A dozen uniformed humans bustled about the stations at the Pel'tak while a silent and foreboding individual sat motionless in the central chair. Unlike the typical thrones preferred by the Goa'uld that posed as gods, this chair was very austere and utilitarian. Raised on a small dais, the metal chair was completely devoid of all adornments, save for a set of controls and displays at the ends of the arm-rests. The occupant of the chair said nothing as the others busied themselves about their tasks, merely watching the main display as it showed nothing but pitch-blackness outlined by the thin arc of light revealing the edge of the globe below the vast ship.
The one in the chair watched the monitor silently, glancing now and again to one of the two displays on the armrests of the chair. No expression was betrayed upon his face, but the eyes that sat below the jet-black hair smoldered with anger and frustration. He waited impatiently for the display to come to life, attempting to will it to happen by staring at it with a burning intensity. A great deal depended upon this plan's success, too much was at stake to accept failure. It had been many hours since he had sent the signal to their confederate that they were ready. If all was going according to plan, their allies would soon be ready their own preparations and would begin their part in this drama.
One of the crewmembers came up to the seated individual. "Isn't it time already? If we wait here much longer, we risk discovery…" the crewman's voice was laced with concern and tension. It had been several hours since they had sent their signal of readiness to the party that was to land on the ground, and the scheduled time for the next phase was almost past.
Dark eyes darted from watching the display to boring holes through the impudent man that came forward. "Do I smell the sickening scent of fear from you?" He cast a glare of scorn at the other. "All will happen according to plan. We will receive word when it is time, and not a moment before."
The other bristled at the words from the seated speaker, looking as though he was about to respond harshly, but suddenly the display on the chair sprang to life with a quiet chirping sound announcing the blue writing scrolling across the screen. The individual in the chair turned his gaze back from the other, reading the message as it rolled in. He smiled wickedly, casting his gaze back to the other. "As I told you, all will happen in its proper time. Which is now," he added with finality, waving a hand at the crewman, dismissing him back to his post without another word. He then turned to look at another crewman.
"Bring us about. Proceed as planned to the planet."
The crewman standing at the helm of the Ha'tak nodded wordlessly and moved his hands over the glowing blue orbs. The ship then lurched from its stationary orbit, and the sliver of light that had been at the edge of the main display began to grow, consuming it. Quickly the tetrahedral ship slithered out from behind the dark-side of the moon, the rays of the distant sun lighting up two of its sides as it quickly moved towards Dakara.
Several other Ha'tak were orbiting the planet, a good half-dozen stationed evenly about it. The instant the rogue vessel appeared, the other six left their positions and moved to converge upon it. The dark-eyed man grinned from his seat as he watched them on the display. Many of his fellows about the Pel'tak looked nervous, casting quiet and disconcerted glances from one to another as they saw the enemy ships. "Raise shields," he said simply, betraying no trace of emotion, neither fear nor confidence.
"Done," the man at the other main console indicated, waving his hands through the red light of the controls. "Enemy vessels will be in firing range within ten seconds, they're powering up their weapons." He continued, "They're opening their bays and show signs of preparing to launch death gliders."
The man in the chair said nothing, glancing away from the main display only to consult the message upon his chair's screen for a moment. He nodded silently to himself and looked back to the main display.
"Five seconds," the man at the weapons console announced with tension in his voice.
Everyone in the Pel'tak started to sweat, and began to look at their leader with worried glances. Seeing the looks he was getting from his crew, he merely grinned with a supreme arrogance, and waved a dismissive hand. "Watch," he said simply, motioning to the display. Just as all turned their gaze back to the monitor, several of the ships in view started to lurch in their approach, suddenly drifting away from their earlier path. Small flashes here and there in the ships could be seen through the monitor
The crewman stationed at the weapons platform confirmed what the crew watched, each disbelieving what they saw. "The enemy vessels are no longer moving under their own power. Their weapon systems are off-line and large explosions appear to be issuing forth from their glider bays." Turning from his console to their leader, he announced with a stunned voice, "All enemy ships are immobile and without defenses." He looked ready start unleashing the Ha'tak's weapons at their foes.
Nodding with an expectant air, the one in the chair simply said, "Assume orbit over Dakara, position us above the Holy Mountain. Once we are in position, commence firing upon the surface."
