5: Preparations

As a Nomad and the son of an elite guardsman and member of the ruling council of Sanctuary, Aithris knew how to fight. He had been taught to do so as soon as he had been able to pick up a weapon, and from a young age he had routinely practiced and been drilled on a number of fighting styles and weapon types. Hand-to-hand, melee and firearms of varying sorts, it came to him as second nature. Even the Earth weapons, refined in their conventional ballistics but still operating on a crude chemical reaction, were as easy for him to use as anything he had been given on Sanctuary. Much of his spare time was spent perusing literature and training, and it was the latter he was currently doing, although for an interesting change of pace he had another with him. A student, of sorts, in the form of Staff Sergeant Natalia Tarasovna.

The training room in the SGC was fairly large, with the expected workout equipment as well as a section floored with soft mats intended for hand-to-hand practice. Aithris, dressed in a simple black top and green uniform trousers, stood across from the similarly attired human Sergeant. She watched and listened attentively, as keen a student as any Aithris could have wished for. She wanted to learn, broaden her horizons or so she said, and she had picked up on a few of the more inventive moves he had taught her. Previously, her fighting style had consisted of mainly wayward haymakers and the odd kick. At least by passing on some of what he knew, he could increase her chances of survival out in the field.

The black shirt he wore was tight against his muscular frame, and the muscles of his arms practically bulged against the snug fabric. Natalia was much slimmer in comparison, bearing a more athletic frame. She was also a good head smaller than him. She would have to make up for her size disadvantage through clever moves, and it was with this in mind that Aithris had taught her a few of the tricks he had learned.

"Remember, weight forward, legs behind mine. You got that?" Aithris motioned to her to move for him. He was happy enough to be the fall guy here, for how else would she learn without someone to practice on?

"Yeah, I got it." He found her subtle Russian accent endearing, had done so since he had first met her. She stepped forwards quickly, moving against him, one arm going behind him. Her legs came behind his own and Aithris, playing his part as the hapless victim, fell over them as she completed the sweep. He landed with a smack on the mat below, no worse for wear. Natalia stood just over him, hands still clutching him. She smiled, satisfied. Aithris returned the gesture, before he offered her one hand and she helped him back upon his feet.

"That's good, Natalia." Aithris nodded his head in affirmation. "But in a real fight, your opponent is unlikely to stand still while you do that."

"Maybe we should have a proper fight, then?" She asked him. He was surprised to hear this, even more surprised to see that she was serious about it. Aithris narrowed his violet eyes, unsure of what to make of the suggestion.

"You want to spar?"

"Why not? Some of the other guys do it." She gave a shrug, before she stepped over to the padded bench nearby. There, she picked up her water bottle and took a hearty gulp. Her other hand grabbed her towel that had been sitting by it and she wiped the sweat from her brow. They had been at this for about an hour now, so it was no wonder she had worked up a sweat.

"I don't know, Natalia. I would rather wait until you had trained more."

"You worried you'll beat me?" She turned to him again, smirking. "It'll be all for fun, yes? We won't really beat each other up."

"I wouldn't want to upset you," Aithris said, still unsure of what to make of this woman. "I would have to gracefully lose any proper fight to you, as befitting a proper man."

"Proper? Is that what you do where you're from?"

"I could not in good conscience beat a woman in a fight," Aithris added. He noticed the way in which she raised her eyebrows, as if bemused by what he was saying. Perhaps even amused, he could not tell. "Certainly not one I consider a friend and respect as such."

"Are all you Nomads like this?"

"Like what?"

"Proper, honourable, like Knights of old. What is the word?" She paused briefly, eyes narrowing in thought. "Gentlemanly, yes? That is the word, I think."

"Our ways are not entirely like yours."

"That much is obvious." She met his gaze again, offering him a warm smile. "I do appreciate the time you've put into teaching me. Truly, Aith."

"It is no problem, Natalia. I enjoy the time we spend together." He meant every word he said. Natalia was a friend and team member, and over the past several months they had gone through all manner of dangers together. Such was the nature of this line of work and fighting alien foes was enough to forge a sturdy friendship.

"I like having someone I can teach," he continued. "Someone who is willing to listen. Some of the other people around here still do not entirely trust me."

