Jack woke with a start. The sounds of activating chevrons on the stargate stood out amongst the subtle din of forest sounds. The calm air made the sound stand out even more, loud and clear enough to wake Jack from his hazy nap. His mind caught up with reality just before the gate activated and he heard the kawoosh as he blinked his eyes open. He swiped a thread of drool out of the corner of his mouth and stared at it for a moment as he got his bearings, then wiped it off on his pant leg.
He sat up behind the log and twisted a stiff neck in the direction of the sound…
Suddenly he was fully awake as he saw the gate suspended horizontal in the air above a mechanical arm stretching up from the ground.
"Where the hell did you send me, Walter?" Jack mumbled as he pulled on his pack and fingered his P-90.
A few seconds later a faint rumble/whine drifted over the treetops from what Jack guessed was the west, based on the direction of the planet's sun. It grew in volume until a rectangular ship appeared over the gap in the forest surrounding the gate.
It took up position over the event horizon and opened a concealed bay on the underside of the ship. A moment later a long, thick stream of grain poured out into the puddle, emptying the hold of the Aschen harvester.
"Oh, crap," Jack said aloud as he looked around the area to make sure he was alone. "I gotta get out of here."
The grain falling from the harvester shown a golden brown in the heavy sunlight, but Jack saw blue highlights intermittently and frowned.
Blue corn?
As the last bits fell through the stargate, Jack noticed the same blue highlights reflecting off the ship…coming somewhere from above. He couldn't see anything above him, save for tree leaves, but the pattern of flashing resembled weapons fire.
Was someone fighting the Aschen? he wondered.
The stargate deactivated as the harvester drifted off back to whatever field it had come from and the giant mechanical arm pulled the ring back into its usual standing position. The arm disappeared somewhere beneath the gate and all appeared as it had been before. The DHD was beside the gate and easily accessible.
Wait, Jack cautioned himself. He needed to let the harvester get farther away…and he needed to find another address to dial.
Jack slipped his pack off and dug out the full list of stargate addresses that Walter had given him.
"Let's see what we've got here," he said as he scanned through the alphanumerical numbering system. Fortunately there was another column off to the right side of the list with the formal planet names and/or descriptions.
"Ah," he said, spying an old address, "haven't seen her in a while. Couldn't hurt to stop in for a visit, share some laughs, get a fresh cooked meal…and figure out what the hell I'm going to do with myself."
Jack folded the paper back so his designated address and a few others were the only ones showing. He palmed the paper in his left hand while his right feathered the trigger of his weapon. He didn't think anyone was around, but he was feeling jittery, and if that really was weapons fire…
Jack got up from cover and made it three steps past the log when a large sonic boom shook him to the bone. He glanced up out of reflex but still couldn't see through the forest canopy. He glanced around the perimeter quickly, then jogged out into the clearing around the gate and looked up.
Hundreds of small dots smothered the sky around four large ships of some sort. They all looked black against the pale blue sky, but he could have swore he saw a blue bolt pass between two of them.
Silently one of the large black dots exploded into a debris cloud. A few long seconds later and a loud bang shook the forest for a second time.
"That's some firepower," Jack said in awe, squinting to see better.
He stood transfixed for several minutes, watching the battle overhead. Despite the danger of the situation, Jack wanted to see what happened. The Aschen had nearly destroyed every living thing on Earth…and it looked like someone was kicking their ass.
When there was only one large ship remaining the swarm of small dots began to thin. Whoever this was, was mopping up the little guys before they did whatever it was they were here to do.
Jack figured it was his time to leave.
He walked casually over to the DHD and began to dial the address he held in his palm. He got through half the symbols before a large shadow covered the clearing. The light source reappeared immediately as the remaining ship passed between O'Neill and the sun.
Jack paused and looked up. The black blot was getting bigger, which meant it was coming closer to the surface…but not quite towards him. Never the less, it was beginning to take shape. After a long minute the hammerhead silhouette disappeared beneath the horizon off to the west.
"No way," Jack said breathlessly.
"Colonel Mitchell," a voice echoed through Cam's cell.
"Teal'c?" Cam asked, setting up on the floor. He didn't see anyone.
"I am here," the Jaffa's voice said from outside the cell bars.
"Am I glad to see…hear you," Cam said, jumping to his feet. "Don't suppose you have the key?"
"I have my staff weapon, but firing it will alert the guards further down the hall. I have spotted at least three on this level."
"How did you get away?" Cam asked, grabbing the bars to lean on.
