Chapter Twenty-Four: The Space Gun
Earth - Stargate Command
Day 7…
Ambassador Joseph Faxon was both extremely excited and nervous. This was a far cry from his precious duties as a high-ranking ambassador for the United States government. In a few moments, he would meet with the representatives of the Colonial fleet and the leader of an empire that was reportedly six hundred billion strong. People from other worlds! He still couldn't believe it.
Ambassador Faxon stood outside the main SGC conference room, prepared to enter, but he stopped to take a breath to try and calm his nerves. A lot hinged on what his next actions would be, his performance had to be beyond perfect.
Standing next to him, General Hammond asked cautiously, "Is there a problem, ambassador?"
"We're making history here, General. First impressions are everything. I'm about to open negotiations with beings not of this Earth."
Hammond smiled faintly. "True, but the people you are about to meet are more like us than you know."
"Not according to Senator Kinsey. He was dead set against this meeting, but the President overruled him."
"Well, a word of advice: forget whatever you heard from Senator Kinsey and make your own judgement of them."
"I intend to." He placed his hand on the door handle. "Well, time to step into history."
He opened the door and walked inside but stopped at the sight before him. Faxon had read the reports from SG-1 about Hynerians and their huge appetites, but seeing it first hand was another thing entirely.
Half of the conference table was covered with food of every type. They must have emptied half the base cafeteria to feed just a single alien, who was seated at one end of the table feasting on everything within reach. How could a being so small pack away so much?
Dominar Rygel XVI was eating an Earth dessert called, a banana sundae. Seated next to him was Colonel Tigh, acting ambassador on behalf of the Colonial fleet.
"You must try this dessert, Colonel," Rygel muttered between mouthfuls. He spooned the sundae quickly into his small, cavernous mouth. "It's marvellous."
"No thank you, Dominar, I'm not hungry," Tigh politely declined although he felt like he was packing on pounds just watching the little Hynerian.
Both Colonial and Hynerian looked up as Faxon stepped in. General Hammond followed close behind the ambassador and stood beside him before formally introducing everyone.
"Gentleman, this is United States Ambassador Joseph Faxon. Representing the Colonial fleet is Ambassador Tigh and for the Hynerian Empire, Dominar Rygel the XVI himself."
Tigh stood up from the table while Rygel took the time to put down his eating utensils.
Shaking off his amazement, Faxon quickly determined by the way he held himself that Tigh was a military man, very strong, composed and professional. However, the little alien appeared to be very different, quite relaxed and unimpressed by the dilly-dally of diplomatic protocols.
Prepared to make history, Faxon moved towards the table and extended his hand to Tigh first. "On behalf of the President, the people of the United States and the world, welcome to Earth."
Tigh shook his hand and Faxon felt the strength of his grip. "This is a day our people have waited a long time for and we have much to discuss," Tigh said. "Unfortunately, this includes asking Earth's help in the war."
"The war?" Faxon wasn't expecting this. "Has this to do with these Cylons?"
"Yes, Earth has just as much at stake as the rest of this galaxy." Tigh cut right to the chase. "If we should lose, the people of this world will not have long to live. The battle is raging as we speak."
Faxon was speechless as he looked down at Rygel. The Hynerian looked at him kindly and reached over to a nearby bowl of fruit, offered him one.
"Not to worry, we're prepared to offer technology, but we need to get the other world leaders onboard as soon as possible." Rygel noticed that the ambassador was looking rather pale. "Are you feeling well? Need something to eat? An apple or perhaps a strong drink?"
Day 10…Katratzi – War Chamber
"Since our victory, we have the Cylons on the defensive in several areas along the front," Emperor Staleek boasted to his watchful observers as he gestured to the map in the war chamber. "Our dreadnaughts destroyed a Cylon repair facility here as well as recapturing a dozen worlds they once held. This places us within striking range of their main operating base here in the Darakan system. Destroy this and it will be a devastating blow to the Cylons. This will be the first serious drive to force them from our space."
"That base is heavily fortified with a sizable defence fleet," Commander Cain pointed out. "We'll need a fleet of one hundred ships and thousands of fighters just to do it."
"That shouldn't be a problem," the Hynerian Admiral Currah declared, before he stared accusingly at the Peacekeeper Fleet Marshal Kopriva. "More ships arrive here every day, although more of some than of others."
