The LRPV slammed down inside the hangar bay, blowing one of the trans-axles. Crichton slew the vehicle round, until its flank was facing inward as it slid with momentum gained from the landing.
There was only one small problem with that plan; the bay contained almost a full platoon's worth of Ori soldiers, freshly returned from battle.
"Henderson!" Crichton warned. "We're in trouble!"
Julie slithered out of the passenger seat and behind the weapon mount. Crichton and the only member of SG16 who had jumped into the LRPV turned their longs at the Ori troopers and squeezed their triggers, a moment before Henderson depressed the firing studs on the .50 cal.
The sound deafened all those in the hangar bay. Large calibre rounds tore into the Ori troops, their armour proving little protection.
Crichton and Nguyen blasted away in support, concentrating their smaller rounds at single targets until the enemy were put out of action. Even Elena plinked away with her side arm.
Julie kept up the fire, causing damage in the opposite wall as much as slaughtering the Ori troops.
Some of the Ori foot soldiers, intelligently, tried to flank the vehicle whilst the deadly .50 was engaging a larger group. Using the cover of crates and statues to Origin, (no doubt to be planted on converted worlds), they found a superb enfilade on the human combat vehicle. Staff weapons raised, they opened fire and caught the crew of the LRPV unawares.
Nguyen took a staff blast full to the chest, and dropped to the floor with barely a murmur as he died. Crichton turned to engage, desperately trying to reload his empty clip, but knew even as he did that he would be on the receiving end
Only just arriving, the rest of SG16 swept into the hangar bay, lending their small arms in support. With a crack, the closest Ori trooper pitched forward. A second resounding snap dropped another. Stewart looked up to see the grinning dark skinned face of Amy Sutton, her G36 still smoking. He mouthed a silent thank you and returned his attention to the remaining enemy.
The Ori troops couldn't handle the two-pronged attack, nor the heavy fire. Without a Prior to guide and protect them, they were vanquished swiftly, in a all too bloody mess. The noise would have to have been heard throughout the ship. But as yet no support came to them.
Even as the fighting ended, the huge ship began to tremble and quake as the engine pulled it away from the surface of the doomed world.
The 401's sped for Victory and the two Ha'taks. The assault group of four Ori mother ships had arrived, and Victory was already beginning to come around and place herself between the enemy and the fleeing heavy fighters. Her guns were opening fire,
That hadn't stopped the Ori beams. Two 401's had already been blown from the sky, they and their brave crew little more than atomised debris.
Beams seared the vacuum, striking out at the allied vessels. The Ha'taks came in to flank Victory, knowing that they stood no chance in a stand up fight with the toilet bowls.
Then the fighters came. That was the Ori's first mistake. A huge wave of single ships came hurtling into the fight. They gave the human craft cover, as the beam weapons couldn't be fired at the 401's whilst their own fighters swirled about the fight.
The 401 Wing opened fire with their remaining munitions, returning the violence equally. Dozens of the Ori small ships disappeared in brilliant fireballs.
The first Jaffa Death Gliders, human 302's and 307's engaged, and with so much heavy ship-to-ship bombardment under way, there wasn't as much room to manoeuvre as one would expect in space. The scene devolving into a massed fighter brawl, all skill and deftness gone, replaced with fire and turn, fire and turn.
All the while, the small transports were edging closer to home.
Aboard the Victory, Suschenko rapped out the commands. The Victory was a powerful ship, able to fight toe to toe with an Ori mother ship,
But four was pushing the luck.
Victory fired another fusillade of plasma beams and launced a dozen missiles, scoring some good hits on the shields of the nearest attacker.
But the Ori weren't exactly standing still. The 'Toilet bowls' were moving around, flanking, and the Victory was starting to take hits, too. Strong as her shields were, they wouldn't stand much more of this.
The Ha'tak on Victory's port took an Ori beam full on. Their upgraded shields held for a moment, but still some of the beams' terrible force made it through.
Explosions filled many of the central decks, but the ship wasn't destroyed, just crippled, in a horrible position. The Ha'tak's power spluttered and died, and, trailing debris and flame, it drifted.
On the Victory, the bridge shook, vibrations making some bridge-crew grab on to steady themselves. A panel exploded harmlessly in the back ground.
