My thanks to Barbrarossa Robart for the encouraging review.
Stargate: SVU 2
Chapter Twelve
Ke'tesh watched with despair as an empire crumbled all around him.
No sooner did Ke'tesh arrive in the planetary defense control room than he heard the worst possible news he could have received on this dark day: the invaders have stepped up their attack all over the planet. The Netian forces, who were already caught off guard by the initial attack, were now hard-pressed to even hold their ground, much less push them back.
The view screens within the bunker that was the PDCR showed shocking images of the city of Mount Tanis coming under direct assault by death gliders and alkesh-class ships, which bombed the buildings into smoldering ruins. When Ke'tesh tried to get an assessment of the Netian forces, he was displeased to discover that there was none.
He glanced about the PDCR and saw that it was seriously understaffed--much of the planetary defense staff had already run for their lives. And judging by the nervous and uncertain manner the remaining staff displayed, it would not be long before they, too, deserted their posts.
'I have finally assumed command of the Netian Empire,' Ke'tesh dismally thought. 'Only to serve as its momentary caretaker while it expires.'
He did a double take when one of the screens displayed a Ha'tak-class ship landing on the roof of the vault. He pointed at the unnerving sight and said, "We already have landings of enemy troops at the vault!"
"No, my Lord," the lead Jaffa reported. "That is one of our own ships."
Ke'tesh relaxed when he saw the crossed arrows over the shield on the ship, the symbol of the Netian Empire. Perhaps the commander of that Ha'tak decided to take matters into his own hands by raiding the vault for weapons. Ke'tesh realized that was what he should be doing, taking the fight to the invaders, rather than hiding here in a bunker.
"That Ha'tak commander is a loyal citizen and a worthy leader who has the right idea," Ke'tesh said, as he gazed at the landed Ha'tak with admiration. "Assemble a squad of your best Jaffa warriors. They shall accompany me over to the vault, and we shall all fight side by side with this hero of the Netian Empire."
SG-1: SVU
"Oh, whoa," Rodney said, once the ring transporter materialized them inside the vault. At first he had been amazed at the very machine which deposited them down here. But once he saw the vault, with its menagerie of exotic alien technology, Rodney looked like a little kid in a candy store.
When Olivia glanced around, she couldn't help but share his enthusiasm. Now that they were able to finally look around the vault--without worrying about being shot at--she could finally take in the wonder of the place. The ceiling was so high it disappeared into the shadows, yet there were shafts of light that shone down on the various pieces of equipment that were stored here. Each device was of varying size, from smaller than a bread box to as large as a car, and they all had what looked like a truly alien design.
'Which makes sense,' Olivia thought, 'since the Goa'ulds are pack rats, stealing technology wherever they can find it, then it's a good bet that aliens probably designed these things.'
Just before they ringed down, O'Neill had arranged for the rest of the people that they left back at the storage area to be brought to the Ha'tak, using a small fleet of three alkesh ships that they found in the hanger deck. This evacuation was being carried out now, while Olivia went "shopping" in the vault with Rodney, O'Neill and the others.
"Everybody fan out," O'Neill ordered. "Daniel, Carter, Dr. McKay, Lieutenants Hailey and Lt. Satterfield, take a good look around at the assembled toys. Give a shout if you see anything good. Doc Frasier, your patient is an Asgard located in one of those tubes."
"What about the rest of us?" Olivia asked, as she stood with Teal'c, Char'el and the rest of the Jaffa loyal to Io'tan.
Casey was also with them--much to Olivia's chagrin. She had wanted Casey to wait up in the Ha'tak, with Io'tan, Bra'tac, Jacob and the others, but Casey would have none of it; she wanted to go with Char'el. Olivia suspected that Casey's relationship with the Jaffa was more than that of close friends, because she didn't want to be separated from him.
"Liv, you, Teal'c and the rest of the Jaffa are on patrol with me," O'Neill told her. "While the others go shopping, I want the rest of us to keep our eyes and ears open. Casey, you can come--"
"Sir!" Sam anxiously called, as she abruptly stared down at the floor. "You need to see this!"
"That was quick," O'Neill commented, as he, Olivia and everybody else ran over to her. "What did you find, Carter?"
"Not what, sir--who," Carter said, as she gestured at the body of Mut.