"That's just how people are," Natalia replied, dismissing his concern. "They'll come to understand you eventually, just like I have. What counts is that I trust you, and so does the Colonel, and Doctor Jackson. Not to mention General Janssen, as it was he who suggested you be placed on the team. He protects you, I think."

"I got the impression." Aithris had been grateful for the hospitality of the General and Colonel Sheppard, as they had welcomed him here without question. After what had happened on Sanctuary, they no doubt saw Aithris as a valuable addition to the team. At least here, the Nomad could take part in the fight against the old enemy, the 'demons' from beyond the reaches of the galaxy. The same enemy they had been trying to find and destroy since the loss of Sanctuary, as it had become apparent that they were making moves across the galaxy. Even Jonas Quinn's home-world had suffered their corrupting influence, driving the former scientist and statesman into exile on Earth once more.

It was because of those 'Void Demons' that Sanctuary had been destroyed. The Calsharans had certainly played a part, but the final blow had been to deny the ancient enemy the use of the Artificial Intelligence 'Construct' there, specifically a digitised copy of the Ancient inventor Janus. That AI had revealed much and could have potentially revealed more, had the Void Demons not come to Sanctuary. As per protocol, the Janus copy had destroyed itself to keep it from falling into enemy hands.

"I am curious, Aith." Natalia had been gathering up her things then, before turning to the Nomad again. Aithris quirked one hairless brow, awaiting her question. "How old are you?"

"How old?" Aithris mulled this over briefly. How could he best put it, in human terms? Their calendar was not the same as his. "I believe, in your Earthly perspective, that I would be twenty-five years. That is a fairly close estimation, anyhow."

"That is younger than I thought," Natalia said, and she did appear somewhat surprised by this, one eyebrow quirked. "You seem older, somehow. You do look young, but maybe it's the eyes, yes?" She frowned then, her features turning a little more sullen. He had seen a lot of things he had wished not to see and maybe those past traumas did show? That was what she was getting at, and it appeared she worried that she might have offended him somehow. Aithris gave her a reassuring smile instead.

"It's all right, Natalia. You do not need to be so careful around me." He had lost his home, and that was something that seemed to shadow everything he did. It was not a shadow that would leave him anytime soon. The best he could do was make this place, Stargate Command, his new home, and to an extent he had. He had lived here for more than a year now, since he had first stumbled through that stargate with Colonel Sheppard, having escaped from imprisonment on board a Calsharan dreadnought. He had been an exile then, yet that had not made his home any less important. He had exiled himself, driven to act while the Nomad leadership sat back and did nothing to investigate the signs of the old enemy coming back. The humans of Earth had been the only ones willing to heed his warnings, and even then, only a handful of the people here actually believed him. Despite all that had happened and all he and the team had witnessed, the people running the military here did not take appropriate action. It was the same kind of 'wait and see' attitude that had driven Aithris to leave Sanctuary in the first place. Betrayal at the highest levels back home had been the reason for it, and he hoped to the higher powers that this was not the case here on Earth. And yet, he could not shake the feeling that something more was going on beyond one's immediate perspective.

"I am thirty-three, if you're curious," Natalia said.

"I thought you might have been younger," Aithris countered. Natalia grinned, although Aithris was not entirely sure why. Sometimes these humans could confuse him, even after spending so long amongst them.

"Why thank you, Aith," she said, before she started for the exit. "If you don't mind, I'm going to wash up. Maybe we could get something to eat later? It is burger night at the cafeteria, and you know what these Americans are like with their burgers." She paused then, a thought occurring to her: "Well, actually, no, you probably don't. We'll have to get you a salad."

Aithris might have chuckled then, were it not for the voice that broke out of the P-A system at that moment:

"SG-1, report to the briefing room in ten minutes. SG-1, report to the briefing room in ten minutes."

"Duty calls," Natalia remarked. "I think I'll shower first, no good showing up to the General smelling the way I do now." She looked to Aithris again, frowning slightly. "And you did not even break a sweat. How do you do it?"

Aithris was about to tell her about the nanotechnology in his body that allowed him to better regulate his body temperature, but she was out of the room before he could utter a word. He got the feeling that the question had been one of a more rhetorical nature anyway, and she was well aware of the abilities he had, as was everyone else in the SGC. With what they knew of the AI Construct now, it was apparent that the technology had been Ancient in origin. And as an acolyte of the ruling council, Aithris had received his implants when he had come of age.

