CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Change of Plans
Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,
Can yet the lease of my true love control,
Supposed as forfeit to a confined doom.
The mortal moon hath her eclipse endured,
And the sad augurs mock their own presage;
Incertainties now crown themselves assured,
And peace proclaims olives of endless age.
Now with the drops of this most balmy time,
My love looks fresh, and Death to me subscribes,
Since, spite of him, I'll live in this poor rhyme,
While he insults o'er dull and speechless tribes:
And thou in this shalt find thy monument,
When tyrants' crests and tombs of brass are spent.
Sonnet 107 by William Shakespeare
"Take cover!" Colonel O'Neill ordered. Jonas followed Teal'c, trusting in the jaffa's instincts. The team made a beeline for the nearest copse of trees. They had already emerged from the small forest that hid the obelisk from view by air, meaning their present cover was not quite as good. Once Colonel O'Neill reached the trees, he took extra precaution by crouching low to the ground amongst a cluster of low and prickly shrubs. Jonas battled with one that was tried to lay claim to his right sleeve as Colonel O'Neill pulled out his binoculars.
"What do you think, Teal'c?" Colonel O'Neill asked.
"I am unsure. Based on the behavior of the gliders, it is unlikely they are aware of our presence." More death gliders had been sweeping their position since they'd spotted the first.
"Until they turn on those handy life signs detectors," Jack mumbled, scanning the horizon slowly with the binoculars. "And if front-line-Joe didn't see us running and report us to his buddies." He lowered the binoculars and frowned. "I don't see any ground troops. One thing's for sure, though, those gliders didn't come by stargate."
"They probably sensed that the force field protecting this planet's stargate is finally down," Sam observed. "They must have come to check it out."
"Which means Papa or Mama Goa'uld might not be far behind."
"Whether they are here for conquest or mere curiosity, they will certainly seize control of the stargate as soon as possible," Teal'c added.
"Well, we knew it was too good to last," Colonel O'Neill said, once more scanning the horizon with vigilant precision. "Now how do we get home?"
"Sir, we can't let the Goa'uld get access to the Ancients' mountain," Sam said. Jonas could hear the bitter resignation in her voice. He could understand her disappointment. The reality was heart-sickening.
The Colonel lowered the binoculars again to stare at her, his mouth a thin line. "Carter, our best chance of getting around any Goa'uld defense of the gate is to leave right now, before this place gets too crowded."
"I have an idea about that, sir, but it'd be a risk."
"Go on."
"If that second DHD we found in the lab is capable of remotely dialing the stargate, we can keep the gate open from inside the mountain for as long as we want, provided we keep our eye on the thirty-eight minute window. We can radio General Hammond, and tell him to prepare reinforcements, and stay in radio contact until we've perfected our strategy. In the meantime, we plant as much C4 as we can in key points within the mountain complex, to remote detonate when we finally make our way back to the gate." She held her breath when she'd finished, straining mentally for the Colonel's approval.
Jonas could see how deeply the Colonel was torn. "If we can remote dial the stargate," he repeated, grimly.
"Well, there's a chance that if that isn't what it's already wired to do, I could maybe rig something up," Sam offered.
"And somehow I doubt we have enough C4 to take down an entire mountain cavern system, Carter, particularly one built by the Ancients."
"So forget the C4. Sir, that place obviously still has power. Where there's power, there's a way to make something explode."
"You keep the gate tied up long enough, they're going to send more ships."
"Sir, I cannot stress enough how important it is that the Goa'uld don't get their hands on this place. I've already seen two or three examples of Ancient technology we've never encountered before, and the last thing we need right now is for the Goa'uld to get another technological advantage over us."
Colonel O'Neill was silent a long time as he considered. When they finally heard the sounds of ground troops— distant, but getting nearer— he nodded. "All right, Carter. Let's just hope we don't all die of if."
The race back to the obelisk was frenzied. The team tried to maintain a balance between speed and stealth. Sometimes Colonel O'Neill took up a light jog; sometimes merely a brisk walk. Nevertheless, they were all quite winded by the time they reached their destination. Jonas's legs felt as heavy as weapons-grade naquada, and he thought for sure that his bag must be holding something more than the usual offworld gear.
