Chapter Six

Objects in the Rearview Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are

The following week passed in a flurry of activity. Every waking moment was spent preparing for the impending battle. Sam scarcely saw Jack except at night, but by that time she was too exhausted to do little more than update one another before they fell into bed and slept the sleep of the dead.

Jack busied himself with Etep, going over battle plans and strategy while Sam worked fast and furious, determined to learn everything she could about the Noggraan technology. Jack learned more than he wanted to know about the Zigarans. They were militaristic, ruthless, and by all accounts, just plain evil. The files against the leaders were thick with atrocities committed against the Noggraan people. Even in his vast experience, Jack had only a little to compare it to. He realized that he and Sam had gotten extremely lucky to escape their clutches so quickly. He winced at the thought of the torture she must have endured prior to his arrival.

The Noggraan technology proved to be rather advanced by Earth standards, and even Sam had some trouble keeping up with all the information hurled at her during her crash course into their weaponry. They had a lot of advancements, and she realized that they were going against a tough opponent indeed if the Zigarans truly had them outgunned. Most of the reports Sam had read on the intelligence against the Zigarans indicated a preponderance of Goa'uld and other alien technologies. Zats and staff weapons abounded, as did a number of other unfamiliar devices Sam was told they had acquired off-world.

As for the supplies for the mission Sam and Jack were to accompany, the usual accoutrements of SG1 were essentially accounted for, in addition to several devices and gear typical to the Noggraan standards of operation. They were well outfitted for the assignment, and Sam felt marginally more comfortable when they were entrusted with weapons of their own.

She absently grasped the zat at her side as she strode down the hallway, headed for the dining chamber. It was well past the midday meal, and she hoped there was something left out she could grab on her way to the conference chamber. There was a final briefing scheduled for the remainder of the afternoon.

Inside the dining hall, she was surprised to find Jack similarly foraging for food. There were some remains in large trays that had yet to be put away. Jack had a plate full of something as Sam approached him.

"Last chance to fill up, Sir," she commented as she grabbed a plate.

"Carter!" Jack hadn't even heard her approach; he'd been lost in thoughts of the evening's mission.

"Hi, Sir," she said as she began filling her plate. "How've you been getting along with Etep? Any better?"

"He still doesn't like me, but he's not quite so distrustful. Sort of." Jack turned and found a seat at a relatively clean table. Sam followed and sat across from him.

"Well, Chaela has been great, very helpful in fact." She took a bite of her something and was relieved to find it was quite tasty. At least their taste pallets were compatible, she mused to herself.

"Glad to hear it, Major." Jack busied himself with the task of eating for a while before he spoke again. "So, how are you doing with all the alien technology?"

"Getting the hang of it, sir. They've got a lot of stuff… I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. And they're willing to share, sir. Everything they have, all they've learned, they're willing to teach us. It's pretty remarkable, considering some of our past experience with advanced races."

"They must be pretty desperate," Jack mused between bites.

"Or faithful. I've also learned a lot about their… not exactly religion, but their spiritual faith."

"The whole following the stars mumbo jumbo?"

"Something like that," she said with a small smile. "They really believe we were destined to meet, that our races are fated to be allies, and they are determined to do everything they can to facilitate that belief."

"Well, as long as that continues to work in our favor, I don't see any reason to argue." He looked at her long and hard for a moment. "You really think these guys are worth it?"

"Worth helping overthrow another Goa'uld? Absolutely."

"Good enough for me, Major." He finished up the last of his meal then rose from his seat. Sam, too, finished and rose with her commanding officer. "Let's go get this show on the road."

"Yes, sir," she replied, and the two of them strode out of the dining hall.

The conference chamber was filled with the multi-colored Noggraans. The heads were again seated at the oblong table, with Jack and Sam seated at one end and the Generals on the other. A brightly lit hologram filled the space between. It showed the outside perimeter of the Zigaran stronghold, a scene now familiar to both the humans.

"This is a live satellite feed, our last still in orbit since the arrival of the Mothership three weeks ago," General Codrum announced. Jack took a closer look at the image projected in front of him and realized he could make out several groups of Jaffa soldiers patrolling various points around the perimeter.

