Clearing his throat, Daniel looked at Jack with uncertainty. His friend, in turn, merely continued to smirk wryly. "Yeah, you've got it bad alright," Jack said with an amused voice.
Sighing, the archaeologist sat up in his chair. "Look, Jack," he began, his voice unsure.
"Oh, this should be good," Jack grinned, interrupting his friend with an eager voice. Daniel paused, caught off guard. Pursing his lips, the archaeologist opened his mouth to continue, when suddenly the room filled with a flashing red light as the base klaxon rang out loudly.
The two looked up at the noise, waiting expectantly for the on-duty tech to make an announcement. After many moments of nothing but the klaxon, Jack and Daniel shared a worried look. "Uhm...shouldn't they have told us something by now?" Daniel asked hesitantly.
"Unless you guys changed things since I left..." Jack answered, furrowing his brow.
"Nope," Daniel answered. "Gateroom?" he asked worriedly.
"Probably," Jack answered. At that, he spun around and dashed out the door while Daniel jumped up from behind his desk and raced after his friend.
"I dunno, what do you think?" Colonel Mitchell quietly asked Teal'c and Agent Michaels. The three stood huddled together on the far side of the room, each regarding the prisoner with a wary and tired eye. They had spent the entire day attempting to interrogate the prisoner, but had absolutely nothing to show for it. The man had not spoken once.
They had yelled at him, goaded him, threatened him, and mocked him. They had attempted to get his ire by telling him of the Ha'tak they had destroyed, but he seemed unmoved by the story. They had threatened him with a life in solitary confinement, but the man had not even blinked an eye at this. Teal'c had even tried to persuade him on his own, but to no avail. By comparison, the three were losing their patience and growing very tired of the whole business.
"I've never had an interrogation go this badly," Michaels answered Cam, his voice near a whisper.
"Indeed," Teal'c replied just as softly. "Only among the strongest of the Jaffa have I seen such a will and strength as this one shows."
Sighing, Mitchel said, "Well, I think we need to start considering..." just then the base klaxon started to sound, and the small window in the door to the room was filled with a flashing red light. The Colonel looked over to Teal'c with a concerned expression, one the Jaffa returned with a hard eye.
After several moments of the klaxon continued sounding, Teal'c spoke quietly. "The Gate Control Room should have made some announcement by now as to what the nature of the emergency is."
"Yeah, something's wrong," Mitchel answered with a tense voice. He glanced over at the prisoner with a frown, then looked to Michaels. "We need to go down to the Gateroom," he began hesitantly.
"Go," Michaels answered, "I'll keep at this guy, see what I can do." Mitchell regarded the NID agent warily. While the two had managed to put their initial animosity aside for the day, he still didn't trust the man. However, it didn't seem like he had a lot of choice. If he wanted to go see what was wrong in the Gateroom, he had to leave Agent Michaels to his own devices.
"Alright, Teal'c, you're with me. Michaels, we'll be back after we deal with whatever this thing is." The man in the suit nodded, and the Colonel and the Jaffa hurriedly left the room.
From his vantage point, the prisoner watched the scene and smiled slightly, watching quietly as the two left he and Michaels alone together.
Vala picked herself up from the blow Keegan had given her and looked up as the sound of the opening Stargate filled the Control Room. Her shoulder burned as she put her weight on it to prop herself up from the cold concrete floor, a sharp reminder of the fresh bullet she carried there. She watched as Keegan ran forward, shooting repeatedly at the window. The sound of breaking glass made her flinch as he dove through the weakened portal, falling into the Gateroom.
The raven-haired woman stumbled up to her feet, panic welling up within her. She paused for only a heartbeat, casting a worried glance over her shoulder at Sam. She was still breathing, but it was labored and she coughed occasionally, spitting up blood. Vala gritted her teeth but then whirled about and raced to the front of the control room, her face twisted in worry and fear.
At the same time, Landry came charging down the stairs, bellowing, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?"
As she reached the array of computers at the front of the gate, Vala saw Keegan getting up from the floor where he landed. The Goa'uld looked back up at her in the Control Room with a malevolent smile.
"He's Goa'uld, he's almost killed Carter, and he's got my healing device," she hurriedly called back to Landry. The General had paused at the foot of the stairs and was going to help Sam until he heard Vala's explanation. "How do you shut the damned Iris?!?" she asked with a panicked voice, looking around frantically the array of keyboards, monitors, and consoles, lost in confusion.
Striding over to the console from the stairs, Landry slapped his palm upon the red panel next to one of the keyboards at the front of the room. He looked down into the Gateroom to see Keegan running up the ramp, the metal frame banging loudly from his footfalls.
The Goa'uld stopped dead in his tracks as the iris snapped shut just scant feet ahead of him, the loud metallic scraping sound piercing the ears. Then the room was eerily quiet. Keegan paused, staring at the metal wall before him for a moment until the wormhole suddenly dissipated behind it with its customary hiss. He then lifted his chin with a frown, and turned back to look up at the control room. His eyes flashed as he stared up at Landry and Vala with a smoldering hatred.
"You're mine now, you little fucker," Landry muttered quietly under his breath, peering dangerously at the man from his vantage point. Vala glanced over at the General as he spoke, but said nothing.
The gray-haired man reached over to the console and threw a switch, grabbing the nearest microphone. Pulling it to him, he barked out harshly into it, his voice filling the space all around. "Attention all base personnel. We have a Goa'uld in the facility in the form of Sergeant Martin Keegan, presently in the Gateroom. He is armed and extremely dangerous. All defense teams to the Gateroom NOW."
At that, the Goa'uld's eyes flashed again, his face contorted in an expression of fury. Landry merely smirked back at him, saying nothing more.
Suddenly one of the doors to the Gateroom started to open. Keegan whipped his gaze back down towards the sound. Dropping his pistol, he started to run down the ramp, towards the door. Landry grabbed the microphone and shouted into it hurriedly, "HE'S GOING FOR THE DOOR!" He and Vala watched helplessly as the Goa'uld charged the opening door and leaped through it, out of their field of view.
Vala immediately ran towards the door of the control room, pausing to grab one of the M-16s that were laying on the floor. Landry couldn't see what was going on, but through the hole in the Control Room window came the sounds of scuffling, yelling, and then the sound of gunfire. Vala turned back to Landry as she reached the door, yelling urgently, "Open it!" Landry quickly reached down and typed at the keyboard, but was only greeted by a loud system beep from the computer.
"Hurry!!" Vala prompted him urgently, her face contorted in frustration and anxiety.
"It won't open!" Landry barked back at her, sitting down to hammer at the keys again only to be greeted with the same loud beep. Looking up from the keyboard, Landry saw two SFs walking into the Gateroom from the open doorway. One of them paused in the doorway, while the other walked halfway into the room.
The General stood up. Reaching down, he threw a switch and grabbed the microphone. "What happened?" he asked urgently, his voice filling the Gateroom. At this, Vala ran back over to stand by Landry, looking down into the Gateroom with him.
"He jumped us, sir," the first began, "he tackled Peterson over there, but the Captain was able to put a few 9mm slugs in that monster's gut."
"We think he's dead, sir," Peterson added simply, looking up at the control room from the doorway.
Vala grabbed the microphone from Landry and spoke into it. "He had a small device on him with a large red crystal – do you see it on him now?"
As she spoke, she put the M-16 down on the console in front of her and Landry. She felt a twinge in her gut, but ignored it as she could only think about getting her healing device back. Suddenly the raven-haired woman found it necessary to sit down in the chair next to Landry, suddenly finding herself feeling strangely light-headed.
"It didn't look like he had anything in his hands when he attacked us," the first began, but then Peterson cut him off.
"I'll go check his person." Peterson said quickly, disappearing back into the hallway.
Landry got up from his chair, walking quickly over to one of the other doors in the Control Room on the far side of the room, where a phone hung on the wall. "We don't have time for this," he said, picking up the receiver and punching a few buttons. Putting the receiver to his ear, he waited a moment before saying, "Dr. Lam, this is Landry down in the Gate Control Room. We've got several people down here with serious gunshot wounds that need immediate medical attention. Get down here with your team right away."
He listened to her response, then hung up the receiver. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door to the Gate Control Room, accompanied by a loud muffled voice on the other side. Vala wrapped her hand around the M-16's handle as she and Landry both looked over to the door with worried expressions. The two could hear further talking on the outside of the door, this time more quietly but still just as unintelligible. Then they heard only silence.
Within moments, O'Neill walked briskly through the open doorway to the Gateroom, wearing a field vest over his dress blues with a P-90 clipped to it. He looked up at the Control Room, furrowing his brow as he saw the hole in the window. "What the hell happened?" he asked incredulously as he stopped halfway between the door and where the SF stood. Daniel entered the Gateroom immediately behind, also wearing a hastily donned vest and carrying a P-90.
Landry and Vala shared a relieved glance, then looked out into the Gateroom. Vala pulled the microphone over and spoke while the General walked over. "Keegan attacked us and tried to escape through the Stargate," she told them simply. "He took my healing device. You need to find it, he shot..." she stopped, cutting herself off as she looked down at Jack. After a moment's hesitation, she then continued, "he shot several people up here." As her voice trailed off and she glanced up at Landry, the two sharing troubled looks. The General pursed his lips, shaking his head ever so slightly.
