CHAPTER 19
It took Daniel and Jack almost four hours and having to play the game they made from paper and rocks they found big enough to write on to come up with a way to maybe beat it. It took another couple of hours to finally succeed in not getting themselves killed. Jack surprised everyone by doing it on the third try. He did it by actually winning the game.
"Good work Jack. I'm impressed." Daniel said as the door opened. It lead up to another doorway of Goa'uld design.
"I recognize this language but it has not been used for sometime." Teal'c said.
"It's very old. A cross between Chinese and Japanese and maybe Mongolian."
"Mono….what?" Jack asked. "Wait. Never mind I asked. Just open the door."
"I'm trying to Jack, but I'm not sure what the answer to the riddle is."
"What does it say?"
"Ye can only pass if ye answer this……the problem with the question is that the question has faded with time. Erosion or something has made it impossible to figure out."
"So what now? Can be blow the door?"
"I believe we can O'Neill. There is no heat emanating from the floor." Teal'c said touching it.
"Sweet! Finally something simple." Jack stated as he pulled his block of C4.
Daniel placed his in one corner while Jack put his in the other. They backed up into the room with the chess board and took cover. Jack pushed the detonator which followed after with a loud bang. As the dust settled they walked past rocks and parts of the door and went through. Inside was exactly what they were waiting to find. A smaller sized Goa'uld mother ship. Crystals that made their own light lined the large cavern and made their flashlights unnecessary. They looked back seeing the doors to the chess room close and then another metal panel come over the door they just blew up.
"I think we are trapped in here." Daniel said.
"Indeed. These ships have not been in service for some time."
"Let's worry about that later and see if we can find a way into this thing." Jack said walking off.
Jack tried Carter again only to get static. The guys tried getting the same thing.
"We'll try again in a few minutes and hope we get something then. If I forget, remind me." Jack said.
It didn't take them long to find an opening. Since the power was off in the ship, they walked into the landing bay. A few death gliders were still hanging in there alcoves while some had fallen some time ago. They hadn't exploded, but they weren't getting up either.
"Let's find the bridge and see if any power is left."
With no power they had to force the door open. When they did, power returned and the alarms went off.
They all walked into the room expecting an attack and found nothing of the sort. Instead it was an empty room, floor wise. There was hanging pillars and ledges that came close to the floor, but didn't touch. More ladders built into the pillars were everywhere. It didn't take long for Ford and Lara to see that it was another long climbing experience as well as acrobatics thrown in.
"Lucky me." Lara muttered as she jumped up and started climbing. "Oh well."
Carter was looking at the different routes up and realized all that Lara had to do. She knew she was athletic and kept in shape but what Lara was doing was something she didn't think she could even come close to doing. Mel was watching as Ford looked around at the different ladders and route.
Lara climbed the middle hanging pillar and got to the top with little trouble. From there she saw another hanging pillar several feet off to her right and another one connected to where she was to her left. A ledge from the wall attached to the walkway she was on. The ledge moved down the room away from the door and went behind another pillar. She followed it having to go extra slow as to not fall what must be a good ten feet from the floor. Once behind the pillar she found another ladder. She proceeded up it and came to a walkway that was just above the other below. She looked around seeing a ledge off to her right with a small statue in the wall. A very small statue. Making a running jump she landed in front with no trouble. She looked for traps but didn't find anything. The statue was on a Samurai warrior in the first fighting stance for Bushido.
(A.U.: If there isn't such a thing, silly me, I didn't look hard enough to find out.)
When she picked it up they all heard the noise of something hitting the ground, but from the other room. Carter went out slowly and looked around. She found the first switch was missing the handle. There was an open section behind where the handle was. The handle had rolled off a few feet away. Carter walked back in and yelled up to Lara what she found out. Lara could see them off to the side and yelled down for someone to catch. She dropped the statue and Ford caught it. Lara yelled down for Carter to place it in that spot. When Carter went out and put it in, a noise above Lara caught her attention.
"Great that means two more of those buggers."
She ran and jumped back over and then looked around seeing she had to go back down which she did in frustration. As she was coming back across the walkway from the ledge she heard gun fire.
After Carter placed the statue in she also heard a faint click. She started back when she heard movement. Looking up she saw one of the Samurai's had came from their alcoves. He pulled his sword and slowly came after her. She was about to fire when she thought better of it. Running back she informed them they had company coming. Ford got in the doorway and pulled the shotgun out.
"I knew it. Just stay behind me."
"Wait a minute! You're not going out there…"
"No Carter. I'm staying here. When he gets closer then I'll plug him. My head and hands are the only real vulnerable spots."
The Samurai continued forward with the sword in a down position. As he got closer he raised it into the first stance just like the statue was in. Ford was getting bored. The guy was moving slowly. Slow enough Ford put his gloves on.
"How close are you going to let him get?"
"Oh…another few feet." Ford said bringing the shotgun up slowly.
The guy noticed and brought the sword in front of him. Ford instantly noticed it was a stance to block incoming fire, but that was for arrows and such. Not twelve gauge solid slugs. When the guy got within seven feet Ford pulled up quickly and fired. The sword shattered as the slug connected with it, went through it and took the guys head off. The Samurai dropped to the ground and his body turned to sand within seconds. The armor then collapsed since nothing was holding it up.
"That was easy." he said cocking it with a twirl.
"Everything okay down there?!" Lara yelled.
"Just fine. Keep going." Carter yelled back.
"Damn, I broke a good sword."
Lara shrugged and stood up from her kneeling position. She started climbing the one on her left that was attached to the one leading back to the floor. She realized as she got to the top she had to swing around to the side. Once she done that she had to climb another four feet then do a turning in midair jump and grab the ladder behind her. Once she did that and climbed to the top she sat down a moment to give her fingers a break.
