Chapter 13: Cut
P3E-610
11:00 A.M (Zulu Time)
As light poured onto her face, Alexeyeva winced and almost fell back down. Then a hand, reaching out for her, blocked the sun.
"Not bad for the first day on the job, no?"
It was Ortega.
"Da," The Russian replied, grabbing the Sergeant's hand. "I should more careful when it comes to touching things,"
"No," Ortega corrected, pulling the Russian out of the collapsed tunnel.
"I'm talking about the ZPM,"
"What about it?"
"You're pretty damn lucky to find one,"
"What in god's name is so special about these things?" Alexeyeva asked, wiping the dust off her uniform.
"See, Ruski!" Mitchell commented below her, showing off the ZPM. "I told you that your smarts would get you somewhere,"
"Da, Colonel," The Russian answered. "Six feet under, as you Amerikantsy say,"
Mitchell, after putting away the alien power core in to his backpack, had placed his hands up in defense.
"Hey," He replied. "You win some and you loose some, that's how the game is played,"
The Russian became agitated, disgusted with such a response.
"What game?" She asked, jumping down. "Since when does dying have anything to do with treasure hunting?"
Mitchell shook his head as the Russian approached him.
"You signed on for this, you know the risks," He replied.
Alexeyeva, stopped, taking a deep breath before answering.
"Nuclear-Terrorism or melt-down…o-or death of hostages is a risk," She calmly answered. "Being buried alive for something that I don't even know about, isn't,"
Mitchell, feeling empathy, placed his hand on her shoulder.
"No one died today, Ruski," He told her. "And you got us something we're gonna really need,"
Alexeyeva nodded.
"Understood Colonel," She replied. "Now lets retur–"
All of a sudden, two objects flew across the sky with amazing speed. The four quickly took cover behind several downed pillars, hoping to avoid detection.
"What the hell?" The Russian asked, catching her breath.
"Death Gliders," Ortega commented, spitting at the ground in disappointment.
"What are they?" The Russian asked further.
"Fighter interceptors," Mitchell replied.
Alexeyeva was shocked. Despite reading all those science-fiction novels during her youth, she had not yet come to realize just how advanced aliens had become.
"Alien fighter jets?" The Russian asked, in disbelief.
"Not jets…exactly," Mitchell tried to explain "They're like…jets but…ah you get the idea,"
Daniel reached for his radio and pressed against the talk button, hoping to communicate with the guard detail back at the gate.
"Vala, Teal'c, are you there?" He talked into the microphone.
No answer.
"Teal'c, Vala,"
Silence.
"No me gusta esto," 'I don't like this.' Ortega commented.
Seven Minutes Earlier…
Using his bag as a pillow for comfort and his Boonie Hat as a cover his face from the sun, Major Witkowski slept unsoundly behind the gate while Vala and Private Williams were sitting on the stairs. Teal'c was standing guard nearby with his staff weapon at hand, leaning against it. Boredom lingered in the air as the only sounds were breathing, wildlife and the occasional sound their weapons made when they were adjusted.
"This isn't fair," Vala mumbled, placing her head on her hands.
Williams, who had been using her rifle as support to sit up straight, eyed the alien next to her.
"Whatever do ya mean, Miss," She asked.
Vala simply shrugged.
"It's just that Daniel and Cam get to go off with the two new guys on something that might need my expertise and–"
"Only one of them is new, aussie," Witkowski mumbled through his hat. "The other I actually trust,"
"You mean Lieutenant Colonel Alexeyeva, Major?" Williams asked, teasingly.
Witkowski raised his right hand, giving the V sign.
Williams looked back, sighing.
"That doesn't work in North America," She said to the Major, referring to the explicit insult he attempted to make.
The first chevron on the Stargate suddenly illuminated, followed by the sound of the gate activating. Everyone eyed the portal, confused.
"General Carter did not tell us that she would be checking up on our progress," Teal'c commented.
"Teal'c is right," Witkowski commented, getting up, placing his hat back on his head. "General Carter wasn't supposed to check up on us for another hour,"
"Well someone is calling," Vala replied, getting off the steps.
Williams followed, arming her rifle. Several moments later, after the Stargate opened with the kawhoosh, a blue event horizon had appeared. Aiming her rifle at the gate, Williams secretly hoped that it wasn't someone unwanted. The last thing she wanted was more trouble to deal with. This was her first mission off-world after all.
A single plop from the portal proved her wrong. A small sphere landed before Vala's feet, making a small pinging noise.
"What the hell is that?" Williams asked.
Vala, beginning to panic, backed away.
"Everyone ru–"
Before anyone could react, however, a white light originating from the sphere blinded everyone and knocked them out cold.
As if on que, a moment later, two pairs of feet emerged from the portal, revealing two men in uniform. One of them signaled the other to make sure that there was no one left standing. After a brief survey of the immediate area, the other told the other that the gate was secure.
"Good," The first replied. "Let's hope that power source is still within reach,"
Just before the blinding light could reach his eyes, Major Witkowski dashed towards the treeline, evading the harming effects of the Gou'ald Tok'Kal, their version of a flash grenade. He dove to the ground once trees were over his head, becoming covered with the lush green vegetation for concealment. The moment he heard the attempted warning from Vala, the Major knew it wasn't something to question. Underneath the brush, Witkowski's breathing intensified once he looked back to find two people emerging from the gate. Worse still, more followed, many more. This, as the Englishman realized, was an invasion, an attack. The Major managed to slow his breathing, knowing he will have to keep calm and try to think of a way to avoid confrontation. As he began to think, trying to count how many hostiles there were, a crackle from his radio began emitting.
"Vala, Teal'c, are you there?"
The Major recognized the archeologist's voice.
"Teal'c, Vala,"
After a brief hesitation, Witkowski answered.
"Keep it down, damn you," He replied through the radio.
"What's going on?" Daniel asked.
"We got company," Witkowski answered. "I say again, the gate is no longer secure,"
Alexeyeva cursed under her breath when she heard those words. She had forgotten that unpleasant surprises, like these, were common for those from Stargate Command. The other SG members, already accustomed to these unpleasant surprises, begun to think of a plan.
"So," Ortega began, sitting down next to a downed pillar. "Any ideas anyone?"
A single drop of water fell from the sky.
There was silence.
Ortega waited for a reply.
Rain had begun to fall, but still no one answered.
"I would truly appreciate some help here," Witkowski's voice echoed from their communication equipment.
Alexeyeva reached for her radio and transmitted a message.
"We'll think of something, Major," She spoke into the microphone. "Until then, do what you can to evade the enemy,"
"Easy for you to say," Witkowski's irritation could be felt through the radio waves.
The unknown men guarding the gate took the others captive, as the Major looked on. This was all too familiar to him though. Three years earlier, on a mission in South East Asia back on Earth, Witkowski found himself in a similar position. This was how he lost the trust of his subordinates when he failed to save their informant from being executed. This time he knew it was different because, if he failed, his team would not be alive to criticize him. A head-on assault, for the Major, was not an option and, until someone came up with an idea and executed it…SG-1 and 26 would remain cut off from any escape to Earth.