Down in the Gateroom, Jack furrowed his brow at Vala's words, exchanging confused and concerned looks with Daniel. He then looked back up to Vala, asking, "he never left this room, right?" As he spoke, he made a circular motion with his hand, pointing at the floor.
"That's right," she replied over the microphone. "He attacked us, jumped through the glass, tried to escape through the Stargate, and then attacked Peterson..." she cut herself off again, then asked, "wait a minute, did Peterson find it?"
"Who?" Daniel asked, looking up at her with a furrowed brow. He shared a confused glance with Jack, the two of them then looking back up into the Control Room. The SF in the room started to look worried.
"Peterson," Vala began impatiently, "the other soldier. He's out in the hall checking Keegan's body for the healing device..."
"Vala," Daniel replied, "There's no one out in the hall, it's just the body."
"What??" Vala said in unison with the SF down on the floor. The SF immediately ran over to the door, peeking his head out into the hallway.
Leaning back into the Gateroom, the other SF looked up at Vala in the control room. "Peterson's gone, ma'am."
Vala's mouth hung open as she failed to find the words to reply. She looked back at Landry, who grabbed the microphone from her when suddenly Cam and Teal'c came running through the door to the Gateroom with Doctor Lam at their heels.
"Hey, the doc said there's a bunch of wounded down here?" Cam asked in a hurry, looking around.
Landry answered quickly, "They're in here, but we can't get the damned door open..." he began.
"Teal'c!" Jack shouted, cutting off the other General, snapping his fingers and making a motion towards the door to the Gateroom with his hand. At that, everyone rushed back out of the Gateroom. As they did, the defensive teams that Landry called for started to arrive, pouring in through the same door. Landry called into the microphone, "somebody search Keegan's body for that healing device!" As he spoke, Vala left the front of the Control Room.
She ran back to where Sam lay in a pool of her own blood. Kneeling by the other woman with a terrified expression, she held her breath, waiting to see if the woman was still breathing. It seemed like forever until Vala finally saw a small rise and fall of Sam's chest. The blond-haired woman's eyes were shut, and she looked exceedingly pale, but she was still alive.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Vala then nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard a loud metallic scraping sound, like that of one heavy piece of metal being dragged against another. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief as she realized that it was just Teal'c wrenching the door open. Leaning down near Sam's head, she whispered, "Just hang on a little longer, Sam, help's almost here..."
Just then the Control room was suddenly filled with the loud din of conversation, accompanied by the sound of many feet rushing up the entrance stairway. Vala looked up to see Dr. Lam charging in with a procession of orderlies, nurses, and doctors trailing behind her. The white-coated woman was looking all around, barking orders to her people as she saw the various bodies strewn about the room. Medical personnel carrying various satchels and stretchers ran this way and that at Dr. Lam's orders and the room quickly filled up with people.
Vala saw as Jack, Daniel, Cam, and Teal'c followed behind the crowd of medical people. She pursed her lips as she saw Landry intercept Jack, stopping him from entering too far, pulling him aside and talking to him quietly. She couldn't hear what was being said, but she could tell from their expressions that Landry was simply buying time.
Suddenly Dr. Lam was upon her and Sam. "Vala, I need you to get out of the way," she said hurriedly. The raven-haired woman wasted no time in complying, wordlessly jumping up from her knees. She quickly moved out of the way Dr. Lam, who knelt down in her stead, leaning over to examine the wound.
Vala backed away into the room, watching as long as she could before three or four nurses swarmed around Sam, quickly blotting her out from view. She suddenly bumped into something and looked over her shoulder, half in a panic. She blinked in surprise as she found herself looking up at Daniel. He was smiling slightly at the sight of her, but his smile vanished as soon as he saw all of her face.
"What happened to you??" he asked with deep concern in his voice as he saw up close the bruises Keegan had given her. He then blinked in astonishment as she turned to face him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with an worried voice as he frowned, "Vala, you've been shot...!"
"What?" she asked absentmindedly, forgetting what she was going to say and looking down at her shoulder that he was staring at. She suddenly realized her whole arm was completely covered in blood, her own blood. It amazed her how much there was. How did she miss that before? She hadn't really felt any pain since just after she'd been shot, she had been so distracted by her worry for Sam and everything else that had happened. Now that she saw her own wound, however, she suddenly felt an intense, throbbing pain all through her arm, centered in her shoulder. A wave of intense heat sweep over her body, forcing her to close her eyes as the heady feeling overwhelmed her for a moment.
Shaking her head, she said, "It's nothing, I'm fine..." The raven-haired woman opened her eyes, looking up into Daniel's worried expression. It was obvious he wasn't believing a word of it, if anything he was even more concerned. She almost didn't believe it herself because in spite of her words, she was suddenly feeling very light headed as she felt the panic from the last few minutes leaving her.
"Vala, you're anything but fine, you've obviously lost a lot of blood" Daniel argued. "We need to get you looked at right away." He started to look around the room, trying to make eye contact with one of Dr. Lam's people.
She paused, blinking for a moment at his words. All she could think about was how worried she was about Sam, how badly wounded the other woman was by comparison. Vala's head was pounding, and she suddenly started to feel very angry at Daniel. She pressed her good hand to one of her temples, closing her eyes again.
Sighing in frustration, she looked back at Daniel and continued irritably, "Look, everyone else here is much worse than, me, I can wait."
He opened his mouth to argue further, but she cut him off as he started to say her name. "Daniel, I'm fi..." she started to say, snapping at him, but her voice suddenly failed as a wave of dizziness sweep over her. Shaking her head, she tried again even as she suddenly felt too warm. "Really, I'm...I'm fine..." Suddenly her legs gave out beneath her. She felt herself falling towards the floor, her vision filling with large white splotches.
Panic filled her as she felt the free-fall, but then strong arms wrapped themselves around her, stopping her descent. She heard Daniel yelling something, but for some reason she couldn't understand what he was saying.
Then everything went black.
"Uh oh," the blond-haired Captain said, pulling his telescope away and looking over at the other, who furrowed his brow in concern.
"What is it?" the other asked worriedly, concerned by what his fellow had seen. The cold air of PX8-317 made his breath visible as he asked the question.
"There's movement in the tree line," he answered as he reached for the radio on his shoulder. He glanced behind him at the two men standing by the DHD as he pressed the button. Speaking into the radio, he said, "Colonel Anderson, we just saw..."
The sound of the Captain's voice was suddenly drowned out by the loud shriek of a rocket that shot out from the trees, screaming past them and striking the MALP sitting in front of the Stargate with explosive force. The rover unit disintegrated in a tremendous orange-red fireball, debris showering the surrounding area as the men standing around the Stargate were all knocked to the ground from the force of the blast.
Colonel Anderson picked himself up from the ground as quickly as he could and looked to where the missile hand come from. He saw three large armored vehicles emerging from the trees, driving quickly towards their position. He'd never seen anything like them, although they were clearly tanks of some sort. They moved forward on treads much like the armored vehicles he was familiar with, but the turrets sported several barrels. On the back of each was a missile rack, the void on one showing which vehicle had destroyed the MALP. Running along side the vehicles were at least fifty infantry, each carrying a rifle of some sort.
Turning to the man that was nearest to him, the Colonel said quickly, "Andrew, dial Earth and get the SGC on the radio, tell them we're under heavy attack and can't to hold our position!"
"Yes sir!" Andrew answered sharply, scrambling to get to the DHD that was a mere five feet from their position.
The sound of machine gun fire could be heard as the other SG team members around the Stargate recovered from the initial shock of the blast and began firing at the oncoming troops. Anderson saw his men closest to the woods fire a mortar at the nearing vehicles. The Colonel watched with satisfaction as one of the oncoming vehicles exploded, its slit-like windows blowing outwards as flames shot out. The vehicle noisily lurched to a halt while smoke started to pour out of the broken windows.
His excitement was short lived, however, as more troops poured out of the woods. The other two vehicles simply charged onwards, along with the first wave of infantry beside them. The turret of one of the other vehicles turned towards the two near the woods, its barrel recoiling as it discharged a heavy caliber round. Fortunately, the vehicle had started to cross a ditch as it fired, and the round merely struck the ground ten yards ahead from his men, sending up a shower of dirt high into the air.
Grabbing the radio on his vest, Anderson barked into it, "Jefferson, Davis, get your asses outta there! Pull back!" Immediately his men started running back from their position on the far end of the Gate, moving towards he and Andrew at the DHD.
Just then Anderson heard the sound of the Stargate opening. He glanced over as Andrew started to talk into his radio, trying to raise the SGC. He grimaced and started to fire at the enemy as the soldiers came within range of his weapon, wondering who was attacking them and if he'd live to see another day.
Daniel caught the raven haired woman in his arms as her knees gave out under her. "Vala??" he asked in a panicked voice as her head lolled to one side, her eyes rolling back up into her head. "HEY!" he shouted, looking around the room, "I need some help over here!!"
Instantly, a nurse and came running over, assisting him as he started to gently lay Vala down on the floor. The nurse unbuttoned Vala's shirt and pulled it away from her wounded shoulder, starting to examine it. Just then a doctor suddenly arrived. He shined a small flashlight on her injury, inspecting it carefully. Glancing over her blood-soaked sleeve, he said hurriedly, "It doesn't look like the bullet did much more than maybe chip some bone, but she's lost a lot of blood, she needs a transfusion, stat...!" He snapped his fingers at the couple of orderlies at the far side of the room, "Hey! Bring that stretcher over here, now!"