"And what do you mean by that, you little toad?" The Peacekeeper demanded.
"He means that, so far, your government has only sent a total of twenty Command Carriers," the rather large Luxan general seated next to him said. "My government alone has committed three times that many ships."
"We don't have to explain ourselves to you, Ka'Tarr, but, if you must know, unlike your governments, we're near neighbours of the Scarran Empire and the Cylons could easily decide to attack us instead. We're keeping the bulk of our fleet near to defend ourselves."
"I trust once we start driving the Cylons from this sector of space that you will free up more ships to help us?" Cain asked, hoping to avoid an argument between the two leaders.
"Of course," Kopriva said. "Now, who will command this attack?"
"It would be an honour to lead the assault against the Cylons," the Hynerian admiral volunteered.
"You?" Ka'Tarr laughed. "This is not a parade march, Hynerian, this is a war!"
"Stating the obvious now, are we, Luxan? And what do you barbarians know about marching in parades since you can't move in a straight line with your poor sense of direction?" the Hynerian huffed.
"Enough arguing!" Emperor Staleek boomed loudly. "Scarrans will lead this attack."
"Sebaceans taking orders from a Scarran?" the Kerran laughed coldly. "Never!"
Commander Cain quietly sighed in frustration. The Luxan, Hynerian, Peacekeeper, and Scarran began to shout and argue heatedly as to who would lead the attack, when a calm voice cut through the angry clamour. "I have a suggestion."
The arguing stopped and all eyes turned to Thor, who had sat quietly though most of the briefing. The Asgard stared at the alien leaders about the room before continuing. "Since no one here can truly trust the other, I suggest an alternative choice. Commander Cain is highly experienced in fighting the Cylons and he did form the battle plan that helped to defend Katratzi against the Cylon attack."
Cain could see that Thor had a subtle sway over the other leaders at this table. The Asgards were an old and very advanced race, the type you would like to remain on good terms with, even for just the chance to call them friends. No one even dared to entertain the thought of having them for an enemy.
"That would be acceptable," General Ka'Tarr agreed.
"As long as he shows results, he may lead my forces," Admiral Currah concurred reluctantly.
Fleet Marshal Kopriva nodded slowly. "He's not my first choice, but I can convince my captains to go along with it."
Emperor Staleek stared hard at Cain before uttering, "Just don't fail, Human."
With such overwhelming enthusiasm, how could we lose? Commander Cain thought to dryly himself, but aloud, he said, "I won't let any of you down."
Later, sitting at a small station on the bridge of Thor's ship, Sikozu was reading with immense interest all of the non-classified data about the Asgard society and history that Thor had given to her. She was impressed by their culture and their incredible grand achievements. They were truly an ancient and powerful race. Remarkable as it was, it was also hard to believe that his own people were threatened by these mechanical insects… these replicators that were swarming through their galaxy. She continued reading until…
"The O'Neill?" Deeply puzzled, she turned to Thor who was monitoring Cylon fleet movement on long range scans. "Your people named your latest and most advanced ship after a Human?"
"Yes," Thor answered. "But it was destroyed in order to stop the replicators from invading my world."
Still confused, Sikozu stood and walked towards him. "But why would you name a ship after a Human, especially that particular Human. Colonel O'Neill strikes me as very…" The Kalish stopped and selected her words carefully. This Human was obviously special to the Asgard and she didn't want to offend Thor by insulting O'Neill. "What did he do to deserve that special honour?" she finally asked.
"Colonel O'Neill was our first contact with the people of Earth in centuries and he has shown how much his world has matured."
"Matured?" Sikozu resisted laughing. "The Humans from Earth are technologically inferior and the only reason they are out here is wormholes, either controlled by the stargate or purely by accident."
Thor stared up at her with those dark and absorbing eyes. "Is that how you judge a species, Sikozu? By their technology and intellect?"
"It is a good start." She wasn't going to lie to him because he seemed able to sense lies.
Thor looked very disappointed. "There is more to judging a society than simply measuring their technology and intelligence. O'Neill carried the very same basic qualities that impressed the Ancients when they studied John Crichton. Both of them had a strong belief in right and wrong and the openness to new ways of thinking. The true measure of a culture is in its people and the values they hold, not in what they can build. Unfortunately, not everyone from Earth thinks the way that O'Neill and Crichton do, but I have faith that the Humans of Earth can aspire to be more like their brethren, the Colonials."