"I was rendered unconscious with the rest of you…but I remained cloaked. I was fortunate they did not discover me."
"Or trip over you," Cam added. "So…what's the plan," he whispered.
"I can free you," Teal'c offered, "but I have yet to locate the others. This facility appears to be quite large with many levels. I have searched five. You are the first I have found."
"I haven't seen or heard from anyone since I passed out," Cam told the invisible Jaffa. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
"None."
"Alright...," Cam said reluctantly. "Leave me here and find the others."
"I will return as quickly as possible, Colonel Mitchell."
"And be careful. If you get caught we're screwed."
Nobody answered him. Apparently Teal'c had already left.
"Wastes no time," Cam said to himself, approving. "Typical Teal'c."
The Goa'uld left the interrogation chamber and traveled down to the bottom of the elevator shaft and exited on level 56, buried deep within the planet's bedrock. He walked down a short, empty hallway and opened a door onto a maintenance catwalk that spanned a large, pipe-filled room that accommodated the facility's sewage and water recycling systems, geothermal power tap, and air conditioning system.
The door swung shut with a click and left him alone in the monstrous level. No one ever came down here except when something malfunctioned…and with the modifications the Goa'uld had surreptitiously made to the design blueprints such malfunctions were few and far between, making it a suitable place to hide the entrance to the secret chamber.
The Goa'uld entered a code into a simple numerical keypad on the access panel of one of the power transfer control boxes and received an error tone for an incorrect sequence.
On the opposite wall a bare section of concrete slid out and aside, revealing a narrow passage which the Goa'uld quickly entered, tapping an interior 'close' button as he passed through. The thick panel retracted and resealed with the seam all but disappearing into the white concrete grain pattern.
A few steps later and the passage opened into a high, octagonal room. On the left was a staircase rising up around the circumference to a pair of higher levels with offshoots into the bedrock. On the bottom floor was a Goa'uld-style control console set below a large display screen.
The Goa'uld walked across to the platform and placed his hand into the glowing niche. He felt the rudimentary mental link establish and called up the recent status reports from offworld.
"Hmmn," he mumbled as he read through the report on the relocation of the Tauri stargate. "That went smoother than I expected…though they managed to alienate O'Neill in the process. Sloppy," he said disapprovingly.
O'Neill's influence with Bra'tac and his Ancient-enhanced Jaffa was a key element in their efforts to escape retribution for current and future actions, ostensibly on the part of Earth's natural inhabitants. Losing him would mean they'd have to tread more carefully, lest they risk a reprisal. Moreover, if O'Neill relayed information of the events on Earth to Bra'tac personally, then they could be looking at a Jaffa invasion to restore order to the planet, which would set back their efforts considerably.
"Never give a Human a task that requires intelligence," he grumbled.
Still, if somehow they were able to lay low and avoid immediate retribution then the relocation of the stargate to their facility in Egypt would be a significant boon to their efforts to set up a Tauri empire across the worlds that were once held by the Goa'uld. If they were very lucky, then this blunder could work to their advantage.
The Goa'uld rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. If the new SGC had gone online, then SG-1's value had to be reevaluated. It was questionable whether or not they would cooperate, retire, or act as a burr against their efforts. Perhaps it would be better if they just disappeared anonymously…
With a few select thoughts the Goa'uld activated the long range communication system. A large globe rose up from the floor on his left and he turned to face it. A few moments delay followed before a woman's face and torso appeared.
"Yes?" she asked passively. Her voice resonated in typical Goa'uld fashion.
"SG-1 managed to track down the Chinese facility. They were captured upon entry, unharmed, but the dark-haired female identified me. No one told me she was a former Host."
The female Goa'uld frowned angrily. "You know we cannot allow even the slightest breach," she admonished him. "Kill them immediately."
"I have them isolated from each other," he told her. "Only the dark-haired one knows. Do we really want to squander the entire team if not necessary?"
"They are obsolete," she said with finality. "Now that we control the Chappa'ai, we need to remove the dissentious elements and replace them with the ignorant…you know the method."
"I do, but I would caution against wasting valuable resources. Their personal ties to Bra'tac may be of use as a shield against retaliation. Not to mention this new Ancient if he truly originated from Earth."
"You overestimate their worth. Their absence is far more valuable to future operations. Dispose of them at once."
The male Goa'uld bowed his head. "Yes, my queen."
The transmission cut off from the other end and the sphere retracted back into the floor.
The Goa'uld stood there for a long time afterwards, thinking.