They had just arrived at the obelisk when the familiar blast of a staff weapon scorched the ground near its base, causing Jonas to jump. As one, the team turned. Trudging through the forest foliage, Jonas could see at least four jaffa making their way toward the team as fast as their cumbersome armor would allow.
"Carter, Jonas, get that thing turned on!" Colonel O'Neill bellowed, and he and Teal'c immediately commenced defensive fire against the upcoming onslaught.
By this time Sam and Jonas had become quite adept at the process of activating the Ancient interface, and though the moments when Jonas was entering the passcode seemed to last forever, it was really less than a minute before he was able to holler to his teammates to gather themselves where the rings would activate.
"Carter," said Colonel O'Neill as soon as they found themselves in the dark quiet of the tunnel, "can they access these rings from a mother ship?"
"I don't know, sir."
"Well, let's not stay and find out. We need to find a more defensible position."
"Sir, even if they can't use this ring transport, they're not just going to leave the obelisk area alone. It's going to be swarming with jaffa," Sam pointed out as they resumed a near-running walk down the tunnel.
"I'm aware of that Carter. Let's just hope the Ancients built some sort of secret back door to this place."
"I don't think—"
"No," said Colonel O'Neill, glancing aside at her in warning, "there's always a backdoor."
When they reached the DHD room again, Sam immediately unslung her bag and began looking around at the consoles, intent. "Look for something that might turn on the lights," she said to Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. "Jonas, I'll probably need your help reading some of this stuff."
"First try dialing the gate," said Colonel O'Neill.
"Colonel, I it's possible that—"
"No time, Carter. Just try it."
"Yes, sir."
Cautiously, Sam stepped up behind the foreign-looking DHD. Jonas was close behind her. Though the transparent keys were both designed and configured oddly, the symbols on them could not be mistaken. "Here goes nothing," she said, exhaling loudly, and began pushing the keys, which lit up with reassuring familiarity, though in a peculiar shade of electric blue.
After the seventh chevron, all seven lit keys double-flashed green for a moment, and then held steady. Sam looked over at Colonel O'Neill and shrugged. Looking strained but optimistic, the Colonel clicked his radio. "SGC, this is Colonel O'Neill."
"This is Stargate Command," came the well-known voice of Tech Sergeant Harriman. Jonas could feel the air stir as Sam breathed in relief beside him. "What's your status, Colonel? I'm receiving no IDC."
"Ah, that's affirmative, SGC. We are not at the Stargate. It's a long story." He looked over at Sam for a moment. "But it seems we have at least a little bit of time to tell it, provided we don't dawdle."
Hoping that the presence of the second DHD meant that this place was some sort of central control center, Sam had been doing her best to decipher the multitude of unfamiliar technology. Jonas did his best to help her, but the room was maddeningly lacking in information labels.
After explaining the situation to Stargate Command, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c had gone to explore the nearby compound, hoping to find indication of a second entrance. General Hammond had promised to assemble a contingent of reinforcements in the hope of helping SG-1 get offworld at the appointed hour. In the meantime, they were in constant connection to Stargate Command, as they'd been holding the Stargate open for the last hour and a half already. To avoid possible Jaffa interference, however, they were maintaining radio silence unless necessary.
Not long after venturing forth, Teal'c and the Colonel returned. "This place is built like a rat race," the Colonel said, frustrated. "Not even that map we found is helping, and that can't pack it up and take it with us." He looked over at Jonas. "We're gonna head out again in a minute. I want you to come along and bring your camera. It can help us remember where we've been."
While Jonas went to get his bag, Colonel O'Neill stepped up beside Sam, who was studying a large, table-like device with something resembling a giant touchpad in the center, surrounded by many small keys. A translucent display screen hung suspended above. Sam had recently managed to turn it on, but despite pushing every button she could find, had not had any further success.
"How's it going here?" Colonel O'Neill asked, stepping up beside her and leaning against the device. Jonas noted the tension in his hands and his shoulders.
"Not well," Sam replied, intent on her work. "Sir, if I can get any of this stuff to work, I may really need Jonas here."
"You can radio if you do," the Colonel replied. "Right now it's more important to have as many of us as possible looking for an escape route." He reached up with his right hand and rubbed his eyes in frustration. "What I'd really like to know is what the jaffa on the surface are doing."