Daniel looked over and saw the orderlies leaving the body of one of the two SFs that had stormed the room, only to be shot down by Keegan. "What about him?" the archaeologist asked worriedly, looking at the limp body on the stairwell.
Glancing up from Vala to meet Jackson's gaze as he looked back, the doctor answered simply, "Dead." Shaking his head, he added, "He bled out already, there's nothing we can do for him." The doctor looked back down at the wound one last time as the orderlies laid down the stretcher next to Vala. "There's another one over there that's alive, but I don't know if we can save him, he's got a nasty sucking chest wound." Even as he spoke, a nurse and an orderly were carefully walking up the stairs from the same far doorway with a uniformed body upon a stretcher between them.
The two orderlies that came at the doctor's behest hefted Vala's limp body into the stretcher. Daniel pursed his lips as everyone stood, the two men hefting the litter up and moving briskly out of the room, following behind the first stretcher after it passed by.
"Don't worry," Jack's voice made Daniel turn his head even as he started to follow the procession. His gray-haired friend smiled sympathetically at him, placing his hand gently upon the archaeologist's shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be..." his voice trailed off as he glanced over to the other side of the Control Room, his eyes drawn by the sudden flurry of movement he saw there.
Daniel winced slightly as Jack's hand suddenly clenched his shoulder with an exceedingly tight grip. The General's eyes grew wide as he looked over in shock, his face growing uncharacteristically emotional. "Sam?!?" he asked with a sharp sound of panic in his voice. Furrowing his bow in surprise, Daniel immediately turned to follow his friends gaze. He watched in shock as he too saw Carter's limp body laying on the stretcher that was being carried forward by two orderlies with Dr. Lam following just behind.
As the stretcher passed by, Daniel found it necessary to grab a hold of Jack, restraining him as the General tried to get a closer look at Sam. The archaeologist watched his friend's face with a pained expression, knowing full well what Jack must be feeling right now. He spoke quietly to Jack, "Just let them do what they have to for her..." He saw Jack clench his jaw tightly as he slowly stopped trying to break free of Daniel's grasp.
As the procession of bodies were carried out of the Control Room, Cam and Teal'c watched from near the doorway with flabbergasted expressions as they saw Vala and Sam being carried out. Landry too looked on, his expression hard and filled with anger.
O'Neill grabbed Dr. Lam's shoulder as she passed by. He could barely get out the words, "Is she...??"
The woman stopped for a moment, putting her hand on Jack's, gently removing it from her shoulder. "I don't know, General. We're going to do everything we can but I need to get her into surgery now." Jack let his hand fall to his side as she spoke, his expression filled with tense worry. She met his gaze for a moment more, smiling sympathetically and then turned to dash after the three stretchers.
"Okay people, let's get these people into the O-R right now!!" she yelled out as she jogged briskly down the stairs. "Sally, call ahead, tell them to prep three tables for major surgery!" Her voice grew faint to those in the Control Room as she ran down the hall, barking more orders to her team.
Jack and Daniel immediately started to follow after Dr. Lam when suddenly they heard a noise that made them stop in their tracks. Everyone looked incredulously out the windows into the Gateroom as the Stargate's chevrons lit up one after another. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Cam muttered, watching until finally the explosive force of the opening wormhole could be heard behind the closed iris. The back wall of the room became illuminated by the undulating light from the new connection.
Seeing that there were no techs around, Cam immediately moved to take a seat at the console. "Radio signal coming in," he said, reaching out to throw a switch.
The speakers crackled to life and suddenly the room was filled with the loud chatter of machine gun fire, the crackle of energy weapons, and unintelligible yelling. Suddenly a voice shouted out, "Command, this is Major Andrew Webber! We're under heavy assault, we cannot hold the gate!" Suddenly the piercing whistle of cannon fire could be heard, followed immediately by a loud explosion that was clearly near the transmitting radio.
"We've got SG-16's IDC, sir!" Cam announced hurriedly, turning back to look at Landry.
"Open it!" the General ordered. Cam's hand immediately slapped down onto the panel. Landry grabbed a microphone near him and said, "SG teams, you are clear to enter the gate! Come through!!" Throwing a switch on the console, he spoke into the microphone again, this time his voice boomed out into the Gateroom. "Defensive teams, stand ready! Friendlies are coming in hot, take down any hostiles!"
Down on the floor before him, about two dozen men scrambled to surround the gate, the room filling with the clacking sounds as they readied their weapons, assuming positions under cover around the room. Teal'c grabbed the M-16 that Vala had left on the console, and ran out of the Control Room. As left, Daniel and Jack followed right behind, each pulling the latch on their P-90s. The three circled quickly down into the Gateroom floor, taking up positions with the soldiers there.
For what seemed like hours, but was really only the space of a few seconds, nothing happened. Then suddenly green energy bolts started to burst forth from the wormhole, striking the walls of the Gateroom with a dull thudding sound, cracking the concrete and causing the walls to reverberate. After another few seconds, Landry threw the switch again and shouted into the microphone. "SG teams, we are taking fire! Come through the gate now!!"
A few more shots flew into the room before suddenly two SG team members burst through the event horizon, charging down the ramp at a dead run. A few more energy blasts came flying through the open wormhole, one flying through the broken window and striking the spiral staircase in the back of the Control Room, bending and twisting the metal with a horrendously loud screeching sound. Cam and Landry flinched at this, looking behind them in surprise. Then the sound of footfalls on the metal ramp in the other room quickly drew their gaze back forward again.
Looking forward again, they saw another three SG team members come through the Gate, energy blasts flying all around as they came through. One man was clipped in the leg by these blasts, and he fell to his hands and knes on the metal ramp. His fellows ran back to heave him up, helping him hobble down the rest of the way.
Scant seconds later, five more men ran through, but these men were definitely not SG team members. They wore strange uniforms and carried greenish rifles, firing green energy bursts about them as they charged through, aiming at whatever they could get a bead on. A hail of bullets greeted these strange soldiers as the men crouched all around the Stargate opened fire upon the sight of them. Each was cut down in turn, though one actually managed to make it all the down the ramp before he was shot several times, finally collapsing in a bloody pile.
"That's only five of our guys," Cam said worriedly as the Gate became quiet again. Landry pursed his lips as he waited, holding his breath. Suddenly another four bodies broke the plane of the event horizon, but these too were the enemy soldiers. Like the others, they were immediately brought down in a flurry of machine gun fire, their bodies falling amongst their fellows, the number of corpses that had piled up left little of the ramp exposed.
"Damn it," Landry muttered, looking at the Gate with a resigned expression. Reaching down, he placed his hand on the controls himself and the iris noisily closed. He grabbed the microphone and spoke. "Remaining SG team members, do NOT come through the Gate, the iris is closed." He was answered only with static. After he spoke, Landry noticed Jackson leaving the Gateroom, while O'Neill and Teal'c started to command the soldiers around the gate, directing them to help the newly arrived SG team members and start cleaning up the bodies.
Sighing, Landry turned to go down into the Gateroom when suddenly the speakers crackled to life once more. Jackson came running up the stairs into the room as a cold, hard voice spoke harshly. "Attention to whomever is on the other end of this transmission, you will surrender to me immediately." Cam, Daniel, and Landry looked to one another with surprised expressions.
Speaking into the microphone, Landry answered, "This is Major General Hank Landry of the United States Air Force, with whom am I speaking?"
The voice replied, "This is Commander Javis Remmol of the Hebridean Confederate. I have the rest of your men. You will surrender to me immediately and yield this planet to us. You will also return my men to me and come through to discuss other terms of your capitulation. If you fail to do so, I will kill your people."
Twelve robed men milled about the large, shadowy room, talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. Large sconces and braziers were positioned throughout the room, barely illuminating the far walls. The room was hewn from solid stone, its walls and floor rough and uneven. The men stood in the space between two rows of six throne-like chairs, each seat facing its partner on the far side of the isle. Beyond the end of the two rows of chairs stood a small dais, upon which stood a plainly carved ivory throne. The white seat brightly reflected the light cast by the flickering fires throughout the room.
Suddenly the large twin doors at the other end of the room opened with a thunderous sound. All talking ended abruptly as the group of men looked over at the sound. They say two large, brown-robed guards pushing the large doors open, straining to open the portal fully. Light flooded in from the other side, revealing the silhouette of a tall woman in a flowing dress and a shorter man who was wearing loose fitting robes and carrying a staff at his side.
At the sight of the two, the men quickly moved to each stand in front of one of the smaller thrones before the dais, facing into the isle just as the chairs did. The lady stepped forward, with the robed man following behind. As they walked forward into the darker room, more details could be seen. The woman was strikingly beautiful and wore a plain, flowing black gown that was without detail, covering her completely except for her hands and head. The dark garment was a sharp contrast to the pale white of her flawless skin, but matched her pitch-black hair which she wore up in a tight and simple style. A silver pendant with a red jewel, worn about her neck, was the only adornment on her person.
The man by comparison wore silvery-grey robes with a dark gray tabard that had two dagger-like markings on either side of it. The wooden staff he carried was tipped with a large blue crystal that was embedded within the wood of the staff itself. In his other hand was a rather plain-looking book. A silvery-grey hood with thick black trim covered his head head. In the darkness of the room, the face could not be seen, but the skin was pale and dry like parchment.
