CHAPTER 68 – INTO THE FRAY
She had lost her cool after that and anger coloured her face as she left the room, looking neither left nor right – just needing to get away from their sympathetic eyes and measured stares. Away somewhere – where she could shut her eyes for a moment and conjure up John's face. It was this image that would keep her focused, keep her anger on track. For she needed that anger to get her through what she needed to do.
Stop these bastards once and for all. They had let them make the plays – over and over. Each move had been orchestrated. From their side. Now the other side was calling dibs. Was not going to happen Gina fumed. Do they have any idea what crap we just went through to get to where we are now? They play with their stupid machines and create their own portals. So they can come through to the dimension and take MY baby. Then they decide they want it all. Go back to MY timeline and destroy everything that the ancients carefully frabricated to make sure that we are achieving the very best that we can achieve. Not gonna happen. Not on my watch!
Furious now, she didn't hear Major Lorne come up behind her. Walked faster until she thought she could walk away from the very thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her. Then felt his hand, feather light in spite of the furious motion she spurred herself on to and it was his touch that was her undoing.
"Don't touch me Major – not now. I need to focus, need to channel this damn anger into something that will work. Leave me..."
"Can't do that Gina – sorry. I'm not leaving you on your own to beat yourself up about this. And the game plan? Not yours to make... I'm taking command of the team that goes in to rescue them, I make the call and I make the decisions. Not you."
His hand had crept up and rested behind her neck and he saw the fury drop like a cloak from her face as it crumpled in fear now and without thought, he pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her as he felt her shudder.
"Shhh, we'll get him back. I promise. We don't leave anyone behind. Your man taught me that from the get go. I'll get my team together and those bastards – they won't know what hit them."
He dropped his face into her hair and felt her clutch his shirt in her hands, restless and unsure. When she lifted her face to him, it was all he could do not to kiss her, and cursed himself black and blue for his insensitivity and bad timing. And inappropriate feelings.
"You're taking me with you... I'm the one they want – you'll need to use me for bait if nothing else. No arguments Major, none... if you try to leave me behind, I'll just find another way to get there. You really don't want to cross me when I'm pissed!"
Unbidden, a small smile came to his face as he looked down into her determined one. "Yeah Gina, I got that from day one. He's a lucky guy to have you in his corner." She caught sight of the wistful look in his eyes and stared back at him assessingly.
"He'd do the same for me Major – for any of us..."
"I know Gina – but for you? He'd die a thousand deaths to keep you safe. And my life will be worth nothing if I use you for bait."
"Major Lorne?" Sam had come up behind them, standing back and watching their interaction with some curiousity. "We don't have a choice. She'll have to go with you. There can be no chance that they even attempt to get back to 1962. That does not only destroy a team – that will have implications beyond anything we can comprehend. Our whole timeline will be altered and there's a very real possibility that we will cease to exist. If they've done their homework. Gina is right. We have no choice but to stop them. And the only way we can do that is to set a trap. The only bait we have that is even remotely attractive to them? You're looking at her..."
Sam saw the look of gratitude on Gina's face and the look of anger that quickly gave way to resoluteness on the Major's. She did not envy him. She had seen the way he looked at Gina and seen the way also, that he was very careful to shutter it and keep his feelings private. Unrequited love was cruel and knew that given his feelings he would much rather have her here safe and sound. But that was not going to happen.
"Major – we have 24 hours. That gives us a couple of hours to come up with a game plan – a good one. I know that Colonel Sheppard usually takes the lead on these, but for now – it's you and I Major,and if you have anything helpful to input Gina, we would appreciate your thoughts. Major – organise your teams to get themselves prepared – we need as much manpower as you can round up, then the three of us will sit down and knock out a working plan. We'll bring them home, and protect what is ours. Agreed?"
"Without a doubt Sam."
"Go with Major Lorne and gear up Gina."
She gave Sam a look then abruptly turned and followed Lorne who strode quickly down the hallway. He did not speak or look at her until they reached the gear room. He had been onto his radio immediately and teams had started to organise themselves even before they reached the gear room and he was kept busy sorting out weapons and ensuring that maximum firepower would be used. They had no idea what to expect.