As Colonel O'Neill finished speaking, the display above the console lit up with a vibrant blink. It took Jonas and the others half a moment to realize what they were looking at— a small contingent of jaffa, who were clustering and milling in a very familiar-looking area.
"What did you do?" Sam asked, alternating her amazed expression between the display and the console itself, examining those keys closest to Colonel O'Neill's fingers.
Colonel O'Neill held up his hands. "I didn't do anything," he said defensively.
Jonas stepped nearer to get a better view of the display. "This is at the obelisk," he observed.
"Thank you, Jonas, I think we all realize that," said Colonel O'Neill irritably.
Unfazed, Jonas turned back. "Ask to see the stargate," he said.
"What?"
"You put your hand on the console and wanted to see the surface. Ask to see the stargate."
The Colonel turned to give Sam a disbelieving expression. She shrugged. "He's right, sir. The timing seems a little too coincidental. Can't hurt."
Glancing around at the rest of his team as if they'd been demolecularized by a wormhole one too many times, Colonel O'Neill placed three fingers tentatively on the top of the console. "Okay, then," he said, "Show me the stargate."
When display changed, Colonel O'Neill yanked his fingers away again as though he'd been burned. "Yikes!" he cried. The display now showed a pulsing, active stargate, perched atop the familiar hill. Jonas's theories as to the source of the image were crowded out by the more immediate problem of three times as many Jaffa watching the active stargate warily. It was clear they'd given up wondering if someone would come through, but did not trust it. Jonas wondered how long it would take them to realize the gate was being activated from this planet.
Frowning, Sam glanced between Colonel and console, her wonder beginning to yield to scientific method. Narrowing her eyes thoughtfully, she put a gentle palm against the surface, near to where Colonel O'Neill had been touching. "Security," she said aloud with fledgling confidence. Nothing happened.
Sam looked at Colonel O'Neill. "You try."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes, sir, I don't understand it either, but we don't have much time."
This time the display blossomed into not a live image, but a graphic. It was very much like the map they'd found earlier, except certain portions around the perimeter and within the complex highlighted in bright color. There was also, to Jonas's relief and satisfaction, accompanying text.
It took them a little while to get the hang of it, but Colonel O'Neill (and later, they discovered, Jonas) seemed to have an inexplicable ability to direct the systems of the Ancient console with nothing more than mental prompting. Through diligent trial and error, they learned several important pieces of information.
"There are three access points to the complex," Sam explained to General Hammond some time later. "All three are accessed by rings, and all three are protected by the security that Jonas cracked with the musical device."
"The easternmost entrance won't do us any good," Jonas said, looking at a map as he spoke. "It's a too far from the stargate and comes out in a tight little valley right in the middle of these mountains. The southern entrance should be our best shot. It's farther from the stargate than the obelisk, but the trees should provide good cover if we need it."
"The plan's pretty basic, General," Colonel O'Neill spoke up. "We rig the mountain to blow on a timer, escape the complex through the southern entrance, and run like hell for the stargate."
"Sounds like a plan," the General agreed. "I'll be able to send reinforcements, of course, but when would be the best time? I'm assuming at some point you'll no longer be able to dial the stargate from within."
"No, sir," Sam confirmed. "And as to the reinforcements—" she glanced at Jonas and then Colonel O'Neill, who did not look pleased. "There's a slight wrinkle."
"What's that, Major?"
There was an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Teal'c spoke up. "For purposes of security, the Ancients who built the complex designed three different keys for the three different entrances."
"That's why we found three," Jonas said. "We happened to use the one that unlocked our obelisk entrance by sheer coincidence."
"What are you saying, Jonas?"
"Sir, in order for the rings to activate and allow us to escape, they have to be unlocked using one of the other two keys. From the outside."
"And the only other person in the world who knows how to play that thing on short notice—" began Sam.
"—is Amelia," Jonas finished.
A/N: A friend and I have good-naturedly debated whether or not Jonas has the Ancient gene. I say yes because Jonas was originally being groomed for a place on Atlantis, and it's clear the writers were intending to go somewhere with his unique physiology. She says no because she thinks it makes Jonas a little too Gary-Stu. Obviously, I held on to my beliefs for the purposes of this story. LOL
Theoretically, I'm going to finish posting this today… now that FF.N's decided to be cooperative again. :-P
