AN: If anyone was wondering why Teal'c's being so standoffish here it's because he's much younger. I assume he matured as he got older and became more stoic etc. This also marks the end of the second arc.
-x-
Chulak was black and cold on their arrival. But the lack of moonlight meant no light for the enemy to see them by, while every third man of the Soviet party had one of the IR scopes which had recently been improved with a smaller battery pack.
The soldiers fanned out, letting their eyes adjust to the lack of light after the terrible radiance of the Stargate's activation.
"No one here sir." Came the quiet voice of Ilya, lowering his rifle.
"Alright get us into cover."
They ran to the treeline, a dark mass silhouetted against the stars where they hunkered down.
"Narodnaya Volya."
The radio crackled with static before they heard a voice "Cherniy Peredel" was the reply.
"This is Durov, come in Kartin."
"Receiving you Colonel."
Durov quickly explained the situation and asked whether their route was clear.
"Affirmative, Village B is having some sort of party."
Durov looked to Ivanovich, crouched beside him with the rest of SG-2 "Will this be a problem?"
"No, B is out of the way. Mind you, it might mean we run across some drunken idiot on the way coming along one of the roads."
"Which of your men knows the ground here best?" Durov asked next.
"Onotov!" the Captain called in a harsh whisper.
A soldier came up; it was too dark to see his rank.
"You're up front with Ilya. Speed is important but secrecy more so." Durov told the man.
"Got it sir, this way." And the soldier led them off.
Ivanovich turned to two men standing to the side, on a radio operator and carrying his pack and the other a long rifle. "Dudin, Dragolov, you stay here. Radio if you see anything unusual."
"Are we holding the Gate sir?" asked one of the men.
Ivanovich looked to Durov.
The Colonel could see how the question might prove problematic. "If even a few Jaffa get through you wouldn't be able to stage an effective defence." He said, "But if anyone does get through take note of their positions and map out a bombardment from the SGC."
The men nodded and the others set off. Ilya was in front with his scope and they adopted a relay system where a man would be posted at each turn in the road while the rest continued at a walk. When they'd passed one man the other would run up to the next posting so that they had constant watch over the stretches of road in front and behind them.
"You know we really should establish a better code system sir." Said Ivanovich as they walked.
Durov nodded, "I know, but you weren't with us in the war, and it's not how we did things then. You know the Regiment is largely based off Abramovich's old command? And officers such as yourself are later additions? Well this is the result, this informal system. We are expanding though and I agree we do need to sort something better out. It's a good thing really that we can just switch to German or Polish if we need to considering enough of us are fluent in it. Or English I suppose."
Ivanovich was right though, thought Durov, but the commando traditions of the SGC were hard to shake off. Before, to disguise themselves as nationalist partisans they used a non-military form of code, to make themselves look like amateurs rather than a detached unit of the Red Army. As such, when operating under their new circumstances the SG teams had rather fallen back on their old habits, in this case using the names of an old revolutionary organisations of the 1880s to demonstrate they were friends. It was an incredibly flexible code, as the different soldiers knew each other well enough to not need fixed names for things, as well as being useful because each time they could refer to something new. On one planet a hostile population could be referred to as 'Siberians' or 'Turks' to demonstrate their unfriendliness.
"How much further?" the Colonel asked as they crested another ridge.
"Not far sir, Bra'tac lives at the bottom of that mountain." Said Captain Ivanovich pointing ahead.
And indeed, Ivanovich was right in his estimation as they reached a clearing with a house in it soon enough. Durov gave orders for the others to spread out while Igor prepared the radio transmitter he was to wear and wired him with a small microphone at his ear, hidden through his hair.
"Ilya, can you see through the walls with that thing?"
"Just the windows sir. Walls are too thick."
"Well get somewhere where you can see through a window when I'm in there. Ivanovich, report anything I need to hear by the radio but otherwise maintain silence and let Igor do the talking. If I need a distraction to jump out a window or something set off a grenade. If everything goes really badly throw several grenades through the windows and then torch the place and get everyone back through the Stargate."
"We could have brought the plasma projector." Remarked Dimitri who was fiddling with the grenade attachment for a rifle.
Chaya had recently developed plasma grenades using some of the Naquadah cells that powered the Goa'uld staff weapons. They were horrifically effective, though rather bulky, like a satchel charge. After detonation they produced a large green fireball that had entirely melted half a tank, leaving only the remnants of its tracks and burn the engine block in half. Chaya had then proposed housing the cells in a shot projector like the British PIAT anti-armour weapon to hurl the grenades at enemy positions.
There had been some interest in the proposal, but the experiments had cut into their supplies of Naquadah and that had only recently been alleviated by Gaius' work with Vulcan's materialisation device. The former host had been using a memory-recall device the Nem the Ohnes apparently used predominantly to remember his dead mate and the Soviets had had the idea that Gaius might still retain some of the memories of the parasite Vulcan. So far the work was proceeding well and they'd made several advancements in their understandings of the alien technology on Elysium.
"I'm hoping it doesn't come to that Sergeant." The Captain admonished him gently.