He supposed he would head over to the briefing room, perhaps cover for Natalia if she did not make it on time. That was what friends were for, was it not?


The briefing room seemed to carry a more subdued atmosphere for this particular meeting, if only because of the troubling circumstances that had arisen. John was seated at one corner of the table, Daniel to his left, a file open before him that contained the latest information that had been gathered about the planet of Chulak. That included a handful of photos taken by an unmanned reconnaissance drone that had been sent through earlier that day, one that had been quickly shot down by a Calsharan weapons emplacement. It had snapped several photos from above before its abrupt end, offering them a look at what kind of defences the Calsharan occupiers had put in place around the stargate. From what John could tell, it was a full-blown security checkpoint, the kind one might have expected to see at the Berlin Wall back at the height of the Cold War.

Bra'tac was seated across from him, the Jaffa's wizened features carrying with them a stoic, if solemn, expression. He had cleaned himself up since his arrival here, with his injuries no longer quite as obvious as they had been before. The bruise under his left eye was still readily apparent, the result of a close run-in with a Calsharan soldier. The old warrior was certainly tough, there was no denying that. He was old, even for a Jaffa, and John found himself impressed by the old man's apparent stubbornness.

Aithris was seated by Daniel, and in turn Natalia had taken up her place beside him. They all had copies of the file and photographs before them, so that every member of the team could see what they were up against. This would be a mission for only those who volunteered. Any one of them could back out now and there would be no repercussions. Of course, none of them would do that. They had an opportunity to strike at the Calsharan war machine, even if it was simply to rescue a respected figure and old acquaintance. John did not know Teal'c terribly well, but he had met the man enough times to see that he was someone you wanted on your side, being both a tenacious fighter and wise veteran. It was no wonder, as Bra'tac had been the man's mentor for many years, and it seems much of the wisdom he displayed had been passed on to his student.

"What are we looking at here, really?" It was Daniel who asked this question, and he pointed to one of the printed photographs on the table before him. "It's hard to tell. Looks like a bunch of black rectangles."

"Defensive positions," Bra'tac explained. "The Calsharans have the stargate under heavy guard. However, fighters loyal to me launch strikes against those positions frequently. Simple probes and harassment, enough to keep the enemy uncertain. However, our means of infiltration does not lie with the stargate. I only escaped through it to here with the help of a diversionary raid."

"It does look like Checkpoint Charlie out there," John remarked. "You'd better have one hell of a plan, old-timer."

Bra'tac nodded his head, displaying a confidence that John did not entirely share.

"I would not have come here seeking your help if I did not have some semblance of a plan, Colonel Sheppard. It was by a combination of skill, tactics and perhaps an ounce of the 'luck' your people often claim that saw me through the Calsharan cordon and to the stargate. It will be under much heavier guard now, and this is apparent through the handful of images before us."

"And your plan?"

"My plan, Colonel Sheppard, incorporates an obsolete Goa'uld cargo transport that I hid on a remote world many years ago. It has a cloaking device which will enable us to slip past the Calsharan ships in orbit of Chulak, and with it we will be able to land close to the capital city. Any nearer and we risk the enemy discovering us, as I am uncertain of their capabilities regarding the detection of cloaked vessels."

"Yeah, so are we." Daniel perked up then, seemingly on board with the plan. "They're more advanced than the Goa'uld ever were."

"What about getting into the city itself?" John asked the old Jaffa, who turned to him with his world weary, yet still sharp and attentive, gaze. "It must be crawling with the enemy. Do you know where Teal'c is being held?"

"Teal'c is being held captive within the great temple and fortress, the former seat of Apophis' power before it was repurposed for use by the ruling Jaffa council of Chulak. Now, the Calsharans use it as their planetary headquarters. We can disguise ourselves as merchants and farmers if we are to enter the city, although we will not be able to carry weapons. The Calsharans have many security checkpoints and even unmanned drones that frequently observe those in the streets. I do have people within the city who will be able to help us, and I do believe we have a means to enter the great temple if we act quickly."

"No weapons?" John frowned. As much as he wanted to rescue Teal'c, going into hostile country without any guns was not the way to go about the operation. "Are you sure your friends over there can get us what we need?"

