Star Granger Season 5 - Chapter 8
Thought
"speech"
"Goa'uld speech"
SG SG SG SG SG SG SG
November 8th 2002 - Moon base
"Please step into my office?" I hear Harry asking Peers politely. Peers is fuming, yet complies. Victoria goes there with them. I'm about to follow, but a slight shake of Harry's head stops me.
That's a first?
They don't stay there for long, though, and after just about a minute they appear back out. Peers looks mutinous, and Victoria doesn't seem to be all chuffed as well.
"Charles!" Victoria orders. "Take your division and investigate. I want you to drop a couple of light years out and scan the area where HMS Seahorse has last been. Then proceed carefully."
"Aye," Charles acknowledges.
"Go with him," Harry tells me, and I give him a questioning look. "Must stay here in command," he answers my unvoiced question with clear frustration showing. "You're staying as well," he tells Bill when he starts towards the rings with me. Bill is about to disregard his order, but a short look at Harry's face changes his mind.
"I'll keep you updated," I tell him softly, and rush out.
"Call all hands for my squad. I want those ships on immediate alert," is Victoria's last order I hear, before the rings come down.
It's no use, I cannot stop the thought. It will be more than a day's trip to the Seahorse's last known location.
November 10th 2002 - Praclarush
Now, this speck of dust at the back end of the galaxy might have once been right at the galaxy's thumping heart, but those days were already long gone even when Sappho was a wee kid. All that was left was a chunk of molten lava, and the warning parents told their kids about building their cities on planets circling a dying star. Still, the name came up in various contexts, so Seahorse was dispatched with an archaeology team aboard to investigate.
Right now, it appears that Praclarush is once more a fashionable part of the galaxy. We dropped out of hyperspace, a couple of lightyears away to find a whole fleet milling around these ends.
"Alright," Charles orders. "I want the Cockatrice to take position about a light-week away, and above the system plain." the Cockatrice's French captain acknowledges, though certainly sounds disappointed about his orders. It's a bit strange - Charles is the commanding officer of this division, being one of the most experienced captains in the fleet, yet he's doing so from one of the oldest ships in the fleet. The Mermaid being thoroughly upgraded, and the only crystal powered ship is probably the reason, but I reckon he just likes the old lady.
"Be ready to support us with torpedoes," he gives his last instructions before we head in to appear behind the local sun. Local sun used to be massive, so it's on its last legs as a red supergiant and will give our hyperspace windows ample protection from discovery. Up close we find a fleet of 32 Anubis Ha'tak ships. We also find that giant of a ship, which I've once seen through the Alteran satellite sensors on our first visit to Vis-Uban. We also find a small blinking spot, which is HMS Seahorse.
"Seems to be drifting," the sensor officer remarks softly.
It's a logical conclusion, since the Seahorse is moving very slowly, at a straight trajectory, and has just passed through the shields and hull of the ship next to it.
"Get us closer," Charles orders. =Sphinx, please hold back and cover us,= he adds.
We crawl in at replicator safe speed. We can probably go faster than that, but we have no idea just how good Anubis sensors are. Nor how alert are his Jaffa.
Helm takes us to the other side of the ha'tak ship, to wait for the Seahorse to appear out of its hull and shields. Meanwhile, weapons is marking targets all around us and distributing those between HMS Sphinx and us. We can probably take some six to ten of the ships around us in a surprise torpedo attack. French Destroyer Cockatrice would probably pick a few more with its long range torpedoes, but we will then find ourselves right in the middle of too much firepower for our shields to handle, and we don't even know what Ms giant can do and what exactly happened to the Seahorse.
Stealth is our best option, for now…
"Large Ha'tak's power readings are fluctuating wildly,'' The sensor officer updates us. Part of the display is showing the large ship with sections of it going dark and back online, seemingly at random. Another part keeps following the Seahorse, which is now starting to come out of the nearby ship's hull. Can't scan folded ships for lifesigns, though.
Frustrating.
=Mermaid, this is Sphinx,= our sister ship calls us. =Mind if we spread a few mines?= they ask.
A good idea actually.
=Start with the other side of the fleet, and come back,= Charles instructs them.
=Roger,= Sphinx acknowledges. =Will take us about an hour. Sphinx out!=
By now, the Seahorse is out of the nearby ship's shields, and helm positions us along their side. "Narrow beam, short range comm?" Charles asks, and comm acknowledges.
=Seahorse, this is Mermaid, over.=
Comm stays silent.