The man at the weapons console looked stunned, "but the enemy ships…"
The dark eyes cast from the display to the other. "…cannot bother us now. It will not be long before more come to their aide, and then we will have to make our retreat. Now carry out my orders." His stare bore a hole through the other, who wordlessly nodded and prepared their weapons as the man at the helm moved the ship towards its target.
The massive ship moved swiftly past its neutralized adversaries which drifted aimlessly now in space. It stationed itself above the planet and immediately started to rain energy blasts down upon Dakara as its death gliders swarmed out to descend to the surface.
Red flashing lights pulsated through the base as Daniel, Cameron, and Teal'c all ran down the hallway from the men's locker area towards the armory. As they turned a corner, Daniel asked, "So does anyone know what the hell's going on?"
Teal'c started to answer, "I do not, Daniel Ja…"
"Dakara's under attack," Mitchell interrupted as they turned the last corner to the armory and found Sam and Vala already there. Sam was opening up the door with a swipe of her access card. "Bra'tac was in their Gateroom with Schlesinger when the shots started flying. We had an open wormhole that we were using to chat with them. We've kept it open with a radio carrier signal, but at this point, it's only got about…" Mitchell looked at his watch, "less than twenty minutes left on it."
"Damn, it's worse than I thought," Sam stated tensely, reaching in and grabbing P-90s to hand out.
"How is Master Bra'tac?" Teal'c asked with some urgency, looking uncharacteristically concerned as he walked past Carter to grab a hefty machine gun of a much larger caliber.
"Don't know," Mitchell answered shortly, grabbing an offered P-90 and a pouch of grenades. He saw Vala receive a P-90 of her own, just as men and women from the other SG teams were arriving and started to grab weapons. "Ever use one of those?" Mitchell asked.
Vala shook her head as she looked at the weapon, "Nope."
Cameron nodded, "Come on, I'll give you the sixty second tutorial." He grabbed another grenade pouch and a couple of Beretta 9mm's. He then grabbed Vala by the arm and dragged her with him, noting Daniel's furrowed brow out of the corner of his eye. Putting several SG teams between them as the crowd started to gather, Mitchell wasted no time as he hurried Vala along down the hall to the Gateroom.
"Okay, here's the tutorial. This is the trigger," seeing Vala's sour expression, he answered himself, "right you've fired a gun before, silly me." They hustled down the hall with a growing stream of SG team members following behind. "Okay, this switch is the safety, set to this, you can't fire the weapon. Set it to this, you can. So how're things between you and Daniel?"
Vala blinked at him as they rushed down the hall. "Excuse me?"
"Come on, no time to play coy. The two of you were ready to scratch each others' eyes out just half an hour ago, and now we're all about to go hot through the Gate into some REALLY hostile conditions. So how about it?"
Vala seemed uncharacteristically unsettled as she stumbled over her reply, "I'm…we're…things are fine, thank you very much."
"Swell. Now see this switch? This changes the gun from automatic here, to single-shot here," he illustrated flipping the switch as he spoke. "On automatic it'll fire nine hundred rounds in a minute, but you've only got fifty in a clip, so use very short bursts. You're sure there's nothing I need to know?"
"Fifty rounds when the weapon shoots nine-hundred in a minute? That's not very well designed," Vala muttered, ignoring his last question.
"Yeah, that's why you've got extra ammo," he returned, patting the pouches on her vest where the clips were. "Here's how you remove a cartridge," he demonstrated, "and here's how you install one. Pull this lever after the cartridge locks in place. That loads a bullet into the chamber. Now answer the question," he said, clipping the rifle's strap to the ring on her vest and shoving it into her grasp. While talking, they passed into the Gateroom which was already bustling with activity and bristling with impromptu machine gun-placements and other defensive positions.
Vala continued to sputter, feeling uncharacteristically out of sorts. Between Daniel's apology and now all of this, the last twenty minutes had been more overwhelming and confusing than any other period in her life for a long time. "There's nothing you need to know, we're both fine." She answered tersely with finality, unable to keep the stress out of her voice.