Finally he turned to her and his expression, which had been almost fierce – softened. "You know my position in all this, but I'll keep you safe. You have my word. Full gear Gina, as uncomfortable as it may seem, I want you covered from head to toe and you'll follow my orders out in the field. I need to know that you'll do that, or I can't protect you. Do you understand that?"
She nodded, choosing not to speak so that she did not need to lie to her friend. She fully intended to follow his orders, if they corresponded with what she needed to do. If not? Then she would follow her own instincts and face his anger once it was all over.
He helped her on with her vest and secured it tightly so that she had to take short small breaths until he found a fastening he was happy with. He handed her the beretta and watched as she secured it in her leg holster, then handed her a P90. "I want you to take this one as well. It fires a volley of bullets and will do more damage than the beretta. Hold it up against your shoulder like this..." He moved behind her, showed her how to hold it and said quietly against her hair. "... it has a kick once you fire, be prepared for it and brace your feet into the ground and keep the grip strong." He felt her nod and stepped away from her to the front, taking the weapon and securing it to the top of her tactical vest. He then tipped her face up and looked down into the resolve he saw gathering there.
"He's a lucky man Gina. If he ever does you wrong, come and see me...he's not the only one who would die a thousand deaths for you..." He quickly dropped her chin and shuttered his eyes and she was left shaking her head slightly, wondering if she had heard his words correctly. Then decided it was best to say nothing at all.
They met back in the control room. Four teams of marines waited in the gate room, geared up and ready to go. Their Colonel needed their help and they had a city to protect, as well as their own timeline. Their own existence.
"Have we had another communication from them Colonel?"
"No Major. What I managed to piece together from the first communication was this. They have secured the stargate. It appears they are not holding John and his team near the gate. When I asked for proof that they were alive, they switched to another visual communication device and it was inside a building. Large, cavernous with concrete type walls – looked to be a warehouse of some sort. The three of them are tied up and shackled into small cages on the floor of the warehouse. Separately, so there seems to be no chance of them springing themselves out."
"Sam? The portal. The time and dimensional portal – any idea where on the planet that it is."
Sam pulled up the planet terrain from the database and brought it into 3D visual on the control screen. Using the touch screen she moved slowly around the terrain of the planet, looking for likely areas where the portal could be.
"There will likely be an energy signature. We know now that have been using particle accelerators to make these artificial rifts and there will be a residual energy pattern that will allow us to trace it once we are on the ground. I have here..." she held up several small boxes that fit comfortably into the palm of her hand. "... portable detectors. I have configured these so that they can pick up both life signs and electrical signatures. I have preprogrammed into here, the likely signature you will be looking for so you can make your way through different areas of the planet. It is likely that the rift is in a fairly protected area, but will not be too far from the main population. We know they don't have ships, so wherever the portal is, will need to be within walking distance."
"Ok Colonel. That gives us a starting point. I have some suggestions from there. I want to send a MALP in with rigged weaponry, set to fire the moment we stabilise cameras and ascertain that the gate is secured by unfriendlies. Take out the guards surrounding the gate, send the first team in to secure the perimeter. When we have the all clear, team two needs to go in immediately with team three and they will both begin moving through the populated areas looking for the signature. Gina and I will go in with team four. They and myself, will be with her at all times. Gina?" He waited until she had acknowledged him. "That is not negotiable – understand?"
Her eyes clouded slightly and shifted away from him, but she nodded. And he shook his head slightly, feeling unreassured that she would listen to him once they arrived. Thought briefly of bringing an extra set of handcuffs to make sure she was secured to him at all times.
"We are team four. Our responsibility is to find Sheppard and his team and get them out. That is the first plan, and we hope it is the only one we will have to use. Terminal force for all members of the other dimension and once everyone is secured, we bring in the EMP weapon with the ZPM and close this portal as well. But not before we send a message through. They will not open up another one. This message needs to be loud and clear. That, is not negotiable, either."
Gina's voice was quiet. "What about a backup plan Major? If this one falls to pieces?"
"If we get captured and can't protect you?" Lorne's eyes were soft now as he looked at her.
She nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
"Pat your two top pockets..."
She did as he asked and found some square pieces of putty like substance, gray and seemingly innocuous. "What is this?"