"Maybe fingered gloves would be a better idea."
Looking around she noticed an empty wall behind her. Off to her left was that one pillar from below that she decided to go last at. It was a far jump anyway, unfortunately it was the one she should have taken. Even though it was one straight, long climb, she could see from where she was that it went to a walkway that connected to the wall. From there a ledge went over to another statue in the wall, but it was behind a small metal grate, so maybe it was last. Standing up she made a running jump forward and grabbed the wall. Climbing again she went up over ten feet and had to do another midair turn around jump. Climbing some more led up to a ledge at the top near the ceiling. She turned around seeing another statue in the wall, but no way to get to it. Looking more closely she noticed the way she came up, but across from the ladder section had a panel that would come up to make a bridge, but just to the right of the ladder. Unfortunately it was against the wall. She looked around and groaned seeing there was a lever in the wall near the other statue. She went down and around, made the jump, climbed and ran over to the lever. In frustration she pulled the lever. Up above the panel moved into place. She started back up as quickly as she could without falling.
Ford was watching and got frustrated as well.
"What idiot went through all this trouble to get two statues?"
"Are you asking or thinking aloud?" Mel asked.
"Thinking aloud."
Lara walked up and pulled the statue free. It was the same as the first but was in the second stance of Bushido. There was another noise of something hitting the floor in the other room and the sound of chirping above her. She put the statue away and pulled her guns. She dropped to the ledge and fired.
Down below they started hearing gun fire and as Carter figured, Ford said wait. It didn't take long to see what the shooting was about. Three bats hit the floor, almost all in the same place. Luckily it was on the other side of the room. They could see from the fall that they spattered enough blood around.
Lara yelled down to Carter to catch. After Carter caught it she proceeded back to the area with the lever. Carter went into the room again slowly watching for more Samurai. Seeing all but one still there and not moving she placed the second statue in the slot for the second switch. It also had dropped its handle section revealing a hollow spot. She figured it would happen for the third one. Once she heard a click she ran back over into the other room. Ford watched her run by and moved back into the doorway. As he figured another guy was coming at them with his sword drawn. This guy was rushing them in the second stance. Ford didn't even wait and fired twice. One took his head off and the other went through his hands taking the sword handle out and went through the body armor throwing the guy back several feet. As before the body turned to dust and the armor collapsed in on itself.
"This is getting to be routine. At least we know what will activate the third guy." Ford said cocking the gun. "Broke that sword too. Damn it."
"Nice shooting." Carter said walking away when Lara called for her.
Ford watched her go as he tapped the rifle on his shoulder.
"You really care about her."
"With all my heart."
"Does she know?"
"Not entirely. But I guess from what she heard before about me loving her, she probably gets the idea."
Lara watched the small gate rise and she grabbed the statue. As before the sound of something falling was heard. Since Ford and Mel already knew what it was they didn't bother to turn around. Lara called down to Carter who caught the statue. Lara climbed down the ladder and dropped the last five feet. A small pillar arose from the floor and a T shaped switch came out of the top. Lara grabbed it and began to push down when Carter yelled.
"Ford behind you!"
Ford turned around quickly as Samurai warrior thrust forward with his blade. It slid off a section of the armor in the coat and sank into something. Ford stepped back slightly from the thrust. He didn't feel any pain. He brought the shotgun down over the guys hands making him release the sword. As the guy fell back he gave him a roundhouse kick to the head. The helmet fell off as did the guys head. He collapsed forward onto his knees and then the armor fell into a bundle as the body turned to dust. The ladies rushed forward seeing Ford was standing still.
"Ford!" Carter cried out seeing the blade was a good inch or more in. "You okay?"
He handed the shotgun over to Mel and grabbed the blade. With a quick yank it came free from him. There wasn't any blood on it.
"That explains no pain." he muttered.
"Scared me to death!" Carter said nearly smacking him. She realized early on don't do that with that coat.
"I wasn't trying to scare you." he said still looking at the blade and hit coat. "Hey, I got a unbroken sword."
"You sure he didn't hit you?" Carter asked.
"I don't smell any blood." Mel said.
"No pain. What the hell did he hit?" Ford pulled his coat open and looked at the location. The blade should have went into his heart, instead it got stuck in his book.
"Damn. I was enjoying that." he said pulling it out.
There was a nice big stab mark in the middle. It went through most of the book. Carter grabbed it.
"Is this the book I gave you?"
"Yeah. No good now."
"It just saved your life. Better put it back. Might do it again."
Lara was glad to see he wasn't hurt so she walked back over and pushed the switch down. A noise was heard above the door with the metal lock. It had moved up some but not enough to open the door. Ford grabbed the sheath from the guy who attacked him as she came out.
"This sword was folder over a hundred times. No wonder it managed to get past one of my plates. Incredible, it would need an extreme amount of punishment before breaking."
"Such as that shotgun?"
"Well slugs do a lot of damage naturally."
"Let's go." Carter said looking at the statue.
This one showed a third stance. Ford tied the sheath to his belt and kept his coat open this time. He put the shotgun away. Lara, Mel and Ford where standing at the bottom of the stairs as Carter put the last statue in. A resounding click was heard and the other door opened. The other three Samurai came to life as well. Carter rushed down to the others and fired off a burst that the guy nearest them. He twitch and jerked but didn't fall. Once Carter stopped shooting, he pulled his sword as did the others. They came at them in a line formation.
"This is like watching the British attack back when we fought for independence." Ford muttered.
"Aim for the head." Carter said.