There was a moment of stunned silence as everybody stared at the deceased Lord Empress, who lay with her arms over her head, looking like a discarded doll on the floor. Janet knelt over the body and felt her wrists for a pulse--then she checked Mut's neck. She glanced up at O'Neill with a shocked look as she continued to feel around Mut's neck.
"Is she--?" O'Neill started to ask.
"Oh, she's dead, sir," Janet replied with a firm nod. "No doubt about that."
"What happened to her?" Sam asked, still stunned.
"It feels like her neck was broken," Janet said. "Can't tell if it was broken from her fall, or if it was broken before she fell…."
"Can't say I feel sorry," Sam muttered.
"I know how you feel," Olivia said with a nod. The only problem for her was, now that Mut was dead, where the hell was Elliot? Was he still alive? Was he the one who killed Mut?
"All right, Mut is dead," O'Neill said firmly. "We've still got a job to do, kids. Let's try and inventory whatever we can here. Frasier, leave the stiff to rot and deal with the Asgard in the stasis tube. He's in the tube on your left."
"Oh, my God," Rodney said, as he stared at a crate. It was as long as a coffee table. "I-I think this is a bomb! Look at the writing on the side, here."
"It's in Goa'uld," Daniel confirmed. "'Behold this mighty hammer of God, who will smite thy enemies….'"
Rodney and Sam carefully opened the crate, and Olivia saw a weird looking device inside that had what looked like two containers on either end of it.
"He's right, sir," Sam said with a nod. "It's a matter/antimatter bomb. The two ingredients are kept separate by a force field. But once they combine, you get a very nasty explosion."
"Really?" O'Neill said, looking impressed. "A big honking bomb? Cool! Just what we need. Load it on the ring transporter platform."
"How?" Rodney asked. "It doesn't have wheels."
"Jaffa," Char'el ordered, as he gestured for them to pick up the bomb.
"Found the Asgard," Janet called, as she gazed at him through the glass of the tube. "He wasn't too hard to find, sir, since this is the only one of the stasis tubes that's occupied."
"Ok, that's--wait a minute! What?!" O'Neill said, as he exchanged a wary look with Sam. "There should be a guy dressed in a black cloak in the other stasis tube, Fraiser."
Janet's eyes were comically wide--it looked as if Janet thought she had done something wrong--as she quickly rechecked the second tube. "Nobody in here, sir."
O'Neill ran over to her and stared into the second tube. "Great," he said, sounding royally annoyed. "Just great! Where the hell did he go, now?"
"Uh-oh," Sam said, as she brought her P90 up. Hailey and Satterfield, taking their cue from her, did the same. "I think we now know what happened to Mut…but what happened to Anubis?"
Olivia stopped short when she saw a shape move within the shadows just beyond the periphery of the vault storage area. "Oh, good Christ," she muttered, as she slowly raised her Glock. "Uh, I think I found him, guys….."
"Indeed you have, Olivia Benson," Teal'c said, as he glared in the same direction that she did. Without warning, he raised his staff weapon and opened fire on the shadowy shape in the darkness.
Olivia was caught off guard by this; Teal'c must have far better vision than she did, because Olivia could barely see the bastard in the darkness, let alone know where to shoot.
"You get him?" O'Neill asked, as he moved in with his P90 aimed at the area where Teal'c had fired.
"I do not know, O'Neill," Teal'c said somberly.
"W-What's going on?" a wide-eyed Rodney asked.
"Dr. McKay, continue taking the bomb up to the Ha'tak, now," O'Neill told him, as he scanned the darkness with his P90 at the ready. "And stay up there."
"Don't have to tell me twice," McKay muttered, as he and the Jaffa who carried the matter/antimatter bomb moved briskly towards the ring transporter platform.
When she heard McKay let out a startled yell, Olivia spun around and saw the Dark One. He/she/it stood right on the ring transporter platform, blocking access to McKay and the Jaffa--who quickly put the bomb down to pull out their staff weapons.
But it was too late.
Anubis held out his hands, and when he did, electric blue lightning shot out at the Jaffa, scattering them around like bowling pins. A panicked McKay had just barely took cover behind the bomb's casing in time to avoid being hit.
"DROP HIM!" O'Neill shouted.
Every P90, handgun, staff weapon and zat held within the group opened fire at that point right on Anubis, who cringed momentarily from the withering gunfire. Then he pulled back his hood and let out a defiant roar.
And in that moment, once Olivia saw his face, her eyes went wide with sheer terror.