"Well we'll see. To your positions, I'll walk up in two minutes."
"One thing to consider," said Igor, "'Goa'uld' means god. I'd say to consider whether something like 'the Goa'uld are not gods' would work because its an oxymoron, but as you think best…"
Durov nodded, they'd still not figured out how the translation phenomenon worked, though the leading theory currently was that like much of the alien technology they'd discovered there was a mental component, possibly projected by the Stargates themselves which allowed for diverse populations to understand each other.
After that the others wished him good luck and then left, following Ilya through the brush away from Durov's position. He knelt there, counting in his head till the time was up and then stood, setting his rifle on its strap in case he needed to grasp it quickly and unclipping his pistol's holster. He wasn't sure he reckoned his chances on drawing and shooting before one of them got him if they went for him, but if he could get a table between them he might have a better chance. He had a nasty feeling Ivanovich wouldn't obey his order to blow the house up if it still had him inside it but there wasn't anything he could do about that now.
The path up to Bra'tac's house was gravel and obviously they heard him because the door opened and Durov saw what must be Bra'tac. The man was short, and his face wrinkled, but he hadn't turned to fat like most marshals did when they retired.
"Ryk'l is that you? What are you doing here at this time of night?" asked the Jaffa.
"My name is Durov." Replied the Colonel, "I've come looking for allies against the Goa'uld."
It was best to get it out of the way immediately, rather than messing around with so many veiled statements and get the wrong impression.
"I see." Said Bra'tac, and he stood aside to allow Durov in.
Bra'tac's home was simple, but well appointed. The windows were glass with what Durov assumed was iron naturalistic decorations while his walls were covered in various tapestries and paintings. There was a short hallway which opened out into a larger room with several doors leading off. Durov hadn't really know what to expect from an alien warlord's house but this was as good as anything he supposed.
Standing at his arrival Durov saw Teal'c, a very large and well-muscled man with short black hair. Unlike Bra'tac who might have been a Spaniard or an Indian for all Durov could tell, Teal'c would certainly have been placed as an African if he were on Earth, which implied a few interesting possibilities about Chulak. They'd though it was rather small but perhaps there were warmer areas. The ethnicity of the Jaffa had always been an issue of curiosity for the SGC, given such a large proportion of them looked Semetic.
"Kree tal shal mak!" demanded Teal'c upon seeing Durov.
"Identify yourself." came Igor's translation in the Colonel's ear.
However, Bra'tac held up a hand and gestured for them all to sit, glancing at Durov's rifle as he did so. Durov sat, but kept his right hand as close to his pistol as he could, given Bra'tac had just neutralised his rifle rather easily with his courtesy.
Seeing the Jaffa were waiting for him, Durov began to speak. "The Goa'uld left our planet long ago and as such we only knew them as what we thought were stories of ancient times." He began, "Our Stargate was buried so when we discovered it and learned that the Goa'uld had enslaved so many of our people across the galaxy we decided to oppose them, both for our own safety, and for the liberation of our comrades."
He was intentionally vague regarding the specifics due to the concern in the SGC about possible historical documents in the Goa'uld archives relating to Earth. It was feared that in the same manner as the location of Troy had been discovered from ancient poetry, so too might Earth be rediscovered as it were from some similar document. At least the Jaffa were polite enough not to push him on the point, as they didn't enquire about the name of the previously mentioned planet, or even what Goa'uld ruled over it.
"You are not Tok'ra." Said Teal'c.
"'Tok' is 'against'." came Igor's voice again.
"We don't even know who the Tok'ra are." He replied, though the name indicated some resistance movement.
"There is an old legend among the Jaffa forbidden to speak of concerning a group of Goa'uld who opposed the ways of the System Lords." Explained Teal'c, "Twice Apophis has me search for them, as they are said to hide under the earth."
"And this is why you oppose the Goa'uld? Your faith was shaken by this?"
Bra'tac assessed him carefully, "How do you know we don't follow the Goa'uld?" he asked, "Who told you?"
Durov had been considering how to explain this on their way to Bra'tac's house. He had eventually decided on the simplest approach, and hope that the honest he demonstrated would show the Soviet character. "We've been spying on you. When we learnt the former First Prime of Apophis lived alone apart from his students we wanted to see if you'd say anything interesting. We heard your talk three days ago."
Teal'c looked thunderous but Bra'tac just sat back and smiled. "I see." He said, and then stood and went into one of the rooms, coming back a moment later with a small pot which he upended onto the table, a dozen brass casings falling out. "These are yours I imagine?"
Durov took one of the larger ones, probably from one of the machine guns. Bra'tac must have searched the surroundings of the Stargate. "We ambushed Mott when he came through the Stargate. I thought we'd picked most of them up. They contain an explosive which propels a small piece of metal at high speeds."
"You killed Mott?" asked Teal'c, his voice remarkably deep.
"No one of Ba'al's Jaffa did. We captured the one who did it but the rest of the part died in the attack."
"Then the Bull Guard did his duty." Continued Teal'c.