They all took aim and fired. They didn't last long and certainly never got close to coming with in attacking distance. Ford put the shotgun away again and picked up another sword that didn't get damaged. He put it in its sheath and tossed it to Lara.
"What's that for?" Carter asked.
"Some women collect shoes, I collect weapons." Lara said tying the sword to her pack.
Carter raised her eyebrow and shook her head. They walked into the new room carefully watching for another attack. As soon as they entered, Ford suddenly felt funny. They all felt something wrong, Ford just felt it more.
"This is a trap."
"For some reason, I feel it too." Carter said looking around with her gun up.
She could swear something bad was about to happen. Even Lara was itchy on her guns.
"Something is not right here. It feels…..wrong. Evil maybe." Mel said rubbing her arms.
Her fur was standing up. Ford noticed his hair was standing up some as was Carters. Lara had hers plastered to her head as always, but it was standing in a few places anyway.
"There's a strong electrical charge in the room." Ford said touching the wall.
"You're right. That's what it is." Carter said lowering her gun. "But what's it coming from?"
The room was probably a twenty by twenty. It was empty except for a pedestal in the middle of the room. It had a pyramid top that opened as they got closed. A T-shaped switch was in it. Very small compared to the other one Lara had to push down. When Lara went to grab it a panel opened above it and a metal four sided spike came down. Electricity zapped around and up and down it. Lara jumped flipped back quickly as a bolt of electrical energy blasted the spot she was just in. Ford shoved Carter and Mel aside and pulled his gun out. As the two ladies hit the ground Ford was struck with a bolt. He staggered but didn't fall.
Felt worse than those zat guns.
No kidding. Felt like several taser hits.
Lara fired her guns at it, but they only bounced off. Carter yelled at Lara to cover her ears as Ford was struck again at the same time he blasted a hole through the spike. It exploded into pieces and stopped electrifying the air. The room seemed to shift then as though something strange just happened. Carter could almost swear she saw two Ford's for just a brief moment. Shaking her head she saw him still on the ground. Everyone felt a little like they all got shocked. Everyone's ears where ringing and they all had to wait a moment before they could move without feeling dizzy. After a few moments, they were able to move again, but it was somewhat slowly. Lara put her guns away and help the other two get Ford out of the room. They brought him over to the steps and set him down.
"How bad you hurt Ford?"
"A little tired, but fine. My boots and coat took most of it." he said leaning back.
"What?" Lara asked.
"His boots have a lot of rubber as does his coat. He told me once he got tired of being hit with taser guns. Since he could block most bullets, he was susceptible to electric attacks as he put it. He fixed that after being fried a few times." Carter said.
She was looking in Ford's eyes. Ford looked around as she said to and told her he could still see straight.
"Do you need my help?" Lara asked.
"No. I've got it. Thanks though."
Lara walked off and pushed the switch. She felt a residual of current in it, but not enough to hurt her. Just numbed her hand some. The bar above to door pulled up all the way. A click was heard and the door cracked open. They'd have to pull the door open to go through. Since Ford was still resting she decided to wait before opening it. She was used to doing things alone, but their help was making things easier. She sat down with the others and waited. Ford mentioned something about giving him five and he passed out saying Herc needed a few moments. Carter checked his pulse and realized he fell asleep.
"He's going to be fine. Strangely enough. I'll give him ten minutes of rest and keep watch on him. In the meantime, anyone else hungry?" she said digging through pack.
She tried Jack again and got more static. Try again later she thought as she opened a cereal bar. Certainly much better than an MRE.
IN THE SAME UNIVERSE, BUT ALTERNATE……REALITY SHIFTED……
Carter could almost swear that she saw two Ford's for just a brief moment. Shaking her head she saw him leaning against the pedestal that he stumbled into. He reached up grabbing the T shaped switch. His tired feeling from the shock left him as it seemed to be absorbed by the switch he was holding. He looked at his hand as the others got up.
"Ford?"
"I'm fine. Something seems different."
"Different how?"
"I'm not sure. That buzz feeling is still in the room. I thought that controlled it." he pointed out.
"Let's leave before it tries to zap any of us again." Lara said.
She was reaching for the switch when Ford stopped her.
"I'll do it. When I touched it, it seemed to absorb the excess energy I had, or that's what it felt like." he said pushing it down.
Instead of the obvious happening, the door to the room they were in closed. They all looked up as it slammed shut.
"That wasn't suppose to happen?" Lara said. "At least not in my experience."
Ford tried pulling the switch up but it would give. When he tried harder it turned slightly.
"Hmm?"
"What is it?" Lara asked.
"It wants to turn. That's different."
"Then turn it." Carter said.
Ford shrugged and turned it. Instantly the room brightened and they all couldn't see anymore. Blackness followed soon after for them all. They all woke up again when they appeared a few feet above the ground. That didn't last long though. Ford came down first followed by Mel, then Carter and Lara. No bones broke or cracked, but he was going to be sore in the morning. They all groaned with the exception of Ford who couldn't since he face was buried in the ground. Someone was on top of his head.
"Mmppphhh.!!!!!"
"What was that?" Carter asked trying to roll off.
Ford couldn't pick himself up since his hands were in the wrong places, so he opted for the other idea. He rolled himself over knocking the ladies off.
"Sorry ladies, but I don't breath dirt." he said spitting and coughing. He rubbed his nose which aggravated it enough he sneezed. "That's better. You all okay?"
The ladies were getting up off themselves after being dumped. Ford was wiping his face with his handkerchief as they rubbed sore spots. Mel grabbed her neck and said something about having a burning sensation. Ford felt it to.