For Lord Anubis--the Dark One--truly had the face of a jackal. And it wasn't merely an elaborate mask--but the actual face of the animal that literally snarled with hatred at them as it flung out its hands at them once more. Everyone took cover behind whatever piece of equipment that was nearby as the electric blue light flashed out right over them. Olivia found herself kneeling down with Casey clinging tightly to her as they both watched the lighting reach out above them like an angry claw.
Olivia, turned to Casey and said, "Happy you came with us now, Space Princess?"
Casey, who huddled tightly next to Olivia, just shot her an annoyed look. "You see Char'el anywhere around here?" she asked, as she anxiously glanced around them. "Is he all right?"
"I'm sure he's fine, Case," Olivia told her, as she gave Casey a meaningful look. "You and him have become the best of buds, huh?"
Casey appeared embarrassed. "Um, yeah, we've become close…."
"I've noticed," Olivia said. When she saw the blue lightning had ceased, Olivia warily gazed over the top of the crate that she and Casey sought cover behind. As she peered over the top of the crate, Olivia also brought her Glock up as well, with her finger on the trigger.
She couldn't see Anubis; nor could she see any other members of SG-1, either. Olivia was about to call out when something grabbed her shoulder, which caused her to nearly jumped out of her skin in fear--until Olivia was relieved to see that it was just Sam, who was crouched down next to her behind the crate.
"Easy, easy," Sam whispered into her ear. "Just checking on you guys. You two ok?"
Casey--who looked like she had also been frightened by Sam's abrupt and unexpected appearance--nodded quickly.
"Where did Anubis go?" Olivia whispered.
Sam just shook her head. "Don't know. He just stopped shooting and vanished. I'm still wondering why Neith would place him in stasis fully armed with ribbon devices."
"Everybody all right?" O'Neill called over the radio. "Sound off, kids! Over."
Everyone, including Casey--who was relieved to hear Char'el's voice--sounded off for O'Neill. The entire SG-1 team had taken cover from Anubis behind the various boxes and pieces of equipment in the vault, so while Olivia couldn't see them, she could still hear them. It soon became apparent that one of Char'el's Jaffa had not been heard from.
"I-I got a dead guy here!" Rodney cried aloud, sans radio. "At least, I think he's dead!"
Janet urgently crept past Olivia, Sam and Casey in a crouch. Then, looking lost, Janet paused and called, "Where are you, Rodney?"
"I-I'm right next to the big thing," he called back.
Janet shared a bewildered look with Sam as Olivia said, "Uh, could you be a little more specific than that, McKay?"
"What do you want from me?" he whined. "I'm surrounded by a bunch of boxes that all look alike, while Bobo the Dog-Faced Boy is doing his impersonation of Emperor Palpatine over here!"
"Is he speaking English?" Casey muttered with a frown.
"I got a fix on his location," Janet said with a nod.
"I'm coming with you," Sam told her.
"Count me in, too," Olivia said. She glanced at Casey and added, "You joining us?"
Casey shrugged, as she brought her zat up to bear. "Why not? I wouldn't be much of a space princess if I didn't."
Olivia grinned broadly as she crept along in a crouch with Janet and Sam, with Casey bringing up the rear. They found Rodney, who was huddled over a prone Jaffa, over in the next junction.
"Oh, thank God," he muttered, as Janet knelt down next to the Jaffa and examined him. "He got hit when that dog-eared monstrosity started waving--!"
He stopped when Sam made a gesture for him to quiet down. "That monstrosity is still wandering around here," she whispered. "So keep it down."
He glared at her. "Wait a minute, I was just shouting at you before…why didn't you tell me to be quiet, then?"
"Because we had to find out where you were," Olivia muttered, as she knelt with her Glock at the ready, on guard for Anubis.
"Oh nice, real nice…." McKay said indignantly.
"Fraiser," O'Neill softly called over the radio, "you find the downed man yet? Over."
After briefly checking the man's vitals, Janet keyed her radio. "Yes sir. He's alive. But just barely. I need to get him back up tot the Ha'tak, pronto. Over."
"That might be a problem," Olivia said, as a dark figure rose up just a few feet away from them. "Bobo's back."
Anubis let out another tremendous roar as he raised his hands and fired that lethal blue electric lightning once more. And Olivia was stunned to see that, instead of ribbon devices, the blue energy bolts came directly out of the tips of his fingers.
She barely had time to register the shock, because Anubis had abruptly turned their way and noticed them.