As the two walked towards the two rows of chairs, the men looked at the figure behind the woman with troubled eyes. They said nothing, but many exchanged hard and dark glances with one another. As the pair reached the isle between the chairs, the men bowed their heads deeply to the woman as she passed by. Almost to a man, each looked over slightly after she walked by, eying the gray-robed figure with disdain.
As the woman passed by the last of the seats, she started to climb the dais. At this, all of the men looked straight down, as they had when she first passed. The woman reached the top, the gray-robed man at her heels. As she came to stand before her throne, the other figure walked behind it, coming to stand on her right, slightly behind the throne. The alabaster woman turned and faced the men, looking over them silently for a moment, her face devoid of any emotion. She then seated herself languidly, resting her hands upon the arms of the throne. Finally after some silence, she spoke, her icy voice filling the room, "Be seated, my lords."
"The Hebridean Confederate?" Cam asked incredulously, looking up from his seat to the other two in the Control Room. "I thought the mission file said they were the Commonwealth of the Hebridean Republic."
"They were," Daniel answered with a worried voice, his expression troubled. He looked to Landry, "I don't think we're dealing with the same government as when we negotiated with them last time."
Nodding, Landry pushed the microphone away and answered the archaeologist quietly. "That's a good guess, Dr. Jackson. From what I've read, those people wouldn't have attacked us like this." The archaeologist nodded wordlessly in reply.
Sighing, the General pulled the microphone close again and spoke up once more, "Commander Remmol, you'll have to forgive me if I don't just up and surrender right away, but I've only got your word that my men are in your custody, or that they're even alive."
There was silence for several moments. As the three waited, O'Neill and Teal'c came back up from the Gateroom to join the rest. Immediately behind them was one of the SG team members that came through the Gate. "What's going on?" Jack asked, seeing everyone's troubled expressions.
"It's the Hebrideans," Daniel answered quietly, "They're claiming they've got the rest of our people, demanding our surrender in exchange for their lives."
"Oh, that's so not going to happen," Jack replied. He then furrowed his brow, asking in a very confused voice, "Wait, the Hebrideans??"
Any further conversation was ended as a new voice came over the speakers, "General Landry," he started.
"It's Colonel Anderson," Cam whispered, to which Landry nodded.
"He's telling the truth," Anderson's voice continued on the speakers, "he's got me, Lieutenant Burns and Captain Harris."
"He didn't mention anyone from SG-9," Daniel observed.
"He's telling us that these guys don't know about the ring platform yet," Cam added.
"Or at least they have not yet secured the Ancient library," Teal'c suggested in return.
The original voice on the radio then spoke. "Now you have your proof, General. I suggest you take my offer, or your men will die."
Landry then spoke into the microphone. "I'm afraid it's not as easy as that. I can't just surrender on my own, I need to get permission from my superiors, I just don't have that kind of authority." Landry paused, to be greeted with silence. "It's going to take me at least six hours to get in touch with my commanding officer and get his permission. I'm sure after I explain the situation, he'll be amenable to your offer."
Landry stopped talking, and everyone listened in tense silence. "You may have one hour," the voice finally responded. "If you do not come through the Stargate alone and unarmed after that hour, I will kill one of your men. For each hour you fail to come to submit your surrender to me, I will kill another." Then all was silent.
Colonel Mitchell was the first to speak. "Okay, someone needs to tell him that we've already hit our new bad-guy quota for this week. He's just going to have to come back some other time."
Turning to face everyone, General Landry smirked slightly at Mitchell's words. His expression then became very serious again and he was about to say something when suddenly O'Neill spoke first, his voice full of impatience and contempt, "You're not seriously going to surrender to this loser, are you Hank?"
Pausing in surprise at the other General's words, Landry slowly turned his head and wordlessly looked at Jack for a moment. The others looked to one another uncomfortably, the silence becoming thicker with each second that ticked by.
"Do you really think I'd give in so easily, Jack?" Landry asked with a quiet voice, eying his friend intently. O'Neill didn't say anything, but he looked a little abashed now. "I had to say something to keep them from killing our men. Now I've bought us an hour." He paused, waiting for Jack to reply. The other General exchanged tense stares with Landry for a few moments, but said nothing.
Looking around the room and making eye contact with the rest around them, Landry spoke with a tense voice, "Which isn't a lot of time. Options?"
Jack didn't hesitate to answer first. "If we wait, they're going to take our people back to much stronger accommodations away from the Gate. We'll have a lot less chance of busting them out of there." Looking around, he continued, "I say we rally up the the troops and head back over there, now."
"It'd be a slaughter, sir. We're completely out gunned, we don't have the force on base to take them," the SG team member interjected.
"Explain, Major Webber." Landry answered, all eyes turning to the Major.
"Well sir," Andrew began, "we were attacked at the Gate with no warning. These guys came out of the woods with three tanks and over a hundred infantry. We were able to take out one vehicle and some of their men, but they're still a considerable force."
"Okay, so they're down to two armored vehicles," Jack answered, "We can take them out with a couple of missiles fired through the gate, and then rush the infantry with five SG teams."
"We don't have a way to paint the targets," Cam countered. "If we shoot a UAV through the Gate before the missiles, our boys are as good as dead. Besides, they might have a lot more armor and men in the woods. If they were smart, they wouldn't have committed their entire force against only eight men."
"What about the MALP?" Jack replied.
"They destroyed that first," Andrew answered him.
The General answered impatiently, "So we charge the gate with portable anti-tank weapons. Once the armor is taken care of, we can mop up the rest of these shrubs and bring our people home in time for dinner." He looked around at everyone, waiting for someone to answer.
"Seems a tad risky, don't you think, Jack?" Landry asked softly, furrowing his brow slightly.
Turning his gaze to the other General, O'Neill tilted his head slightly. "They've got our people, Hank. Aren't you just a little tired of everyone in this galaxy taking shots at us?"
Landry watched his friend silently for a moment. "Could I talk with you in private?" he asked with a soft but tense voice. Without even waiting for an answer, he then walked to the far side of the Control Room, expecting Jack to follow. The other General hesitated for a moment, then joined him. The two moved to the farthest point, turning to face one another.
"Jack, while I appreciate you jumping in to help out with everything that's going on, I think you're starting to let your emotions run away with you," Landry began in a hushed voice. O'Neill opened his mouth to reply, but the other General continued over top of him. "I know you're upset because of what happened to Carter. I think the best thing for you to do right now is get out of here, go up to level 21, and be with Sam."
Jack pursed his lips at this, staring back at Landry with a tense expression. For some time, he said nothing. Then he looked down with a sigh. Nodding sullenly, he unhooked his P-90 from the vest, handing it over to Landry. "You're right, Hank," Jack answered quietly as he unzipped the tactical vest he was wearing over his dress blues. Pulling it off, he handed it to the other General. Without another word, he turned to walk back through the Control Room, heading for the door where everyone else was standing.
Everyone in the room watched in silence as Jack approached. The General looked at the floor wordlessly as he walked by, his expression heavy with emotion. Landry followed behind him, carrying the vest and rifle. As he reached the others, he handed the equipment to Cam, who readily took it off of the General's hands.
As Jack walked briskly down the stairs out of the Control Room, Landry came up behind Daniel, saying quietly to him, "Why don't you go with him, Dr. Jackson?" The archaeologist looked over his shoulder at the other man, furrowing his brow slightly. "I think he could use a friend right now, and I'm guessing that you're rather worried about Vala anyway."
Daniel hesitated for a moment. "General, aren't you going to need my help with the Hebrideans?" he asked hesitantly, though it was clear to Landry his heart wasn't in it. "I mean, Jack and I did negotiate our first treaty with them, and since he's not going to be able to help..."
The gray-haired man grinned slightly, placing his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Well, like you said, this doesn't seem to be the same government that you and Jack struck our deal with. It might actually be better if we come to the negotiation table with fresh people."
As he slowly unhooked his rifle, Daniel asked, "Do you really think they're going to negotiate?"
"I don't know," Landry answered, furrowing brow thoughtfully as Daniel handed his rifle to Teal'c and proceeded to remove his tactical vest. "Jack may be right about having to go in there with force, but we need to figure out the best way to do this, see what options we have."
Handing his vest to Teal'c, Daniel nodded. "Alright, but if you need my help in the negotiations, just call for me." He sighed heavily, "there's not much I can do upstairs for Vala, but I might be able to do a lot for those men on PX8-317."
Landry patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, we'll give a shout if we need you." He winked assuringly at the archaeologist, smiling warmly. Jackson nodded at this, then walked down the stairs and out of the Control Room.
"Gotta say, General," Cam began as they watched Daniel disappear through the doorway, "I do agree with one thing that General O'Neill said."
Turning to face him, Landry lifted his chin slightly. "Oh? What's that?"
"I am tired of getting our keisters kicked around by every half-baked villain this galaxy has to offer," the Colonel answered, his weariness evident in his voice.
The General chuckled, nodding his head. "As am I." Grinning, he looked at Cam and Teal'c. "What say we start turning the tables on these bastards?" Cam and Teal'c each nodded with a grin. "Alright, now let's figure what our options are...we've only got fifty five minutes left."