"Great," Cameron smiled as Daniel finally waded his way through SG team members filing into the Gateroom and caught up to them. Pulling a grenade out, Cameron said, "This is an explosive device. When you pull the pin and let go of this handle, you have about 3 seconds before it blows up. Throw it far away, it explodes with a radius of about ten feet." He stuffed it back in the satchel, which he shoved in Vala's hands. Daniel came to stand next to Vala as Mitchell handed pulled the Beretta out of its holster. "This is a side-arm, it's only single-action, no rapid fire. It has fifteen rounds in it, the clips are in these pouches," he patted his own vest this time. "Here's the safety and here's the way you change cartridges," he demonstrated. Stuffing the pistol back in its holster, he asked her with finality, "Any questions?"
"No, I'm fine." She answered bitterly. Vala took the pistol as she juggled it with the bag of grenades and the P-90, which she had never quite gotten settled correctly. That and the addition of the helmet sitting askew on her head with her ebony locks spilling out from under it made it impossible for Daniel to keep from grinning at the sight of her. Vala stared daggers at him when she saw the look on his face.
"Whelp, since your boyfriend's here, I'll let him finish helping you get set up." With that, Mitchell grinned at Daniel and winked, turning on his heel and starting towards the ramp as the SG teams continued to pour into the Gateroom and the defense teams continued setting up their posts.
"Let me guess, he was asking you how things are between us?" Daniel asked as he helped Vala get her things sorted. His eyes still were smiling at the sight of her in such a disheveled state.
Vala looked up at him as he asked the question and saw the playful amusement in his eyes. Sick of being off balance, she fell back to what she knew best. "Actually, he was propositioning me, and I must admit he made a rather enticing offer." She grinned as Daniel's smile evaporated and she watched the gears grinding and stripping in his head as he tried to decide if she was pulling his leg or not. She sighed for effect, "I told him I'd have to think about it, but since no one else around here was making the offer…" With that, she caught Daniel's gaze and stared at him with a smoldering, sultry look.
The archaeologist hesitated for a moment while Vala stared into his eyes, watching his expression intently. His first reaction was to snap at her, chiding her for her prurient remarks. As he opened his mouth, however, he caught himself and remembered his promise to be more patient with her. She watched him like a hawk, raising an eyebrow as he hesitated. Daniel impulsively decided to try playing her game, replying with a grin, "Are you sure about that? Maybe someone else has been trying to let you know he's interested, but you've missed the signals…" Where in the hell did that come from?!? Daniel asked himself as soon as the words left his mouth, horrified as he watched Vala's expression change to one of shocked glee. More importantly, what have I just done? He continued to force a smile at her, in spite of the sinking feeling that was building up inside of him as he thought about the coming fallout from that little quip.
Just then, Colonel Mitchell had reached half-way up the ramp and the last of the SG personnel had entered the Gateroom. The floor was fairly crowded, particularly so as people milled about, assembling in their teams. "Alright, listen up!" Mitchell shouted above the loud din. Everyone fell silent and stood where they were, turning to listen. "We have a situation on Dakara, and we need to move out NOW. The Jaffa there are being attacked by an unknown human force, so if you see any humans that aren't dressed like they're from Earth, take 'em down. As far as we know, all of the Jaffa are on our side. We're doing this by the numbers, standard Gamma Omega routine, just like the drills. It's tight quarters in there, so use single-action with targeted shots rather than just spraying the area, I don't want to take out any friendlies." He paused for a moment, looking about for questions. After he was greeted with silence, he then turned to look at the base of the ramp, "General Landry, do you have anything to add?"
The General shook his head. "Only to keep sharp; hit 'em hard and fast. We've only got fifteen minutes left on this worm-hole so this has to be quick. Let's show these bastards what happens when they screw with our friends."
"Well said sir," Mitchell answered. "SG-1, 5, 7, and 12 form up! SGs 14, 19, and 21, stand ready to come forward as soon as we secure the Gate platform."
People began hustling about the room as he started barking orders, the members of the other SG teams going to the side of the ramp, along with Sam and Teal'c. Each person grabbed a large, slightly bowed plate that measured about four feet by two feet. The plates had handles and a strap, as well as a six inch by three inch transparent section at the top. Two of the team members in the other SG teams carried heavy machine guns and slung their shields over their shoulder, keeping them to the side. Vala noticed that Teal'c had an even larger weapon than those members of the other teams. The large Jaffa grabbed two shields, heaving one up to Mitchell from below the ramp.