"You truly believe that? I mean about judging a world?"
"Yes. Compassion and selfishness are powerful markers of a growing and maturing civilization. Look at the Scarrans. They are a technical and intellectually advanced species, but they enslaved and victimized countless races, including your people, Sikozu. Would you call the Scarrans an advanced culture, with the brutal policies they sanction against the weak?"
The Kalish raised an eyebrow. "You want my exceedingly biased answer to that question?"
For a moment, Sikozu thought she saw a smile forming across Thor's small narrow mouth and his dark eyes soften. The Kalish had to admit this Asgard fascinated her more and more each day. His intellect far surpassed hers, but he behaved so humbly. By all rights, he could have her bowing before him like a god by the power he could wield, but he treated her and the others as equals.
She knelt down to eye level with him. "I'm a very proud being from a proud race who were enslaved by the Scarrans over a hundred cycles ago. We couldn't fight them, and we're trapped in servitude to the Scarrans, hoping for the day we will be free of them. Now, with this uprising that the Goa'uld perpetuate amongst my people, things have grown worse for us. The Scarrans have imprisoned thousands of my people out of suspicion alone." Anger crept into her voice now. "Scarrans are even conscripting millions of Kalish to be used as cannon fodder in the war."
"Sikozu," Thor said kindly, placing his small hand upon her shoulder. "When the day comes that my people finally defeat the replicators, we will do all we can to free your people."
Sikozu believed him and smiled gratefully. Would her people make the same generous offer if the situation were reversed? Deep down, she knew the likely answer and felt ashamed of it.
Commander Cain returned to the Pegasus aboard his personal shuttle. From his port seat window he saw the Galactica, not far away. She was still undergoing major repairs to her badly damaged engines following their last intense battle against the Cylons. According to Apollo, the ship wouldn't be ready for action for at least another Earth week.
Back on board Pegasus, Cain was surprised to find Colonel O'Neill and Samantha Carter waiting for him.
"Ah!" Cain said happily as he approached the Earther and the Tok'ra. "From the looks on your faces, you have some news for me. Please, let it be of the good variety."
"Hard day at the office?" an amused O'Neill asked.
Cain snorted in response. "The Peacekeepers and Scarrans hate each other with a passion, but thankfully, they hate the Cylons more. Meanwhile, the Luxans and Hynerians couldn't do anything better than exchange insults."
"The perfect definition of a house of cards," Carter chimed in.
"House of cards?" a confused Cain questioned.
"Ah, it's an Earth saying, meaning a fragile structure that could be easily knocked over," Carter explained.
"That just about describes it," Cain agreed. "At least they're willing to work together for the time being. They agreed to let me lead the assault on the Cylon control base."
He watched as O'Neill and Carter gave each other a knowing look. This only increased Cain's curiosity. "Okay, you two, what's the big secret?"
"It's a very big secret." Carter produced a piece of paper with a long list of digits, made up of a mixture of letters and numbers.
Cain held the paper, but was unable to understand their meaning. He looked back up at them. "A little help here, people. I don't have much patience for puzzles."
"They're a list of coordinates to certain worlds that have stargates," O'Neill explained.
"And these ones are all within Cylon space, including the one with the Cylon control base on Darakan," Carter added. "We may have found a back door to their empire, if the Cylons don't know about them yet."
O'Neill watched as Cain suddenly smiled from ear to ear as if he had been handed the winning numbers to the lottery. "Would you two please walk with me?" the Colonial Commander kindly offered. He wanted to hear more.
"How are you feeling?"
"The same as when you asked this morning."
"And your little passenger?" Crichton smiled teasingly, knowing he was irritating her.
Aeryn glared half-heartedly at Crichton as they walked through the winding corridors of the Pegasus. She came to a stop as they continued their playful banter. "Passenger? I am a transport pod now?"
"No," Crichton smirked, stepping closer to take her hands in his. "But I do admire your lovely lines just the same."
Although not when they had met four cycles ago, Aeryn had grown to appreciate the gentle fuss that Crichton made over her. She had never dreamed she could grow to love this man from a world and a species she never heard of before. Now, she was carrying his… their child.