"C4. If plan A goes south, plan B... go with with them to the portal. You'll have to protect yourself from there on in Gina and I think you've got the guts to do it. Look for an opening, any opening – and take it. You only need one shot. This Gina..." he pointed to the C4. "... this is your final resort. Find somewhere to put this, where the most damage will be done and take the opening. Then hide. We'll find you. We'll move heaven and earth to get there and find you. This C4 just evens the battle field for us a little. I'll show you how to activate it."
He gave her a quick lesson in using the explosive and put it back into her vest pocket, ensuring that the pockets were securely closed. He kept her at his side, casting glances at her. Today she would become a soldier and fight for her man and her right to exist – if he'd known about the baby she carried, it was likely his game plan may have been a little different and as she met his eyes squarely she was pleased that she had made the decision to keep her news to herself for now. Lorne didn't need anything further clouding his judgement.
"Ok teams – Gina. Move on down to the gate room and be ready to go in ten minutes. The MALP will go through first and I want visual at all times until the perimeter is secured." Sam turned to the technicians in the control room. "Got that people? Visual at all times. We'll keep the gate open for the full 38 minutes, no shutting it down unless it becomes a security issue. We need that visual. Go Major, get your teams sorted in the gate room and be safe, all of you. Gina – a word please before you go?"
Lorne shot her a look then moved down to the gate room where he organised his teams, shooting curious glances up at the control room where Sam talked quietly in a corner with Gina.
"Are you feeling ok Gina – the baby?"
"... is fine Sam. Really. And will be even better when she gets her daddy home..."
"You know that John is going to be all shades of angry when he sees you arrive? Just be prepared for the fall out. I know the way his mind works and he won't like the fact that you've gone in to do battle for him. Let Lorne protect you – the man is nuts about you by the way..." Sam smiled at that, hoping to make the younger woman see where his feelings lay so that she could be careful to not encourage him.
"Major Lorne? He's become a good friend Sam – I know he feels a little more than he should, but I think he's pushed those feelings carefully away, and chosen friendship over nothing at all."
"I hope you're right Gina – for all your sakes. He'll watch your back out there, he doesn't know about the baby?"
"No, best not to complicate things further right now. If he thinks he has two to protect, that puts more pressure on him – let him do his job and we'll all get through this fine." Gina turned and moved out of the control room with Sam following. As they arrived in the gate room, Gina noticed another device being moved into place, similar to the EMP pulse and looked in question at Sam.
"This is our insurance Gina. A naquita powered bomb – more powerful than a nuclear explosion. This goes through the portal to the other side – once everyone is safe. This sends a message through to them – they're not to attempt to come back here."
Gina shot troubled eyes to Sam. "Are you sure that's wise Sam? Far be it from me to question military tactics, but sending a bomb through? It's been done before... Hiroshima? And look what happened there. We should be learning from our past mistakes, not compounding them."
Gina missed the small smile that Lorne tried to hide, but Sam caught it and grimaced. "Out of the mouths... eh Major?"
Sam turned to Gina. "This is a front line Gina – rules of engagement apply here. They have essentially attacked our world and our very existence. We can't allow a threat like that to go unpunished and the only way is to send a very clear message through. Yes, we may kill innocent people, but it is war Gina – and there are casualties in war."
Gina turned abruptly and looked around as though searching for something. She found the two IOA men standing quietly near the back of the gate room. They had said nothing, and now she strode over to them, all sparking blue eyes and Sam caught Lorne's eye in alarm.
"Why are you here?"
The smaller of the two men started in surprise and looked quickly at his counterpart before answering her.
"For the very reasons that you just stated. Our role in this galaxy was to be of observer only – and so far the earth personnel have managed to stir up more than just a hornets nest. We are here to stop a galaxy war from breaking out – from wreaking havok through a galaxy that is not ours. We are supposed to be the ones who lay down the boundaries and set the rules. So far, this is spiralling out of control and our control, is limited to reporting on what we see and taking back recommendations to earth."
"And what will your recommendation be after this has gone down? Shut the programme down? Get out of dodge?"
"If necessary. If we feel that you have all overstepped your bounds. We also question your right to be here. This wouldn't be happening if you weren't here – you're the one they want."
"If I wasn't here – then neither would the stargate programme..." she turned then and whirled away and caught only his quiet comment which had her faltering. "That may not be such a bad thing.."
...and the implications of that opened up a whole new can of worms...