Daniel suddenly grabbed Vala by the hand and pulled her over to the stack of shields. He grabbed a plate and handed it to her, explaining quickly as he took one of his own, "These shields are composites, lined with Kevlar and an armor we developed to resist staff blasts." She nodded wordlessly as he helped her properly hold the shield and the rifle while SG-5 stormed up the length of the ramp, the heavy metal clattering loudly beneath their boots.
Daniel and Vala then ran up the ramp behind Sam and Teal'c. SG-5 had already assembled at the very top of the ramp and had positioned themselves in a straight line, four people wide. The entirety of SG-1 crammed in behind them, carrying their shields and P-90s ready as SGs 7 and 12 came in behind them. The undulating light of the event horizion danced in front of the military formation, reflecting off of their shields. "Remember, move fast and hard," Mitchell said, "Establish the perimeter as quickly as possible. We'll have the element of surprise, so don't waste it." He paused to look behind the crowd of people at the top of the gate, "remaining SG teams, come through on my signal." Seeing the other teams ready, he nodded and turned forward again.
"GO!" Mitchell yelled and the mass of men and women stormed through the Gate. Vala charged with them, sucking in her breath as she closed distance with the wormhole. She caught a glimpse of Daniel out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly felt a knot of worry as she broke the plane of the event horizon and the world turned upside-down.
The Gateroom on Dakara was thick with white smoke from the discharge of so many staff weapons. Still, human and Jaffa were locked in mortal combat. The fighting was toe-to-toe throughout the crowded room, with the humans holding all of the doorways, defending their rear flank from more Jaffa trying to break in to help their fellows. A few staff blasts still flew this way and that. Many dead lay on the floor, both human and Jaffa, though many more Jaffa. After the initial attack, another three dozen Jaffa had poured into the room from nearby, but then the human forces secured the doors and prevented more from entering.
Bra'tac stood in the midst of it all, fighting for all he was worth, his staff clashing again and again with that of a human. The twenty minutes since the first shots were fired had seemed like an eternity. Moreso because the enemy they fought was well prepared for this battle. They wore a thin, flexible silvery armor from head to toe that made staff blasts ineffective. The Jaffa had quickly learned that they needed to keep each human engaged in hand-to-hand combat, to prevent them from firing their weapons at a Jaffa.
Each human killed was by sheer force of arm, whether by a staff strike or a knife's blade. They had quickly found that the armor was only effective at stopping their energy blasts, while a blade could cut through their armor as a knife through hot butter. But the trick was getting the opportunity for such a strike. The elder Jaffa was simply astounded at the skill of these humans. Aside from the Tauri, he had never encountered fighters outside of his race hat were so skillful and so deadly. Too many of his warriors lay dead. He was indeed truly worried about both who this new enemy was and how this battle would end.
He kept shouting out to his brothers and sisters to hold the Gate at all costs. Shortly after he the fight had started, he realized he was indeed hearing the unmistakable sound of weapon blasts from a Ha'tak above, raining down upon the city. He grunted as he swung his staff around, cracking a human's skull with a sickening sound. Bra'tac lamented that the new Jaffa nation might just fall today, grimacing as the man's lifeless body fell before him. He then whirled about and fired a blast, hitting another, who merely recoiled at the force, and then resumed fighting with Bra'tac's fellows.
Suddenly the old Jaffa heard the familiar sound of Tauri weapons from behind him. Spinning on his heel and narrowly ducking a staff blast, he saw about sixteen men and women emerge from the Stargate. Their rifles were blasting away, felling the enemy left and right. Within moments an array of staff blasts began to pepper the SG teams, but they had already taken the moment they needed to set themselves up in a defensive perimeter. The lot of them had locked up, shield to shield, the entirety of them kneeling behind the barrier, while the barrels of their rifles peeked out between the plates and rained death on the enemy. Again and again, the energy blasts thudded harmlessly against the curtain of shields, although each shot caused a defender to recoil from the sheer force of it.
Bra'tac shouted in his native tongue for his fellows to press their advantage. The staccato sound of P-90 rounds filled the gaps between staff blasts as the Jaffa renewed the fight with a vigor borne of hope. More of the enemy fell as the whizzing bullets took the life from them, one by one, punching through their armor like it was paper.
Within the ring that the SG teams had formed, Vala gritted her teeth as she continually shoved her gun between her shield and Daniel's. She fired several rounds at a human that was bringing his staff weapon around to shoot a Jaffa in the back. The man dropped his staff weapon as the bullets peppered his body and his lifeless corpse fell to the ground.