"John, there is something you need to know."
Crichton didn't like the sound of this and became instantly concerned. "Are you still well? The baby?"
She shook her head to calm him. "There's no problem, but there's something about Peacekeeper pregnancies you should know. We have them much faster than Human females."
Crichton felt another big surprise coming. "How fast?"
"In little more than a weeken, maybe two."
He gasped, feeling very light-headed all of a sudden. "That soon?"
Aeryn watched him pull away and start to pace. Now she became worried. "Is that a problem?"
"Yes, I mean no, I…" Crichton looked overwhelmed as he turned in her direction again. "For nearly a month, I thought I had lost you. Now, you come back and tell me that you're going to have our child… in a matter of days! We haven't even picked a name yet."
"I'm not having a…" Grinning, Aeryn struggled to remember that Human saying. "…Picnic either at the pace of things, but we have been through far worse and we can get through this."
Relaxing, Crichton stepped close to her again, his hands now resting on either side of her waist. "Right you are and from this moment on, all I want to do is care about you and the baby and nothing else."
Aeryn gave the Earthman a feline smile. "Oh, and I'm going to hold you to it."
Reaching up to place her hands on either side of Crichton's smiling face, she leaned in and kissed him softly.
"With the proper equipment, we could use the stargate for surveillance," Carter suggested as she and O'Neill debated with Commander Cain the best way to use the stargate as they walked through the very same corridors of the Pegasus. "We could build deep space sensor stations on planets deep within Cylon space."
"Can we move large numbers of men and vehicles through them?" Cain asked.
"The gate can only remain open for thirty-eight minutes at a time," O'Neill said. "But we did some simulations. If we have two columns of men lined up and prepared to race through, we could transport maybe a thousand troops safety every time before the gate shuts off. As for vehicles, so long as it can fit through the mouth of the gate, we can send it."
The more he learned about them, the more Cain appreciated those stargate devices. "I wish we had known about those things long ago."
"Don't feel bad," Carter said as they rounded a corner. "We came across many advanced cultures who thought the stargate was nothing more than an old relic."
Cain laughed and said something to her but Carter didn't hear him. Her full attention was on the sight of Crichton and Aeryn sharing a tender kiss. From out of nowhere, she felt a powerful jolt of jealously and hatred towards Aeryn. It took a moment for her to realize that what she was experiencing was a washover of emotions from Jolinar. Her symbiont had been slowly simmering over the return of Crichton's true love. She was happy for him, but seeing them together was too much for Jolinar. The Tok'ra wanted his love, which could have been hers with time, if she hadn't returned.
"Jolinar, enough with the dark thoughts. Please stop," Carter's mental voice pleaded with her symbiont.
"I didn't say anything," Jolinar's indignant voice replied.
"You don't have to, I can feel it."
Carter waited for a reply, but none came. Jolinar had clammed up and retreated into the far corner of her host's mind. She wanted to be left alone. Carter decided to respect Jolinar's wishes, but she had never felt her symbiont so jealous and hateful before. It was unsettling. She hoped that Jolinar would eventually get over it.
Day 11…Sikozu listened as Thor spoke to another Asgard in their native language. She listened and tried to make sense of the complex and confusing dialect, which was nearly as complicated as the language spoken by Pilots. Slowly, the Kalish natural ability at linguistics began to comprehend a word here and there and before long she was beginning to understand a few string of words.
It was an urgent call from home… Something about the replicators… A battle… They need Thor's immediate return…
When the communication ended, Thor bowed his head in sadness. Sikozu slowly approached and knelt down on her knees beside him.
"Something happened back home in your galaxy?"
Thor turned to face her. "The replicators overran our perimeter fleet and they are threatening our home planet for the second time. Every ship is needed to defend it."
"Is there anything we can do?"
"No, Sikozu, not this time. I need to make preparations to leave and to inform the others that they won't have my assistance for a while."
"It is that bad?"
"Yes," Thor answered simply before looking away. The stress in his voice was evident. Things were far grimmer back home than Thor wanted to admit to her.
Sikozu stared at him for a long moment. "If you don't object, I would like to return with you and help."
