Engine Room
When she entered the room Carter headed towards the power crystals. She was so distracted that she hardly noticed an Asgard, moving around the rune stones which controlled the Asgard-built devices. "Hi," Carter said taken aback, not expecting to find an Asgard on an Earth ship.
The Asgard blinked. "Hello," he replied, then returned to his stones. Carter looked at him for a second more, then went back to the crystals. Other engineers were running around, each trying desperately to find the problem which plagued the engines.
The Bridge
The Colonel sat drumming his fingers on his chair, mulling over his options. Without the engines, they were dead in the water, and his only weapons were ineffective against the ship that held them in place. All though he didn't like it, he was forced to wait for the enemy to make his move. This they did.
"Sir, they have fired at us," reported Lieutenant Biggs.
Teal'c looked at the screen, and instead of seeing a red bolt like that one fired on the Kree'na, he was surprised to find instead a gray shaft headed towards them. It was slow moving, yet was closing the distance between the two ships.
"Ten seconds until impact!" Biggs reported.
Colonel Perry looked down at a monitor on his chair, and saw a computerized image of the Aeneas and its shields. A long dart appeared on the edge and was coming towards the shields. "Brace for impact!" he called.
But the gray dart passed right through the shields and struck the aft section of the ship. The Aeneas shuddered from the hit, and the alarms immediately went off.
"Warning, hull breach," cried the computerized voice. "Warning, hull breach."
"Damage report!"
Major Biggs hastily looked down at his monitor. "Hull breach in Sections 17 and 18, Decks 1 through 3."
"Return fire with the P.A.C.," Colonel Perry ordered.
"Sir, the PAC won't be ready to fire for another 15 minutes!"
Perry hit his fist on the chair. What the hell was he supposed to do! "Launch the fighters," he said desperately.
"But sir, we can't…" Biggs broke off. "Sir, reports are coming in saying we have intruders in Sections 17 and 18, Decks 4."
"Intruders? Why aren't the alarms going off?" the Colonel demanded.
"Sensors don't detect any enemy life forms in those areas, sir," Biggs said looking at his monitor. "But security teams report intruders, some kind of metallic bug."
Teal'c's eyes opened a little wider upon hearing that. "Colonel Carter," he said into his radio.
"What is it Teal'c?" replied the frustrated Carter's voice.
"I believe there are Replicators are onboard this ship."
There was a short silence on Carters' end. "Replicators, are you sure?"
Colonel Perry immediately looked concerned, for although he had never actually faced a Replicator, he knew about them. "But I thought they were all destroyed." he said. Teal'c ignored him.
"I am certain," he said with conviction. "They are in Sections 17 and 18, Decks 4. Near your position."
"I'm on my way."
"I will accompany you," Teal'c replied.
"No, Teal'c. Just stay where you are," Carter said. "But if you see any, you know what to do."
"Understood, Colonel Carter."
Engine Room
Carter pushed back in the compartment she was working on, and grabbed her P-90. As she began to walk out of the engine room, the Asgard spoke. "If these truly are Replicators, then your weaponry will have no affect on them."
Carter just looked at him. "That's exactly what I'm going to find out."
She took the elevator to Deck 4, and when the doors opened, she was greeted by the sounds of gunfire. Right in front of her were security guards firing down the hallway, into what looked almost exactly like Replicator bugs. However, Carter could distinguish one major difference. The Replicators they had previously encountered were made up of individual blocks which came together to perform various functions. These Replicators were, as far as Carter could tell, not made up by blocks, and where in fact smooth, as if manufactured as a single unit. Carter could also tell that, while their weapons were effective against these Replicator look-a-likes, they were still losing the fight. Although the Replicators were being blasted away by the shotguns and P-90s, there were so many of them holding the corridor was no longer an option.
"Fall back," she shouted. "Fall back!"
While the others covered for them, some of the security members entered the elevator, and took it down to the engine room. Carter knelt down and fired as the Replicators came at them, totally ignoring their mounting casualties. She could tell that there was little chance they could escape through the elevators before the Replicators came upon them. "Transporter room," Carter said, firing as she did so. "Beam us to the engine room!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am," said the technician. "The transporters are no longer functioning."
Carter cursed under her breath, and destroyed a Replicator that was coming just a little too close for her liking. Right then the elevator arrived behind them. "Everyone in the elevator!"
Covering for the others, Carter began to walk backwards toward the elevator. When she entered, the doors began to close, but not before a Replicator blocked the doors, staring Carter right in the face. A well fired shot from one of the guards destroyed the Replicator and the doors sealed tight and proceeded down towards the engine rooms.
"Colonel Carter, what is your status?" inquired Teal'c over the radio.
"I'm fine," said Carter with relief that was quickly replaced by fear. "You were right, Teal'c. They're Replicators, but I've never seen any like these before. I believe they're heading towards the engine room. I'm on my way down there right now."
Colonel Perry came over the radio. "Colonel, I'm sending additional security units to the engine room to help you reinforce the area."
"Thanks, Colonel. We're going to need everyone we can get down here."
"Understood, Perry out."
The Bridge
Teal'c began to walk out of the room, but Colonel Perry stopped him. "I need you here in case any of those little buggers somehow get in here."
Teal'c reluctantly nodded and remained on the bridge, trying to block out the images of Bratak falling under Be'nox fire, and reprimanded himself for his lack of concentration.
Engine Room
Carter and the other security guards stepped into the engine room and began to take up positions around elevator. Other security guards were already in place, all with their weapons at the ready, ready to take on whatever came through the elevator, at any cost. The Asgard stood calmly behind his podium, continuing to move his rune stones as if nothing was happening at all.
Then, in the middle door, a hole began to form, and it grew larger until a Replicator appeared in it. The guards immediately fired upon it, blowing it into tiny bits. The hole grew larger, and Replicator bugs began to pour out of the elevator. Carter and the guards kept up their rate of fire, at first holding the Replicators at bay, but there was just too many of them, and they eventually began to press on the humans' position. They began to back away from the oncoming Replicators until they were the only thing between the Replicators and the crystals powering the ship.
Prepared to make a final stand, Carter braced herself for the coming onslaught of attacking Replicators, but to her utter surprise, the Replicators scurried right on past their legs, even walking on the walls if need be. This un-Replicator like activity stunned Carter and the others so much, that they momentarily stopped firing as a myriad of Replicators went past them to the crystals. However, when Carter realized their goal, she resumed her fire on the Replicators and the others did the same, blowing away any Replicator that got too close to the crystal compartments. But their efforts were to no avail, for the Replicators sprayed their acid on the compartment wall, and wormed their way into the crystals. The effect of their intrusion was immediate.