Next to her, Daniel fired his weapon with relentless efficiency. He had a hard, cold look in his eyes and didn't pause for a moment as he attacked the foe, felling one after another. In the years since joining the Stargate program, he'd become hardened and was now a seasoned warrior. Vala watched him for a moment, seeing the hard set to his jaw, the unflinching look in his eye as he fired shot after shot. She had never seen this side of him before, it wasn't anything like she expected from the normally scholarly and peaceful man. She then saw movement out of the corner of her eye, however, and quickly downed a human that was attacking yet another Jaffa. As the man fell, he spun towards the Gate and fired his staff weapon several times at the circle of shields.
Daniel's saw two humans break from the fray and start to charge up the steps to attack the SG teams' position. His one finger flipped the switch on his P-90 from 'single' to 'auto', and his other pulled on the trigger as he brought his weapon to bear. He watched the burst of light erupt from the muzzle and the two humans that were charging their formation stumbled and jerked as his bullets peppered their bodies. They fell in a bloody heap on the steps to the Stargate. Something jostled him from the left, where Vala was. His heart tightened up in fear and he quickly glanced to his left for a moment, but instead of disaster, he found Vala repositioning her shield after having repelled a staff blast. She began resuming her fire on the enemy and the archaeologist breathed a sigh of relief as he saw she was alright. He realized that he couldn't remember being more scared than for that half of a second when he thought maybe Vala was hurt…or worse.
He turned back to the crack between his and Sam's shield and chose his next target. As he did, he heard Mitchell shout into his radio, "SG-12, 19, and 21, GO, GO, GO!" Daniel's eye suddenly spotted a human that was not dressed in the same uniform as the rest. Rather, this individual wore a very strange body-armor, covered with controls and what were probably weapons. He looked older with a gnarled, scarred face, and was an extremely efficient warrior killing one Jaffa after another, managing to hold a doorway on his own. Daniel was forcibly reminded of Aris Boch, though he could clearly see this man's face and knew that it was someone else.
At that moment, however, more SG teams were suddenly in the room. Using the perimeter set up by the other three, they squatted just above the top of the shields and fired down into the melee. The added firepower of the additional twelve P-90s caused the already deafening roar of weapons fire to reach new heights. The constant burst of the small arms fire was further accented by the occasional heavy bellowing of the large-caliber weapons that tore their targets to shreds. Teal'c in particular fought like a Jaffa possessed, almost abandoning his post several times to charge into the fray, each time Colonel Mitchell pulling him back down. The addition of the eight that came through caused the tide of the battle to irrevocably turn, as more and more of the enemy fell dead.
With the sudden burst of new support from the Gate, Daniel saw the man pause, look at the situation and frown. Daniel raised his P-90 to fire upon him, but as he pulled the trigger, he saw the individual touch a control on his wrist. The muzzle of Daniel's rifle exploded as he watched the armored man become enveloped in a blinding white flash of light. The bullets harmlessly struck the wall on the other side of where the man had been. The archaeologist lowered his weapon with a grim expression as he realized without a doubt that was Asgard beam technology.
Bullets continued to fly for another few minutes as more of the enemy fell. Very quickly the humans lost control of the doorways and more Jaffa swarmed in, overwhelming the remaining enemy. Soon all weapons fire ceased, and all that was left was one lone man in a corner, fending off two Jaffa with his staff weapon. The SG teams broke from their formation, starting to stand and descend the stairs, discarding their shields and weapons, hurrying over to help the wounded Jaffa. Mitchell saw the last fight in the corner, and he yelled to Bra'tac, "We should take one alive!"
The weary looking Jaffa nodded at Mitchell and shouted out a few commands in his native tongue to the Jaffa that had the human cornered. The enemy soldier clearly heard the exchange and knew what was intended, however, Mitchell could see it on the man's face. He watched as the Jaffa tried to corral and neutralize the foe, but then the warrior to suddenly jabbed one of the Jaffa in the gut and cracked the other on his head with his staff, momentarily freeing himself. Other Jaffa quickly rushed over to take him, but his staff continued its same motion from the strike that felled the second, swinging about so that he pointed his own weapon at his head. The man locked eyes with Mitchell at the top of the Stargate dais as he fired his weapon upon himself, the now quiet room filling with the sound of the blast, along with the sickening splattering sound the energy made as it consumed its target.
