Disclaimer: 'Stargate SG1', 'The 4400' and all the characters associated with both shows belong to people who aren't me. As I doubt that the owners would be willing to trade their rights for some magic beans that aren't in any way magical, this is not going to change at any point in the foreseeable future.
Chapter Seven
"Forty-eight hours offworld with SG-3." Jack grumbled, playing with his oatmeal briefly before pushing it aside in favour of a doughnut. "Do you guys think that I offended Hammond in some way I don't know about and this is my punishment?"
"If it is, why would he punish all of us for something you did?" Daniel asked between mouthfuls of rapidly cooling toast.
"Cruelty?"
"Until recent years, Heru'ur maintained a strong presence on P7I-467, until he allied with Apophis and committed most of his resources to war." Teal'c reminded them. "Sending two teams is a sensible precaution."
"But Marines?"
"They're not that bad, sir." Mitchell said.
"No, they're worse - am I right, Carter?" Without waiting for an answer, Jack checked his watch, rising hurriedly when he saw the time. "Let's go."
"But the briefing doesn't start for another twenty minutes." Daniel protested, casting a longing look at the remains of his coffee as Jack started nudging him towards the door. "Why can't we finish our breakfast?"
"Because we have to get to the briefing room first." Jack said, as though this should have been obvious. He led the way to the briefing room at a brisk pace, grinning when they arrived and found it empty.
"I guess we won." Daniel said dryly.
"Indeed." Teal'c agreed, an amused expression on his face.
Ignoring them, Jack sat down in the seat to the right of the one General Hammond usually occupied, pushing the chair next to him out for Sam before motioning for the others to sit. He took one of the folders neatly stacked in the centre of the table, flicking through it briefly.
"So what's so special about P7I-467?"
"The main building there looks like some of the Ancient structures we've come across before." Daniel responded enthusiastically. "It's intact - which is amazing given how long it has to have been around - Heru'ur must have been using it before the war against the System Lords - and if it's anything like the other Ancient structures we've encountered, there could be some writings, even artefacts there…"
"And is there anything there for those of us who don't enjoy digging around in the dirt?" Jack asked.
"Heru'ur's stronghold is still standing." Sam volunteered. "We're hoping that he might have left something interesting behind."
"A big honkin' space gun?" Jack asked hopefully.
"You never know."
He grinned. "That's the spirit."
SG-3, led by Colonel Makepeace, trooped into the room, taking their seats opposite SG-1 with a few scattered nods by way of greeting.
Jack noticed the wary, suspicious looks on the faces of two of Makepeace's subordinates when they saw Sam, and knew that the rest of SG-1 were as aware of them as he was, but General Hammond's arrival stayed his tongue.
Gesturing for the military members of both teams to keep their seats, the general took his place at the head of the table and the briefing got underway.
P7I-467
Jack had been pleasantly surprised when Makepeace had made no objection to the fact that he was to be in overall command of the mission, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when the other man volunteered to bring up the rear.
"Fine." Jack agreed. "Mitchell and Collins, take point."
Although the pathways stretching between the stargate and Heru'ur's stronghold had been well travelled at one point, it was clear from the thick layers of grass and various weeds - one of which Carter had stopped dead in her tracks to collect a sample of - that had grown over the paths that it had been a while since an army of Jaffa warriors had last marched that way.
Heru'ur's stronghold smelled slightly musty, with some of the walls and furniture showing signs of neglect.
The hand held scanner Sam carried emitted a steady series of bleeps as they moved through the building, remaining on guard in case it was not as abandoned as it looked.
One of the antechambers, empty save for a handful of artefacts displayed on tables set against the two side walls, captured Daniel's attention.
His allergies miraculously untroubled by the thin layer of dust coating the pillars, one in each of the four corners, all inscribed with Ancient symbols, he whipped out his digital camera and paper to make rubbings the instant Jack agreed to his request to remain and examine them. Neither Collins nor Hennessy were overly pleased with the order to remain to assist the archaeologist but, given their demeanour in the briefing room, Jack wasn't prepared to trust them to watch Sam's back.
"Sir?" Sam spoke up from Jack's side, gesturing towards the scanner she carried, which was now bleeping loudly and insistently. "I'm picking up a strong energy reading, coming from a room about thirty feet ahead of us." She told him, pointing in the direction of one of the corridors.
He nodded. "Better check it out."
With Makepeace, Mitchell and Sergeant Irwin stationed in the corridors between the antechamber and the room housing the object of Sam's interest, she, Jack and Teal'c moved forward in search of the source of the energy readings.
"What the heck is that thing?" Jack demanded as soon as he saw it.
"I have not seen its like before." Teal'c said.
"Neither have I, sir." Sam said, kneeling down in front of the device and unpacking the instruments from her case. She used a wire to connect her hand held scanner to her laptop, frowning thoughtfully as more detailed readings were loaded.
"How can you read that?" Jack asked, peering over her shoulder to read what looked like a stream of senseless data.
Sam didn't seem to hear his question. "This is definitely not Goa'uld, sir, at least not originally. There are some Goa'uld components, but the rest of it is of a much more advanced technology."
"Ancient?"
"Possibly, there are definite similarities with some of the schematics for Ancient technology on file at the SGC." She examined the structure of the device carefully. "It looks like Heru'ur tried adding a few improvements, though." She added, indicating the lower section. "It looks like an interface… or an attempt at building one." She amended, poking gingerly at a burnt out crystal.
