Quantum Mirror Series 4
Sgt. Ford led SG10 to the mess hall as Colt grumbled about a mission, they had finished days earlier that ended with a crocodile like humanoid creature hitching a ride through the gate and trying to kill Colt. Ford was impressed by Colts actions, he used nothing but a sword to fend the creatures off and allow the squad to get back through the gate. When one of them came through with Colt he killed it using the same sword.
Ford was highly impressed by what Colt had done, but of course he said nothing.
"I told them to name that thing a Dwarf Sleestack, but I'm not sure they're going to," Colt said to Ward.
Colt was the last one up the steps into the small temple that had been converted into a mess hall and he looked up just in time to see that SG29 was in the line ahead of them. Colt saw her and he sprinted past his team and shoved his way in front of Ford. The Marine scowled at the back of Colt's head for a second until he saw why he'd cut.
Navy Lieutenant Charlie Miller stood right in front of Colt. Ford used the hand sign for his team to look forward. Then he pointed to her. They all watched as Colt tried to think of something clever. As the line moved, she glanced back at him once, all he could do was smile. With his opportunity to impress her quickly coming to an end Colt finally decided on the perfect pick up line. He waited until she looked back at him once more before he unleashed the fury of his charm and genius.
"So, you come to this planet much?" Colt asked, acutely aware of how quiet the mess hall became in that instant.
She smirked at him and walked away. Colt stood frozen and embarrassed at his failure. His team took the opportunity to console him.
"Come to this planet much?" Ford said behind him. "That is some powerful stuff. Maybe we should be using that on the Goa'uld."
"Does that question successfully initiate a mating ritual on your world?" Natock asked.
"No, it really doesn't," Ward said as he snickered.
"She digs me," Colt said, choosing to be confident.
"Oh yeah, that one is helpless against your powers," Ford added with a grin.
Two hours later SG10 sat in the briefing room with Michael, Tulol, and General Willis.
"General, the Jaffa will not hesitate to stand with the Tau'ri, but we are ill-equipped to do so. You have been generous enough to offer your weapons, but my warriors have expressed, concerns about them," Tulol said.
"I see," Willis said.
"I actually have some thoughts on that General," Michael began. "Torin was in a position to learn a great deal about the territory he was in. We think we know of at least three armories that can be taken with little difficulty."
"What Jaffa weapons do we currently have?" Willis asked Sgt. Ford.
"Twenty-one staff weapons and fourteen Zat guns."
"That is not nearly enough for my Jaffa," Tulol said. "We will also require armor and grenades and a variety of other weapons to be effective allies of the Tau'ri."
"What do you have in mind?" Willis asked Michael.
"When Ra was killed his territory was quite large, but he had only a small army of Jaffa. His highest ranking Under Lord Thoth was able to take control of most of the Jaffa that remained, and he still holds more than half of Ra's territory. When he died Ra had more weapons than men. We think we can secure the small weapon cashes because they are lightly guarded. Ra believed that only he knew their locations."
"How big are the cashes and how many Jakes are standing watch?" Willis asked.
"We believe that there are as many as one hundred staff weapons and Zat guns in each armory. There may also be grenades and Naquadah bombs. Since the locations are supposed to be secret there shouldn't be more than six or eight Jaffa guarding them."
"Just one of these armories would give the Jaffa enough to help the Tau'ri," Tulol said.
"The risk is worth the reward, Sir," Ford added.
"I agree. Ten has a green light to hit the first armory, and I'd like you and Torin to make a list of targets please," Willis said as he stood up from the table.
"Yes General," Michael said, as everyone stood up.
Willis left the room. Ford turned to Tulol.
"How many suits of Jaffa armor do we have right now?"
"At most, ten full suites."
"Do you think you can collect them in the next hour and bring them to the gate?"
"Get two more of your best warriors and meet us there. I have an idea."
An hour and a half later SG10 stood beside Michael, Tulol and two of his Jaffa dressed in armor holding staff weapons."
"In case I haven't already expressed my faith in this plan I want to take this moment to..." Colt began.
"Shut up, Colt. Tulol will be doing the talking. All you have to do is shoot," Ford interrupted. "Do you know what to say when we get there?"
"Yes. It is not uncommon for Jaffa to be absorbed into the army of a rival Goa'uld. Michael forged a data crystal with all the information we'll need to infiltrate the armory," Explained. "Assimilated Jaffa are often given less desirable tasks until they can establish loyalty."
"See? Plan," Ford said pointing at Tulol.
Michael dialed the gate. Everyone formed up behind Tulol.
"Alright Tulol," Ford said with a nod. They followed the former First Prime into the gate.
They exited the gate inside a dusty temple that appeared Egyptian at first glance. Which made sense to Colt at Ra posed as the ancient Egyptian sun god. Two Jaffa stood guard by the gate turned and aimed their staff weapons at them.
"Cree!" Tulol began as he walked down the steps and approached the startled Jaffa. "You are to be commended, today is the day that your God has seen fit to raise you up from such a lowly duty."
"Who are you?" The Jaffa demanded in Goa'uld. Ford stood behind him and waited patiently, hoping that Michaels insane plane would work.