Mitchell flinched as he watched the last soldier kill himself, his expression furrowing in concern at the display. He found that one moment and what it portended to be more disturbing than everything else that had come before. Sighing, he descended the stairs with the rest of the teams, looking at his watch to find five minutes remaining on the wormhole. He activated his radio and announced, "SGC this is Colonel Mitchell, please be advised that the Stargate is secure." He glanced about, then continued. "I am ready to activate phase two of Base Code Gamma Omega. Deactivate the wormhole in T-minus three minutes on my mark," he looked at his watch for a few seconds before finishing, "Mark."
Mitchell's radio chattered back with Landry's voice, "Copy that, Colonel, we now read T-minus two minutes and fifty five seconds until wormhole shutdown. We have infirmary teams in the Gateroom now. Please be advised that medical personnel are now on their way through the Stargate, they will arrive at your destination in about ten seconds. Once your wormhole is established, they'll start selecting the worst of the wounded to be sent back and receive immediate treatment."
"Copy, Stargate Command," Mitchell replied as he watched Dr. Lam and over a dozen doctors and nurses come through the Stargate toting various medical paraphernalia and bundles of stretchers. The chief medical officer stopped at the top of the stairs as her people filed past her, shocked at the carnage she saw in the room. Countless bodies lay sprawled where they fell, and dozens more Jaffa were sitting, slouching, or leaning on their fellows. Now that the battle was over and the doorways were free, the Jaffa were bringing in more wounded from the hallways in a steady progression. Blood was splattered all over the room, painting the walls and the columns, leaving no surface untouched. She gritted her teeth and descended the stairs quickly, barking orders to doctors, nurses, and any SG team member she laid eyes on to get the triage underway.
Vala wandered through the wounded, attempting to help whom she could. She found a Jaffa who lay dying, a staff blast having burnt a sizable hole in the far right side of his chest. Had it been a direct hit, he would have been killed instantly. Kneeling and placing his head in her lap, she began to gently stroke his cheek as he started to gasp his last breaths, his already sightless eyes staring out into nothing. Looking about, her eyes fell upon Daniel and she watched for a moment as he put pressure on an open wound in the leg of a Jaffa, his hands immersed in the man's blood. The archaeologist briefly made eye contact with her. The two grimly regarded one another with respect and admiration as they both wallowed in this sea of death. Daniel was forced to look back to the Jaffa as he cried out in pain suddenly. She sighed as she looked about, seeing the many dozens of wounded and dead, suddenly feeling extremely tired. Daniel had been right when he worried for her, she realized. It had been a long time since she had a good night's sleep. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she suddenly felt exhausted.
As she mindlessly listened to the Jaffa's failing breath, her aimless gaze was suddenly filled by Dr. Lam, who knelt before her. The doctor wordlessly reached into the pocket of her white coat, producing a Goa'uld hand device. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of bringing this …"
Vala blinked as she saw the large red surface of the device, shocked to see it. After her momentary surprise passed, she immediately took it and positioned it over the burnt chest of the Jaffa who was almost dead in her arms. She was already so tired, but she refused to let her body or her mind object to this extra duress. The device sprang to life, its light bathing the fatal wound in its ruby light. The Jaffa's gasps came faster and he suddenly winced in pain, his sightless eyes blinking as he started to look about him. Vala grimaced as she willed herself to finish the job, and watched with a grim satisfaction as the wound closed completely up.
The warrior's breath returned to normal and he looked up at Vala with heartfelt gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly.
Vala helped him to his feet, though half-way up it was he that needed to help her to finish standing. "Don't thank me, see to helping your friends," she said simply, her eyes meeting his and answering his thankful gaze with a smile and a nod. He looked about him and then nodded back to her, departing without another word to see to another Jaffa who was sitting against a column and wincing in pain.
"That's amazing," Dr. Lam murmured as she watched the formerly wounded Jaffa walk of as if he had never been hurt.
Vala grinned, nodding. "It's one of the few good things that the Goa'uld have ever been responsible for. I'm glad that you had it, but how did you come by it?"
