before turning to glance at me.
Are you sure you want to do this?
Yes. I replied.
Then go. I'll watch your back.
"Anubis!" I called, stepping out into the line of fire. "I'm the one that you want!"
"Carter!" Mac called out in anguish from behind me.
I ignored him and focused on the rippling air that solidified into a black cloaked figure. Except that, this time, he was no hologram. "Foolish child. You will not spare their lives." He said, his voice disembodied and cold.
I watched in horror as he raised his hands, suddenly glowing with a pale blue fire and sent two bolts of energy forward. One of them hit Teal'c in the chest, the other my mother.
"No!" I bellowed in pain and shock.
I raced to Teal'c, praying he wasn't dead. As I fell to my knees beside him, I noticed he was barely breathing. I spared a brief glance for mom and saw dad helping her. Closing my eyes, I prayed I had the strength to do what I was about to attempt. Without really realising it, I began to glow with a steady white light. It felt almost as if I had realised control on part of myself and I moved glowing hands over the gaping wound in Teal'c's chest.
I cannot really describe what happened next, only that it felt like I was pouring warm, tingly energy into Teal'c. I could feel the flesh beneath my hands knitting itself together. A few seconds later, I opened my eyes with a snap and sucked in a lung full of air. I saw Teal'c blinking up at me, his eyes filled with slight confusion and gratitude. I smiled softly at him in reply.
Anubis laughed cruelly. "Your attachment to these humans is quite amusing, Ancient." He said.
I tensed at his words and felt anger fill me. This creature dared to mock me after trying to kill my family? Well, I'd make him pay for the pain he caused – both to me and to everyone else he had ever harmed.
I straightened to my feet, trying to hide the weary stagger as I did so. Healing someone took a lot of energy out of you, and I was already tired. I squared my shoulders before turning to face Anubis.
"They're my family." I said calmly. "I could do no less."
"What will you do if I harm them again?" Anubis asked, somewhat curiously. "Heal them once more? Your powers are not that great."
"You won't harm them again." I snapped.
Anubis laughed again, the sound eerie and full of brutality. "Do you really think you could defeat me? Your powers are feeble compared to mine!"
"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" I told him.
This hadn't been the original plan. Dad and I were supposed to take him on together, combining our strength. But he was weak after healing mom and I was just way too pissed off at Anubis to use any sense.
"Shannon, no!" Dad yelled as soon as he saw what I was doing.
But I didn't stop. I wouldn't stop. If I died, so be it. But Anubis was coming with me. I started forward, the glow around me intensifying until it was blinding. By the time I reached Anubis I was sprinting. I slammed into him, catching him and binding him to me with my energy so he could not escape.
And then we were gone.