Daniel walked out of the Control Room briskly, trying to catch up to Jack. He slowed slightly as he passed by Keegan's body, watching as two orderlies turned it over and lifted it onto a gurney that sat next to it. He pursed his lips at the scene, looking away as they pulled a white sheet over its length.
Moving quickly again, he made his way through the corridors until he finally reached the elevator bank. He picked up his pace as he saw that O'Neill was just stepping into an elevator. "Jack, wait up!" he called. The General looked up at his name, and put his hand out to stop the closing doors as the archaeologist closed the rest of the distance.
"You didn't need to come, Daniel," Jack said flatly, as the doors closed. "I'm fine."
"Vala was shot too," he reminded his friend. The General looked over to him at this. Daniel quickly amended, himself "I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to be there for you." Clearing his throat, he said, "but I can't pretend I'm coming for purely selfless reasons."
Grinning, Jack nodded. "It's okay, Danny." He crossed his arms and leaned against the back wall of the elevator. "Like I said, I'm fine."
Furrowing his brow, Daniel asked, "Are you?"
"Cripes, how many times do I have to say it?" Jack asked incredulously as the doors opened. He walked out of the elevator, making his way with long strides. Daniel hesitated for a moment before he followed behind, turning sideways to squeeze through the closing doors as he went.
Jogging to catch up to O'Neill, Daniel said hurriedly, "Uhm, Jack, your fiancée has been shot in the stomach and is in major surgery right now..."
"Damn it, Daniel!" Jack yelled, stopping on his heel and turning to face his friend. "I know what happened!!"
Jackson stopped short at this, flinching as his friend bellowed at him. "Jack, there's no way you're just 'fine' right now," Daniel answered firmly. "It's okay to admit that you're scared, that you're worried for Sam."
Shaking his head, Jack answered, "Sorry Daniel, I just don't do that." Turning away, he continued down the corridor. "We've been friends for long enough, you should damned well know that. I'm not that kind of 'touchy feely' guy."
Daniel sighed, hurrying after his friend yet again. "Yeah, but in all that time, you and Sam were never able to act on your feelings toward one another." Jack glanced harshly over his shoulder at Daniel, but kept on moving. "Now, everything is going well and you two are about to get married, but then suddenly she gets shot with a nearly mortal wound, rushed off to surgery and all you can say is you're 'fine'."
Stopping abruptly once more, Jack spun around, looking angry. "And your point is...?!?" he asked loudly with an exasperated voice, gesturing widely with his hands as he glared angrily at Daniel.
Sputtering, the archaeologist answered with an impassioned voice, "Jack, th-th-the point is that you've gotta stop bottling up your feelings! There's no reason to try and come off as the tough guy here! No one expects you to go through this without admitting you're hurting. Especially if Sam doesn't..."
"Don't go there, Daniel!" Jack interrupted with a yell, glaring at his friend and pointing his finger menacingly at the archaeologist. The two stared tensely for a few moments. Then Jack crossed his arms, "And what about you, huh?" the General asked with a harsh voice. Daniel reacted with a surprised look on his face, furrowing his eyebrows at Jack. "You're doing a lot of focusing on me and how I'm doing worrying about Sam's condition. How are you feeling with Vala on the table next to her?"
"I'm scared out of my wits," Daniel said bitterly, staring hard at O'Neill. "Matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I was this frightened."
"Fine, me too," Jack said simply in a patronizing voice, causing the archaeologist to roll his eyes and hang his head, sighing in resignation. "Can we just go and see how they're doing now?" O'Neill then turned around and continued walking down the corridor, not hesitating for a moment.
Lifting his head with a weary expression, Daniel paused as he watched his friend. He pursed his lips in frustration and then hustled after to catch up.
The men seated themselves in their chairs at the woman's words, all looking up to where she sat at the top of the dais. From her vantage point, the woman could read their thoughts on their faces. Almost to a man, each was angrily awaiting what they knew must be coming, given the presence of the Prior on the dais with her.
"I have come to a decision regarding Origin," she announced in a firm voice, looking down sternly at the lords seated before her. The men looked from one to another, their eyes dark with their expectations of the words that would follow. She spoke again, and all eyes looked to her. "Too long have we wandered in darkness since we cast aside our old ways. Too long have we clung to the memories of past glories that were as inconsequential as they were fleeting."
She paused for a moment. The men below watched her, unmoved by her speech. "From this day forward, all of our people will bow down to the Ori. From this day until the end of time, all of our brethren will seek true Enlightenment, and will carry the will of the Gods forward to convert all who do not believe. The galaxy sleeps in darkness, but we will bring forth the light for those who will choose to walk the Path."
Those seated on the floor before her glanced to one another disdainfully, their discontent growing with her every word. Finally, one of them looked up at her and spoke. "My queen, you have always lead our people with strength and wisdom, but we fear this decision will be our downfall."
The queen lifted her chin at the words of the other. "Explain yourself, Lord Arawn," her cold voice echoing throughout the chamber.
Standing, Arawn answered her in a firm voice. "Our people are scattered amongst the galaxy. We hide from our former slaves, attacking them only when they are weak. We do not need religion, we need to regain our former might!" He paused, looking amongst the other Lords, each of whom nodded in agreement, looking at him and one another, muttering at his words. Arawn looked back up to the podium. "We have no need for religion. Worshiping at false altars is for slaves, to keep them to heel." The murmuring grew at this, and he added emphatically, "Masters do not worship, masters are worshipped!" The rest of the Lords about him spoke their support amongst themselves more loudly, glaring up at the woman in the throne above them.
The woman seated above them watched his speech with a dispassionate gaze. She was unmoved by his words, her expression remaining as placid as a lake at first light. As he finished, she tilted her head slightly, waiting a few moments before speaking. "Have you said your peace, Arawn?" she asked in a soft voice that nonetheless carried in the vast chamber.
Something in her voice made the man hesitate. Realizing it was too late to back down, he nodded. "I have, my queen." He answered firmly.
She continued to regard him in silence. When she spoke, it was with the same silent, dangerous voice. "It is well that you are concerned with our strength," she began, "but you do not realize what power the Ori gift to their followers..."
"You must forgive us, my queen," Arawn interrupted her, his voice cold, "but I think we all know well enough about how the worshiped do and do not reward their followers."
She smiled slightly at this, nodding. "You are right. If there is anyone that understands, it is we." She glanced behind her at the Prior, who stepped forward as she gestured with a finger. Looking back down at the man standing below her, she continued, "but what you do not know is how the Ori differ from what was familiar to us. The reward their followers richly..." she said, pausing as the blue crystal within the Prior's staff glowed.
Down on the floor of the room, Lord Arawn began sweating. He cleared his throat as a wave of heat swept over his body. His breath came more quickly, and he couldn't understand why he was suddenly so hot. He glanced away from the throne to his fellows, all of whom now regarded him with fear and alarm. Confused by their reactions, he opened his mouth to ask them what was the matter, only he found he had no voice. He reached out, only to realize that his hands had become covered in pustules. Reaching up in shock, he felt his face and found the same. Suddenly his breathing became labored, each breath was becoming more and more of an effort. He looked back up at the throne in a panic, his eyes looking upon his queen as he reached up to her.
The woman seated on the throne watched dispassionately as the man reached up to her, gagging and coughing with a sickeningly wet sound. His breaths came out in sickly wheezes, and he dropped to his knees as his strength failed him. The woman moved not an inch as he reached out to her, and within seconds he collapsed to the floor, his last breath escaping him.
"What you also do not realize," she continued, "is how they punish those who are shown the Path and have not the wisdom to follow it." Looking from the lifeless body to the others, she said simply, "The Ori richly reward those who walk the path. Those who do not choose to follow the Path shall be trodden under it." The eleven looked to one other in distress and fear. They looked back up to the queen as she spoke once more. "Hallowed are the Ori," she said simply.
Without hesitation, the eleven rose from their chairs and knelt down on the cold stone floor, each pressing a fist into the ground and bowing their heads deeply to her. Eleven voices disjointedly repeated her words, "Hallowed are the Ori," their voices echoing throughout the depths of the large stone chamber.
"Sally, could you put a clamp on that bleeder for me?" Dr. Lam asked the nurse standing next to her as she continued her work inside Samantha Carter's belly.
The operating room on level 21 was bursting with masked and gowned people bustling about three tables, each with a body atop of it. The circadian rhythm of three pulse monitors beeping aloud could be heard as nurses went this way and that, ensuring the doctors and other nurses stationed about the tables had everything they needed as they operated. The room was filled with the voices of the men and women within as doctors gave directions and the nurses continuously reported on the patient's conditions. The sounds of the small metal tools striking metal trays were heard again and again, an almost steady rhythm against the constant dull chatter of speech.
"Yes, doctor," Sally answered without hesitation, grabbing a clamp from the tray and reaching in along side of Dr. Lam.
"Thanks," Lam answered absentmindedly from behind her mask as she continued her frenetic work, her hands moving deftly. She continued to work in silence for a few minutes, the sounds of the operating room all that she could hear.
"Blood pressure is still dropping, doctor," announced a man seated at the head of the table.
"Damn it," Lam answered tensely, trying her hardest to work faster. "Sally, give me some more suction, I can't see anything." She paused, then muttering with a frustrated voice, "It's a fucking mess in here."