Dr. Lam answered as she pulled Vala towards the center of the triage effort. "Back when you were bonded with Daniel, I had just heard about that technology. When I learned that you could use it, I had one of the devices that were being stored in Area 51 brought to my infirmary, just in case I needed you to perform a miracle at some point." She brought Vala to another Jaffa who lay dying, being cared for by a pair of nurses. "It's been sitting in my desk drawer ever since. I almost forgot to grab it on the way to the Gateroom." She looked down at the Jaffa and back up to Vala, "I know you're exhausted, but can you do more? My staff will only bring those to you that are in the direst of need, anyone else whom we can bring back through the Gate and save you the effort, we will."
Vala listened wordlessly as Dr. Lam spoke, looking away for a moment again to see Daniel who was now working with others to move the Jaffa he had helped into a stretcher. As the other woman finished speaking, Vala drew in a deep breath and nodded, placing the device over the Jaffa's wound. The ruby light issued forth and the healing process began again. The dark-haired woman grimaced as she fought fatigue and the pain she was starting to feel from the effort. As she finished with him, she sat back, drawing in several deep breaths.
Looking up, she saw Daniel standing and watching her as two medics carried away the Jaffa he had helped. He watched her with great concern, and she realized he'd watched her use the device, he'd seen the pain on her face. She saw him struggle and she thought he was about to come over to her. She smiled softly at him, shaking her head. Her gaze flicked away from his to the wounded scattered about the room. He pursed his lips and nodded, though his eyes were still full of care and worry. He turned to help the next nearest wounded, and the stretcher before Vala was suddenly replaced with another.
As everyone was tending to the wounded, Mitchell saw Teal'c helping Bra'tac seat himself at the foot of the dais. The Jaffa looked particularly troubled and worried as he tended to his dear friend. Bra'tac finally managed to shoo Teal'c away, urging him to see to others more seriously hurt. The large Jaffa paused and then nodded wordlessly, turning to almost immediately find one of his fellows lying on the ground in his own blood, clutching a burnt hole where his symbiote pouch had been. Teal'c called out to Dr. Lam, who came running over with a shot of Tretonin. Mitchell walked over to Bra'tac as he watched her administer the shot, and he wondered if the fellow would live. Just as he reached the elder, Mitchell's radio crackled to life with Walter announcing, "T-minus sixty seconds to worm-hole shutdown."
Bra'tac looked up with a haggard expression at the sound as Mitchell sat down next to the wizened Jaffa and asked, "Who were those men?"
"I do not know," he answered simply, "I have never seen any of their kind before. They fought as men possessed, with skill among humans that I have only seen the Tauri possess." He looked about, shaking his head. "Whoever they are, they are a great threat to us."
Mitchell nodded wordlessly as he saw several Jaffa hurry into the room. They looked about and saw Bra'tac, immediately coming over to him. "High Councilman," one of them addressed him, "we are relieved to find you alive and well. We bring news that in addition to this assault, the city has been bombarded by an enemy Ha'tak." The elder grimaced as he heard the news, though Mitchell could tell he was not surprised. The Jaffa continued, "Our defending ships were all disabled by sabotage. We sent up gliders and Al'kesh to attack it, but our own ships were waylaid in battle by the gliders from the enemy."
Bra'tac nodded, hoisting himself up with his staff. "Where is the Ha'tak now? How soon until more of our ships arrive?"
The messenger answered, "The Ha'tak left orbit about the time that the battle here was won. It collected up most of its gliders and entered hyperspace, to where we do not know. Those gliders that stayed behind kept our forces at bay, fighting until the last of them were destroyed. More of our ships are just arriving; we have another eight Ha'tak above Dakara now."
Bra'tac nodded wordlessly, "Go then, and see to those in the city. Bring the worst of the wounded here, we will ask the Tauri to help." The other nodded wordlessly and quickly departed with those that came with him. There was no argument to the wisdom of Bra'tac's judgement, all knew that Tauri medicine was far superior to the rudimentary skills of the Jaffa.
"T-minus thirty seconds to worm-hole shutdown," Walter's voice warned over the radio. With this, Mitchell stood up and excused himself from Bra'tac, making his way to the DHD. He waited wordlessly as the seconds ticked by and Walter announced the twenty second mark and then the ten second mark. Mitchell shouted out for everyone to stand clear of the Stargate. Walter then finished by counting down the last five seconds. The radio fell silent as the wormhole collapsed, the event horizon dissipating with a puffing sound.