The device on your brainstem has burnt out. Your body will most likely absorb it now that it has broken free. We're free to move alone again.
"Herc says the devices quit. Let's find out." Ford said getting up and helping the other up.
He started walking away when he realized they were not underground. In fact they were no where in China from the looks of things.
"What the? How did we end up in a forest?"
Carter was looking around as well. They were in a forest. The air was clean and clear. No signs of animals though. Mountains in the distance. Lara was even surprised by their location.
"Colonel?" she said trying the com line.
They all heard something, but it didn't sound anything like they knew. More like computer code or something. They ignored it and tried to figure out where they were.
"I've never went straight from being inside a deep mountain to a large and quite beautiful forest. This is…..weird." Lara said looking around.
Mel smelled something in the air. Now back on Earth she realized what the smell of humans was like compared to her planet which had….well animals. Her planet gave off a different smell since humans or un-animal kind hadn't lived there for a long time. For some reason this place smelled like her planet, not the same but close.
"We didn't arrive on my planet somehow did we?"
"Not to my knowledge and I don't see how. Why?" Carter asked.
"This place smells a lot like where I'm from. More of my kind or animal kind as you would put it. Not like animals, animals. More like me."
Ford took his coat off and climbed a tree. It took a moment for them to realize he was missing. The breaking of branches caught their attention.
"See anything?" Carter yelled up.
"There's a massive amount of smoke off to the east. It looks bad out there. The west looks nice though. I'd say there's a small camp fire about a mile away from the look of things. Wait a minute. I'm more that twenty five feet away aren't I?"
"Yeah. Yeah! You are! You're both free again!" Carter exclaimed.
Mel perked up feeling better again. She walked away a few steps making a better confirmation.
"No more headaches." she said relieved.
"Same here." Ford said coming down. The last dozen feet or so he just dropped.
"Which way should we go….we're not alone." he said quickly grabbing his coat. Everyone was on alert then.
They could hear movement off in front of them in a dense part of the bushes and thick section of trees. They got down and moved closer and peered through the bushes as they heard….robotic voices.
"No sign of Freedom Fighters here. False alarm. Returning to base."
Search farther was screamed into someone's com line. The robot said affirmative. They then heard robotic movements as well as the ground shaking some. They backed up quickly and got behind some trees. Three large gray robots with dome heads and a red bar for an eye came through the brush. Ford forgot they were hiding and blurted out,
"SWATBOTS!!!! What the hell is going on!?"
Carter rolled her eyes and elbowed Ford for his stupidity.
"Alert! Unknown intruder! Surrender by order of Doctor Robotnick!" One of the robots said bringing its arm up. The other two did the same as they marched forward.
Ford stepped out without drawing a weapon. Since he didn't tell the others not to move they came out as well.
"You will surrender yourself to the will of Doctor Robotnick. Any deviation from this course will result in immediate use of force!"
"Head for cover!" Ford shouted as he rushed the robots.
Carter started to yell when a laser beam passed by her head. She dropped quickly and fired at the farthest robot. He danced to the riddle of bullets and collapsed. The second one fell under Lara's gun fire. Ford had literally ripped the robot in front of him apart. Their gun fire was heard miles around.
"Intruders must be eliminated!"
They turned seeing three more come out of the brush behind them. Mel turned around shooting one in the head. He collapsed quickly. Carter and Lara started shooting but not before one of the robots got a lucky shot off. It caught Mel in the head. She didn't even scream, she just collapsed. While Carter rushed over to see if it was fatal Ford pulled his shotgun out. Three more came out from behind Lara and didn't even have a chance to say anything or bring their arms up to fire. Ford rapidly blew holes through them. He quickly glanced around looking for more.
"How bad is she?" Lara asked.
"I don't know. She's alive, but beyond that I'm not sure." Carter said.
Mel had a burnt patch of skin and fur on top of her head. There was some blood, but not enough that it looked life threatening.
"We have to get out of here." Ford said with a growl.
"Why did you attack them! They could….."
"I know where we are Carter and those damned robots would have taken us to our death. Trust me." he said reloading the shotgun. "I'll carry her. Do whatever you think you need to make her travel worthy."
"Moving her could kill her."
"Staying here will get us killed. There's a good thousand or more of those robots. I don't have to ammo to protect us."
Carter nodded and did what she could. Lara helped seeing she had medical training. Ford got his personal gun out and placed the scope on it. Looking around he found more troops coming about a half a mile away. He put it back and pulled the his Desert Eagle and put the scope on it instead.
"She's as ready as she'll ever be." Carter said.
Ford carefully picked her up in his arms. He glanced back telling them they had company coming. Seeing as they had little time they took off quickly. They managed to get a mile away before having to rest. Well Carter and Lara anyway.
"Stay here and watch her. I'm going to lay some traps for our friends." he said walking off.
"How long will you be?"
"Few minutes."
They took a drink and kept quiet while Ford was gone. He came up almost five minutes later.
"They're still looking. About a mile back still. Let's go. We don't want to be around when those traps go off."
They kept running even after hearing several explosions. It didn't take long and they heard a few more.
"That's that. Let's hope the get the message." Ford said as they kept going. They all stopped though when the sound of a sonic boom passed by.
"What was that?" Carter asked seeing as no planes were around.
"Sonic!!" Ford yelled loud enough Carter and Lara covered their ears.
Mel started waking up slowly. Her head really hurt and she didn't feel well. Nausea and pain hit her as she tried to move. She realized that someone was carrying her when she was set down. Her head was kept in the air though. Her sight was hazy, but she could tell Ford was holding her.
"Melissa? Come on. Time to wake up." Ford said. She was trying to open her eyes.