"That one there. Open fiy-re" Suschenko ordered so his tactical officer. "Concentrate beams,"
"Aye, sir." Adams replied.
The Victory's batteries all opened up at once. The closest toilet bowl, the one that was already damaged, was the target.
The shields on the vessel held for only a moment more, before failing completely. The Asgard beams tore through the ships guts, blowing out the other side, spectacularly.
There was a cheer on the bridge, before the communications officer spoke up.
"Sir, we have a com!" the young women called over the cheers.
"Put it on speakers," Suschenko muttered. "And tell them to make it quick,"
There was a brief pause, then a voice came through the speakers, with a distinctly Australian accent.
"Colonel, I suggest you get ready to jump out, and now," the disembodied voice said.
"What? Who is zis?"
"Can't say sir, may be monitored. Can only say, security Ident Cappa-345-60Foxtrot." The colonel nodded to his comms officer, who instantly ran a check. "You have another five Ori ships, sir, on the dark side of the planet. They came out of hyperspace at distance whilst you were engaged,"
The Victory thundered with impacts again, and Suschenko pondered the man's words. The woman on comms nodded an affirmative, and Suschenko cursed loudly.
"Thanks for the heads up. See you on the far side." The colonel spoke before the comm went dead.
Before the colonel could say anything more, the tactical officer cried out. "Another toilet bowl is rising up from the planet's surface, sir!"
Suschenko swore again, drawing worried looks from the senior bridge staff. Against these numbers, even the Victory was of little use.
"Lieutenant, will those 401's make it in time?"
"No, sir,"
"Squawk a secure rally point, then jump out of here," sweat poured from his face, Dmitri, normally calm, was feeling the imminent threat to his ship and crew now.
"Sir?"
"Beam any off the survivors from the Telair, recall the squadrons then jump. We can't fight that many, and we'll lose many more lives if we try. Now, do it!" Suschenko bellowed.
"A...aye, sir," Paul complied.
Commander Helak looked at the message, partially with disgust, partially with the sad knowledge it was the only thing they could do.
The Telair crippled and rifting closer to the enemy. More Ori ships were arriving, and soon he would be unable to help the crew of the Telair. His own ship was in desperate trouble, the shields ready to fail, and with fires on several decks.
"Jaffa, plot the route for the rendezvous."
"It will be done," the Jaffa replied with venom, not to Helak, but to the situation they were now in.
"Do not worry, Benth'an, we will avenge our brothers,"
"Of course, Lord,"
"Sir, forty three from Telair safely aboard, port hangar." Leanne Chung the Victory's XO reported.
"Forty three? Is that all? Is Helak amongst them? "
Leanne spoke briefly to a voice on the other end of her coms unit. " Yes he is sir."
"Have him come up immediately then."
In the 401's, the message was patched round. There was some major cursing and complaining done by the pilots, but none the less they obeyed.
In one, the pilot, a young Mexican lieutenant named Jenero, bemoaned how they were meant to use their short-jump hyperspace engines before they were shot from the sky.
Another 401, beside his own ship, was struck several times as the pilot brought it about, the rail gunner unable to sweep all the enemies off their tail. The explosion lit the cockpit of Jenero's 401 for an instant, a fiery epitaph to the men and women inside the other vessel.
Even as he muttered again, and pulled his craft away from the fight, a larger, black shape darted past, putting itself between the fleeing 401's and the Ori. The shape fired weapons, making several confirmed kills. It cam e around again, guarding the fleeing human heavies.
"Man, I'd like to thank that guy," Jenero muttered a moment before engaging his hyperspace drive.
The rest of the 401 force, the survivors, disappeared from view, a moment after the Victory had disengaged.
All but one.
The SG forces moved through the hangar, policing bodies and weapons. Several wounded enemy took their lives with their wrist mounted blasters, or tried to take some SG personnel with them, rather than receive medical aid. Anne went to help those injured SG personnel, there was not much she could do though without her kit, one of SG16 now wore a part of her jacket sleeve as a memento.
Crichton tried to take a few deep breaths, and realised he'd just had a major adrenaline hit. He was shaking, and his breathing was ragged.