=HMS Seahorse, this is HMS Mermaid, please respond?=
Still nothing. They are right next to us, but being folded, we have no readings from them, except for the fact that they are here and their cloak is online. Having said that, they should be able to know that we are here too.
"Try the ZPE communication system?" I offer.
I can try a Patronus, but it's hardly stealthy.
ZPE communications is something Kazuko developed after our stint with the replicators aboard Thor's ship, way back. It's text only and very short in range. I can't say it was ever in actual use. Still, Charles nods in agreement.
HMS SEAHORSE, THIS IS HMS MERMAID. PLEASE RESPOND
It takes a very long moment, and we have stopped expecting when the response arrives.
HMS MERMAID, SEAHORSE HERE, WHERE ARE YOU? Large letters appear on our display.
This system is awkward to use, and Charles leaves his post so he can type himself on the communications station's keyboard. WE ARE HOLDING POSITION 50 YARDS TO YOUR STARBOARD. ANUBIS FLEET IS AROUND. PLEASE UPDATE YOUR STATUS.
Again, it's a long wait for their response. Finally, letters start showing.
WE WERE AFFECTED BY SOME UNKNOWN ENERGY WEAPON. ALL BRIDGE CREW ARE DOWN. ALL BRIDGE SYSTEMS OFFLINE. POWER OFFLINE, WEAPONS OFFLINE, DRIVES OFFLINE. GRAVITY OFFLINE. ZPE SYSTEMS ONLINE - AIR, WATER AND ENOUGH FOOD AVAILABLE. TWO BRICKS ARE OPERATIONAL. LOCKED INSIDE HANGAR.
There's a knot in my guts. Hurting. I'm dying to ask about the well-being of Fleur and Beatrix, but it isn't the time. We also can't single out specific people from the crew. I can see the shock affecting everyone on our bridge. Everyone here is young, and no one in the force is old enough to remember the sinking of HMS Sheffield in the Falklands.
WHO AM I SPEAKING WITH? Charles finally asks.
LT SADLER, ENGINEERING, isn't reassuring at all.
PLEASE HOLD, Charles finally instructs the young officer. WE'LL HAVE OPTIONS IN A SHORT WHILE.
"Options? Ideas?" he asks the bridge crew after asking the communication officer to update the base. The French commander's offer to off Anubis fleet is disregarded. Generally speaking, we got ourselves this far by not being that stupid.
"I'll go and dock with them in a Brick," Offers the XO.
"I'll get a team ready," agrees the Marines Captain.
"I'll go with them," I offer softly.
"Right!" Charles approves.
HMS Seahorse is dead in space. No system responds to our Brick's automated pairing request. We handle docking manually and make sure to suit up before opening the hatch. Inside, the corridor is black as ink.
The Brick lets us in, and hurries to close the hatch, disconnect, and retreat. The Seahorse is about to drift inside the shields of another Ha'tak ship, and it isn't a recommended location for an active ship to be at.
Isn't recommended full stop.
This quirky system puts too much emphasis on intent, so while a dead and drifting ship might drift through the hull of another ship, Merlin only knows,
Was he an engineer,
What will happen to an active ship trying the same thing?
I had my share of walking along dark corridors of dead ships in the past, but none have been one of ours. Inside is a cold, inky dark, Esher maze. This design works for as long as gravity tells you where down is, but then, gravity is off and we can only see what our torches show us.
"Air's viable," remarks the marine medic, and we're glad to remove our headgear.
Cold…
In the Hangar are the Seahorse's three Bricks. Two are lit and humming softly. The third one is standing dark near the starboard hull.
We are noticed immediately. Hatches are opened and people are rushing out to meet us.
"Thank God you're here!" says a young looking officer.
Much too young to be in combat. Nevermind in command.
"Did you bring a medic?" he asks urgently. "We have wounded, and ours has…" he drifts off.
"What we need is time," Charles remarks softly. "To bring a work-bee and free the functional Bricks; To see if any repairs are possible; To call on the Asgard to give her a tow.
What is it with advanced races? Of all technologies they keep this one close to the chest?!
"And we can do none of this while in the middle of Anubis fleet," Charles summarises with a sigh.
HMS Sphinx is back from distributing her small load of mines. Reinforcements are on their way with a work bee. HMS Seahorse's wounded are on their way to Vis-Uban onboard one of our Bricks. So are their dead. I am almost broken. I also get impatient, which is a rather horrible combination.
"Mind if we take a close look at Anubis Giant while we wait?" I ask.
Charles gives me a probing stare. "Scans," he simply orders.