Even as the remains of the event horizon could still be seen within the great stone ring, Colonel Mitchell was already dialing Earth. Upon entering the seventh symbol, his hand pressed down upon the great red surface in the center, and the Stargate sprang to life yet again, the blowback exploding into the room. The Colonel keyed in his access code into his GDO and waited for the light to turn blue. He then keyed up his radio and spoke into it. "Stargate Command, this is Colonel Mitchel of SG-1, please stand by to receive wounded."
"Copy that, SG-1 commander," Walter answered back. "We're all set on this side, send them through."
Mitchell looked over to Dr. Lam, who nodded. She directed her staff and SG team members to take various stretchers through. As she did, Vala was healing yet another Jaffa. The woman was finding it increasingly difficult to stay conscious at this point, her body pushed far past its breaking point. Still, she would not let herself rest, turning to the nurse to ask her to bring someone else that needed her help.
"Don't you think maybe you're overdoing it?"
Vala turned at the sound of Daniel's voice, looking up from her kneeling position by where they had been depositing the wounded before her. She saw him standing next to her, and wondered how long he'd been there. She never even heard him approach.
Vala smiled faintly at him as she answered with a very weary voice, "What would you have me do, Daniel? Refuse to help the dying?"
Daniel squatted down beside her. "Vala, you've already helped most of the worst. The rest are going through the Stargate to be helped on Earth. You don't need to do anything more." She looked into his eyes as she listened to the deep concern and care for her that was in his voice.
She smiled all the more as he spoke, reaching up to touch his cheek. "You're very sweet, Daniel, but I'm fine."
He covered her hand with his, holding it tightly. "No, you're not. Look at yourself, you're on the verge of collapse."
She frowned, partly glaring at him. "I'll have you know I'm doing quite well…" to prove her point, she began to stand, but halfway up she found that her legs weren't working right for some reason. She felt herself falling and panicked, but suddenly found herself wrapped up in Daniel's strong arms.
"You were saying?" He asked softly, holding her to him, supporting her.
Vala sighed deeply, wanting to protest but not having the strength. Instead she found herself melting into his embrace. "Well…" she hesitated, then resigned herself and continued, "perhaps I could use a little bit of a break…"
Daniel nodded wordlessly and wrapped his arm tightly about her waist, holding her hands in his as he guided her over to the stairs of the dais to the Stargate. He sat down with her, continuing to hold her. She smiled at this, snuggling up against him. "A girl could get used to this you know…" she murmured, sounding already half asleep.
The archaeologist blushed faintly, clearing his throat. Vala's smile widened, though he couldn't see. "Just rest, Vala."
Colonel Mitchell watched silently as the solemn procession of stretchers started making its way to and through the gate, each pair of litter bearers disappearing through the event horizon one after another. He noted Thomas Schlesinger on one of the stretchers, a vicious looking wound from a staff blast consuming his left shoulder.
"I have not seen such carnage since I was in the service of Apophis," Bra'tac said quietly, having come to stand beside Mitchell.
The Colonel nodded and was silent for a while. He then said solemnly, "I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine.
It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation." He paused, then added with finality, "War is hell."
Bra'tac watched the Colonel as he spoke, turning away to watch the procession as he finished. He nodded respectfully. "It is a very wise saying, Colonel Mitchell."
Mitchell shook his head, "I didn't say it," he cleared his throat, "It was a military man from my country's past, General William Tecumseh Sherman."
Bra'tac looked back at Mitchell at this, and grinned, "Then he was a most wise man."
Mitchell chuckled, "Ah, you won't find most of my kin think so." When he saw the Jaffa's puzzled expression, he explained, "General Sherman was a leader in the Northern army during my country's Civil War about a hundred and fifty years ago. My family's from the South." Bra'tac nodded, grinning in understanding.
A few moments passed in silence before Mitchell said, "So I'm guessing that these fellows were the same as those that destroyed your hatchery…"
Bra'tac nodded, "It is most likely. They are growing quite bold, and very quickly too."
The Colonel asked, "Do you think there's any benefit of going to the hatchery they attacked, maybe see if there's something we can learn there?"
The Jaffa considered this silently for a moment and then nodded. "It is probably the only thing we can do at this time," he answered.
Mitchell nodded, "Well, as soon as the situation here is finished, we'll saddle up and head on out."
Bra'tac nodded wordlessly at the Colonel, smiling grimly with gratitude.