"I can tell you why," one of the other doctors at a different table called out. As if to emphasize his words, there was suddenly the clinking sound of a small piece of metal being dropped into a ceramic bowl, where it bounced around. "That bastard was using Black Talon ammunition."
"Hollow point bullets, that fits," Lam replied with a heavy sigh. "Sam's whole gut is torn to shreds. It cut her small intestine to ribbons and punctured her stomach, too. I've got more bleeders than I can count...this is going to take some time..." behind her mask, she pursed her lips in frustration. A few moments of silence passed before she spoke again. "I guess you found your bullet, Greg?" she asked the other doctor.
"I did," he answered, "but I'm still fighting with this guy's collapsed lung. There's a fair bit of damage here, it's going to take me some time to stitch it all up so we can reinflate the lung."
"How about you, Jeffery?" Lam asked further as she tossed her scalpel into the nearby tray with other used tools that were covered in her patient's blood. "How's Vala's shoulder looking?" she asked further as she reached over and picked up a clamp.
"Well," the doctor at the third table started to answer, pausing as he focused on what he was doing. "There's some muscle and tendon damage which aren't so bad, but I just can't seem to find the bleeder." He grew silent again, then added, "her blood pressure's coming back up now that she's had a couple of transfusions, but I gotta find that leak. Given the amount of blood she lost, the thing must have nicked an artery, but damned if I can find where." His voice trailed off as he worked, his attention getting sucked back into what he was doing.
Above in the observation room, Jack and Daniel watched with worried expressions, listening to the doctors' conversations in silence. Jack sat in a chair, resting his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped together, covering his mouth with his hands. He had removed his jacket and loosened his tie, the top button of his shirt undone. Daniel stood beside him with crossed arms, leaning against the one of the frames of the floor-length windows that overlooked the room below.
The two had barely spoken since their tense exchange in the hallway. For his part, Daniel didn't want to ask Jack how he was doing again, and really couldn't imagine talking about anything right now, anyway. He was simply too distracted by his fears for how Vala was doing. To make it worse, his fear was deeply entwined with deep feelings of shame. He knew that Vala's condition was no where near as bad as Sam's, and that he should be more worried about her. Sam was such a dear friend for so long, and now his other closest friend's fiancée. He knew in his head that he should be more concerned with how Sam was doing.
For some reason, however, all he could think about was whether Vala would be okay or not.
"You okay?"
The sound of Jack's voice surprised Daniel. He glanced over guiltily at his friend, whom he saw was looking up at him with a concerned brow. "Yeah, I'm fine," the archaeologist answered, unable to maintain eye contact.
"Hey now," Jack answered, "that's my line." Daniel glanced back over at his friend, smirking slightly. "You're the sensitive guy, remember? You don't get to play the 'I'm fine' card..."
Jackson was silent for a moment, before answering with a troubled sigh, "Yeah, I guess I'm not doing fine." With that, he found himself at a loss for words.
"She's gonna be okay, Daniel," O'Neill said reassuringly.
"I know," he answered, the guilt sweeping over him again for his mixed up priorities. In spite of his words, his mind was still ravaged by fear and worry for Vala. Again, he couldn't keep eye contact with Jack.
"Stop that," Jack protested, dropping his hands into his lap as he folded his arms, still resting his elbows on his knees.
"Stop what?" Daniel replied innocently, looking back over to Jack.
"That," Jack answered firmly. He paused as he stared at Daniel. "You don't need to worry for Sam, I've got that covered." The archaeologist looked down at Jack's words, swallowing hard. "Just focus on Vala, she needs you right now."
Daniel was silent for a while, staring at the floor. Jack turned his attention back into the room below. Clearing his throat, he looked over at Jack and asked, "what about you?" His friend returned the gaze as Daniel added, "Are you still fine?"
Jack watched Daniel wordlessly for a while before he answered, "You know, the whole time I've been sitting here, I can't help but be reminded of when Kawalsky was down on that table." He looked back into the other room, pausing. "It was over ten years ago, but when I walked through that door back there and saw Sam down on the table," he drew in a deep breath, "it was suddenly like it was yesterday."
"She's in good hands, Jack," Daniel reminded his friend. "Dr. Lam's one of the best surgeons around. She's going to do everything she can."
"Yeah, I know." O'Neill answered, pausing. He then grinned slightly, adding, "it's kinda crazy." Daniel furrowed his brow at this, confused. Noticing his friend's expression, Jack chuckled and explained, "I can remember somewhere between fifteen and twenty years ago when Hank and I were a whole lot younger, just a couple of captains, stationed...geez, I don't even remember where. Me and Sara would go over to his place with Charile for a barbecue or something and he had this little shrub of a girl running around the house, she was the cutest thing."
Daniel smiled warmly as he listened to his friend's story. "The two of them were about three or four years old. She was always so glad to see us, she and Charlie would have hours of fun playing in the yard while the four of us at dinner, talking about anything and everything." He paused, looking down into the O-R below. "Now look at her," he said wistfully, "look at how every thing's turned out..." Daniel continued to smile as is friend's voice drifted offs, regarding Jack with quiet empathy.
"Thar she blows," they heard Vala's surgeon calmly announce down in the O-R. The two above looked down in shocked horror as a stream of blood squirted out from Vala's shoulder, only to stop suddenly. "Gotcha ya little bugger," Jeffery then proclaimed just as the stream died down.
"Got your bleeder, Jeffery?" Dr. Lam asked, then quietly saying to the nurse next to her, "I need a bit more suction over there please..."
"Well yes I did, Carolyn," he answered with the same relaxed voice. "Just one, two stitches and there we have it."
"Think you can get that bullet out next?" she asked with a little tension in her voice.
"Well," Jeffery started to reply, "I can see it. The bullet's really kind of wedged in there, given the tight spacing in the shoulder, mind you. It was straight forward enough to stop the bleeding, but I'm going to try to do this without causing any more damage than that wicked little monster already rendered..." He paused, peering in closer at the wound. "I don't want to leave this little lady with any kind of permanent damage because I was a little to hasty with my scalpel...buuut, I should have it soon enough." Silence again fell over the room until he asked with a worried tone, "How're you doing, Carolyn?" He glanced over briefly as he asked, watching his colleague for a moment before he looked back to his work.
Sighing, Dr. Lam paused what she was doing, lifting her head so one of the nurses could wipe the sweat from her brow. "It's a damned mess in here, Jeffery. That hollow point tore up her insides pretty good." She hesitated, then added, "but it's kinda weird in here, too. There's what I'd expect for a bullet wound in the gut, but there's a lot of strangely shaped tissue, too...almost like..." she paused, then nodded to herself. "I think Vala must have tried to heal her. It doesn't look like she'd finished the job for some reason, but that would explain what I'm seeing here."
Daniel and Jack looked at each other at the doctor's words, both looking thoughtful.
"You gonna need help?" Jeffery asked. Jack and Daniel looked back below, watching in tense silence from the windows above the surgeons.
"Maybe," she answered tightly after a moment's pause. "Don't try and rush what you're doing, though. I've got it under control for right now."
"Yes ma'am," he answered in the same tone as before. "I won't rush, but I'm not going to be dilly-dallying either. Seems to me like you could use a hand..." He paused, then asked the nurse next to him, "Would you get me that little old scalpel there, Jenny?"
Jackson and O'Neill continued to watch the scene before them in silence. The minutes that ticked by seemed to last hours, until suddenly they heard a familiar clinking sound. Looking over at the table where Jeffery was operating, they saw him tossing in a small shiny object into a bowl on the table beside him. "And that," he said with a sigh, "is how we do that, ladies and gentlemen."
Daniel breathed a deep sigh of relief. Jack reached over and tapped him on the arm, saying, "See?" The archaeologist looked back over at his friend, who added with a wink, "Told ya."
Back down on the O-R, Dr. Lam asked, "Are you done over there, Jeffery?"
"Well," he began, pausing for a moment. "Let's see, her blood pressure is back up and holding, so we probably don't have any more bleeders in there. I've removed the bullet, and the damage to her muscles and tendons aren't pretty, but it's just a lot of small cuts that should heal nicely on their own." Jeffery paused once, taking a final look inside the wound. He said to the nurse next to him, "Jenny, would you please be so kind as to sew miss Mal Duran up? I'm going to go over and see how I can help Carolyn over there."
"Yes doctor," Jenny replied as Jeffery walked away from the table, pulled off his gloves. Tossing them into the waste bin, he walked over to one of the sinks and washed his hands and forearms thoroughly. Turning around, he held out his hands for a different nurse to put a new pair of gloves on him. Walking over to the table where Sam lay, he stood on the side opposite Dr. Lam and peered into Carter's open belly. "Well, you weren't kidding, Carolyn." He paused, causing Jack and Daniel to exchange worried glances. "It is a fucking mess in there."
The two men above frowned with worried expressions at this, continuing to watch silently. "Alright," they heard Jeffery say below, "shall we dance, doctor?"
Dr. Lam glanced up at him and paused, then chuckled. "Dive right in, doctor," she answered. "I'm having trouble finding the bullet, there's so much bleeding in here from all the lacerations. I've mostly been trying to stop enough bleeding so I can have some hope of finding it."
Reaching for a few instruments on the table, Jeffery answered, "No worries, Carolyn, we'll have this all stitched up in no time.