"I'm starting to wish I had taken more medical classes." Carter said.
Lara pulled her guns as another sonic boom was heard. A blue….animal of some sort was standing a good hundred feet away. He looked ready to fight. She was about to shoot when Ford grabbed her guns.
"Don't shoot! On this planet, humans are the bad guys. Animals are not." Ford said handing the guns back slowly. "Both of you be prepared to be surprised and looked at as the enemy. Considering where we are, trust me when I say Carter that you follow my lead. Anything else could get us killed."
"Is that a hedgehog?" Lara asked.
"Yeah. It's Sonic." Ford looking at Mel again.
"Wait a minute. You don't mean Sega's mascot?" Carter asked surprised.
"Interesting you actually know that. Yes he is." Ford said waving Sonic to come over to them.
He just seemed to be watching them and looking off to the right. Ford could hear the Swatbots still coming. Ford picked Mel up again and had them follow him. Several yards later they got down behind a large section of boulders.
"Stay here and hopefully friends will be along. If you come under fire, shoot robots only."
"Where are you going?" Carter ordered.
"To buy time. They can't hurt me. Also, aim for their head. Those red area's are their sight and apparent power source." he said pulling his Desert Eagle.
He gave Carter a quick kiss, which surprised her, and moved off before she could stop him. Sonic wasn't there anymore.
"Damn. I got to do this alone then." he muttered.
Carter watched him run off while Lara reloaded. Mel was leaning against the boulder trying to stay conscious.
"What happened?" she asked with a slurry voice.
"You got shot in the head, it's mostly a third degree burn on the outside, but if it did any internal damage, I can't tell." Carter said looking her over.
"That bad. I thought it was worse." she said holding her head gently.
"Careful, you don't want to aggravate it." Lara said.
"We making a last stand?"
"No. We're holding our ground till Ford returns or until we have to make a run for it. Hopeful the first." Carter said.
"I lost my weapon." Mel said leaning back. She started to pass out again when Carter shook her awake gently.
"You have to stay awake. I can tell how you're doing if you're awake. If you go to sleep, you might not wake up."
"All right. Help me stand. I can stay awake better if I'm more alert."
Carter thought it was a bad idea, but helped her up when she insisted. Mel was looking ready to pass out but held to the large rock and looked out with them. Carter gave her the nine millimeter she carried. Mel held it loosely but at ready.
"Let's hope Ford figures something out quickly." Lara said.
Seeing Sonic had left, Ford ran down through the trees they previously came from. It didn't take long to find the group of Swatbots. As soon as they saw him they started opening fire. Ford covered his face as he emptied his clip into the group. When he ran empty he hid behind a tree and put the gun away quickly while pulling his grenade launcher out. Rolling out from the tree he had to roll backward as a metal fist hit the ground where he was just at. He got up running away as he fired. The explosion blew several of the Swatbots away. He reloaded and fired again and then did it three more times before stopping and switching to using his fist. He ran out into the smoke and grabbed the nearest Swatbot, spun it around knocking it into a couple of others that were trying to get off the ground. A blast in his back made him turn around. He ducked as another blast came by. A quick fist through the Swatbot and he ripped several wires and parts out. He smashed a few others before he decided to stop and listen. There was smoke and electrical zaps but nothing that sounded like anything moving. Kicking a Swatbot at his feet, he ran away.
Carter looked at her watch seeing Ford had been gone for twenty minutes. Mel was still awake but looking woozy. Lara had climbed up to the top of the boulder to get a better view. She slid down saying someone was coming. They watched seeing a couple of those robots heading for their position. Lara got up and started to fire when several shots hit the rock and ground sending up small explosions. Lara dropped her guns and got down as blood began running down her arm. There was a few places her legs were bleeding from, from being hit by the small explosions in the rock. She clamped a hand over her arm where the bleeding was. A rock had made a good half inch slash in her upper left arm. Carter tried to shoot back when her gun didn't work. Mel managed to get a few rounds off when she dropped to the ground. The nine landed next to Carter as she dropped her gun and picked up the pistol. She stood up empting the clip into one of the bots. It fell over as its head exploded. The other one started trying to concentrate its fire on her. Carter got down quickly as she dropped the clip as the robot kept chipping at the rock as it got closer.
"Ford we need you!!!" she yelled into the com unit.
Tossing the nine aside she picked up Lara's guns.
"They won't…" Lara started to say.
Carter didn't hear the rest as she stood up and pulled the triggers. Nothing happened. She tried again as the robot lined her up in its sights. She heard the whine of the laser powering up and knew she didn't have time to get down so she dropped the pistols and waited for the end. Suddenly the weapon shut down and the robot split in two, from down the middle. Ford rushed over quickly and dropped the sword as he hugged her.
"Are you alright?" he asked with concern.
"I am now. I could swear my life was flashing before my eyes." she said barley holding back tears.
"I'm here now. I won't leave again. I shouldn't have left."
"Damn straight." she said smacking his chest. Since his coat was open she didn't hurt her hand.
"How about you?"
"Give me a moment to patch myself up." Lara said running through her pack.
Carter only had a few scratches on her face from the flying rocks, but other than that she was okay. Mel had definitely passed out and didn't look like she was going to wake any time soon.
"She might have damage done to her brain. I can't tell though. The injury could have caused her speech to be slurred or it could be from an internal injury."
"Let's hope Dr. Quack knows what to do." Ford said picking her up slowly.
"Doctor who?"
Ford tried not to fall down as he laughed. "Not who…never mind. You'll see later. I think I know where we need to go."
Lara had a bandage around her arm and a couple around her legs. She had to stitch herself up so she had blood on her still. She also smelled of alcohol.