"Do not underestimate those of us who fight to relieve us of this alien oppression, Colonel Sheppard." The old man's voice was stern, and he narrowed his eyes into enough of a frown to indicate that there would be no questioning this statement. "We have weapons, including some of Calsharan make. By the time we arrive on Chulak, some of my people should be in position to assist us. They are all willing to give up their lives to save a man they consider a legend."

"Yeah, well, let's hope they don't have to." There was a brief pause then, as John considered what had been said. It was a long shot, certainly, but he had gone out on a limb for less. And charging headlong into enemy territory with the odds against him was nothing new, even if he got the feeling nowadays that the more he pushed his luck, the more likely it was to finally give out on him.

"Colonel." Aithris spoke then, causing all heads to turn in his direction. "What about me? I cannot exactly stroll through the streets in the city."

The Nomad did stick out, for obvious reasons. And his species was well known to the Calsharans, and heavily disliked by many of those lizards.

"You'll have to keep an eye on our ship," John told him. "Which puts us down a team member for the rescue itself."

"We will have support." Bra'tac sounded certain of this. "My people will help us any way we can. If they make it safely into the city, there should be at least six of them, perhaps ten. We simply have to meet them at a particular address once we are in the city."

"Do we know if Teal'c is even still alive?" Now it was Natalia who spoke, and she voiced a question that had been at the back of John's mind, as well as Daniel's. Bra'tac looked her way, and John could see no doubt on his ageing features.

"He lives," the old Jaffa said. "I was certain of this when I left Chulak, and it is unlikely that the Calsharans would simply kill a valuable prisoner. He is likely being tortured, but they will not kill him. Not before attempting to find out everything he knows about the resistance."

"And how much does he know?" John asked.

"Enough to see much of the resistance destroyed, if they are able to break him." Bra'tac added this last part with a more severe edge to his voice. "However, Teal'c is not one to give in. He would rather die than aid the enemy in any way."

Daniel nodded his head in agreement. He knew Teal'c all too well, and from what John had heard of him, he could certainly believe that Teal'c was of the 'death before dishonour' variety. Many of these Jaffa seemed to be just that, Bra'tac also. It was admirable, certainly, even if in some circumstances such attitudes were likely to prove trying.

"General?" John directed his attention to Janssen, who had been sitting quietly with his hands clasped under his chin, a look of quiet contemplation on his face. He was likely weighing up the pros and cons of carrying out this mission, not to mention the trouble he could get into if anyone higher up the chain found out about it. They would be going up against the Calsharans, after all, and they all knew that the people running this program wanted to stay out of direct conflict with that species. Was it fear or something else that drove such a decision? John could only wonder. Perhaps something else was at work here, some other hidden motivation? There was no denying that the Calsharans had more troops and more ships than the people of Earth did. A frontal war with that species could prove disastrous.

Before the General could answer, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway at the other end of the room.

"Good afternoon everyone, did I miss anything?" Richard Woolsey walked in with a hurried step, briefcase in one hand, spectacles catching the light. He wore his usual black business suit and tie, and he quickly set himself down at one of the conference room's vacant seats, putting himself just to Aithris' right. The Nomad eyed the newest arrival carefully, as if unsure of what to make of him. Even after all these months here, Aithris still could not entirely wrap his head around Richard Woolsey.

He carries himself like a businessman but has the heart of a fighter. Aithris had said just this to John once, months ago, after a particularly long meeting with the IOA liaison. The International Oversight Advisory was a civilian body compiled of members from several nations, mainly politicians and bureaucrats. They had the power to command, recall and coordinate operations within the SGC, not to mention anything else regarding Earth's space fleet, or any other of the home-world defences in which that other program, Homeworld Command, was in charge of. They had been a frequent cause of trouble around here. However, Woolsey was one of the few who understood how things went, as his time leading the Atlantis expedition had made it apparent to even him that the IOA's policies were rarely feasible.

Even though John's opinion of Woolsey was mostly favourable, he found that the man did have a habit of perhaps being a little too intrusive, always asking questions about missions and the reports he and other team members submitted. It was all part of Woolsey's job, but that did not make it any less tiresome.

"Sorry I'm late," Woolsey added. He placed his briefcase upon the table in front of him before he popped its latches and pulled out a small laptop computer. Bra'tac was staring at him in a way that suggested the intrusion was a borderline insult, and Woolsey's casual attitude probably did not help much in that regard.