Surprised, the Asgard Supreme Commander looked back at her. "No, Sikozu. This would be too dangerous. None of us might survive."
"I'm not afraid and I wish to help your people."
"Why?"
"Because you offered to help mine. I'm simply returning the favor, so consider this a down payment."
"Is there anything we can do for you, Thor?" Apollo offered as he watched the Asgard and Sikozu from one of the many small monitors on the bridge of the Galactica.
"Thank you, Commander, but you and the others are needed here," Thor declined. "I'm sending you the last up-to-date reports of Cylon fleet movements and locations."
"Thank you, Thor. May the Lords of Kobol watch over and protect you."
Sikozu frowned slightly at Apollo's blessing, which she considered meaningless words. Science was her people's religion, not some unproven demigods, but Thor nodded his head, accepting Apollo's offering.
"We will return as soon as possible but if not, it has been an honour knowing you."
Signing off, Apollo watched as Thor's ship turned a graceful 180 and jumped into hyperspace in the blink of an eye.
"I hate to sound selfish," Omega said from his station next to Apollo, "but I wish he could have stayed until we started our offensive against the Cylons."
"I know, but the Asgard have problems of their own. Having the Asgard in our corner was reassuring, but let's not forget we survived this long without them and we can do it again."
"Do you think his people will win?"
Apollo thought about it and shook his head. "It's hard to believe, but we might be the lucky ones, compared to what the Asgard have to face."
It was time…
This is a lot of firepower at my command, Commander Cain thought as he surveyed the assembled alien task force from the bridge of the Pegasus. Over one hundred ships strong, it consisted of twenty Scarran dreadnaughts, ten Peacekeeper command carriers, thirty Luxan Piercers, and forty Hynerian Battlearcs. Altogether, the fleet carried almost thirty thousand combat fighters.
A lot of firepower!"Commander?" Cain turned to face his First Officer, who stood tightly at attention. "The fleet has signalled and they await your orders."
Cain could feel the tension, as one hundred ships waited patiently for the order. "The command is given," Cain said. "Move the fleet out and set a course for Darakan and the Cylon base. Today, we take the battle to the enemy."
It would take the fleet four days to arrive…
Day 14…
Planet Darakan
The old stone temple that held the stargate was situated on the hilltop overlooking the long dead city of the Ancients, only fifteen miles away. The Cylon base was positioned dead centre within the ruined city, as if it had been lowered from the sky and assembled in sections. The stainless steel structure was similar in appearance to an oversized sport's stadium, and looked completely out of place with the surrounding smaller stone structures.
What was more amazing, the Cylons seemed oblivious to the presence of SG-4, who monitored their every move, but they dared not approach any closer. Cylon patrols, including patrols from the air, were numerous.
Surveying the Cylon base through her high-powered binoculars, Lt. Jennifer Hailey watched as the base launched another Raider. Within seconds, the fighter climbed skyward, disappearing into the cloud cover above.
"That was the tenth flight in the last two hours," Hailey said to her C.O. "Do you think they know something is up?"
Colonel Albert Green shook his head. "If they knew we were here, they would attack." He looked at his watch. "With some luck, if our friends are on schedule, the fleet is well on its way."
"And to think a few years ago I thought I'd be flying cargo planes. Never thought I'd be caught up in the middle of some galactic war."
Colonel Green chuckled as he spied on the Cylon base through his own binoculars. "I bet flying cargo planes is looking pretty good right now, but at least the Goa'uld threat is gone."
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Hailey laughed, zooming her spyglasses on a distant Cylon ground patrol. "At least with the Goa'uld, we would have had the chance of being enslaved and surviving to fight another day, but with these… over-sized toasters, they have us all marked for death."
"Yeah, since you put it that way, I miss the Goa'uld, too," Green agreed.
Day 15…The allied task force arrived just outside the Darakan system. The heavier warships, dreadnaughts, and command carriers were up front, the smaller ships behind them. On the Pegasus in the centre of the fleet formation, Commander Cain oversaw the deployment of the fleet.
"Sensor contact, Commander!" Dex called out. "Cylon scouting force."
Cain was focused and prepared for battle. "Any signs of baseships?"
Dex checked the boards. "No contacts, just a handful of fighters. No sizable threats."