"Think you're up for a long walk?" Ford asked.
"Why? You think you carry me and her at the same time?" Lara said putting her pack back on. Carter helped so she didn't tear her stitches out.
"If I slung you both over my shoulder. But I can't do that with her."
"Then let's go before you may have to."
They spent the next two hours walking through the forest as they traveled west. Ford kept looking at the trees with scrutiny as though he was trying to find something. They asked and he said he was looking for anything out of place. It didn't take long before several animals jumped out from the bushes several feet from them all. Normally Ford wouldn't have a problem, but someone he didn't like was there. Geoffrey. Geoffrey St. John, the skunk. A couple of badgers were with him. They had crossbows and all aimed at them. Lara went for her guns and Ford glared at her.
"Drop all weapons or we will shoot!" John yelled to them.
"Drop them. We'll get them back. Just do it for now." he said slowly putting Mel on the ground.
He opened his coat taking the guns out slowly. He emptied the ammo out of them and put it in his coat. He even dropped the cable gun. Carter dropped the PC-90 and her nine millimeter. Lara pulled her guns and removed the clips. She dropped the guns but put the clips in her pack. She dropped it as well. Carter removed her vest and knife and dropped them as well. Ford removed his vest and dropped it then put his coat back on. He purposely did not drop his personal weapon. He untied the sword and set it down as well.
"Drop the coat as well."
"Can't. I'm the only one capable of lifting it. Bunnie can't even lift it so I'm not dropping it. All our weapons are right there. You don't like it, get Princess Sally."
"Princess Sally?" Carter asked. "What's going on here?"
"Meet Geoffrey St. John. I'd compare him to Kinsey or Maybourne. No hidden vendettas, just that jackass attitude." Ford whispered to her. "Princess Sally is the one in charge on Knothole."
"Get the Princess." John said to one of the soldiers.
"How did we get here?" Lara asked.
"Best guess, we somehow jumped realities or universes, and ended up in about one thousand…..three hundred and twenty something years in Earths future. Or it's just over a thousand years? I know it's the year three thousand something." Ford said.
"Earth's future?" Carter asked. "What the hell did we do to have this happen?"
"Pissed off an alien raced that used a genetic bomb on us. Few survived and animals became sentient or more human like is a better term due to the bomb. I forget the technical stuff."
"What's this princess look like?" Lara asked.
"She's a ground squirrel. Oh there she is." Ford said seeing her walk up.
Sonic still wasn't anywhere to be seen. This bothered Ford enough he looked behind him. Antoine and Bunnie were there but apart from each other. When he noticed Dr. Quack he yelled to him.
"Get over here Doc. She needs help."
"Stay there Doctor. Who are you and how did you get here?" Sally asked.
"Damn you Robotnick." Ford muttered. "We come from another universe where an…Mobian like people and humans co-exist. If you're wondering about her, a Swatbot shot her. Check our weapons. We're not carrying lasers."
"Back up farther." Sally ordered.
As they backed up a few more feet from Mel, Ford noticed in the trees that there was a hut in the distance. He had gotten them to Knothole. Dr. Quack and his team were checking Mel as Sally moved closer. She saw the woman was hit by a laser in the head. Execution style, but this lady got lucky. She would recover. Certainly taller than any fox she had ever seen. Doctor Quack took her away on a stretcher.
"Who is she? I've never seen someone like her before, much less they being in any records."
"Forgive me, but he just told you were not from this universe." Lara said.
"I'z don't believez that for a minute." Antoine said.
"Now why does that not surprise me." Ford said. "Look Princess Sally. We are here, not really sure how or why, but I'll tell you what I can. We are against Robotnick. You have no reason to trust us considering the history between humans and Mobians."
"History?" Carter asked.
"I'll explain later."
Everyone's hair pulled to the side as a burst of wind hit them. As some of the dust settled they saw the blue hedgehog again. He was talking to Sally with his back to them.
"Whoa." Carter muttered running her hand through her hair.
"I just saw a overlander nearby. I don't know how I lost them, but this really big dude in a long jacket trashed a battalion of Swat-butts! He took a lot of hits but never dropped." he said waving his arms around. "This dude was fighting better than me! He had some friends with him that were overlanders too! A couple of women and a white fox tha….."
He stopped a moment and realized something was up. "Why's everyone here?"
Everyone around pointed at the overlanders that still had their hands up, not above their heads though. He turned now seeing them.
"Hey that's the dude Sal! He even called my name!!"
NORMAL UNIVERSE…………….
Ford woke up feeling somewhat better. He was hungry too and could smell food. He sat up startling everyone and grabbed a couple of the cereal and candy bars she had brought.
"Isn't a picnic but it'll do."
Carter had a hearty laugh as Ford practically shoved a whole cereal bar in his mouth. After he got finished he asked how long he'd been out.
"Umm….." Carter said glancing at her watch. "Ten, fifteen minutes max. I wasn't really paying attention."
"I'm okay in case you're wondering."
"We figured that." the ladies all said in unison.
"Nice to know you all care." Ford said happily.
They all laughed some as they packed up. Ford grabbed the door and pulled it open. A short hallway led to a Goa'uld door. Ancient writing was on the wall. It was Chinese or Japanese or maybe somewhere close. Lara tried to figure it out, but it was not only the writing being different that made it difficult to read, but a lot of erosion and other damage. Ford tapped on the door. It didn't feel all that thick. Ford gave it a rough shove and it shook some. While they looked over the wall, Ford backed up a few feet and rammed into the door with his shoulder. It certainly caught them off guard along with Ford as he went through it. Water had been flowing over the door on the outside for what looked to have been a long time. A really long time. Ford's problem is he didn't stop when he went through. He slid through mud and fell straight into what would be called the shore section of a large body of water. The lower half of the Goa'uld ship was submerged in the water. Considering the way the ship was angled it seemed more like the floor gave out sometime ago and that's what caused the ship to tilt. The body of water built up over a massive amount of years. Carter said that she figured that Ford must have been a klutz in another life, as they slowly walked out and over to him.