"Oh, God, he sees us!" Rodney cried from behind her.
"Let's make it the very last thing he sees," Sam said grimly, as she aimed her P90 right at Anubis and opened fire.
Olivia joined in with her Glock, quickly emptying the clip right into Anubis.
For his part, Anubis merely stood there, now seemingly impervious to their bullets, as he slowly raised his hands in their direction. Just then Sam's P90 let out a sharp clicking sound, which indicated that she was out of bullets.
Casey shot Anubis several times with her zat, with no effect.
"My turn," Anubis said, as he opened his hands at the women.
"Oh, Christ," Olivia muttered with dread, "this is gonna hurt…."
SG-1: SVU
"Jaffa, with me!" Teal'c shouted, once he saw Anubis turn on Major Carter, Olivia Benson and the others. "Target Anubis!"
Char'el and several of his Jaffa stood up with Teal'c as they all aimed their staff weapons. Just as Anubis opened his hands to fire point-blank on the women, Teal'c ordered all of them to fire at once.
Six staff weapons all blazed away in one volley, and when they struck Anubis, the unnatural creature let out a roar of fury as it was helplessly knocked down to the ground.
"Way to go! Keep him pinned down," O'Neill said, as he stood up. "Carter, get everybody over here, now!"
When Anubis arose again, Teal'c and the other Jaffa fired at him in a massive volley, once more using their staff weapons as artillery. Anubis roared angrily at them as the force of their weapons forced him to fall backwards once more.
Although he stood defiantly shooting down Anubis wherever he arose, Teal'c could not help but feel a chill crawl up his spine. He recalled the words of Io'tan, who said that Anubis had been a daunting enemy to Neith, because he could not be killed. And now Teal'c saw for himself the unsual power of Anubis, and wondered how they could defeat an enemy who was unkillable.
"What manner of beast is this?" Char'el asked him, as they all scanned the vault for Anubis. "The power of our combined staff weapons should have blasted him out of this world--instead, they merely knock him off his feet!"
"I do not know," Teal'c replied, as he watched Major Carter and the others quickly scramble to safety behind their lines. He glanced at O'Neill. "But, whatever he is, Anubis must not be set free on the galaxy."
"Easier said than done," Major Carter muttered. "This guy's not your regular Goa'uld. In fact, I doubt he's a Goa'uld at all."
"What is he, then?" Lt. Satterfield asked. "Some kind of an experiment gone wrong?"
"No," Char'el replied. "It is said that he was a Goa'uld, once. One who committed horrible atrocities."
"Yes, I have heard the stories as well," Teal'c said. "These terrible acts he committed caused him to be hunted down by the other Goa'uld."
"Whatever the hell he is," O'Neill said, as he pointed at a dark figure, "here he comes again!"
Teal'c and the other Jaffa--as well as the rest of SG-1--all raised their weapons and fired at Anubis. But Anubis had deftly side-stepped this new volley, and while he did this, he managed to shoot a volley of his own: blue electric energy streaked out from his hand and struck several more of Char'el's Jaffa.
"Hit the deck!" O'Neill ordered. "Now!"
Teal'c reluctantly dived to the floor just before the blast of energy swept over his postion. Then he got back up and aimed his staff weapon at Anubis, lest the Dark One tried to attack their position.
But something strange had happened.
Anubis simply stood there, staring at something on his left.
When Teal'c glanced over in that direction, he saw a legion of Jaffa who stood there, staring back at Anubis with great distress. At the head of this small army was a man who looked very familiar to Teal'c.
It was Detective Elliot Stabler.
SG-1: SVU
"Elliot!" Olivia cried, just before she saw Anubis throw another blast of that weird blue energy right at him.
Olivia got to her feet and started to run towards where she saw Elliot fall, until a pair of powerful arms grabbed her from behind.
It was Teal'c.
"Let me go!" Olivia cried. "That's Elliot over there, I have to get to him!"
"Olivia Benson, observe," he told her. "It is too dangerous!"
She saw that Anubis was now engaged in an all-out battle with the Jaffa whom Elliot had brought with him. Elliot, who had been struck point blank by Anubis' energy bolts, lay sprawled out on the floor just a few feet away.
"C'mon, let's hit the ring transporter platform," O'Neill ordered the group. "While dog boy's busy with those other guys! Move it!"
Olivia was helplessly carried away by Teal'c, until Casey abruptly stood in front him, blocking his way. She stared pleadingly at him. "Teal'c, let her go. We need to get Elliot."