This didn't feel right. No baseships? Unfortunately, they had a mission to accomplish. Perhaps the Cylon fleet was further ahead… "All ships launch fighter screens. We're not registering any warships, but they might be nearby."
The fleet moved into the Darakan system, but met with no resistance. The few Cylon Raiders kept their distance to monitor them, avoiding the ally fighters.
Scorpius paced about the bridge of his Command Carrier. "Captain Braca, what do your sensors tell you?"
"Beyond the few fighters, there's nothing between us and the planet."
Scorpius paused before activating ship-to-ship communication with the Pegasus. "Commander Cain, where are the Cylon warships? This is supposed to be their well guarded base of operation."
"We're reading the same thing," Cain's voice filtered through the comms. "No warships on any of our scanners."
"Have they abandoned this system?"
"No, the SGC still has a team watching the base and it's still very active. They're here."
Scorpius snorted in frustration. "Then where are they?"
Within the Cylon base C&C on Darakan, one gold and three silver Cylon Centurions watched the approaching fleet.
"The enemy is still approaching," a silver Cylon droned out.
The commanding gold Cylon faced its silver counterpart. "How many ships?"
"One hundred and one warships of various types," another silver Cylon answered. "Including one battlestar."
"When will they be within firing range?" the gold Cylon ordered.
"In less than three centons."
Lt. Hailey still watched the base when she noticed new activity; the top of the base slid open. Oh, this can't be good. She turned, calling out to Green, "Colonel?"
Inside the base, the four Cylons were now positioned about a huge circular control console, each manning a separate instrument panel. On the far wall, a giant monitor showed the approaching fleet.
"Reactor is at full power. Energizers are primed and ready. Mega pulsar cannon is armed and ready to fire," a silver Cylon reported.
Commander Cain's fingers slowly rapped across the top of a nearby monitor screen. He was clearly uneasy with the situation. Where were the Cylon warships?
"This smells," he muttered aloud.
"Sir?" Dex turned to him.
"I said this doesn't feel right." Cain pounded his fist on the same monitor. "I can feel it in my bones. This is Commander Cain to all ships, dead stop. I say again, dead stop!"
Surprised, his crew obeyed, as did the other ships in the fleet except…
"Scarrans dreadnaughts are still approaching the planet, Commander," Dex reported.
Cain activated his console monitor for a direct line to the Scarran fleet captain. "This is Commander Cain, stop your approach, Captain!"
The image of the Scarran captain appeared. He glared impatiently at the Colonial Commander. "The planet is defenceless and now you decide to act cowardly, Human?"
"This has nothing to do with being afraid!" Cain replied firmly. "I have been fighting Cylons for my entire career, Captain, and this is all wrong. They're still occupying their base, but where is their defending fleet?"
"We will find out soon enough, when we take the base," the Scarran answered.
"The main alien force has halted their approach, but the Scarran elements are continuing to close," a Cylon reported.
"Once they are well within range, target the Scarran dreadnaughts and destroy them."
"By your command."
"Captain, I'm in command here and I order you to stop," Cain demanded.
"You order me, Human?" The Scarran leaned toward the monitor. "You are a mere figurehead to appease the others in this alliance. Now, stand aside while we show you how Scarrans fight."
The screen went dark and Cain stared helplessly at it before he collapsed into his chair, frustrated. "You stupid, arrogant…"
"Captain!" Dex's voice urgently erupted. "We're detecting a massive power spike coming from the planet!"
"Scarran dreadnaughts are in range," a silver Cylon reported.
"Target the lead ship," the gold Cylon commanded.
"Target lock," another Cylon answered.
"Fire."
A silver Cylon pressed the control button to activate the weapon. "Firing."
Under their metal feet, the entire complex trembled as the massive gun discharged up into space.
"I don't like the looks of this," Colonel Green observed through his binoculars.
The roof to the base literally opened itself up; it reminded him of the Toronto Skydome. What was inside was far from what he would call a baseball field. What he saw looked like the barrel of a huge, honking space gun, a term that O'Neill had once fondly coined.
"Lieutenant, we'd better get inside the temple," he said.
If it was a weapon, they'd better grab some cover before it went off. The ten-foot thick stonewall of the temple that protected the stargate was the best cover they had.
"Sir?" Hailey stared at her CO questioningly.
"Now, lieutenant."