"I heard that Carter!" Ford said pushing himself out of the water.
He had to spit and clear his throat before he could continue. His lungs hurt from having water accidentally inhaled into them along with mud.
"I'm fine. I just slipped on the floor."
"You sure you're okay?" Carter asked with a laugh.
Ford was dripping wet. She only hoped his weapons weren't damaged. The other two were laughing with her. He was a mess.
"Soaked but fine. But we have to go swimming in order to get into that ship, so quit laughing. You ladies are more lucky. You can swim."
"You CAN'T swim?" Carter asked with surprise.
"Hell yes I can swim! Not with this much weight though. Since I can only take one person with me to get on that ship, two of you have to swim there. You shouldn't have to guess who it is." he said with a serious tone.
He pulled the cable gun out and got it ready.
"Wait a minute!!! You can't just leave us here. Why can't you just send the gun back over to us?"
"Because Carter I don't think you would be able to catch it on the first try and besides that, it's pressure sensitive. It would probably wind itself up into the ceiling then drop into the lake here. I can hold my breath better than most, but not that long."
Carter wanted to yell at him so bad, but she fought the urge. She knew that Ford didn't have much of a choice but to take Mel since they had to stay near him. She handed over her PC-90 and vest. Ford hung them off his arm as he looked around the ceiling. It didn't take long to find a place he could hit. Mel got on his feet as he fired. A resounding clink was heard in the large chamber. Giving a quick wave they stepped off the ground as the gun retracted. It didn't take long until they swung over the ship. Ford made them drop quickly and managed to make sure they landed as soft as possible. His knees didn't like falling from what was over ten feet high but he would live. Carter called him as he started putting the gun away.
"Can you shoot that over here so we can avoid the water all together?"
"That's a great idea. Give me a minute and stand back. I'd hate myself if I hit….either of you."
It didn't take him long to find a good spot. They grabbed hold and started across the cable soon after Ford had planted it into the wall near them. It took them awhile but they managed to get across within several minutes. Once they were on the ship, they both began rubbing their hands and arms.
"That looked like it hurt." Mel said.
"Extremely." Carter said. "But better than swimming across and then climbing up."
They took a few minutes to rest and let Ford try to dry off. His suit clung to him and something was moving in his shirt. He took everything from the waist up off and shook the water out of the jacket first, then the vest, then the shirt. He didn't really care they were watching, or somewhat watching. Now Carter had seen his body before…..several times. Not sexually though. She remembered he had a very strong body, but it had been sometime since she had seen his built chest, arms and abs. He had gotten stronger, not buffer though.
"How far are you going to go?" Lara asked with a hint of wanting and wondering. Her smile said it all.
"This is as much as you'll see." he said searching the shirt. He pulled a small fish out, a minnow.
With a bewildered look he tossed it back in the water.
"At least it was a fish." he muttered flapping the shirt.
He put it back on but didn't button it up yet. He took the boots off next then socks to wring them out. Even though he was uncomfortable he was ready to go a few minutes later. They found an opening and entered quickly. Once they got inside, they noticed the alarms going off.
"Great. We awoke something." Lara said. "You didn't say anything about there being a hidden alarm."
"We didn't know it had one. Someone must have saw us." Ford said.
"Any idea what we are up against?" Lara asked.
"I don't know. Normally it would be Jaffa and lots of them, but this ship has been here for about a thousand years. There might be something here to defend the ship, but I can't think of what it might be." Carter said.
"Maybe more of those Samurai's." Ford said pulling the shotgun.
"I hope that's what we encounter then. I'm tired of being shot at." Lara said pulling her guns out.
They came out into a hallway that looked like any other Goa'uld mother ship but it had Chinese designs. They didn't hear anything coming.
"Any idea where we are Carter? This design doesn't look all the familiar."
She looked around some and figured they were a couple of levels under the bridge level, best guess anyway. When he asked about the engine section she said the bridge was closer.
"So the glider section would be on the opposite side of where we are and further down?"
"Yeah. We don't need the gliders though."
"I know. I was just getting my bearings. I think I know where we are now, assuming this ship is anything like the one's we've encountered before."
"True. Everything looks somewhat normal. Let's get to the bridge though."
O'Neill pulled his rifle up figuring that they would be attacked any moment. They proceed in slowly. The corridors were empty, but that only made Jack more tense.
"Teal'c. Any idea where the bridge would be from here, that is assuming this ship is designed like the others we have encountered."
"I believe that the Goa'uld have been using the same design of ship building for many years. I do not doubt that the way to the bridge would be the same as any other Goa'uld ship."
"Then let's hurry."
They followed some corridors and looked into a few rooms to find them empty. Nothing looked like it had been in the ship for years. Jack tried his com as they ducked into an empty room. They heard something or someone approaching. Silently he hoped it was them.
"Major, Ford, Mel, Lara. You there?"
Carter nearly jumped out of her skin as did the other's. Everything was so quiet that it startled them.
"Major, Ford, Mel, Lara. You there?"
"We're here sir. It's good to hear your voice. Where are you?"
"We're near the glider's section. We're trying to head to the bridge right now…..what the…."
"Colonel?! Colonel?!! We've got to hurry." Sam said as the connection was lost.