"But O'Neill has ordered us to--"
"To hell with that!" Olivia cried, as she struggled in vain to get herself free from Teal'c's grip. "Elliot's hurt. Just let us try to rescue him!"
Daniel appeared. He leaned over to Teal'c and said, "Let her go, Teal'c."
"But O'Neill has ordered--"
"I know what Jack ordered," Daniel calmly told him. "And, Liv's right: to hell with it. Let her go, Teal'c, now."
When Teal'c released her, Daniel firmly took Olivia's hand in her own and said, "Now c'mon, let's go get Elliot."
Olivia was so moved that she could have kissed him right then and there. They both ran hand in hand over to where Elliot lay. Casey followed--as did Teal'c, who kept an eye on the battle between Anubis and the other Jaffa, as he covered them with his staff weapon.
When she and Daniel examined Elliot, Olivia saw there were scorched spots on Elliot's skin, where the blue energy from Anubis had struck him, but Olivia was grateful to see that his pulse was still strong. She and Daniel began to pick up the still-unconscious Elliot when Casey saw Char'el run up to them.
"No, get to safety with the others," Casey told the Jaffa. "We'll join you--"
But Char'el ignored her as he stood with Teal'c and also covered them, with his staff weapon at the ready. "Where you go, Casey Novak," he told her, "I go as well."
"Ooo, looks like the space princess has got a boyfriend," Daniel said in a sing-song taunt, as he and Olivia each carried Elliot along with his arms over their shoulders. Char'el and Teal'c brought up the rear.
Casey shot him an outraged look over her bare shoulder as she ran ahead of the group, who were all headed back to the ring transport platform.
SG-1: SVU
"Wait," O'Neill said, as he gazed at the assembled group on the ring platform, "we're missing people!"
Carter pointed past his shouder. "Over there, sir."
O'Neill let out a disgusted sigh when he saw Olivia, Daniel, Casey and Teal'c running over towards the battle between Anubis and the other Jaffa. Char'el then ran over and joined the group.
"Damn it," he angrily said. "Whatever happened to following orders? Does the fact that I'm a colonel mean nothing to these people?"
"Well, technically, they are all civilians, sir," Carter said with a shrug.
O'Neill gave her an annoyed double take. But before he could respond, McKay began pointing fearfully at something. "Uh, um, the-the-the-the-the-the…."
"What?!" O'Neill snapped at him. "Spit it out!"
"THE BOMB!" McKay screamed.
O'Neill stared at the matter/antimatter bomb, which didn't look like there was anything was wrong with it--until he saw the sparking that came out of the side.
When they went over to it, O'Neill saw that the protective casing had been badly damaged, probably from one of the many bolts of energy that Anubis had been flinging around the place. "I don't believe this," O'Neill grumbled. "Of all the things in here that had to get hit, it's got to be the doomsday bomb."
"We'd better get it off the platform, sir," Carter told him, after she and Hailey opened the casing and examined the bomb itself. "It's too unstable to ring up to the Ha'tak. The force field between the matter and antimatter is fluctuating badly."
"And that's bad?"
"Very bad, sir," Hailey said. "Big badda-boom."
"Oh, that's bad," O'Neill muttered, as he, along with Hailey, Satterfield and several of the Jaffa, all shoved the bomb off the platform. He saw Olivia and Daniel were carrying Elliot in-between them, while Teal'c and Char'el brought up the rear. "Everybody get back on the platform, and tell Bra'tac to get ready for a very fast take off!"
"What about you, sir?" Fraiser called.
"I'll catch the next ride up with the others," he told them. He hit the button on the wall, and Janet, along with the others, were surrounded by several rings that dropped down form the ceiling. Soon they were all beamed upwards to the Ha'tak.
O'Neill did another double take when he saw Carter was standing next to him. "I said everybody get on the platform, Major! What are you doing here?"
"Watching your back, sir," she said. "Looks like you're going to need the help, too. Anubis is just about done chewing up that group of Jaffa."
"C'mon, c'mon," O'Neill called, as Casey ran past him--followed by Daniel and Olivia, who carried Elliot. "Get on the platform! Everybody on the platform, and that also means you, Major."
"I'll get on when you do, sir."
"Sam," he said in a warning tone.
"Jack," she responded with equal seriousness. "If Olivia couldn't leave without Elliot, then I'm sure as hell not leaving without you."
