Chapter 2
General Hammond watched the news on a TV in the SGC. Reports of nuclear missiles fired at the alien vessels by the Russians and Chinese were coming in. Minutes later, it was announced that they had no effect. General Hammond was not surprised, since he had been leading the fight against the Goa'uld for the past year.
"General Hammond, the briefing is beginning." A secretary said.
Lieutenant Colonel Samuels was standing at the end of a table in the room, still wearing an arrogant smile. Next to him on a computer screen was a simulation of a missile exploding. Hammond was unimpressed and remained so throughout listening to the Lt. Colonel's plans. His strategy was to launch two warheads enriched with naquadah, the metal the Stargate is made of, at the Goa'uld vessel. While this would drastically increase their destructive capabilities, General Hammond still seriously doubted it would work.
After the briefing had concluded, Hammond returned to watch the President begin a statement to the general public of not only America, but the entire world.
President of the United States of America, Bartford Hamilton Steele, took a deep breath, then went out before the press that had gathered to hear what he had to say.
"Mr. President!" "What can you tell us about the alien ships that are now orbiting Earth?!" "Have they made any attempts to contact us?!" "Mr. President, are they peaceful or hostile?!"
Once President Steele took his place at the podium, he called for silence.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the world, I have grave information to reveal to all of you. For the past year, the United States Air Force has been sending soldiers to other planets across the universe through use of an alien device known as the Stargate. Our brave soldiers have explored the universe with the Stargate and learned a great deal. Through their travels, we have learned that thousands of years ago, our planet was dominated by aliens who took on the personage of gods from our ancient mythology. These aliens are known as the Goa'uld. It was our ancestors who rebelled against these alien oppressors and buried the Stargate. Then, at the beginning of the twentieth century, we unearthed this extraordinary device. Over the course of more than half-a-century, the Stargate has been studied until a means of using it ourselves was developed."
"During the military's exploratory mission through the Stargate, they encountered, as well as fought, these Goa'ulds. The two vessels that are now orbiting our planet belong to the Goa'ulds. Their intentions are hostile. We, along with all the nations of the planet Earth, are about to face our first war with an alien race. Already, preparations, defenses and means of attack are all being readied. I swear to you, my fellow Americans and people of Earth, this day will not be the end of us. As a great man once said when he was facing unrelenting assaults by a regime of pure evil, "We will fight on. We will never surrender." Now is the time to channel that stubborn tenacity which is part of every human being on this planet. With that, I and the rest of the military must make plans for the battle which shall soon be upon us."
At that moment, President Steele was led away by members of the Secret Service. The press were shouting questions at him as he left.
In Russia, China, and every other nation on Earth, their leaders were stunned and enraged by the arrogance the United States had demonstrated in keeping the Stargate secret. All of them knew once the immediate crisis was dealt with, there was going to be a great deal of discussion and negotiation regarding this Stargate device.
Back in the SGC, General Hammond sighed. "At least our forces will be mildly prepared for the fight to come."
On Klorel's pyramid ship, the members of SG-1 have fully regained their sight. As they were about to start plotting their escape, the entrance to their cell slid open. Everyone was surprised when they saw the face of the Jaffa who stepped inside.
"Bra'tac?" Colonel Jack O'Neill said.
In response, Bra'tac punched him in the face, then said, "You fools! You doom yourselves! Do you realize how hard it is just for me to keep you alive?!"
"Master Bra'tac!" Teal'c exclaimed with joy at seeing his old friend and teacher.
"Teal'c, it is good to see you, my old friend." The elderly Jaffa smiled and patted him on his shoulders. "Your son grows strong and learns just as well as you did at his age. One day, he shall be a great warrior. But you should not have come."
"I stand by my friends." Teal'c replied. "I believe this world is our only chance at overthrowing the false gods and giving the rest of our people freedom."
After a brief moment of silence, Bra'tac nodded. "Yes, as pathetic as that may seem at the moment, I agree."
"You do?" Daniel Jackson inquired.
"I may even have been able to save this world, had you not interfered!" Bra'tac said in a frustrated tone.
"Hey!" Jack replied. "What do you think we've been trying to do?! It is our world, you know?!"
"Enough, human!" Bra'tac said. "Apophis himself has ordered me to execute you. An order I have no intention of carrying out. Now, we must go."
General Hammond looked at an image of the pyramid ships on a computer screen.
"No signs of movement or offensive actions for hours." The General wondered aloud. "What the hell are they waiting for?!"
"Sir, I believe I may have an idea about their delay." Lieutenant Howard said as he pressed a few buttons on a keyboard. "We just completed a computer enhancement. There was an energy burst originating from what we think is the bridge of one of the ships. Recorded a matter of minutes before they stopped."
