Three Down

Walter came bounding up the stairs and skidded to a halt when he saw Hank Landry talking to Doctor Lam, he wasn't sure whether to interrupt or not but Landry saved him the trouble.

"Yes Walter what is it?"

"I ah, er sir I was expecting Gen...."

"O'Neill? He's on his way back to Washington, is there something you needed him for?"

"Ah no sir, you'll do fine, I mean ah sir....."

"Come on Walter spit it out, I'm a busy man today." Landry said with a slight gruffness to his tone. Carolyn placed her hand on the General's arm. "Excuse me dad, this can wait, I'll catch up with you later." She turned and left the two of them standing there, Hank called after her. "Lunch?"

"Okay dad." He heard from the passageway.

Walter took the opportunity to finish what he wanted to say, before something else got in his way. "Sir, yes sir...ah we have a subspace transmission from Victory sir, it says simply MacGregor needs help, nothing else sir."

"Yes General O'Neill briefed me, Admiral MacGregor's out with those Ori ships at the moment isn't he?"

"Yes sir, but he has no back up, as the Victory and the Free Jaffa ships have already left sir." Walter tried to remember something, he was perplexed, because he usually wasn't like that, then it hit him. "Oh sir, they have about six 401's with them, if you need to contact the Admiral they should be able to receive transmissions sir."

"Good do so and find out who we have that is closest right now."

"Yes sir." Walter retreated smartly and left Hank to ponder the reason for the help call. Something was up, he felt an itch in his neck that always warned him when things might go awry.

For a few moments the bombardment ceased, whether the LRPV's gun were having an effect or not, was unknown, but the Victory's ground force to the chance to push forward and have their wounded beamed up to the ship. Macara kept Dmitri informed of the situation constantly but rejected the offer of more troops, there was no sense in risking more lives on an op that may go haywire at any time. So far they had six wounded and three KIA, not a good start, and they hadn't even seen the enemy face to face as yet.

As they drew nearer to the woods edge, the encampment perimeter could be seen just barely through the smoke haze, the snipers had a clearer view from their elevated positions and using data from their hand held map displays, relayed back to them from the Victory, they could pinpoint with accuracy the various individuals on the camp. The Ori fighters had retreated behind barricades and were using their prisoners, whipping them in fact, into making a defensive wall of sandbags and debris. Captain Kyle Baker, who was spotting for his sniper, Corporal Amy Sutton, clicked his coms.

"Colonel Macara, we have a bead on several goons from here, and their artillery is dead right now. Confirm action over."

Macara saw an opportunity and took it, he wanted this done and finished, it was taking too long already. "How are the captives dispersed Baker?" He said as he indicated for the remaining troops to gather for a final assault.

"They've got them assembled near the sandbags at the moment, but wait...they're moving them behind the lines, sir I have an idea."

"Let's hear it Baker, we don't have much time." Macara said as looked at his watch again.

Kyle scanned the rear of the camp, the was a large clearing directly behind some crates and boxes, out of sight from the Ori and Jaffa fighters. The only problem he could see, was one single Prior, was herding the prisoners now, and he could prove to be trouble. He needed to be dispensed with. Was he aware enough to be shielded, only one way to find out. "Colonel, if we could get Victory to beam in a stash of weapons and ordinance to the prisoners, there's quite a lot of them down there, once they are fully away from the barricades."

"How long Captain?"

"A minute or so sir, they're filing up the hill now, but sir there is one snag."

"Oh shit, now what?"

"A Prior sir, he's the only one guarding our boys and girls sir."

Christ...fu....can you take him out?"

"We can try sir, normally if he was just a guard, yes, but you know sir...."

"Just take the friggin' shot Baker, do it now and have the others start picking off those in the front they can get a bead on. After a count of ten, we're coming in."

"Sir!" Kyle got down low beside Amy and gave her the instructions, he followed on with orders to the other sniper teams to start taking out individual enemy the moment Sutton fired her L115a3. She adjusted the Schmidt and Bender sight corrected for wind and slowly engaged the trigger, the Prior's face filled her scope and as the heavy magnum round discharged,

Garkern as he was formerly known when he faithfully served the Ori alone, had two masters now, those who claimed to be the Hallowed ones personified, and the one who lived within him now, Karesh a goa'uld of minor standing. But neither anticipated what would come next as he raised his arm to eliminate these non believers who been as slaves these last few years. He drew the energy that the Ori gifted to him and was on the verge of vaporising them all, when something made him turn, there was something beyond his sight, the enemy soldiers were close, but this made the hairs on his neck stand. Then he heard the cracking report, too late, there was a massive hole where the back of his head should be, and a fountain of red life left him, to shower those nearest. The captives took it as a sign, more so when a two black cases suddenly materialised near them and gunfire was heard, bearing down upon their hapless captors at the barricades. Sniper rounds rang louder than the automatic weapons fire, until the heavy, distinctive sound of MG 50's made the very ground shake.

Lt. David Liddel was the first to open one of the cases and quickly, P90's and Zat's were issued all around, there was not quite enough, but there were grenades and hand guns as well. They fell upon the rear of their enemy with vengeance, some of these men and women, Jaffa, Tauri and a few from other worlds, had been prisoners of various Goa'uld for a long time, they did not need a cause, they had one.

There were two more Prior's in the main battle group, but as much as they tried, they could not bring their powers to bear, they knew of the SGC's anti-prior devices, but had no reason to believe they would be effective in a field of battle, little did they know that the LRPV's were sending out a constantly changing pulse from modified devices, coupled with the vehicles additional power source, they were defenceless, the two of them cut and ran,leaving their men behind. But they got no further than the oncoming prisoners who were once beaten and tortured by them, they lasted seconds as they were struck down unmercifully.

The battle was waning but not over yet, the Victory's troop's had gained the barricades and hand to hand ensued. Julie Henderson was the first over the top with the remains of her team, three of the six had already gone down, and when she had nothing more to shoot with, the butt of her G36 was swinging hard as she vented her slightly controlled anger. Anne with Hamilton's team and Ovcharenko with Sam Hutton, were all that were left standing from Falcon six, but they ploughed through somehow Elena having emptied her rifle and no spare mags, went one on two with a couple of very large Jaffa, they both went down with her flurry of hand jabs and well placed kicks. And when they thought it was all over, Anne took off toward the north at a run, the others could nothing but follow, thinking she had seen more enemy, her zatgun still hot from over use.

Macara noticed in the dying moments of the battle, the Naval surgeon and three others haring off toward one of the grounded 'Toilet bowl' ships as he called them. But he was too far away and too busy to do anything about it, he grabbed one of the Australian SAS troopers, and quickly told him to get his team and go after the other three. "Sir" The young Asian man replied and with a few coded clicks on his coms, he and the rest of SG16 set off at a run from wherever they were fighting, in pursuit of a woman they almost revered as their mother.

"Shit, this is a stuff up." Macara spat as he surveyed the carnage.