The young captain ejected his magazine, and only noticed, as he went to replace it, that he had none left. Stewart chuckled nervously. If not for Amy Sutton, he would have been so much meat.
None of this, however, eased his anger, the mad, useless hate that had filled him when his team lay dead and injured around him. He wanted payback, and so far, he hadn't had any. The captain stomped off to find someone with G36 clips, feeling like the most dangerous man in the galaxy.
"Still think you didn't need us?" Baker muttered. Anne whipped round and glared at him.
"What was that, captain?"
"Still think you didn't need us, ma'am?" Baker said plainly. Anne couldn't stop a smile.
"True enough, captain. Good thing you disobeyed orders and followed me,"
Kyle grinned slightly, before turning and calling for everyone to gather round. They were aboard; the question was, now what?
Amy stood there, beaming. The AW.50 in it's pack laying before her feet, her rifle still hot, at the ready, she couldn't help but think how proud the Koori nation would be of her, but this was not the time for self pride, there was still a job to do. "Ma'am, we did actually follow orders…sort of." She said meekly. Anne simply frowned a little but let it pass.
Macara stared out the porthole of the 401. The Ori mother ship was rising beside them, making for the outer atmosphere. His pilot was, for the moment, keeping pace.
"Not detecting any shields or sensors working presently, sir," the pilot told the lieutenant-colonel.
"Keep close below her. I don't want someone lookin' out the damned window and seeing us. Real tight, captain."
"Aye, sir."
The tiny ship flew in closer, just as the two vessels breached atmo. The space battle was just ending, and Macara saw the Victory and the other 401's dash away. And he saw the growing Ori fleet.
"We may be in trouble," he breathed.
"Sir!" the pilot said in a panic. "Sir, the Ori ship just rose shields!"
"Get us the hell away from it, then!"
"I can't, colonel. We are in the shield envelope! I'm reading power surge in their engines. I think they're going to hyper drive!"
"Shit! We really are in trouble. Can you get the clamp on their hull? If you don't we are dead,"
"I'll try, sir. I don't know if they'll hold the strain, but I'll try,"
Macara prayed it would work, as he could see the first Ori ships going to hyperspace already.
So far, they had lucked out. No one had missed the dead Ori soldiers and come looking for them. And no one seemed to be patrolling the vast ship.
Baker, Henderson, Ovcharenko and Crichton stood in conversation with Anne. Sergeant Fraser stood with them, a couple of steps back.
The doctor was not at all keen on the idea of going exploring with the others. Baker was not about to let the Admiral's wife wander off alone in an Ori ship.
None of the officer's knew that Anne had ulterior motives. Or, rather, Inarin did.
As soon as the doctor had come aboard, she had sensed them. She knew they were here.
Three descended Ori.
"We have four SAS, three Marines and two pilots, . We can't exactly take this ship," Anne said candidly.
"I count one marine," Crichton muttered childishly.
"Oh, be quiet," Lilly hissed back, only partly serious. Crichton almost cracked a smile. Julie thumped him hard.
"What, limey, you don't think women count as Marines?" She said with practised sarcasm.
"Shut it, people," Baker snapped. Despite Anne's senior rank, he was the ranking combat officer, and he was SF. This was his briefing and his call.
Crichton remembered he was a Royal Marine officer for a moment, and added something helpful to the conversation. "We have half a dozen G36's, and your sniper's rifle, and a side arm each some flash bangs and six grenades. Also, there is a Minim on the LRPV with an egress kit."
"And only a magazine each," added. "We couldn't survive a major fight."
Baker mused for a moment. "What about the LRPV? Any supplies in it?"
"We have rations, British issue, thank God, but no ammo or additional weapons," Julie replied. Like most US troops, she would rather have British rations than MREs any day of the week.
"Could we hole up here until this thing lands again?" Ovcharenko asked. She knew the answer though. Elena had studied what they knew of the Ori ships and how big they were and how many they could carry. The hangar might provide a better defensive position she thought, unless they could space us. She brushed those dark musings aside.
Anne shook her head. "We have no guarantee it will land at all,"
"Well, we can't just stay here." Crichton spat. His anger had not abated.
"No, we can't. Ma'am, the captain is right. We need to move, and soon. Eventually someone will come looking. Even if we can't take the ship, we need to take the bridge, and head somewhere safe." Baker said.