On the screen, a large flash was shown, just as the technician said. It appeared and disappeared in a matter of moments. To be honest, it did not seem all that impressive.
"For all we know, that flash, whatever it was, could be part of the ship's normal functions." General Hammond said.
"Except that the burst came from within the ship itself sir and it was fairly powerful." Lieutenant Howard replied. "The best working theory is the flash was an explosion of some kind."
General Hammond's eyes widened. "Could it be sabotage?!"
"Well, that would make sense but who would-" Lieutenant Howard had a revelation. "Sg-1!"
"I will bet you anything they are on one of those ships." General Hammond said. "Now, we just have to hope they can bring those ships down somehow."
Back on board the Klorel's pyramid ship, Bra'tac and three Jaffa who were siding with him against the Goa'uld were returning SG-1's weapons to them and explaining his plan to save Earth. Originally, he was going to lead the forces in his command in an attack on Apophis, claiming Klorel had ordered. This would have pitted them against and given Earth a chance to find a way to counterattack.
"Quite a daring plan." Teal'c said with pride.
"Unfortunately, that is now impossible. In fact, the two of them will bond over the destruction of their common enemy." Bra'tac said.
"What bond? Klorel is dead." Jack replied.
"He will rise again." Bra'tac said.
It took only a moment for Jack to realize what he meant. "You put him in a Sarcophagus?!"
"I knew it would delay their attack until he arose. Perhaps when the warships of your world attack, we-"
"The ships of our world?" Captain Carter said.
"Surely you have such vessels?!" Bra'tac inquired.
"Well, we have shuttles." Daniel Jackson replied.
Before the conversation could continue, they all felt the ships vibrate for a moment. On the bridge of the pyramid ship, Klorel had emerged from the Sarcophagus with murderous intent in his glowing eyes.
"Their world shall burn!" He shouted.
Bra'tac sighed. "Klorel has risen. The campaign will soon begin. I will lead us to the Glider bay. Once we launch, we will do what damage we can."
"Are there any others in your wing besides these two?" Jack asked.
Bra'tac made a solemn expression and shook his head. "We will undoubtedly die in this battle, but we will die free."
"Look, we appreciate having you guys on our side, but what are the odds of taking down a ship like this with four Gliders and, maybe, a shuttle?" Jack asked.
"Very slim." Teal'c answered flatly.
"Okay, call me a pessimist, but I think we need a new plan." Jack said.
"We offer to lay down our lives for your world, human. You cannot ask more." Bra'tac replied.
"No, I can't, but I think a better idea is to get the other guys to lay down their lives for their world first." Jack turned to Carter. "How long till the C4 goes?"
"Forty-one minutes, sir." She replied.
"Okay, with any luck at all, this ship is gonna blow within the hour. It would be a pretty good idea to get to the other one. Can you do that?" Jack said.
Bra'tac smiled and nodded.
"They are starting to move!" Lieutenant Howard hollered for everyone to hear.
Lt. Colonel Samuels immediately picked up a phone and had the countdown on his precious missiles moved up. Less than a minute later, they were rocketing through the atmosphere towards the Goa'uld ships. He waited in anticipation for the report that the Goa'uld ships had been destroyed. That the project he has headed has saved the world. He smiled, thinking of the grand promotion he would receive. The awards and commendations. Samuels imagined himself being a hero to the people of Earth.
On board the Goa'uld ships, both Klorel and his father, Apophis were not the least bit concerned. Apophis was quickly informed of the new approaching weapons and leisurely activated the shields. Klorel was about to do the same, but suddenly found himself unable to move his hand. His human host was holding him back.
Apophis, noticing his son had not raised his shields, he opened a communication link and said in a stern tone, "Klorel, tal shak."
Still, Klorel's hand would not move. The missiles approached. Finally, he managed to activate the shields five seconds before the missiles impacted.
On Earth, in the SGC, practically everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at a computer screen monitoring the missiles' progress. Then, what Lt. Colonel Samuels believed impossible. The missiles hit their targets, but the targets did not go down. He stared at the screen confused, no, baffled. A silence fell over the SGC.
Lieutenant Howard broke this silence. "NASA reports the missiles hit some kind of energy field just prior to impact. No damage whatsoever."
"That's impossible!" Lt. Colonel Samuels shouted in both anger and disbelief.
"It is confirmed, sir. Goa'uld ships are still up there." Howard said flatly.
Lt. Colonel Samuels looked to General Hammond. He said nothing, but his expression spoke volumes.