"It doesn't seem to have worked out too well, does it?" Jack commented. "Any idea what that thing is?"
"My best guess would be that it's a weapon - or at least that it was before Heru'ur started experimenting with it."
"Do you believe that the device is damaged beyond repair?" Teal'c asked.
"I'm not sure." Sam responded honestly. "There was definitely a lot of work done on it - but I doubt that it would still be here if there was no chance it would be usable, though."
"Unless Heru'ur hoped to be able to rectify the damage at some point in the future."
"If the snake can do it, Carter can." Jack stated firmly. "Any chance we'd be able to pack it up and bring it back to the SGC?" He asked.
"It's too heavy to carry, even with nine of us here, but maybe if we brought back a FRED… Hang on." Sam looked down at the screen of her laptop, smiling slightly. "I think I may be getting somewhere. There's a slight spike of energy right about… here." Her attention focused on the spot in question, Sam checked it carefully for a button or control panel of some kind. Her efforts were rewarded with a dim glow and a low humming noise when her finger brushed over a symbol on its otherwise smooth surface but her initial joy quickly faded when, after just a few seconds of life, the device switched off again.
"Never trust a Goa'uld repair shop." Jack muttered, patting Sam's shoulder briefly. "It's a start, at least. Keep going."
"Yes, sir."
Sam had barely picked up her small tool pouch to further explore the device when something sounding almost like a klaxon blared, followed by barked orders in Goa'uld.
"I don't need to speak Goa'uld to know that that's not good." Jack said. "Let's go - Makepeace! Daniel! I think we've worn out our welcome here!"
Makepeace had already begun to evacuate the others when they caught up with him. They had scarcely reached the corridor leading to the exit when they heard the now familiar sound of a ring transporter activating.
None of them needed to hear the clunking of Jaffa armour to know who would be right behind them.
"I guess the stronghold wasn't as abandoned as we hoped." Makepeace joked half-heartedly as they sprinted in the direction of the stargate, a dozen or so Jaffa hard on their heels.
Teal'c, bringing up the rear, fired his staff weapon at their pursuers, but they were not easily thwarted and, despite the heavy armour the Jaffa wore, they were able to close the distance between them very quickly.
Ducking behind a rock, Jack returned fire, an example his companions quickly followed.
Several of the Jaffa took hits, hitting the ground with heavy thuds and remaining motionless. Their fellow warriors returned fire and continued to advance.
"It is possible that there are more Jaffa within the stronghold." Teal'c warned as soon as he could get close enough to Jack for his voice to be heard over the weapons' fire. "We must leave before reinforcements can arrive."
"Sounds like a plan." Jack took out another of the Jaffa before motioning to Daniel and Makepeace, who were furthest away from the Jaffa. "Get to the 'gate. Dial Earth." He ordered. Both men hurried to obey.
As Teal'c had feared, more Jaffa were sprinting in their direction.
"O'Neill!"
"I see them." Jack acknowledged. "Carter, take Mitchell and Irwin and secure the 'gate. We'll follow you as soon as we've dealt with our friends here. Go!"
The remaining quartet continued to return fire, taking out as many of the Jaffa as possible but reinforcements were spilling from the stronghold, tearing through the forest after them.
"Daniel, are you at the gate yet?"
"I'm here!" Daniel's hand quivered slightly as he entered the coordinates for Earth on the DHD, slapping his palm down on the center the instant the seventh symbol glowed. The stargate leapt to life, the unstable vortex splashing forth before it settled into a shimmering blue puddle.
"O'Neill!"
Alerted by Teal'c's shout, Jack was able to shoot one of the Jaffa before he fired but Makepeace, close behind him, was not so lucky. A staff blast caught him on his right side, sending him flying. He collided with Jack as he fell, the impact winding both men.
Glancing back to see Jack and Makepeace fall, Sam ran back in their direction, an example Mitchell and Irwin were not slow in following.
She shot the Jaffa nearest to Jack and Makepeace but did not see the warrior approaching through the forest, or hear Mitchell's shouted warning until it was too late. Swinging his staff weapon, the Jaffa swept her feet out from under her, knocking her flat on her back.
The Jaffa hefted his staff weapon a second time, intent on smashing her skull. Instinctively raising her arm as though it would be able to ward off the blow, Sam watched in shock as the Jaffa was knocked off his feet like a tiny plastic toy swatted by a large, invisible hand, sailing through the air before crashing into a tree at least ten meters away, the impact rendering him unconscious.
"What the…" From his prone position on the ground, Makepeace gaped up at her, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Sam was having a tough time believing it herself.
Mitchell and Teal'c dispatched the two remaining Jaffa and, keeping his focus, Jack ordered everyone through the stargate, he and Teal'c bringing up the rear with Sam between them.
The alarms in the gate room were blaring when they stepped through the stargate, a nod to Walter in the control room prompting the sergeant to close the iris.
General Hammond surveyed the remaining teams for damage and ordered a medical team for Makepeace before addressing Jack. "I take it your mission didn't go as planned, Colonel."
Jack's attention was more on Sam than on his commanding officer, his expression concerned. "I think that'd be a fair assessment, sir."
TBC.
Author's Note: For the record, telekinesis tip of the iceberg. Next chapter should be up soon. In the meantime, please review.