Anne gritted her teeth, but knew the SAS officer also had a damned good point.
"Fine. We shall move on the bridge. Take control," Anne began to say. Before she got any further, the Anne closed her eyes and slumped to the floor as if sleep had suddenly overtaken her.
"Anne? Anne?" Julie cried, dropping to her side.
Inarin stood in the grey surrounds mists rose about her feet. There was nothing, just a soft grey, blurring off into the distance.
Or was it simply an all grey room, wreathed in mist? She'd been here before, many times over the ages. it was not the Ori ship she knew that.
It was a state she knew very well. This was where she came to talk, to argue, to love and live with Agathon whenever their wakeful bodies where not together. She had been summoned, not the first time, but it was unusual, normally it was her doing, not his. Agathon had limited abilities in that regard.
And, yet, there he was.
Features frozen in handsome maturity for all eternity, his aged but regal figure was shrouded in fine grey robes. Normally they would find each other in the clothes they wore, but not this time, this was a meeting, there was another presence here.
"My lord," she curtsied and gave a girlish giggle. Agathon hated those old traditions. He smiled, and gave a stiff bow and a wink.
After a small smile in return from Inarin they embraced. She noticed Agathon flinch, a psychosomatic reaction to the wound his conscious body carried.
"Why have you summoned me, this is not like you?" Inarin asked, looking up into Agathon's steel blue eyes. "What is wrong?"
"My body was badly injured again as I fought with one of them. I am recovering well, for the moment. But I needed to tell you. They are powerful, Inarin. More powerful than we believed. And I think there may be three of them with you."
Inarin's eyes had widened with worry for her soul mate, but tightened at the corners when he mentioned the Descended Ones.
"I know. I felt them when we landed upon their outpost .Yet are they truly that dangerous, we have had their measure before?"
"Not like this. You cannot handle these three alone," Agathon shook his head. "I know you are strong, stronger even than I, I often believe. But you need help."
"Apparently, that's where I come in," a gruff voice, with a sing-song lilt, announced.
Inarin turned and showed utter surprise to see Lorcan appear through the grey mists. The surprise turned to joy at seeing the Celtic Lord. She went and embraced him also, a gesture of the close friendship the three shared.
"It has been too long, Lord Lorcan," she replied to the tall warrior. It seemed strange to see him in the fine robes the likes of which Agathon's spectre rarely appeared in. So this was a joint summoning. Not all Agathon's doing.
"It has, lass, it has. Since the Fallen One's, I believe. But that was another age, wasn't it, the Nephilm, time has come full circle with their undoing. In fact, I thought I was to sleep until it was Macara's time to advance in knowledge. He hasnae come as far as the MacGregor's I'm afraid,"
"Ages come and go Lorcan, this is not our first time, nor will it be the last. We have lived this cycle before, our enemies may change, but our fates do not. We are in another era, another time in Earth's history, but the same pattern. The wheel turns again." Inarin spoke solemnly.
"There is a problem, old friend. Inarin is about to face down our old kin, the Ori in the flesh, beings now that could give the Nephilm pause for thought. Ori, descended from their realm like us. She cannot do this alone old friend. Will you help her?" Agathon asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Aye, Lord, of course. But Nathan, where is he? No, wait, a moment. Let's see if I can still do this,"
Lorcan's brow furrowed. A moment later, his revenant disappeared.
It took only heartbeats, at least, the soul's memory of heartbeats, for him to return.
"He is on a small ship, and from what I can tell, attached to a larger one." The Celtic Warrior muttered. "One that took off from a planet, according to his memories,"
"The ship you are on, Inarin?"
"I don't know. I didn't feel anything, but if Lord Lorcan has slumbered, then..."
Agathon thought on this. "Inarin try and contact Macara. If he is nearby, then he can join you on your mission, and therefore Lorcan can be present,"
She nodded, moving close to Agathon. He put his arms around her and squeezed. Lorcan turned his view away from them, his sense of propriety not left him yet.
"Good Luck," Agathon whispered. Inarin smiled back at him. "Look after her," he said to Lorcan, a hint of a growl in his voice.
"With my very soul, Lord," Lorcan grinned fiercely.