The image shifted, zooming in on one quadrant. There was a strange sort of bunker there, with a patrol of a good half a dozen Jaffas. "This is the entry point for the Primary team. They will take out the main shield generator as our troupes assemble en masse on the far side of the Portal. As soon as we receive their signal, we will attack here—" the image shifted again, now reflecting the image of the Stargate and the thick forest surrounding it's far side. "—where the forces protecting the Portal are weakest. We will also assault from the air, attacking the Mothership directly with the naquedah-enhanced reactors Major Samantha Carter helped assemble this week. Without the shield, it should sustain substantial damage."

The image shifted once more, now showing the Goa'uld Mothership from above. "Meanwhile, our Secondary team will infiltrate the ranks of the Zigarans, board the Mothership and attempt to take out the Goa'uld in control. The ship will be detonated from within… many Noggraans will die in this mission." A moment of silence was observed in their honor before the General continued once more. "It is with heavy hearts we go forth tonight. Our mission is well-planned, and the stars shine in our favor. May they guide us to victory."

Similar words were murmured throughout the room, and the meeting was dismissed. The forces quickly scattered to their assigned destinations, leaving the leaders to follow in their wake. Sam and Jack stood with the Generals, then turned to find Etep and Chaela waiting for them. This was the foursome that would lead the Primary team into enemy territory. It wasn't SG1, but it would have to work.

It was dark when the team headed out of the underground bunker and made their way across the hours-long trek into enemy ground. Without warning, the ground began to quake beneath their feet, sending the entire team scrambling for balance.

"It has begun," Chaela said softly. "The quakes will continue through the night. We were expecting this, but I doubt they were."

"Let's keep moving," Colonel O'Neill called out quietly. They weren't far from the scheduled Jaffa patrol. Scant moments after they began moving O'Neill signaled for a halt when his ears picked out sounds of movement in the distance. He motioned everyone to hiding positions, and the small band scattered into the dark underbrush.

The six pack of Jaffa marched past a good distance ahead of them and Jack signaled the group to move forward. With utmost stealth, they crept through the night towards the guards.

"Let's draw them out, shall we?" Jack said just before opening fire on the troupes. They reacted immediately, firing back and running towards the team. The energy shield shimmered as they passed through. Just as the intelligence indicated, the Jaffas apparently had a device allowing them safe passage through the shield.

Two Jaffa dropped under Jack's initial barrage, and as the rest of the team began firing, the remaining Jaffa soldiers quickly dropped to the ground. The team approached a downed soldier with caution. Chaela reached him first and extracted a small device from his arm.

"This should be the device we need," she said as she walked toward the shield boundary. She held out the device as she passed through. The others followed her lead, extracting devices from the other dead Jaffas and walking through the barrier unharmed.

Jack once again took the lead, and the team resumed their stealthy trek to the back door of the generator complex. Wordlessly, the foursome approached the bunker, and Jack signaled them into position. Etep walked up to the doorway and opened a console. With the help of some Noggraan technology, he had the door open in a few moments time. They quietly stole into the facility.

"According to the schematics, the generator should be in the center of the building," Sam whispered to Jack. "It's a pretty direct path from here," she added, indicating the long hallway in front of them. Jack nodded, and they began making their way into the depths of the structure.

The hallway was lit in typical Goa'uld fashion, with the occasional torches casting irregular shadows throughout the corridor. Unlike a typical Goa'uld construction, though, these walls were plain and dull, not the glitter and golden glam of the standard Mothership. According to what they had learned, this building was an ancient one commandeered by the Zigarans and the Goa'uld.

The hallway was long and seemingly endless. No doors broke the plain walls, no windows, either. It took some time to traverse the length of the corridor, and just when they were about to think the intelligence was wrong, they found a doorway.

"It should be in here," Etep informed them. He was the one to locate the control console; with the push of a couple of buttons, the door slid open soundlessly. Jack and Sam were at either side of the doorway, weapons poised and ready. There were only a couple of Zigaran soldiers inside manning the shield generator. A couple of quick shots of the zats took them down in no time.

Sam and Chaela began placing the explosive charges around the generator while Etep and Jack kept watch for the enemy. It only took a few minutes and they were ready to depart.

"Anyone getting the feeling this is too easy?" Jack wondered aloud as they made their way back down the long corridor. Then the ground began heaving beneath them again, knocking all four of them off their feet. Somewhere deep in the bowels of the building an alarm began droning. "So much for easy," Jack muttered as he clambered back to his feet. He offered an arm to Sam, which she took gratefully. Slow and none too steady on the bucking ground, she regained her feet only to be knocked back into Jack, landing them both back on the ground.