The room grew silent once more as the three surgeons below continued working without comment. Jack and Daniel continued to watch wordlessly, each looking on at the scene below with tense expressions. The minutes ticked by and suddenly the nurse working on Vala announced, "All done, Doctor Challis."
"Very good, Jenny," Jeffery replied, "You and the rest of your team can please close up shop over there and move Ms. Mal Duran into recovery. Then you can all come back here for the rest of the party."
"Yes doctor," Jenny replied as she and the others around Vala's table bustled about their final tasks. Within moments, two nurses were pushing her table out of the room while the rest removed their gloves, washed up at the sink, put on new gloves and joined the other two tables.
Up in the observation level, Daniel grew tense as he watched Vala being wheeled out of sight. He pursed his lips and recrossed his arms, watching the doorway silently. Jack watched his friend with a small smile. "Get over there, would ya?" he finally said chidingly.
The archaeologist hesitated for a second before tearing his gaze away from the door where Vala disappeared to look back at Jack. "It's okay," he said unconvincingly. "Sam's not out of the woods yet," he started, only to be cut off by Jack.
"I told ya," Jack answered with a slight smile. "I've got this one. You need to go see about your girl." Daniel still hesitated, glancing back into the operating room. Jack tilted his head slightly, "what, you want her to wake up from surgery all alone?"
Daniel looked over at this, meeting Jack's stare. "Go," O'Neill said quietly, nodding his head towards the door to his right, the same side of the operating room that they left with Vala.
Sighing heavily, the archaeologist finally nodded, smiling tensely at Jack. Without another word he left the room via the door Jack indicated, his pace slowly increasing with each step. O'Neill smiled at the sight, watching with satisfaction as Daniel was halfway to a run by the time he reached the doorway and disappeared from view.
Looking back down into the O-R below, Jack sighed heavily at the sight. The doctors had all but stopped talking, focusing only on the work before them, only speaking when they needed help. The General then stood up, turned the chair around, and sat down once more, leaning his crossed arms on the back of the seat. He realized that this was going to take some time. The gray-haired General rested his chin on his arms, watching quietly as his mind filled up with thoughts of Sam.
Daniel ran to the doorway of the main medical room in the SGC, coming to a stop as he reached the threshold. Looking inside with a hesitant and worried expression, he glanced about until he finally saw Vala laying in one of the many occupied beds along the wall, the other beds still filled with injured Jaffa from the attack on Dakara a few days ago. In all, it was a packed house. A couple of nurses were tending to her, ensuring all of the instruments were connected properly and double-checking her IV bags.
Slowly the archaeologist walked into the room, watching the raven-haired beauty quietly. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and even, as though she was asleep. He walked up to her bed and pulled up a chair, sitting down next to her. Not once did he take his eyes off of her, looking at her with a concerned, caring expression.
As he walked up, the first nurse finished what she was doing and walked off. The second nurse watched him out of the corner of her eye as he sat down, a small smile crossing her lips. As she finished her last job and went to go, she paused and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "She should be just fine," she told him softly. He glanced up at her touch, and she smiled warmly. "The surgery went very well. They only gave her local anesthetic so she might wake up soon."
He smiled, answering, "Thanks." The nurse nodded, walking off to leave him to his thoughts.
As she left, Daniel sat back in the chair and silently watched Vala's sleeping visage, the soft beeping of her heart monitor the only sound he could hear. He felt relieved that she was going to be alright. However, with his fear for her safety gone, he now felt even more guilty that he wasn't still waiting with Jack alongside Sam. Then again, he reasoned, Jack was right. There was no one else to wait with Vala. Sam would be unconscious during the rest of her surgery, while the raven haired woman laying in the bed by which he sat might wake up any time now.
The thought settled his mind, allowing him to put his guilt aside, at least for now. He breathed in deeply and simply looked at Vala's face. As he did, his mind started to wander yet again over the past several days.
Daniel found it all to be so bizarre. The series of events from the last three days had been simply bewildering. First, Vala steps through the gate like a phoenix from its ashes, dazzling him with her beauty and captivating him with her charm as never before. Before he'd even realized what was going on, she'd managed to find her way into his arms and into his bed. And even though he managed to withhold from her that deepest intimacy that she still so desperately sought after, it still frightened him how easy it would be to just cast his caution to the wind and throw himself into her wordless promises of carnal bliss. So much of him yearned for it, yet the rest of him was terrified at the same time.
Of course, it wasn't just the physical intimacy that scared him. The entire time he had feared her lost since the Ori beachhead, he had wrestled with himself over what she meant to him. Before disappearing, she had infuriated and tormented him, yet even then the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her – even though he would have never admitted it, not even to himself.
Now, with all that had passed between them in the last three days, he was more confused than ever. When she wasn't around, his doubts about how he felt for her would ravage his mind. Yet, whenever he looked at her, felt her touch, or heard her voice, his doubts would immediately start to whither away. All he wanted then was to be with her.
"Daniel...?" the soft sound of Vala's whisper immediately snapped him out of his reverie, lifting his eyes to look at her. He had been so deep in his thoughts he hadn't even realized his gaze had drifted away from her. Looking at her, he saw her eyes barely open. She looked disoriented, but then smiled slightly at the sight of him, reaching out her hand towards him.
Sitting forward in his chair, he smiled from ear to ear. "Hey there," he said quietly, taking her hand in his and squeezing it firmly. She squeezed back, her smile growing as she happily drew in a deep breath. At the same time, Daniel couldn't help but notice that her heart monitor was beeping a little more quickly.
Vala drew in a few deep breaths as she tried to get her bearings. Suddenly her smile disappeared and she looked very worried. "How's Sam?" she asked with a concerned voice.
He hesitated before answering, choosing his words carefully. "She's being taken care of," he told her gently with a reassuring smile. The raven-haired woman frowned slightly, her expression growing worried. Clearly, his words provided little comfort. Clearing his throat, he leaned in closer to her and said, "She's in surgery right now. We still don't know if she'll pull through, but her odds are better because of you." He paused, letting his words sink in with her. Vala's expression lightened slightly, but was thick with apprehension.
Daniel sighed, getting up from the chair and seating himself on the bed next to her. "Vala, you did everything you possibly could. No one thinks otherwise. Because of you, Sam's got a fighting chance." He smiled slightly at her, squeezing her hand. "You did good."
The raven-haired woman's expression relaxed considerably at this, a smile finally starting to show itself on the corners of her mouth. "That's better," he said playfully, winking. He watched happily as his words brought out a real smile from her. "How're you feeling?" he asked gently, trying to take her attention away from the matter.
She hesitated, but then answered, "Horrible." Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and lamented, "My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton, my mouth is dry and pasty, and I'm..." she paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm starving," she then said with finality. "Is there anything to eat around here?" she asked, looking around as she sat up a bit more.
"I think we can find you something," he answered with a smile, glad to see she was feeling good enough to want food. A nurse passed by and Daniel turned around, catching her attention, "Excuse me, I'm sorry, but can Vala have something to eat?"
The nurse stopped in mid stride, pausing to listen to the archaeologist's question. She picked up Vala's chart and looked it over quickly, then nodded. "Yes, that shouldn't be a problem." Looking over at the other woman, the nurse asked, "Would you like the turkey or the meatloaf?"
Vala frowned at the options, looking over to Daniel pleadingly. "Couldn't you just order me something from off base...?" she asked with pout, biting her bottom lip slightly. Since Daniel turned away from the nurse to look at Vala when she spoke, he couldn't see the other woman rolling her eyes at the show Vala put on.
"Uhm," he said, hesitating to answer. Turning around again to look up at the nurse, he asked, "Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Well, she really should be careful with the food she eats the first few days after surgery," the nurse answered with a warning voice. "While she only had local anesthesia, she might still have a problem keeping down foods if they're too rich. It's important to get some food down and keep it down at this point."
Vala frowned bitterly at the woman, regarding her disdainfully. She glanced over at Daniel as he turned to look back at her. "You should probably just pick one or the other, Vala..." The raven haired woman glared irritably at him, shifting in her bed with a frustrated sigh. "Look," he pleaded with her, "after you're better I'll make it up to you by taking you out to dinner, how about that?"
There were no words Daniel could find to describe the brilliant smile that blossomed on Vala's face as the words left his mouth. Of course, part of the reason he couldn't find the words was he was too stunned by what he had just said. Did he really just ask her out on a date?
"That sounds divine, Daniel," Vala quickly answered in a breathless voice, squeezing his hand tightly. As she answered, the three of them couldn't help but notice the beeping of her heart monitor growing considerably quicker, each looking over at the device as the display showed the quickening circadian rhythm of her heart.
Vala looked back at Daniel, who raised an eyebrow at her. She raised an eyebrow in return as she smiled shamelessly at him, saying, "See how you affect me, darling?"
The archaeologist blinked several times in surprise at her words, his cheeks suddenly flushing a bright red out to the tips of his ears. Feeling awkward, he glanced hesitantly behind him at the nurse, who was doing a very poor job at trying to suppress an amused smirk. He said weakly, "She'll uh," he paused and cleared his throat, "she'll take the meatloaf."
"Sure thing, Dr. Jackson," the nurse answered, turning to go. As she left, she glancing over at Vala, the two women sharing a knowing smile.
