I'm not a technology whiz - you need to know I see subspace as being a bit like a giant wireless network!
Teal'c was piloting the Al'kesh; Vala and Cameron were sitting alongside him, watching the stars spool past. Vala was shaking her head, in response to a question from Cam.
" I don't think that little weaselly man knew anything at all about the operation, really, Cameron. And the fact that they left him to guard me, despite knowing who I am and, ahem, my reputation... Well, it makes me think that these guys are not really Lucian Alliance at all. They are not as smart, they are certainly not as ruthless and can you imagine Netan ever being chased out of a village by people hurling rotten fruit??"
Cam nodded slowly.
"Message came over subspace from Sam, just before we arrived. Seems the weapon they've been using is based on Ancient Technology. Want to bet that some little offshoots of the old Alliance managed to get their hands on some souped up stuff, and decided to have a go at rebuilding?"
"I would surmise that you are correct," Teal'c was frowning again. "O'Neill is right to wonder where they came across this technology, and whether they may yet have more up their sleeves, as he puts it."
"Nah, I don't think so." Cam was shaking his head "They would have pulled the rabbit out of the hat by now; I reckon it's just these bolts. And as soon as Carter figures out how to counter those, they're sunk. Pity about the moonbase, though."
"What?" Vala looked shocked. "They blew up Sam's moonbase? Oh, poor Sam!"
"The combined governments of the USA, Russia, Britain, France and China aren't too happy either," Cam commented dryly. Teal'c snorted.
"I should imagine that the IOA too will have something to say on the matter." He frowned, and adjusted some of the instrumentation in front of him. "I am picking up multiple ships, Colonel Mitchell. Activating the cloak!"
It was almost too late. As the craft shimmered out of view it was buffeted on all sides by Alliance bolts, some of them coming close enough to singe the sides of the Al'kesh, and causing sufficient turbulence to knock Vala clean out of her seat. She landed awkardly on the floor, and rolled, pulling herself up one handed and activating the weapons array.
Cam was white. "It's the buddies of our inept dealers," he pointed out, somewhat unneccessarily, making his way over to Vala and edging her out of the seat. "Move over princess, you can't work this thing with one hand." Vala, clutching her right arm and grimacing in pain, made no protest.
A lucky bolt grazed the ship again. Cam shouted "Evasive manoeuvres," and Teal'c swung the craft sideways.
"Crap! That one scored enough of a hit... oh crap!" The ship had de-cloaked, and the alien vessels had immediately taken a bead on her position.
"Re-routing power." Teal'c's mouth was set. The ship shimmered into invisibility again, but two bolts hit simultaneously, knocking Teal'c and Cam forward over their consoles. Vala, who had braced herself against the wall, was knocked sideways onto her injured arm and stifled a scream. Luckily, the cloak held.
"Status." Cam was bleeding where he had bitten his lip. He swiped the blood away, then blinked as more blood from a gash at his hairline ran down into his eyes.
The alien ships were holding their positions, waiting for the Al'kesh to de-cloak again. Teal'c, snatching power from every source he could, was keeping them unseen, but his expression showed he wasn't sure how long he could maintain it.
"Colonel Mitchell." Cameron grunted. "Weapons are offline. If we make the jump to hyperspace, they will follow."
"Checkmate" Cam breathed. "Damn damn damn."
Vala made her way gingerly to her console, and frowned. There was a message coming through via subspace. Alliance? No... it bore the SGC's identification tag.
"Cam, Teal'c," she fiddled with some knobs. "There's a message here from Sam."
"Tell me it's good news." Cameron's voice was gravelly.
Vala felt her face breaking into a smile.
"It is. The weapon is controlled by an Artificial Intelligence, and she's sent a programme through subspace to disable it. We don't need to do anything, she says, pretty soon all the ships' weapons will be useless."
Cam heaved a deep breath. "That woman," he murmured, "is worth her weight in naquadah, and then some. How do we know if it's worked?"
"I think we will need to de-cloak" Teal'c was guarded. "There is no other way to know for sure if this has been a successful ploy on the part of the Tau'ri."
"Well, it's Sam Carter, big guy." Cam was leaning forward, his posture tense. "I'm willing to risk it".
"I too, Colonel Mitchell," and at Teal'c's words Vala nodded, her eyes on the small flotilla of alien craft surrounding them. Teal'c spoke again. "Be aware that they may have other weapons."
"You know?" Cam leaned back. "I'm willing to bet these guys are your archetypal big bullies and nothing more. Take away their fancy weapon, and they'll turn tail and run from us."
Teal'c cocked his head, then nodded his acceptance of this calculated risk. The ship uncloaked... and nothing happened. One by one the alien craft peeled away from the pack, and fled. Cam watched in satisfaction.
"Told you so" he murmured. His eyes took in Vala's obviously broken arm, and he swiped away another trickle of blood. "Let's get ourselves patched up best we can and head for home"