Chaela and Etep were finding their quake-legs faster than their human companions. They helped Sam and Jack back to their feet, then as quickly as they could manage over the heaving floor, they made their way back to the doorway outside.

No sooner did they step outside, though, than they found themselves face to face with an entire squad of Jaffa soldiers doing their level best to keep their footing on the none too solid ground. Jack swore harshly as he quickly realized they were cornered—a group of Zigaran soldiers appeared seemingly out of nowhere behind them, all armed to the hilt. Jack looked at Sam, then to the two aliens with them. They all dropped their heads, and their weapons, too.

"Lord Aresan will be most pleased," said the lead Jaffa soldier. He slowly approached Sam and Jack, still struggling to keep his balance on the constantly shifting grounds of the quaking planet. "Most pleased, indeed," he said as he touched Sam's face in a gross mimic of a caress.

"Leave her alone," Jack spat out, unable to stop himself coming to her defence.

"Silence!" The Jaffa, taller than Jack and bigger than Teal'c, struck Jack fiercely with the back of his hand, knocking Jack down to the rumbling ground. Jack scrambled back up to his feet as quickly as the bucking earth would let him.

"How long, Major?" Jack barked out, earning a blow to the gut with the but of the lead Jaffa's staff.

Her eyes tracked the Jaffa's movements as she spoke. "Not long, sir; maybe another minute." She earned a similar blow for daring to speak, and she doubled over in pain.

"You will learn the meaning of silence," the Jaffa snarled. "Such insolence will not be tolerated by Lord Aresan." The leader signaled to his subordinates and they grabbed the foursome and led them back towards the open bunker. Just before they crossed the threshold, though, the explosive charges Sam and Chaela had set went off, rocking the ground even more beneath their unsteady feet. A raging inferno surged towards them at lightning speed.

"Run for it," Jack ordered, and the team broke away from their captors and made for the dark forest. Still none too steady on the quaking ground, escape was difficult at best, and the enemy soldiers were in hot pursuit almost immediately.

Jack grabbed Sam by the arm as she almost fell, and the two of them ran together for a time; Jack lost track of both Etep and Chaela in the chaotic flight. Jack pulled out his radio as he ran and gave the waiting troupes the signal that the shield was down, all the while running for dear life. Sam held on tight to his arm, determined not to let them get separated in the dark underbrush.

Off in the distant direction of the Stargate, Jack could hear the sounds of a battle beginning to pick up. Loud booms could be felt as much as heard, and Jack made a quick decision. He turned towards the battle, pulling Sam along with him. After a few minutes of running, they ran headlong into Etep and Chaela. They paused to duck into some heavy underbrush. Jack listened for signs of their followers, but could discern little as they were getting perilously close to the lines of the war zone.

"We need to get to the Stargate," Jack announced. "This may be our only shot at getting out of this place." Sam nodded, but Etep and Chaela frowned.

"We were to return to the rendezvous point after destroying the shield," Etep stated. "The Portal is still in the hands of the Zigarans and the Goa'uld. Trying to get there now would be suicide!"

The ground quaked beneath them again, nearly knocking Jack on his backside before he could speak. "You two head back to the rendezvous, then. Carter and I are heading for the Gate."

Etep and Chaela exchanged glances. "And what do you plan to do if you make it? Abandon us? I thought you were here to help us destroy Aresan and the Zigarans," Chaela said, disappointment filling her voice.

Jack looked over to Sam once more before answering. "We're not abandoning you… now that the shield is down we can bring reinforcements from Earth—if we can get through the Gate."

"We will help you, Colonel O'Neill," Chaela said, earning her another frown from Etep. "We must help them, Etep. You know as well as I that they don't stand much chance without us."

"And they don't stand much chance with us, either," he retorted. "We should return to the rendezvous site now while we still have a chance." The ground was now trembling under their feet. Etep and Chaela stood staring at one another for a long moment before Etep finally broke contact with a heavy sigh. "I suppose you'll be going with or without me, then?"

Chaela nodded. "It is the right thing to do, and you know it."

Etep cast a sidelong glance at the Colonel and the Major before finally nodding his head. "All right. We will help you."

"Thank you, Etep," Sam said solemnly; Jack nodded in agreement. The ground continued to tremble beneath them as they began to make their way towards the Stargate, ever mindful of the enemies lurking in the shadows, still likely hot on their tails.