"I was held up at the airport." Woolsey looked up then, aware that everyone else in the room was staring at him. He then saw Bra'tac and he offered the Jaffa Master a friendly smile. "Ah, Master Bra'tac, I didn't see you there."

"Richard." John caused him to turn his way. "We were just in the middle of an important discussion."

"A briefing?" Woolsey's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Well, it's good I got here when I did. I can't have SG-1 gallivanting off somewhere without being brought up to speed on the mission myself."

John exchanged worried glances with Janssen. The General did not appear as concerned as he did, and in fact he gave John a small nod, as if to say that there was nothing to worry about.

"We were just discussing how we're going to rescue Teal'c," Janssen said, looking over to Woolsey. The latter's brows quirked upon hearing the name.

"Teal'c? He needs rescuing?" He was genuinely surprised.

"Yes, he does. I'm as surprised as you are." John leaned back in his chair, wondering if it was a good idea to tell the resident IOA representative about just who it was they would be rescuing Teal'c from. He need not have wondered for long, as Janssen went ahead and spilled the beans anyway:

"Teal'c is being held on Chulak, in Calsharan custody." The General must have been confident that Woolsey was trustworthy, even if mention of the Calsharans saw the representative's face morph into a more serious and questioning look. "A small team should have a better chance of infiltrating enemy territory, rather than a large strike force."

"You know the IOA's standing on engaging the Calsharans, General," Woolsey explained. "Direct engagements are to be minimised."

"You would prefer to leave Teal'c to rot in a cell, then?" John countered. Woolsey immediately scowled, practically offended at the insinuation.

"Absolutely not. Teal'c was a valued member of SG-1 and is still a close and valuable associate to the program. Without him, the fight with the Goa'uld may not have been as successful as it was. However, I must include details of this mission in the reports I routinely send to the IOA head office. If they perceive that you are willingly coercing the Calsharans into an open conflict, they will not be pleased. Any consequences will be at your feet, General, and there is little I can do to stop them." Woolsey sounded apologetic, caught in the middle as he was. Janssen gave a short nod, but otherwise his expression remained unfazed.

"How about this, Richard," he said, after a short pause. Woolsey leaned forwards slightly, eager to hear his suggestion. "Don't mention it at all in those reports."

"You're suggesting I omit critical information?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing. Seriously, Richard, get the stick out of your ass. This is Teal'c we're talking about. I don't know the man personally, but I do know we'd have been in a whole lot more trouble years ago if it wasn't for him. So, just this once Richard, don't tell the damn IOA. Fudge the numbers, cook the books, do whatever it is dodgy accountants do to cover up this kind of thing."

"And if any of your team are killed or captured on the mission?" A valid question, the potentiality it put forwards one that was likely to have more consequences than a completely successful mission.

"Then that will be on my head," Janssen replied, without pause. His mind was set, that much was apparent. There would be no talking him out of this mission.

Woolsey relaxed back into his chair, no doubt feeling a little uncomfortable at the way everyone else was looking at him. An expression of careful contemplation took hold of his face then, brow furrowing. And then, suddenly, he spoke again:

"Very well, General. I just hope the team has a good plan."


It felt good to be going back out again, and this time John hoped for a better result. After all, the trip to Bedrosia had been almost for nothing, not to mention it had plunged them into a warzone. At least Chulak was not quite the same, save for the Jaffa insurgents who were causing trouble for the Calsharan occupiers.

Standing in the embarkation room, he was in full team kit, with a black combat vest over the standard issue drab green uniform. The same went for Daniel, Natalia and Aithris. Again, the Nomad's uniform was a snug fit, and it only served to accentuate the alien's muscular frame. Bra'tac waited with them at the base of the gantry leading up to the mouth of the stargate, whilst ahead the inner ring within the stargate spun slowly, chevrons lighting up in turn as the world the old Jaffa had specified was dialled. In a matter of hours they would be in enemy-occupied territory, for the planet on which the old cargo ship was hidden was only a short hyperspace flight from Chulak. An old contingency plan Bra'tac had left behind years ago, just one of a handful of old ships he had stashed about the galaxy. A well-travelled veteran warrior such as himself had more than one fallback plan, it seemed.