Giant is presented in front of us. Its power grid and shields are still flickering. It's not really going anywhere unless it has a really good reason to. Life signs are peculiar. About ten Goa'uld are concentrated mostly on the bridge and at a place at the heart of its power grid. Some hundred Jaffa are about. Very few for a ship this size. What the ship is lacking in Jaffa it makes up with a contingent of about a thousand black soldiers.
Isn't it lovely?
I'm not certain it's my wisest of ideas, but Charles wasn't made the fleet second in command for being overly cautious. "Be careful?" he tells me softly.
Brick flight to the giant is slow, but hey - we have more than a day till a work-bee arrives. There is very little traffic in between ships, and we wait for almost an hour before we can follow a Tel'tak while it heads towards our destination. With me is one of the new marine commandos' units. I can't help but worry. They are very well trained, but neither the men nor their commanding officers have ever seen actual action. The captain commanding them looks collected, but is practically vibrating with excitement. His second in command is so tense he might jump out of his skin at any surprise. Worse yet - I, personally, have no formal authority over them, and can't force them to follow my lead. All of this is starting to feel like a bad idea.
"Listen lads," I tell the three officers delicately and away from their men's ears. "This is an intel gathering mission. We have a day and some to wait till a ship with a work-bee arrives to help with HMS Seahorse. We must make every effort to not be discovered and not engage the enemy." They nod in agreement and understanding.
I'm still not reassured.
Giant's corridors look like any other Ha'tak ship's, but are twice as long. We make our way to engineering, spreading masking plates in our wake. We can't leave those behind, so they are set to disintegrate after a short while. Still, for the next several hours, Anubis is about to miss a few of his ship's main junctions.
We meet few people on our way. A handful of Jaffa and a couple of Goa'uld making their way from and to the bridge, also a few of our black soldier friends. I could feel people getting tensed and twitchy fingered all around me.
Please don't do anything stupid?
But thankfully, training prevailed. Marines froze, stuck to the walls, or moved back into side halls or corridors, masked the entrance, and let whoever came by pass none the wiser.
Scans showed engineering to have only one entrance. Still, I insist on walking around to verify it. Inside are a group of Goa'uld, including the one who might be the owner of this Behemoth of a ship.
"I apologise milord," we hear the Goa'uld at the computer post probably risking his very life. "The new electro-magnetic beam is a formidable weapon, but this reactor cannot carry the load," he tells the tall, dark, cloaked figure standing right behind him. That figure doesn't react in any way though.
"I don't know of any reactor, capable," the brave Goa'uld goes on risking his life with the truth.
"Asgard," the dark figure answers in one word.
Crystals, I add in my own mind.
That's why they're here! It clicks. A goa'uld aware of Alteran power crystals is awfully bad news!
"How long till power's back online?" Anubis asks levelly. About half a day, apparently.
"We can go right now, but I would like to replace the power regulation crystals," the Goa'uld adds, receiving no response from Anubis. "They might fail at any moment," he adds, still with no response. "Six hours," he concludes as Anubis silently turns his back on him and walks out.
Anubis hesitates for a moment in the corridor outside engineering. His shortest walk to the bridge is hidden behind our masking plates.
Must be confusing.
He has three phasers pointed at his head at every moment he stands there. It's the moment he walks away that the devil inside raises its ugly head.
"What are you doing?" the captain's voice hisses in my ear. I ignore it and keep engraving on the wall, just next to the engineering doors. I'm back in the hidden corridor just in time, since Anubis is back.
"What did you do?" the captain asks me with some trepidation, but I don't really have to respond since the doors close behind Anubis' back with a satisfied sigh-like sound. "Hummmmmmmyummmmmmm ah!" it says.
"Ghastly!" whispers one of the marines, not lowering his phaser.
"Genuine People Personalities," I whisper back with an unhealthy dose of satisfaction.
Our conversation is cut short though, since the doors sigh again in contentment and Anubis is back in the corridor.
Has a very Darth Vader look on him.
"First against the wall when the revolution comes," the junior officer quotes to me in a whisper.
"Make every effort to not be discovered and not engage the enemy," The captain whispers my instructions back at me.
"Fall back, fools!" I hiss back at them.
"What?" asks the sergeant. "Was his gooseberry and cinnamon yoghurt an hour out of date?"
Hilarious!
