Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money from this.
The Serpent's Lair Tavern was one of the lowest class bars on the trade planet Lazarus. The darkened inside was filled with dozens of drunken and half drunken patrons, as well as a sober few who used it for less than reputable deals.
In the back, against the wall, a well built man in a loose cloak sat watching the room. He sat in silence, occasionally sipping at the mug he had ordered to avoid arousing suspicion. His eyes drifted to the double doors when two large men with automatic weapons entered and held the door open for another three.
Two of the men who entered second were also large, well-built, and clearly bodyguards. The other was slightly trimmer but still muscular. A small bulge on his hip revealed a handgun to the trained eye. They scanned the room before moving to an empty table.
In a low voice, the lone man whispered to himself, "Snake Doc, I have visual on Dakota." A few of the patrons near the man looked at him suspiciously but a series of crazy murmurs seemed to convince them it was just an old drunk's ramblings.
"Roger Cool Breeze. We're in position. Execute at your discretion, over." This voice was deeper, and audible only to the man called Cool Breeze. Slowly he stood and began stumbling towards the now seated men. They glanced at him but quickly dismissed him just as the other patrons had. Just another old man who'd spent a few too many years drinking a few too many mugs of bad booze.
They were therefore taken by surprise when, in a lightning quick motion, the man pulled a handgun seemingly from nowhere and put two bullets in each of the bodyguards' chests. He violently jerked the survivor's back against him and jammed his gun into the man's head.
"You move, you die. Understand?" Before his hostage could respond dozens of the patrons stood, some unsteadily, and aimed weapons of various types at the hostage and his captor.
In the blink of an eye, four more men burst in through the front door with rifles up. They formed a half circle around their friend and slowly started backing out. One, a large black man, was the first to speak.
"We don't want any trouble. Our business is with him," he said, nodding in the direction of the hostage, "Not any of of you." When nobody decided to shoot them, they took the opportunity and retreated out the door.
"Betty Blue, Whiplash, take point. Dirt Diver, we'll take rear guard. Cool Breeze, hogtie him." He said to each of the men in turn, and handed a pair of plastic cuffs to Cool Breeze. As soon as the cuffs were on, the men began almost sprinting.
The townsfolk, relatively used to armed men in their streets, ducked into their shops or homes and hid. The group made their way through the streets of the town, staying near the storefronts for cover. Their eyes darted everywhere as they watched for weapons.
Their pace halted when Whiplash, who was in the lead, held up his fist and motioned them to get to cover. Cool Breeze roughly shoved their captive to the ground behind a pile of large sacks and pulled out a shortened carbine. They all looked towards Whiplash who had dived behind a metal trash bin.
He pointed up the street to a group of black clad men advancing towards them. Snake Doctor, crouched behind a barrel, nodded and opened fire. The entire team began firing at once and the Lucian soldiers began dropping.
Before the Lucian soldiers could even return fire the street was already filled with their bodies. The Earth soldiers took aimed, deliberate shots at the now entrenched enemy soldiers. Even after sustaining heavy casualties, the Lucian soldiers still outnumbered them significantly.
"Snake Doc we gotta move!" shouted Dirt Diver. When the dirt between the two soldiers filled with bullets Snake Doctor nodded. Dirt Diver tapped Betty Blue on the shoulder and pointed to a nearby alleyway. Betty Blue nodded and they bolted from their cover. Puffs of dirt chased their heels until they disappeared between two large buildings.
The Lucians, taking this as a sign they were retreating, began advancing. They rolled between cover. The Earth soldiers could do nothing to stop them. Not even when they were able to hit one of the Lucians, they advanced regardless.
When barely fifteen yards remained between them, the black-clad men suddenly turned around in a panic. Behind them, Dirt Diver and Betty Blue were pouring rifle fire into their exposed backsides.
In seconds it was over. Lucian Alliance soldiers were sprawled everywhere with pools of blood surrounding them. Slowly the Tau'ri soldiers stood and secured the area. They kicked weapons from bodies and made sure each was dead.
Snake Doctor turned to Cool Breeze and motioned towards the prisoner. Cool Breeze nodded and grabbed the man's restraints. He hauled him back on his feet and the party resumed moving.
They quickly spotted two more Lucian patrols, but avoided them by using backstreets. When their prisoner attempted to gain their attention, Dirt Diver pulled a Zat from his robes and silenced him. When the men passed they continued on.
Soon they were able to make out the image of the Stargate. They formed a loosed perimeter while Cool Breeze dialed. As soon as the Gate activated, the treeline behind them exploded with gunfire.
Betty Blue emptied his magazine before helping Cool Breeze carry their prisoner through. Whiplash was next. He fired a burst at the largest concentration of muzzle flashes and leaped through the Gate.
When Dirt Diver attempted to sprint from the tree he was covering behind, a round landed in his calf. He stumbled, fell, and rolled behind a log. Snake Doctor pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it behind him.
The explosion shook the ground and threw up a blinding cloud of dust. Snake Doctor dived from his own cover, pulled Dirt Diver up, and helped him into the event horizon.
"Wake up." Grad Hillnet awoke slowly. His could see he was in a dark room, until a bright light was yanked into his face. He recoiled and noticed he was tied to a chair.
The light was pulled away and, once the spots disappeared, he was able to make out the rough outline of five men.
"What do you want? Is it money? I can get you as much as you want." The figures scoffed. One stepped forward and put his face next to Grad's.
"We don't want your money. We just need information." A look of realization, and then fear, washed over the captive's face. He knew that voice.
"Jonas? Is that you?" The large figure pulled his face away and nodded. "Oh, thank god. You had me worried there for a second. How have you been, my friend?" He laughed. Jonas violently shoved his chair against a wall behind him.
"You dare call me friend after trying to get my team killed on Rileya?" The amusement drained from Grad's face.
"Please,please, it was just business." Jonas just shook his head.
"That's not why we're here. We need information about a recent attack. On a Tau'ri colony." Grad eyed him suspiciously. When Jonas signaled he was serious, his eyes bulged.
"You're not joking. Well you have to know the Lucian Alliance didn't do it. They may have raided one of your research outposts but they won't send ships within a hundred light years of any of your colonized worlds." This seemed to trouble the Earth soldiers. They all moved into an adjacent room, leaving Grad to his thoughts, and to wonder if they were going to kill him or not.
In the next room the soldiers gathered in a circle and looked at each other. Dirt Diver closed the door and turned to them.
"You think he's on the level?" Jonas nodded assuredly. The rest of the team didn't look nearly as assured.
"He's scared. He knows I'm looking for an excuse to kill him, he's not going to take a chance I catch him lying." The room was silent as the soldiers looked at each other. Dirt Diver was the one to break the silence.
"So if the Lucian Alliance didn't destroy Victoria, who did?"
Sorry about the delay. Life got awesome for a while(still is) and writing kinda took a back seat. Please review and tell me what you think. As always, special thanks to Hobobillybob for all his beta help.