"I am Tulol. I was First Prime to Afa, but your God has vanquished him in battle," Tulol said, as he reached into his armor and removed the small forged data crystal. He handed it over to the Jaffa before him. "Now we serve our new god."
"Lord Thoth is indeed mighty," The Jaffa said as he took the data crystal from Tulol. He inserted it into a tablet and read its contents. Then he signaled the other Jaffa and they relaxed their staff weapons.
"He is. We are here to relieve you of your position. Assemble your men and return to the gate. I have been instructed to send you to the next world."
The Jaffa sneered at Tulol, but he feigned humility in the face of their taunts. Five minutes later twenty Jaffa stood before the gate. Tulol dialed the Alpha Base.
"Jaffa, we are finally free of this duty, and now we march on to our future," The Jaffa commander said before turning and walking into the gate. When all twenty of them were through the gate closed.
"Alright, let's go shopping," Ford said.
When the Jaffa walked through the gate their smiles quickly faded as they were stunned one after another by the guards standing around the gate waiting for them. Willis watched from the gate room that looked down on the plaza as twenty Jaffa walked into the trap that Michael set up. Once they were all stunned, they would be stripped and sent back to Earth as prisoners.
A few moments later the gate activated again, and crates of weapons began getting showed through from the other side. The same guards that stunned the Jaffa were now dragging the crates back down the stairs into the plaza to make room for more.
An hour later SG10 returned through the gate with the last of the weapons in the armory. Willis stood in front of the gate to greet them as they returned. "Excellent work, all of you."
"Thank you, Sir. I don't like to brag, but I was pretty smooth," Colt said.
"We secured the entire contents of the armory without firing a single shot Sir," Ford said. "Michaels plan worked."
"We're all dressed up, and we have a few more places we'd like to go Sir," Ford said, with a smile.
"Do it," Willis said. "I'm curious to see just how many weapons you can talk out from under the Goa'uld."
Ford signaled them all to get ready to go back and do it all over again. They waited for the support crew to carry all the weapons away before they dialed the next world and walked back through the gate. Two more times the ruse worked. By the end of the day they had fifty eight Jaffa prisoners, three hundred and fifty staff weapons, two hundred and twenty more Zat guns, forty grenades, three Naquadah bombs, and ten bricks of weapons grade Naquadah.
"Do we have enough to arm all of your men now?" Willis asked Tulol.
"We do, General. I am amazed once again at the cunning of the Tau'ri. You have renewed the faith of my Jaffa in your men," Tulol said.
"We didn't get much in the way of armor, but we do have enough weapons to get Tulol's men into the fight," Ford said.
"I hate to bring this up right now, but there is a question of the Naquadah," Michael said.
"I don't have any questions about the Naquadah," Willis said, firmly.
"The Tok'ra, General, Torin is asking how much we plan to send them," Michael said.
"None."
"General we... yes, I'll tell him. Sir, these were Tok'ra targets... I know, just let me..."
"Put Torin on the phone," Willis rolled his eyes.
Michaels eyes closed and then opened and flashed white. "With all due respect General, as Michael pointed out these were Tok'ra targets, gained with Tok'ra intelligence. The High Council will believe that they are entitled to a portion of what we secured today."
"I see. This was going to come up eventually. We are now facing a question of need."
"How so?" Torin asked in his nasally voice.
"The Tok'ra exist as a decentralized network of agents that can be moved at a moment's notice, but the Tau'ri can all be found on one planet. In short, our need is greater than yours, but that doesn't mean we won't share."
"What do you suggest?"
"We have ten bricks; we keep eight and you get two."
"Michael says you're doing something called 'low balling'."
"Seven and three then," Willis said, after rolling his eyes again.
"We agree," Torin said.
"Put Michael back on the phone."
Torin's eyes flashed and his voice change.
"Seriously Michael?" Willis asked in annoyance.
"General we need the Tok'ra, and this is the best way to keep relations moving forward. Besides, I had to talk Torin down from half."
"So," Colt clapped his hands together loudly, "great day for everyone. What's next?"
The following day Tulol, Michael and SG10 gated out to hit a fourth armory. The gate was a half mile from the Cheops that served as the garrison for the world. Six Jaffa stood guard at the gate. Everyone realized this armory was also a garrison. They might not be able to talk their way through this.
Tulol instantly changed his story. When he spoke to the Jaffa guarding the gate he told a tale of defeat and dishonor, but one that left their duties to the discretion of the Jaffa commander of this world. He asked to see him immediately.
As was the case three times on the previous day they had to endure mocking and taunts that would drive most Jaffa to violence, but Tulol was able to accept it all with dignity, knowing that he was in fact, free.
They were led up a winding path to the front of the Cheops. Once they stood on the bridge of the pyramid shaped ship they were left to stand before the Jaffa in command of the world. He began to ridicule them immediately. Tulol waited for the Jaffa that brought them from the gate to leave the room and close the door behind him. Then he simply took the zat gun from the holster on his wrist and stunned the commander. Everyone else quickly did the same and the room was now theirs.