Daniel turned back to face Vala, his face still a bright crimson. For some reason he found it hard to make eye contact with her. Remembering that she had said she was thirsty, he glanced over at the table near her bed. "Would you, uhm, like a glass of water?" he asked tensely, seeing a pitcher and cup there.
Vala smirked at this, watching the archaeologist with adoring eyes. "Yes, please," she answered quietly. She watched him intently as he withdrew his hand from hers and pulled the small table closer to pour her a cup of water. A sweet smile flourished on her lips as she saw how his hands trembled while he fumbled with the cup, barely managing to pour her water without spilling any.
He handed the glass wordlessly to her as she continued to smile at him with that same confident, knowing look that kept his blush a bright red upon his cheeks. She made sure her hands brushed his as she took the cup, lingering in the touch sensuously, looking deeply into his eyes. Daniel couldn't help but look into her eyes as they touched, unable to resist in spite of his embarrassment.
As she took the glass from him, her other hand found his upon the bed, gently caressing him. He drew in a deep breath as he started to lose himself in the blue depths of her stare. They sat wordlessly together, their hands touching intimately. He could hear the fast beeping from her heart monitor, the sound mingling in his mind with the feeling of his own heart pounding in his chest. A small smile crept over his face as he idly imagined their heartbeats racing one another, seeing which could go faster.
Vala's smile only deepened as she saw the grin playing upon his lips. She entwined her fingers with his as she slowly took a sip of water, never taking her eyes from his for a moment. He squeezed her hand tightly at this, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"HEY DOC, WE NEED SOME HELP!" Daniel and Vala jumped as they heard the yelling, both turning to look as two orderlies hurriedly wheeled a body upon a gurney into the room. Nurses scrambled as the body was wheeled in and the doctor on duty came running over
"What's his condition?" the doctor asked in a hasty voice as he reached the gurney.
"He's got five gunshot wounds, three in the back and two in the stomach," the orderly answered as nurses swarmed around the table.
Vala blinked in shock at the description, looking on with a stunned expression. Daniel saw her reaction out of the corner of his eye. He looked away from the scene unfolding before them to ask her, "What's wrong?"
The raven-haired woman silently flicked him a distracted glance in return, barely meeting his gaze. She hesitated to answer as she was too distracted by the drama on the far side of the room. Furrowing her brow, she put the cup on the table and started to scoot towards the edge of the bed. "I need to get over there," she told him urgently.
"What?" he asked in shock, her reaction being the last thing he expected. Before he knew it, her feet were dangling above the floor as she sat on the edge of the bed opposite him. Sputtering, he continued, "Woah, woah, woah...hold on a minute..." She paused at his words, looking at him with considerable irritation. "Vala, you've just come out of surgery, there's no way you should be on your feet right now..."
"Daniel," she said angrily, cutting him off, "I need to get over there, now." He blinked at the intensity of her answer, completely taken aback. "Now you can either help me or not, but don't try and stop me."
With that, she shoved herself off the edge of the bed, and proceeded to head straight down. She yelped as she found her legs weren't working yet, scrambling to grab whatever she could to keep herself from landing on the floor. Daniel lunged forward, managing to wrap his arm about her chest and under her arms, barely able to keep her from landing in a pile on the side of the bed. She grabbed his arm as it roped about her and held onto him for all she was worth.
"Damn it, Vala," he said with as irritated a voice as she had used with him. "I'd have helped you if you'd have given me half a second," he rebuked her, grunting as he hauled her back up on the bed. Vala paid him no mind, however, watching the flurry of activity around the gurney as the doctors and nurses scrambled to try and save the dying man's life. As Daniel helped Vala park her bottom on the bed, he barked at her, "Now just hold on and let me help you."
Vala sighed at this, but offered no form of protest, merely glancing at Daniel but then looking back over at the far side of the room, watching the bustling area with an intense interest. Daniel quickly move around to her side of the bed, wheeled the stand with her instruments and IV bags out, and quickly helped her disentangle all of the various cords and tubes. Her face grew more tense the longer it took, though only a few seconds passed.
Suddenly on the far side of the room they heard a heart monitor flat line. They heard a nurse shout out, "He's asystolic!" Vala looked over in a panic at this, suddenly jumping down to the floor again, before Daniel was ready. The archaeologist cursed loudly at her again, catching her up in his arms as he juggled with both her stand and keeping her on her feet.
The doctor immediately replied, "Charge up to 300 volts!" The loud whine of a defibrillator could be heard throughout the room. "Clear!" he yelled, and suddenly they heard the loud thumping of the charge being administered.
"Still nothing," the nurse reported, the electronic whistle of the cardiogram a harsh affirmation of her words.
"Again!" the doctor answered hastily, and the sequence repeated itself. This time, a rhythm could be heard.
"He's back," the nurse reported, "but his blood pressure is extremely low."
"Get me over there, Daniel," Vala said urgently, trying to make her legs work. The archaeologist looked at her with a frustrated and confused eye, but wordlessly complied. Sighing, he put his arm around her back and under her arm, helping her put her other arm over his shoulders, being mindful of her IV leads in her elbow.. He muttered under his breath as he fought with the tubes and wires, and also tried to hold onto the stand with her medical paraphernalia. It took a few steps for them to get coordinated, but soon enough he was able to help her limp over, though he was all but carrying her. He found it tricky to help her walk and wheel long the stand, but somehow he managed it.
The two hobbled over, Daniel watching Vala intently as they moved. When they came within ten feet or so of the table, Vala said quietly with a distracted voice, "This is close enough, Daniel." The raven haired woman watched the activity intently, but Daniel could tell she wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing. Then she closed her eyes tightly.
"Vala, what," Daniel started to ask, only for Vala to shush him. He watched as she drew in a few deep breaths, her brow furrowed in intense concentration.
Suddenly the EGK flat lined again, sending the doctors and nurses scrambling once more. They tried again to try and revive the man. This time, however, the defibrillator failed to restore his heart, and the loud electronic whine of the instrument continued unchanged.
Finally the lead doctor stopped trying. "Time of death, seventeen hundred and fifty-three hours," he pronounced as a nurse turned off the noise.
Vala opened her eyes at this, sighing with a worried expression. Daniel continued to look at her, confused. "Vala, what's going on?" he asked in frustration.
Glancing over to him, she said simply, "That was Sergeant Martin Keegan."
Daniel blinked in shock at this, looking over. He caught a glimpse of the face as they pulled the sheet over it, just like the last time when he'd passed by the same body in the hall outside of the Gateroom. He looked over to one of the orderlies that brought him into the room just minutes ago. "Hey you," he called out, "I thought he was already dead!"
"So did we, sir," the one replied as the two moved to the gurney while the nurses and doctors cleaned up from their efforts. "We took him to the coroner's room, and he suddenly gasped out a breath about an hour later, while we were helping the doc over there with one of the other bodies. Then we brought him over here right away." Daniel hesitated at the answer, then glanced over to Vala. She nodded, and the two men started to wheel the corpse back out of here.
"So what was this all about, Vala?" Daniel asked her, still confused.
"With how awful I'm feeling and how far away he was, I couldn't be sure until I got closer," she began. The archaeologist furrowed his brows as she continued, "but now I'm certain. Keegan didn't die a Goa'uld." She looked up at Daniel with a deathly serious expression. "The symbiote jumped hosts at some point." Daniel's eyes grew wide in alarm as she added with finality, "We still have a live Goa'uld on the base, Daniel."
Captain Peterson strode down the empty hallway towards the security door with the two SFs standing guard outside. "I'm here to take custody of the prisoner," he announced, "General Landry wants him transferred to Area 51."
The two guards looked to one another, then back to him. The man on the left side of the door replied, "We haven't heard of any such..." before the man could finish speaking, Peterson had drawn his sidearm and shot the man to the right, striking him in the neck. As the other's body crumpled to the ground, the man who was speaking tried to draw his weapon, but Peterson shot him in the chest first.
The Captain walked over as the man's lifeless corpse collapsed to the floor. He dispassionately crouched down and searched the body, taking a few things. Standing, he swiped the dead man's access card in the reader and opened the door.
Stepping inside, he suddenly raised his pistol as he saw a man in a black suit pointing a gun in his face. In a flash, the prisoner behind the other man jumped out of his chair and struck Agent Michaels in the back, causing his arm to flail wildly as he fired off a round, the bullet ricocheting off the wall harmlessly.
It was all the opportunity that Peterson needed. He continued raising his weapon and shot Michaels several times as he stumbled from the blow the prisoner gave him. The man fell to the floor, red blood quickly pooling on the ground around his body.
The prisoner regarded Captain Peterson warily, looking at the gun with caution. Peterson holstered the weapon and took the other item he pulled from the guard's corpse. He walked over to the prisoner and started to free him. "I am Kethmal," he announced in the voice of the Goa'uld, "and I am here to call you back into the service of our mistress."
The prisoner watched Kethmal warily, allowing him to undo the shackles. "What can we possibly do?" He asked bitterly. "You may be able to hide among them, but I cannot so easily disappear."
Kethmal grinned, "We are not to hide," he answered, "We are to strike at them."
"Just the two of us?" the prisoner asked disdainfully.
"No," the Goa'uld replied. "Artix has arrived," he answered with a grin. The prisoner's eyes lit up at this, sharing the same malevolent smile with the other.