By now, Anubis is standing about five feet in front of me, looking straight at me. My arm is raised, ready to shield with my brace, and my phaser points at his head. Anubis doesn't move. Just stands there watching. Probably can feel something is amiss, yet can't overcome the masking plates hiding the corridor. From this close I should be able to see the white in his eyes, as the saying goes, only Anubis doesn't have 'em. Doesn't have a face at all. What he does have is some shimmering force-field, covering the space underneath his hood.
Bloody freaking!
I tighten the hold on my phaser and aim better.
I can finish this right now…
Still, I hesitate.
The team won't survive the backlash…
I tighten my hold on my phaser and aim even better. I can make him eyes!
I might not survive the backlash…
I keep pointing my phaser at his face, but take a step back. Then another one. Behind a corner in the corridor, I find the Captain and his Colour Sergeant.
"Covering your pretty arse," he hisses at me. "Ma'am!"
I stop him with a raised finger, though, and take my tablet out of my pack.
Something's fishy here.
At the corridor junction there is no lifesign. I peek around the corner to verify Anubis is still there. He is, and he doesn't register as living.
Or his lifesign is masked!
"I need to go back," I tell them, and am stopped by the captain holding the back of my suit.
"Not engage the enemy!" he hisses at me again.
"We need to know who, what! he is," I answer and head back."
"Get in the Brick" I hear the captain order his men over the comm, before I round the corner back. I shot Anubis' head as soon as I have him in sight. The phaser does bugger all, though. Next shot is turned back at me by some bright yellow flow of light coming out of his hands.
ZPE! There were no ZPE readings?
I exchange the phaser for my wand without missing a step. My brace struggles to protect me from whatever this yellow light is. Protego does a much better job. Meanwhile I start with a Vanishing Charm. All it does though, is make a round hole in Anubis' dark cloak, to show that the shimmering force field probably covers his whole body.
What are you?!
From behind me, both the Captain and Sergeant open fire. Captain is using his phaser, and is oscillating frequencies as he shoots. Strangely enough, the Sergeant is firing his hand pistol.
Good idea actually,
What I need to add to the mix is some sustained ZPE burst. Meanwhile, Anubis' shield withstands the captain's phaser, and the Sergeant's bullets ricochet back to me, then back to Anubis, by my shield. The curses I throw at him push him back, but his force field holds. My shield, on the other hand, is taking some beating and I'm forced back behind the corner for some cover.
Sustained magical burst!
My mind is still struggling to come up with an option.
Cruciatus!
I shake my head in frustration, and finally an idea pops in my mind. A usable one! Right on time, since Anubis' yellow light things can apparently round corners and hit both the Captain and Sergeant all over. Thankfully, Both's personal shields are holding, but whatever Anubis is doing is depleting their power crystals awfully fast.
It does give Anubis a pause, though.
"Fall back!" I shout at them, but the twits hold their positions.
Instead, I try my magic again. Happy thoughts, though, are farthest from my mind at this moment, and all I get is vapour. Still, Occlumency is a wonderful thing - I clear my mind of all current thoughts, fill it with a memory of Harry's and my first kiss, and a bright otter runs straight at Anubis' chest. His force field is visibly straining now, and his yellow light thing is pushed back by the otter. I see the Captain adds his Phaser beam to my attack, however, it's a bullet from the Colour-Sergeant's Walther PP that finally shatters Anubis' shield. Did we ever have the chance to discuss those premature sighs of relief?
Danger Will Robinson, danger!
Both men are clearly surprised to see my reaction to Anubis' demise, or what they both perceive as his demise, at the least.
"Run!" I shout at them, and don't even wait to see whether they comply, or not.
They do, though.
Especially since the alarm sounds almost immediately.
"Status?" the Captain asks his men as we run.
"Blacks can now see through our invisibility," the Lieutenant updates us. "Goff and Lakins down."
What else can go wrong today?
"Bollocks - these suits can fly!" I tell the lads and rise to the air. They follow.
"Can they see through our masking?" I butt into the captain's conversation to ask. Thankfully not - just the disillusion.
"Get the Brick airborne," I suggest to the Captain and am glad to hear him order it. The hangar we reach swarms with black soldiers. Two marines are laying on the floor. Space doors are open. Now, a transporter would have been of immense help at this stage. Especially one of Alteran, Asgard, or Martian designs. But the Asgard refused our inquiry regarding after Gabriel said something about the technology's weapon delivery potential in their presence.
Honestly, what does it matter whether one delivers a warhead by transporter, or by phasing it through the hull?
The Alteran tech is available, but is too power hungry for the small Bricks, and the Martian? Well, it requires quite a substantial overhaul, and our docks are too busy manufacturing new ships at this stage.