Bra'tac carried a staff weapon, and he waited at the head of the group as the last few chevrons were locked. The rest of the group went unarmed for the time being, carrying with them sidearms and little else. Even Natalia, who was normally kitted out with all manner of demolitions equipment and associated odds and ends, travelled light with a Russian-made SR-1 Vektor pistol at her waist. John had wanted to bring more, but as they were unlikely to get away with strolling through the streets of Chulak's capital wearing rifles, it would have been a waste of energy with the added weight. They needed to be mobile for this mission, and hopefully they would gain access to some heavy-duty firepower when they went in to find Teal'c. Staff weapons had decent effectiveness against Calsharan armour, if only slow and unwieldy. It was the Calsharan plasma weapons that were more effective and much more practical. However, many standard-issue Calsharan weapons were becoming more frequently fitted with genetic lockouts that kept them from being wielded by those of other species. There were ways around this, but it took time to safely disengage a lockout on even just one Calsharan gun. Time they did not have, here and now. Older Calsharan weapons lacked this feature, but John was yet to run into many of them when facing the modern Calsharan military.

The stargate activated then, the vortex quickly settling, before the wormhole's familiar, rippling blue-white glow cast itself over the team. John turned around, looking up to the control room window from where General Janssen watched them. The General leaned forwards, pressing a button at the terminal in front of him, activating the P-A system:

"Colonel Sheppard, you and the team are clear to go-ahead." He paused briefly, eyes meeting with John's. "Good luck out there."

John gave him a curt wave before he spun back around. Bra'tac was already striding up the ramp for the wormhole.

"Let's go, and stay tight. We play this one by ear," John told the team, before he started after the old Jaffa, the others falling into step behind him. Bra'tac was first through the wormhole, John following, once again entering the cool embrace of the standing pool of energy.

A flash of light followed and John found himself stepping into an open, rocky plain. It was barren, the air warm if a little thin, and as he stepped down the handful of stone steps at the base of the stargate, he found himself having to pause in order to acclimatise to the thin atmosphere. Bra'tac was unaffected, striding onwards across the dusty field. Rocky outcrops and jagged mountains surrounded the plain, and it was towards a set of crumbling stone ruins that Bra'tac moved. John glanced back at the stargate, watching the rest of the team file on through. Above them, the sky was tinted a slight purple, with at least three small silvery moons floating amongst a scattering of stars. A distant yellow sun shrouded the remote world in a warm, if distant, glow.

"Air's a little thin here," Daniel remarked. He stopped at John's right, eyes flitting to where the old Jaffa was going. "Those look like ruins. This place was inhabited, once."

"We're not here for you to do your Indiana Jones routine," John stated, and he went on after Bra'tac. "Don't get distracted."

"No, of course not." The team filed after John, and they trudged across the barren plain to the smattering of crumbling ruins. Evidence of tall columns and archways remained, as did the stone tile floor of what had once been a temple of some kind. Bra'tac took them past a dried out, cracked and dust-filled pool and into a cluster of sharp, prickly plants that came to about knee height. The old Jaffa brushed some of them aside with his staff weapon, before he reached out and put a hand to the rockface in front of them.

Except it was no rockface. It was a smooth surface, too smooth to be a fit for the surrounds. The bushes had concealed most of it, and the metal fuselage of the old Goa'uld cargo ship had become discoloured with age and the weather. The whole thing had turned a dull shade of brown, every nook caked with dirt piled up from years of dust storms. Bra'tac found a panel by the small vessel's door, popping it open and unlocking it with a few button presses.

"This is it?" Natalia was the one to ask this, and the tone of her voice suggested she had no confidence in the ship whatsoever. John had to agree, it did not look flightworthy. Bra'tac turned to face the team, his features confident, and as if to prove a point he thumped his fist against the ship's metal plating.

"I left this here after a great battle, when I served as First Prime to Apophis," he said. "At the time, I had considered gathering some of my followers to launch a rebellion against him, but it was also that time that I became mentor to Teal'c. With him under my tutelage, I felt my cause would be best realised through him, a younger warrior with much potential."

"Ah, Bra'tac, just how long ago was all this?" Daniel asked him.

"Many of your years. Fear not, Daniel Jackson. This ship will fly. The Goa'uld build their machines to last."