Hailey stood and started to move back to the huge temple, Green just a few feet behind her. Before they got far, there was a sudden and brilliant flash followed by what sounded like the end of the world.
Reacting with the ancient masculine instinct to protect the female, Green launched himself at Hailey in a headlong dive. His arm caught her around the hips, taking her down to the sandy ground with him. His voice bellowed out a warning that drowned out her startled yip. "TAKE COVER!"
Shielding Hailey's body as best he could with his, he felt the stinging heat from the blast of the weapon and the ground trembled. For a moment, he dared to look over his shoulder and saw a blue column of light piercing the heavens above them.
"Colonel!"
From the temple entrance, the rest of his four-member team came hurrying out with weapons at the ready wondering if the world was coming to an end. Green got to his feet and was helping Hailey to stand when they reached them.
"What the hell is that?" one of them shouted above the deafening roar of the beam that stretched skywards.
"O'Neill's big, honking space gun!" Green hollered back. "Now, everyone get inside!"
Scorpius and Captain Braca listened as their crew called out warnings - they detected a massive power surge coming from Darakan.
"What are the Cylons up to?" Braca wondered aloud.
Scorpius stepped closer to the bridge forward view port to watch the Scarran dreadnaughts continue their stubborn approach towards the planet.
"I don't know, Braca," Scorpius replied calmly. "But I'm sure the Scarrans will find out soon enough."
As if in response to his words, Scorpius watched as a solid beam of destructive energy jetted up from the planet's surface and speared the lead Scarran dreadnaught square on the forward bow. For a moment nothing happened. Then the beam punched through the vessel, lancing out from the rear section of it. The dreadnaught actually held itself together for another moment before exploding.
Barely showing any reaction, Scorpius was quite impressed by the sheer power and reach of the Cylon weapon. The Scarrans were still wondering what had happened when the Cylon weapon lashed out again to obliterate a second dreadnaught. It cut through their armored hulls as if they were constructed from no more than flimsy sheets of paper.
The Scarran fleet began to turn away from the planet, desperate to get out of the reach of the devastating weapon.
The Cylon cannon fired again, destroyed another dreadnaught.
Scorpius continued to watch and did not shed a single tear for the Scarrans as the Cylons picked their fleet apart.
A shaken Sheba had an incredible view from the cockpit of her Viper as she witnessed the ongoing destruction of the Scarran vessels. They were trying to withdraw, but they were too slow. Two-thirds of the Scarran ships were destroyed before retreating out of range.
She couldn't believe they were too fracking proud to listen to her father's warnings!
It was then that she remembered the Cylon Mega Pulsar Cannon, a ground-based weapon that could destroy any ship from vast distances. She hadn't been there at the time, but Apollo and Starbuck had been and they had told her the story many times of the weapon that had threatened the Galactica and the fleet two yahrens ago. They had destroyed it, barely saving the fleet in time.
Somehow, the Cylons were able to build another one…
Her cockpit sensors beeped out a warning. She looked down and saw wave upon wave of Cylon Raiders launch from all over the surface of the planet, all aimed right at them.
"A trap," Sheba cursed under her breath, and then louder, "They set a trap for us! D'Argo, are you seeing this?"
"I see them, Sheba," D'Argo answered from the cockpit of his own Luxan fighter. "There must be at least… Fifty thousand Raiders."
Fifty thousand?"Definitely a trap," Sheba muttered.
"All fighter wings," Commander Cain's voice sounded over the comm. "Intercept those Raiders and keep them off us and what's left of the Scarran fleet."
This battle was quickly becoming a disaster, Cain realized. He quickly weighed his options. They couldn't go forward or the Cylon weapon would demolish the rest of his fleet. If they retreated, the Cylons would gain a valuable chance to regroup. Every day that went by gave the Cylon forces more time to gain reinforcements from home.
The allies had to neutralize that weapon and keep their offensive moving. They had to use the stargate to launch a ground attack to try and knock out that planetside weapon.
A ground attack against Cylons… Something the Colonials had tried their best to avoid during the entire thousand-yahren war and for very good reason. A sane person would not get into a physical, head-to-head conflict with a machine simply because flesh and bone would lose out to metal more times than not.
Unfortunately, they might not have any choice this time.
TBC...