Just started construction of the ships the Goblins have asked for.
In any case, any use of a transporter of any kind, at this stage, will drop the Brick's fold. Also, our invisibility boosters have just proven to be useless.
"Mate," I tell the Captain. "I'll go create a diversion. When you have an opening, get yourself to the Marines, give me a ten second notice, then ring up and clear off."
I don't wait for an answer and head back up the corridor.
"What are you doing?" the Captain's exasperated voice comes through the comm.
"Buying you enough time to get out," I answer, and keep going.
Need to find a way to another entrance to the hangar.
"Director Potter will have me shot!" the Captain's rather desperate now.
"Director Potter will do no such thing," I answer, rather derisively, while I keep flying through the corridors.
He would have done something even more stupid, where he in my shoes right now.
An opening is ahead, and I'm relieved to find it leading to the same hangar.
Right, Transfiguration!
Now, Tonks would have done this in a blink of an eye, but human Transfiguration is rather hard to do. Especially for someone so out of practice, like I am right now. On the other hand, this is all just for show and only required to buy the lads a few seconds to escape. A wave of my wand Conjures this hulking dark grey cloak. Another creates the illusion of that shimmering force field beneath the cape, and I walk out purposefully into clear view of anyone in the hangar.
"Gather!" I order, and am rather surprised when row after row, hundreds of black soldiers, are kneeling in front of me. From the corner of my eye, I can see the captain and colour-sergeant running to the two marines' bodies lying on the floor and pulling both into a close circle.
"Come" I hear the captain's voice ordering inside my ear.
Apparition…
Do you remember me telling you that Apparition inside a travelling ship is not the brightest of ideas? Well, it isn't. Honestly. But not due to the actual movements of the ship, and let me try and explain: Remember Earth? It's that planet where we do most of our Apparating on. People conveniently tend to ignore the fact that the Earth spins around its pole, making the Earth's surface - that's the place where we tend to do our actual Apparition, move at speeds of up to 1000 MPH. Then we look the other way while the Earth laboriously makes its way around the sun, once a year, at a speed of about 67 thousand MPH. What most people tend to forget is the fact that the sun itself is circling the centre of the Avalon galaxy, at about five hundred thousand MPH, and that the galaxy itself is moving in the expanding universe at I don't really know what speed, but Keira or Neta would probably be able to tell you, if really interested.
All this rubbish boils down to the second 'D' from your Apparition test. We are so used to considering the Earth as a stationary object, that we can ignore all this and will ourselves to another point on the planet's surface, with no issue.
All this is much harder to do here, out in space.
I give the captain's location a stare. Commit every detail to my memory, close my eyes and will myself there. By the feel of it, I have arrived with all my faculties and extremities.
Sigh.
I open my eyes to verify that my arrival was at the right spot, only to see the rings rising up to the Brick above me.
Brilliant!
The Brick itself has fallen out of fold, and naturally attracts all kinds of unwanted attention. It rises its Goa'uld cloak, and hurries out of the open space doors, before those have the chance to be closed. It's shooting at everything in its path on its way there. Apparition has also stripped me of my Anubis camouflage, and I too attract attention of the plasma kind. Luckily, my personal shield resists the first bolt of plasma. I stop the next few with my brace, and hurry to find shelter inside our formerly hidden side corridor.
"You were late!" the captain's voice accuses me inside my ear.
I'm about to tell him something about wizards never being late, when the giant ship shudders around me and jumps to hyperspace.
Bollocks!
This is bad… I need time. I need to think. I need some rest too. A little down the corridor is a small ready room, which I commandeer for my use. A wave of my hand rises Confounding wards at the entrance. Some engraving at the door will add some more robust wards and will give me the peace of mind I need for some rest and planning. I would have added a Fidelius, if only I had someone with me to keep my secret.
There's a bunk in the corner, and I crash on it, exhausted and quite a bit desperate.
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And now it all looks strange
It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain
For the first time, since I've been worried about Isis insurance coverage, I can't stop the tears.
And I've been knocking but no one answers
And I've been knocking most of the day
Oh and I've been calling, oh hey hey Johnny
Can't you come out to play
I'm not sure how long I've cried. For my friends and for me, in sheer exhaustion and desperation.
Director Potter will be furious,
Is my last thought, before I succumbed to some restless sleep.
Huge shout, once more, to flyboy38, my beta, who takes the time to make sure the story is a much better read.
Also to Dalwolf For doing Brit-Picking for, well - you all, and help my British characters stay British.
I am eternally grateful!