Teal'c and Char'el stopped and spun around to shoot at Anubis, who had turned his attention towards them.
"As long as you're sticking around, you got any explosives, Major?"
Carter pulled out two hand grenades and gave him one. "Grenades are a girl's best friend, sir."
"I thought it was diamonds," O'Neill said, as he pulled the pin. He held the safety down with his finger. "Teal'c, Char'el, break off and hit the ring platform, now!"
"Here, in this place, right now--it's grenades, sir," Carter replied. She pulled the pin on her grenade and also held down the safety as Teal'c and Char'el ran past them, headed towards the ring platform, where they joined Casey, Olivia, Daniel and the unconscious Elliot.
Anubis reared back his head and let out another ear-splitting roar as he charged right at O'Neill and Carter.
"This guy's a regular Terminator, huh?" Carter commented, her eyes wide.
"More like the Energizer Bunny…and just as annoying," O'Neill said, shaking his head. "Hey, Fido! Go fetch!"
Both he and Carter then threw their grenades right at Anubis. The grenades landed right at the monster's feet.
O'Neill and Carter then turned and ran back to the ring platform. O'Neill made a short detour to the controls long enough to just hit the button. Then he wound up sliding onto the platform just as the rings dropped down around them. He lay on his back beside Carter, who knelt down, out of breath.
"Oh, that's gotta hurt," Daniel muttered, as they watched the grenades go off just outside the ring transporter alcove. In response to the explosions, they heard Anubis let out another frenzied roar.
They were beamed up, just then. O'Neill found himself laying on the floor of the Ha'tak peltac. The ship was shuddering slightly; O'Neill realized with relief that it was already taking off.
Carter--Sam--leaned over him and asked, "You ok?"
He nodded. "Can't complain, really. Yourself?"
Sam smiled down at him. "Not bad."
Jacob came over to them as they got up off the platform. "Is Anubis dead?"
Everyone was startled when the ring platform in the peltac lit up brilliantly just then--just as it always did just before someone was about to beam in.
"Uh, I think Anubis about to drop in right now," Daniel said nervously.
"Oh, for crying out loud," O'Neill said, annoyed. He aimed his weapon at the platform along with everyone else. "This is really getting old…."
The Ha'tak suddenly rocked violently as a humugous explosion erupted right underneath them, shaking the ship.
"Looks like the antimatter bomb finally went off!" Hailey said.
"Shields are up at maxium," Bra'tac called from the controls. "No damage. We are clear."
And just as suddenly as it lit up, the ring platform went dark. The destruction of the vault by the matter/antimatter bomb apparently had terminated the connection before it could activate the ring transporter.
"Now Anubis is dead," O'Neill said with a sigh.
Daniel just shot him an annoyed look. "You mean you hope…."
"Trust me, Daniel, he's dead," O'Neill insisted.
"If he still comes out swinging from the rubble," Satterfield said, "then we're all in trouble."
"Ball can deal with him," O'Neill said with a wave of his hand.
"Ba'al, Jack," Jacob corrected. "And it looks like we've got to deal with him right now!"
O'Neill glanced at the main view screen and saw several Ha'tak ships were rapidly closing in on their position. "Jump to hyperspace."
"We can not," Bra'tac informed him. "We are still too close to the planet's atmosphere."
"And those ships are going to be right on top of us in seconds," Jacob said.
"Wonderful," O'Neill muttered. "Looks like we'll have to shoot our way out."
"Is not the seeker wave working properly?" Char'el asked.
O'Neill exchanged an incredulous look with Jacob and Bra'tac. "You know where the button for that thing is?" O'Neill asked.
Char'el pointed it out on the console. "There. But you must give it time to build up energy, first."
"We do not have much time," Bra'tac said. "They are now almost right on top of us."
"Looks like I'm gonna have to make a call," O'Neill said. "Can somebody get Ball on the line for me?"
SG1-SVU
Ba'al was incensed when he saw the Ha'tak lift off from the pyramid shaped roof of the building below. It appeared as if that lone Ha'tak had evacuated either people or materiel from that building and was now making a run for it.
"Capture that ship," he told the peltac commander. "Have the fleet sweep in around them."
But then, when Ba'al saw the building with the pyramid-shaped roof suddenly rip apart in a massive explosion, he became enraged. The shock waves from the explosion devastated the surrounding buildings, as well as destroyed several Ha'tak ships in the adjoining ship yard.
