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I aimed at a dead plant across the room and slowly squeezed the trigger. I flinched expectantly, but the gun didn't blow up or shoot sparks at me (as it had done the last 10 times). Prying my eyes open, I was just in time to witness wave of transparent radiation shooting across the area in a focused stream, passing right through the plant.
"YES! Finally, you stupid phaser."
I had been watching too much Star Trek lately.
As I set the gun right next to its duplicate, a knock resounded through the room. I froze. Do aliens who are attempting to take over the base knock politely? Probably not, so I figured it was safe to open the door. I swiftly crossed the room and yanked open the door, switching off the force field after spotting who it was. A relieved smile began to take over my face.
"Teal'c. You don't know how happy I am to see that you're okay."
"As I am relieved to see you unharmed as well." He paused, "Major Ferreti informed me that you have created a weapon against our enemy. Are these weapons operational?"
Teal'c was never one to beat around the bush. I gave a quick nod and held up the two guns, "Yep, I've got two guns that will shoot radiation in short bursts right here."
Teal'c took one of the guns and handed it to Ferreti and turned back to me, "We must hurry. Danielle Jackson and O'Neill have been taken by the invaders. We believe that they are on this level, but are unsure."
Taken? God, I hoped they were okay. These aliens were very unforgiving and had no sympathy whatsoever. Worry began to spread through me, but I stopped it at the source. Now was not the time. I had to focus. Taking a deep breath, I nodded my consent, and we quickly exited the room to find Eytan and Martouf standing guard outside.
"It is all clear."
Stealthily, we jogged down the corridor, shooting a few stray Dream Keepers along the way. Then Martouf stopped, making me run headfirst into his back. I touched his arm lightly.
"Martouf?"
"I can feel something." He looked almost disturbed.
A sharp intake of breath drew attention to Eytan, "I can feel it too."
"Indeed. I feel it as well."
Was I missing something?
"Are we missing something?" Ferreti leaned over to me discreetly. At least I wan't alone. Actually, it was probably the symbiotes that could sense… whatever it was. Drawing in a deep breath, I attempted to sense the presence they were talking about, but to no avail. Maybe it was just live symbiotes that could sense it. Huh.
Lantesh's deep voice resonance drew me out of my thoughts, "I have felt this before. They must be in here."
He walked off up the corridor, quickly making his way to one of the large isolation rooms. Opening the door, he walked inside hesitantly. I exchanged a glance with Ferreti, a little worried, but followed Lantesh all the same. Jogging up the hallway, I slowed by the door and poked my head inside. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was seeing things. I took a step to stand completely inside the room.
Ferreti summed up the sight nicely, "Holy crap."
The room, which was quite large, was full of jars. Almost every single surface was covered in them. They were stacked on top of each other up to the ceiling on every wall, and then stacked outward toward the center of the room. The only clear space was an extremely small path that wound its way through the room, ending at the metal table at the center. On the table was a creature. From the waist down, the creature looked like a very large centipede coiled around itself. Hundreds of thin, long legs were tapping on the metal table surface in a menacing dance, while the creature stared at us coldly. The bone structure of the head, chest, and arms almost could be compared to a chimpanzee, but the snout and mouth were twisted, with maybe a dozen pinchers extended out of it. As it lowered it's head slightly, I spotted a collage of brown an black scales flowing front the top of its head down its neck. I didn't dare move, so I spoke as cautiously and quietly as I could.
"Why does it not look human?"
Martouf answered me just as cautiously, "I am unsure, but it would appear that one of their invasion party does not give off the pheromone, and they always protect the offspring."
I nodded slowly and turned my full attention back to the Dream Keeper. It hadn't moved at all, just sat there and stared at us.
CRACK.
"What was that noise?"
I swallowed hard, "I think it was a jar."
Teal'c tilted his head to the side, "How did you come to this conclusion, Major Carter?"
"Because..." I hesitated, "Because something is crawling out of that jar."
The offspring was very tiny. And slimy. But, it seemed to be shedding something as it came fully out of the jar. And as it shed, it sort of glided over to the large alien, stumbling multiple times. Then it turned to face us. It began to make its way gracelessly over to us, but still very quickly. It stopped about two feet away from me and hissed. It just sat there and hissed at us. I leaned over toward Martouf.
"What's it doing?"
"I believe it needs us as incubators, but we are not in a dream state, so it's not sure what to do."
"Wow, you know a lot about these aliens. So, should we get rid of it?" Ferreti's grip was tightening on his gun, his knuckles turning white.
"Lantesh has encountered this race multiple times, and has heard much about them. And I do not think killing it would be a good idea. There are hundreds of jars in this room, perhaps even more. Kill this offspring, an army of them will take its place."
"So we couldn't take them? They aren't even hatched yet."
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
"I think you spoke too soon." I muttered as a chorus of hisses joined in with the first one.
"So, what should our course of action be?" Teal'c raised his weapon, "I do not believe we can take so many on." By that time, the numbers of offspring hatched was impossible to count. But none had made any move to attack. Yet.
"There will be no course of action."
The voice startled us all. I looked up at the alien on the table. It seemed odd that it was speaking English, but I guess if they can have suits that repel staff weapon blasts, they could have a universal translator type of thing.
Ferreti raised his eyebrows, "Why not?"
"These infants are in need of a home. You will be their home. Surrender, and I can guarantee that you will feel no pain."
"No thank you. Also, Teal'c and Ferreti, plan C."
Plan C was always the same. Usually plan A didn't work, so we moved on to plan B. Usually that didn't work either, so plan C was a constant. A tactical retreat, also known as running for our lives. It was simple, but it worked well. I snaked a hand over to grip Martouf's arm, ready to pull him along and Ferreti did the same to Eytan.
"What is this plan C?" The large alien spoke again.
"Oh, it's as simple as one," I prepared myself as Ferreti counted down, "two," my grip tightened on Martouf's arm, "three!"
I took off, dragging Martouf with me. Thank goodness, him and Eytan caught on soon and started sprinting as fast as they could. The increasing volume of hissing behind us told me that the offspring had followed and were gaining on us. I put on an extra burst of speed as I sharply turned a corner. Damn, my first impression is that they were slow and weak. I guess they just needed some time to gain a little strength.
"In here!"
A male voice yelled at us from ahead and I dove into the room as instructed, not thinking about any sort of trap it might have been. Teal'c, Martouf, Eytan, and Ferreti followed me into the lab, and the door was slammed behind us. The hissing of the offspring could be heard outside the door, but it was weakening. Hopefully the run tired them out or weakened them more. Breathing hard, I turned to look at our saviors. Staring at the group of people in shock, I raised my eyebrows.
"How the hell did you get here?"
NOTE:
I'm really sorry for the short chapter, but I have a case of writer's block. So, any suggestions would be great! And, I still need to know who you guys would like to be injured and how (I'm stuck on that too). And, as always, reviews, suggestions, and comments are welcome. Thanks!