"When Mott didn't appear for the negotiations three months ago Apophis had no intention of contacting Ba'al to find out what had happened." Explained Bra'tac, "He instead ordered Teal'c to continue the war, on the assumption that Ba'al's offer of truce was a ruse. Later I went to the Stargate myself and found these, but I had thought an Ashrak might have been sent, perhaps by Heru'ur to disrupt the negotiations."
"I assume 'assassin'" put in Igor.
"So now the war continues." Resumed Bra'tac.
"And daily thousands of Jaffa die." Rumbled Teal'c, glaring at Durov.
Durov nodded, "Which is to our advantage, we had no idea when we took Mott that there was any dissension in the Jaffa ranks, and we thought Mott's failure to arrive would do exactly this. The more the Goa'uld fight the less likely they are to sense us."
"Would you climb your way to freedom on a pile of corpses?"
"Wouldn't you?"
Teal'c lip began to curl but Bra'tac struck the table sharply. "Enough! Teal'c! He is right, we would do the same!"
Durov considered the pair as they relaxed once again, they had realised after Belik had autopsied the Jaffa that they were just as enslaved as the humans were, but it raised the ugly question of what the Jaffa would do once the Goa'uld were gone. Due to their history the Soviets were reluctant to oppose one form of oppression only to have the Jaffa continue to impose their own feudo-vassilic operations on their human peasantry.
Bra'tac leant forward, picking up one of the casings. "These are your weapons?" he asked, looking at Durov's rifle.
The Colonel nodded, "These, and others, they aren't as destructive as the staff weapon, but they fire faster and are accurate at longer ranges. We also have numerous other technologies you do not seem to use, though we have no space-faring ships."
"Such as?" asked Teal'c and Durov got the impression the Jaffa were taking turns to ask the questions, perhaps to put his off his guard.
"Make this larger," continued Durov, patting his rifle "and you can shoot a larger projectile going further and doing more damage. If we set one of our larger weapons here you could hit Apophis' palace with it. Or put these on a craft flying through the air faster than sound travels and destroy your enemies from above, or put it in an armoured box on wheels. We used them to kill the Goa'uld Vulcan, who once served Ba'al, though the deathblow was dealt by the host."
"The host?" asked Teal'c quickly, "Nothing of the host survives, the Goa'uld is deceiving you, take him quickly before he destroys you!"
Initially alarmed, Durov realised this was probably Goa'uld propaganda. "The host smashed the parasite with a rock, I saw the body myself."
"Then he must have been strong to resist the Goa'uld." Remarked Bra'tac, "I have only heard of such a thing happening ."
Durov set that aside for later. "While I understand your reluctance and why want to make sure we have the tools to actually fight the Goa'uld, we'll happily demonstrate some of the weapons to you at some other time. However, I came here because we'll need allies, but don't know where to find them."
"And if you are a spy for Apophis that would be exactly the information you seek." Said Teal'c.
"True." Granted Durov, and indeed it was the case. He remembered doing something similar during the war. When they got into Latvia they'd disguised themselves as SS officers and walked into a regional command post, blustered their way though and asked where a good fascist should strike to root out partisans. After they they'd gone to the resistance cells and coordinated with them for the future.
Bra'tac looked to his student, "I see no harm in telling you only what all Jaffa know. That would be of no help to a Goa'uld spy." He said, "A wraith has struck the Goa'uld in recent years, cutting them deeper than any have in a long time. Many years ago Ares took a new world, but soon his ships were destroyed and even his sons dead. The wraith is called 'Ma'chello' and Ares has hunted him for forty years, never finding him. The people of Dendred, his home, have never betrayed him, even when Ares slaughtered them to root Ma'chello out. It has never been announced that Ma'chello was killed, so we," he indicated Teal'c and himself, "have always believed him to be alive and fighting still. This is known by all Jaffa because of Ares' humiliation and so I see no harm in telling you it. You might also find more allies if you sought Ma'chello, the Tok'ra were always said to help him, as well as the Zar-av and the Apkallu."
Having actionable intelligence and having made a reasonably friendly introduction Durov concluded his mission. He thought it best to resume the talk at a later date and the two First Primes seemed, if not enthusiastic, at least interested in making an alliance. He thanked them, gathering up the brass casings as he went and stuffing them in a pocket, and afterwards making his way back down the slope toward the trees.
"Here sir." Came a voice and a soldier stepped out of the dark.
Durov followed him back to a small depression in the forest floor where Captain Ivanovich and Igor were sitting. "Did you get all that?" Durov asked them as they walked up.
Ivanovich nodded, "Yes Colonel," he said happily, "Well done sir!"
Durov raised an eyebrow, "And what am I supposed to have accomplished? It was fine for a first contact I suppose…"
Igor spoke up, "I've got no idea what or who the 'Zar-av' are other than stealthy apparently, but the Apkallu…"
"Do we know them?"
"Seven scholars who taught the Mesopotamian peoples agriculture. They came out of the sea and are supposed to be half-fish, and who do we know like that?"
"Nem!" Durov exclaimed striking his fist against his palm in excitement. "The Ohnes, you think they're helping Ma'chello?"
"Better go see if he'll introduce us eh sir?" asked Ivanovich with a grin.