"Did they do that?" Qetesh asked. "Why?"
"Poisoning the well," Ba'al said in a fury. "They just denied us whatever was in that building. Well, once we capture whoever is aboard that ship, I shall deny them their lives."
"We're receiving a transmission from that ship, my lord," the peltac commander informed him.
"Perhaps they wish to surrender," Qetesh suggested.
"All the more easier it shall be for me to kill them," Ba'al said with a smile. He nodded at the commander. "Put them on. Main screen."
When the face of a military man with graying hair appeared on the screen, Ba'al said, "I am Lord Ba'al. Surrender your--"
"Hey there, Ball!" the man said with a cheery smile. "This here's Colonel Jack O'Neill, of SG-1. How ya doing?"
Ba'al was taken aback--both by the man's flip attitude, as well as the fact of who he was. Ba'al had heard of the exploits of the Tauri team SG-1, and their commander. He had hoped to defeat them in battle for the longest time--and here his wish had come true. Truly, this was a day of days!
Ba'al began to say, "You shall surrender your ship--"
"Say, you wouldn't happen to know a good hot dog place around here, would ya?" O'Neill asked.
Ba'al just stared at him, shaking his head. "Hot dog?"
"Yeah, it would be great if we could find a place where they also toast the bun, too," O'Neill said. "They really taste better that way."
Ba'al was so confused that he stared in puzzlement at Qetesh, who merely shook her head in equal confusion.
"So how about it, Ball?" O'Neill prodded. "You know of a good hot dog place around here, or what?"
"He's clearly insane," Qetesh whispered into Ba'al's ear.
"My lord!" the peltac commander cried. "There's a build up of energy coming from their ship!"
Before Ba'al could even give an order, he saw the enemy Ha'tak briefly glow as brilliantly as a sun, before the light dissipated into an energy wave that shot out from all sides of the ship, encompassing the entire area that surrounded it. Several of the Ha'tak ships in his fleet were struck by the wave, and were instantly incapacitated.
And that very same wave was headed straight for them.
"Nice meeting you, Ball," O'Neill said. The smile had faded from his face. "And, by the way, if you should find a really pissed-off, dog-faced guy in the rubble below, give him our regards."
'It was a diversion,' Ba'al realized in a panic. 'O'Neill kept us distracted with his silly banter, and I fell for it!'
"Evasive maneuver--" Ba'al started to say--
--just as the wave struck his ship.
The impact threw both him and Qetesh to the floor as consoles and panels all around them exploded.
SG-1: SVU
"We have room," Jacob said, smiling. "We're clear of the planet."
"Get us into hyperspace," O'Neill told him.
"Already done," Bra'tac told him, as he hit a button. Everything in the peltac felt as if it had shifted suddenly. "We have entered hyperspace, O'Neill."
Everyone--including Io'tan and her people--broke into cheers and applause at that news. O'Neill glanced at a smiling Carter and found himself smiling as well. He walked over to Olivia, who sat on the floor, holding Elliot's head in her lap. Casey knelt down next to her. Fraiser was busy examining Elliot. "How is he, Doc?"
"Out cold, but his pulse is stable, sir," Fraiser reported. She pointed at several blackened areas on Elliot's skin. "These burn marks are already healing quite nicely, thanks to his Goa'uld."
"Speaking of which, we'll need to move him to someplace secure before he wakes up," O'Neill said. "Last thing we need is a ticked-off Goa'uld running around."
"We have locked up Osiris in a cell on the prison level," Jacob told him. "There's more than enough room down there for him."
Olivia and Casey reluctantly allowed Char'el and his Jaffa to take the unconscious Elliot away.
"You can still safely remove the snake from his head?" Olivia asked.
"Yes, Liv," Jacob assured her. "All without harming Elliot--and Sarah, as well."
"You got them, Liv," O'Neill told her, grinning. "Casey and Elliot; you got them both back."
"Thanks entirely to you guys," Olivia said, as she and Casey hugged tightly. Then, when she broke her embrace with Casey, Olivia gestured at Daniel. "Come here, you."
Daniel came over to her and they hugged tightly as well. The hugging became infectious; Sam hugged her father, while Olivia then embraced Teal'c--who protested, saying that he did not do anything to deserve a hug from her.
"You were protecting me, big guy," Olivia told him. "Just like a big brother would. Thank you."