"Tulol, lock bridge down while we figure out how to get out of here," Ford said quickly. "Anyone have any ideas?"
"We can still do what we came here to do," Michael said as he scanned one of the counsels.
"How?" Ford asked as he walked over to Michael.
"There is a Tel'tak in orbit waiting for a shipment of Naquadah."
"How does this help us?" Ford asked.
"We get the Naquadah to the rings and take the Tel'tak," Michael answered.
"You think you can talk us through that?" Ford asked Tulol.
"Unlikely. Shamed Jaffa such as we pretend to be would never be allowed near so much Naquadah."
"Colt, you think you can rig up an explosive that would destroy this Cheops?"
"Yeah, probably," Colt said as he pulled a ball of weapons grade Naquadah the size of a golf ball from inside his Jaffa armor.
"WHY? Why, why do you have Naquadah in your pocket?" Ford yelled.
"Reasons," Colt said, innocently.
"Just do what you have to do."
"I need two staff weapons, C-4, a timer, and... duct tape," Colt said pulling each object from inside his armor. He drew out a multi-tool and started disassembling two staff weapons.
"How long?"
"Five minutes," Colt said.
"You have three."
"I can't possibly do it in less than seven," He said, as he started removing the power source from Natock's' staff weapon. Natock starred at Colt, confused by his response to the situation.
"How long will it take to get to the ring room from here?" Ford asked Natock.
"Only a few moments."
"Colt, set the timer for five minutes," Ford ordered.
"Five minutes," Colt repeated the process, and then sandwiched small Naquadah ball between the liquid Naquadah power cells with the C-4 rolled into a tube and wrapped around them. Colt rolled it all in duct tape before he set the timer.
"Is it ready?" Ford asked Colt.
"Yeah," He said, tossing the rest of the duct tape aside.
"Weapons ready, when we walk out we zat everyone between us and the rings," Ford said. He signaled Natock to open the doors. They stunned the two guards standing outside and quickly sprinted out into the hallway.
They all looked to the left and saw the corridor was clear, and then a noise to the right drew their attention. A Jaffa looked on them in shock for a second before he slapped the alarm on the wall beside him. He aimed his staff at them, but before he could fire a staff blast hit him directly in the throat. Ford looked back and saw Tulol pointing his own staff.
"Stealth is no longer an option," Tulol said. Then he turned and sprinted away. Without question everyone followed.
They met a few Jaffa roaming the halls looking for the emergency, but they were immediately blasted down. It wasn't until they got to the door of the ring room that there was any substantial resistance. Six Jaffa stood guard outside the door and began firing on SG10 as soon as they rounded the corner and came into sight. They scrambled back and took up firing positions and tried to eliminate the Jaffa holding the door as quickly as possible. SG10 killed all but two when six more appeared behind them.
"How long?" Ford shouted to Colt.
"A minute and five," Colt shouted back as he fired on the Jaffa behind them. "We've only got twenty seconds before it all becomes pointless anyway."
Tulol shouted something to Natock and his other two warriors. They all nodded and ran towards the door together. They fired as they ran and killed the last two men by the door but not before one of Tulols own men took a staff blast directly to the face. They opened the doors and then began to fire on the Jaffa behind SG10.
"Move now!" Tulol shouted.
Ford sprinted through the staff fire towards the door. Colt followed right behind him without waiting. For Colt it felt like a dream, the faster he ran the further away the door was. He was expecting a bolt of energy to hit him in the back of the head at any second. After what felt like forever, he was through the door and in the ring room. He was terrified, but he turned and began laying down cover fire for the rest of his team.
They quickly poured through the doorway and shut it behind them. They all pressed together inside the ring on the floor and Tulol pressed the button on his gauntlet just as the door opened. The rings fell down around them, and the ring room became a blur. It was instantly replaced by the inside of a Tel'tak cargo bay. They all spun and fired on the two Jaffa sitting at the controls.
"Someone take the controls, we need to get out of here fast," Colt blurted out as he ran past the chairs to look out the forward window.
"Why?" Ford asked as he ran to the window to see what Colt was looking at.
A small nuclear explosion erupted from the planets' surface.
"Oh my God," Ford mumbles.
"I know, I thought it'd be bigger," Colt said.
It took them eight days to fly the Tel'tak back to the Alpha Base. When they finally landed it in the gate plaza and met with General Willis in front of the ship Michael had the perfect explanation.
"General, I know this may seem like the mission failed, but we managed to salvage it."
"I'm very curious to see how you spin this. How was this mission a success?"
"Obviously we failed to secure any weapons, but when the alarm was sounded, they sent up the Naquadah, so it was waiting on the ship for us when we took it. We destroyed the Cheops, about three hundred Jakes, all their weapons, and now we have a ship," Michael said.
"Considering that the mission was to walk in and talk your way to success I'm willing to mark this one as a win," Willis conceded, after a long pause. "And Michael, I'm not a Handler."
"Yes General. Habit," Michael said, hesitantly.
"Ford," Willis began.
"Yes Sir?"
"You can't park that there," Willis said, pointing to the ship before he turned and walked away.
"Yes Sir," Ford grinned.