Jack was talking to the Major and was very relieved to hear they were all still alive. He jumped back as did the others when a small group of Samurai warriors walked in. They had swords drawn and were advancing quickly. Jack let off a burst of ammo making one guy fall down. Daniel only made one of them stagger back but not fall. Teal'c fired blast after blast only to knock them down. They got up quickly and continued forward.
"Aim for the head!" Jack said seeing one of the guys he shot up wasn't moving.
Teal'c took the others out as Jack and Daniel had to reload. His staff blast took their heads right off. He fired again when someone came around the corner rather quickly.
They came around a corner hearing a lot of gun fire. A staff weapon was being fired a lot. Probably Teal'cs, but they weren't sure. Ford rounded the corner rushing into the room only to be blasted back out, like he was hit with a wrecking ball. He slammed into the wall and quickly rolled out of the way moaning some but mostly cursing about his coat being on fire. Carter stopped short of the door and got ready to shoot inside. Lara raced past Carter as she stopped and took up the other side. Mel waited behind Carter to see what might come out.
"Major?! Is that you out there?" Jack said pointing his gun.
"Yes sir. Are you being held prisoner?" she asked.
"No." he said lowering his gun. He slowly walked out as he talked. "I'm coming out."
"Areas secure as far as I can tell." Lara said as she saw the other guys walk out. Carter was looking after Ford.
His chest felt like he was hit, not badly though. He got up still patting the coat. It saved him as he thought, but was burnt pretty bad. The Kevlar metal lining had melted some. It would take quite a bit of time to repair that.
"Well Teal'c. You ah, made me believe in this coat more. I wondered if it could take a staff blast. Thanks for not aiming at my head." he said sitting up.
"Indeed. It was not my intention to shoot you Mr. Primus. I felt the presence of Goa'uld and acted accordingly."
"You're okay though?" Jack asked. "That looked like it hurt."
"Hell yes it hurt. Being thrown into a wall isn't fun. Wanna try?"
"No. I think my knees would cry before my eyes."
"You're wet." Daniel observed. "And muddy."
"Yes I am. Please don't remind me. Falling in was bad enough." he grunted as he got up.
"Falling?" Jack inquired.
Carter explained how he landed in the water and how they got into the ship as they proceed toward the bridge. Ford had his coat open since it was warmer in the ship. They used a ring system to get to a higher level. By then Carter had explained what their group had been through. When the rings dropped they came under fire. Ford brought his arm up blocking a staff blast. He didn't fall back but did get pushed some. He fired off several rounds from the shotgun as they others fired with him. The three Jaffa warriors fell quickly. Several more came around the corner and they had to retreat as they fought back. They were running down the corridor as blast hit the walls and everything else around them. A blast exploded on the wall showering them with sparks. Ford turned around firing several more rounds. Seeing he emptied the shotgun he quickly put it away and pulled his personal gun since it was the only one loaded and still had its silencer. A Jaffa came around the corner and was blasted quickly. He fired again and again taking two more out. The others were firing at the Jaffa coming around the corner as Ford moved out of the line of staff fire. He fired another shot as the others reloaded. The started off down the hallway as more approached their position. They needed time to reload and regroup. Carter glanced back as she reloaded seeing a Jaffa come around the corner. Ford was just behind her and noticed the look in her eyes. Carter stopped as she watched Ford spin around. The Jaffa fired his staff as Ford fired. The Jaffa's chest was blown from him as the bullet impacted. Ford took the blast right in the chest and slid back a few feet. He blinked his eyes a few times feeling a burning sensation.
"Ford? Ford?!" Carter yelled.
The others stopped and turned around.
Ford looked down and dropped his gun as he fell. Carter caught him they best she could and sat him against he wall. Ford looked into Carter's eyes as he coughed and felt his body giving up.
It was a honor being able to live again and to love. Hercules said to him.
Yes it was. Damn….
"Come on Ford. Don't give up on me." Carter said with tears as she looked at the wound. Jack and the others held the corridor.
"I….I….I'm sorry Sam. I…" he said trying to focus.
"Oh god, he got hit." Daniel muttered.
"I love you…." he said stroking her face. He tried to say more, stay awake for her, but he couldn't. His body wouldn't do it.
Carter watched as his kept eye contact with her even when he passed on. His hand went limp in hers signaling he had gone. She ran a hand over his face closing his eyes and felt his tears.
"Carter! We got to move!" Jack yelled empting his clip.
Carter knew part of her wanted to stay but she didn't do that. She got up picking up Ford's gun. Hopefully they would be able to come and get his body later.
"What do I do?" Mel asked.
She had had tears in her eyes not only for Ford's passing but the fear she would have to stay.
"Dammit! I forgot about that. Okay, this is our last stand. Whatever happens, we can't leave this spot!" Jack yelled. "Mel grab whatever you can from…..Fords coat and load it. Carter can help you."
Teal'c and Jack were doing a good job of keeping the Jaffa at bay. They kept coming and coming. They must have killed a good fifty or more by now. Daniel grabbed Carter's PC-90 and emptied its clip into a couple of Jaffa. Carter, in a fit of rage grabbed the grenade launcher and loaded a heavy gray round that was kept separate from the other rounds. It had a black and yellow stripe on it. She remembered her training and yelled to take cover. Several Jaffa came around the corner seeing as they weren't being fired on. Carter stepped out and fired as several blast passed by her. Jack grabbed her coat and was about to pull her in when there was a very loud and large explosion that blew her into the wall along with Jack. The ship shook slightly from the internal explosion that caused several systems around it to overload. The ceiling and several other things came down in the hallway around them as they started running for better cover.