Rodney turned to Casey and held out his hands, as if expecting a hug. Casey merely grabbed his hand and shook it quickly. Then she turned and walked away as he stared longingly after her.
After congratulating Bra'tac, O'Neill then reached out and shook Io'tan's hand. "Thank you for all of your help."
"I give equal thanks to you, Colonel O'Neill. Through your actions, you and your people have saved the heart and soul of my people."
"I only wish we could have saved far more than we did," he said somberly.
"But we did," Io'tan told him, smiling. "Below us now reside several thousand souls--all civilians; entire families, even--who managed to gain safe passage aboard this ship." She grew thoughtful. "It is ironic. This Ha'tak was originally built for death and destruction, and now it has become a ship of hope."
"With you in charge, it will be that, and much more," O'Neill told her.
O'Neill then shook hands with Hailey and Satterfield, and also congratulated Fraiser on another job well done. And he turned around and found himself face to face with Carter.
With Sam.
She held out her hand. "Good job, sir."
"You too, Major," O'Neill replied. He was about to just shake her hand, but stopped. "Oh, to hell with it."
He pulled Sam into a tight hug, one which she gladly reciprocated. "Thanks for watching my back down there, Sam."
"Anytime, Jack," she replied, smiling.
"Hey, Jack!" Daniel yelled in mock-anger. "Where's my hug, huh?!"
"Oh, for crying out loud," O'Neill grumbled, as Sam and everyone else burst into laughter. He pulled Daniel into a one-armed hug. "C'mere, you space monkey…."
SG-1: SVU
When Senator Kinsey received the call on his cell phone, he glanced about in the Senate hallway in which he strode to make sure he had the proper privacy before he answered. And when he did answer the phone, his tone was curt.
"What the hell do you want?"
"And hello right back to you, Senator," Harry Maybourne said snidely. "Did you seriously think I was just going to go away quietly?"
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Kinsey said, annoyed.
"I did what you asked me to do," Maybourne told him. "I told SG-1 where Casey Novak was being held captive. I held up my end of the deal, Senator. Now I'd like for you to do the same. I expect payment in full."
"Casey Novak is still missing, you son of a bitch," Kinsey angrily said. "And, for all we know, you might have been the one who abducted her!"
"Oh, bravo, Senator, really…very good!" Maybourne replied sarcastically. "I'd be clapping if I weren't holding the phone. Look, you don't have to worry about this call being bugged, or recorded, because it's not. I'm simply calling to remind you that you owe me big, and that I would like to collect on your debt to me."
"The only debt that's owed here is the one you have to pay for being a traitorous bastard to this great country," Kinsey told him. "I've never had any dealings with you, Maybourne, and you know it!"
There was silence on the other end of the line for a split second, until Maybourne said, "You know, I was going to warn you about something, Senator. Give you a friendly heads up, if you will. But…well, since you're being so nasty to me, I guess you can find out about it all on your own."
"Find out about what?!"
"One of your little schemes is about to whip around and bite you on the ass, Senator," Maybourne replied. "I do hope you're wearing cast iron underwear, because it's really going to hurt…."
There was a click, and Maybourne was gone.
'Son of a bitch,' Kinsey thought, as he continued walking down the hallway. The fact of the matter was he did use Maybourne to warn SG-1 of Casey Novak's location--the NID, under the command of Frank Simmons, was simply out of control, and they had to be stopped--but Kinsey never had any intention of paying him for services rendered. Maybourne was a traitor, after all, and Kinsey couldn't very well leave a paper trail that connected him with the former NID agent.
'He's probably just bluffing about the warning,' Kinsey told himself. Yet when he bought a newspaper at the local newsstand, Kinsey stopped dead once he saw a strange headline.
SPECIAL CONFERENCE HELD IN D.C. the headline read. When Kinsey scanned the article, he saw that none other than Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the noted diplomat, had scheduled a conference between the United States and several nations later today. Weir, speaking in the article, insisted that the meeting was simply a discussion about a possible new defense treaty between the nations involved.
However, Kinsey's eyes grew wide when he realized that all of the nations that were attending the conference were the exact same countries from which Her Lord Empress Neith had abducted people from. And that was when he realized that Harry Maybourne had not been bluffing after all.
"Oh, good God!" Kinsey said in a panic.
Several other senators, along with various staff members and other office workers, all stopped to stare at the very strange sight of Robert Kinsey, a senior and respected senator, running like a madman through the hallways.
To Be Continued....