The Ancient Lord nodded to his beloved, and the whiteness faded to black.
Anne blinked, looking at the faces starring worriedly back.
"H...how long have I been out...?" she managed to gasp out the question.
"About twenty seconds," Julie replied. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Honestly, I'm fine," Anne stood to her full height, brushing off the SASR men who tried to help her up. She could let them know who they were really with, not now.
"Are you sure?" Baker asked, knowing that he couldn't worry about Anne potentially falling asleep every two minutes as he tried to take this ship.
"If Captain MacGregor says she's fine, she's fine," Henderson replied for her. Anne smiled at her son's betrothed. He had made a damned fine choice.
"Get me a radio," Anne asked.
"Ma'am?" Fraser looked at her quizzically, never the less passing his mic over.
"Thank you sergeant." She said, before changing the frequency to the Gate Alliance Emergency frequency. "Colonel Macara, come in. Can you hear me?"
There was nothing. Baker frowned, and Julie tried to ask what was Anne was thinking, before a brief, distorted crackle came back.
"This is lieute*crackle*onel Macara. Who is this?"
"Captain Doctor MacGregor. Colonel, are you attached to the ship that just left P5X 449."
There was another pause. Anne realised she hadn't used any code or crypt, but the emergency channel was only know to SG personnel, and it was highly unlikely anyone would stumble on it.
"You're luc*crackle*ky I recognise the voice, ma'am. *crackle*shouldn't admit anything on a radio. We may be, we may not."
"Stand by, colonel. Captain, can we control the hangar bay doors from here?"
Baker looked to Sergeant Fraser who had a small working knowledge of Ancient systems after doing his course at the Gamma site. He nodded.
"I've been looking at the controls for a while, to see if I can get us into locked areas. I should be able to. I can't guarantee I can erect force fields, so you may not want anyone in here if I have to open those bay doors. But I can let them in safely at least."
"Very good. What do you have planned, ma'am?" Baker addressed Anne again.
"When we drop out of..." she began. There was a brief lurch as the ship transitioned to normal space. "Ah, timing. Brilliant. We need to get the colonel and his troops in here, Captain. It will...improve our chance of taking the ship," Anne finished, only partially truthful.
Baker didn't notice. He liked the idea.
"Very good, ma'am. Right, let's get to it! Move everyone out into the corridors, captains," he spoke to his Marines and the Russian pilot.
Anne smiled slightly. She was about to have a reckoning. And she wouldn't be alone.
Ishta's Ha'tak dropped out of hyperspace above P5X 449. As it did, the Free Jaffa leader stood, shock on her face.
"Scan the area! Find the ships we were to meet here!" she demanded.
"Yes, milady," the Jaffa on the scanners said hurriedly, punching some keys. He spoke up only moments later. "The debris, milady. Our scans show it to be from multiple vessels. And the burning wreck is the Telair," the Jaffa confirmed Ishta's fears.
Ishta cursed loudly, in anger. "And the other debris?"
"Tau'ri and Ori. There has been a large explosion on the planet, with a huge area flattened. It seems they have been defeated and destroyed, milady."
Ishta swore in Jaffa again. "Take us from this place. We must let the SGC know of this,"
"It will be done, m'lady,"
The crew of the small blackened ship watched as the Ori craft began making the jump into an opened hyper-window, there was little they could do now. The Tauri ship had managed to flee to safety, all the could do now was follow. Some short time later they shot into an area seemingly unfamiliar to all but one of the crew. A huge devise hung in the vastness not far from where the Ori ships had paused.
"What the hell is that?" The young bearded pilot asked in dismay.
The only member of the crew who knew, Krael, once a Jaffa in Ba'al's service spoke up. "It's a cursed Ori device, your people call it a Super Gate, we're are near one of my former master's hidden worlds, look there." He pointed to the planet not far below. "No one comes here, it is not on the gate system, he hid it well, none know of it's existence."
The pilot examined the monstrous device. "Well these guys sure do, hang on…."
The gate burst into life, the Ori ships began to move. "It looks as if one of our guys has the same idea…shit he's just docked into that last ship. Christ, somethings very wrong here..ok guys we're going through that." He nodded toward the enormous blue-white puddle and pushed the power controls forward. There was no turning back now.