It has been a long hiatus, but today, I was watching Motörhead perform at Wacken, and I was simply inspired to forget my problems and finish this chapter, and here it is, my first Stargate-only chapter.
Chapter 12
"What brings you to this part of the base, Carter?" O'Neill paused his shooting practice as his 2IC walked in, followed by a couple of technicians. Even after months of using it, he was still amazed at the simplicity and the capability of the lasgun he was firing. And to think that the Imperium thought of it as a very light weapon.
"The latest shipment from Sunnydale, sir. They added some of their latest prototypes in it, and asked us to field test them." She pointed to the two weapon crates the technicians were opening.
"Now that is a cool looking gun." O'Neill grinned as he threw a glance at the large rifle sitting in its box along with a number of cartridges that he guessed were ammunition for it.
"Why don't you try it out, sir?" Carter picked it up and passed it over to him.
"What exactly does this do, Carter?" O'Neill asked as he examined it. From the number of exhaust fins and vents on it, he could guess it produced a lot of heat.
"It's a plasma rifle, sir. From what I was told about it, its power exceeds even that of a Goa'uld staff cannon, but it's obviously much more portable. Press the button by the trigger to activate it." She pointed to the small button just above Jack's finger.
As soon as he pressed it, the rifle began to hum and he could feel it grow warm in his hands.
Grinning at the thought of playing with a new toy, he took careful aim at the target dummy and squeezed the trigger.
A ball of blinding white blasted off and to his surprise, burned a hole right through the dummy, vaporizing most of its chest and even managed to scorch the wall behind it.
"That was smokin' hot, Carter. I'll have to get me one of these." Jack grinned widely.
"I'll speak with General Hammond about it, sir. This one is assigned to SG-5." She grinned as he made a pouting expression. "Why don't you fire a few more shots? We need more data."
Jack didn't need much encouragement to comply, and he happily vaporized a few more targets while Carter took measurements with all sorts of instruments.
"Well, the use of naquadah in the cooling systems seems to have greatly increased the stability of the weapons. The examination of the staff weapons seems to have given Willow some ideas on how to improve the design as well. I think we'll receive a few more of these in the future." Carter grinned.
"What's in the other box, then?" O'Neill pointed at the much larger second box that the technicians were opening.
"Something for SG-3 this time. A meltagun." Carter lifted the lid, drawing a whistle from O'Neill.
"Now that's what I'm talking about." O'Neill picked it up with a grin, grunting slightly from the weight.
"It's a bit heavy, but the damage it causes more than makes up for it." Carter replied.
It took a few moments before the meltagun was finally aimed at one of the dummies. When Jack pressed the trigger, a slight shimmer in the air before him was the only indication something had happened before the target dummy simply melted down into slag.
"Now that is one bad ass gun. Really heavy bastard, though." O'Neill commented as he set the weapon down.
"Well sir, it's normally mounted on vehicles or used by people wearing power armor. Those are actually even bigger. This one is slightly scaled down for use by normal infantry." Carter replied.
"Can't we..." O'Neill began, but suddenly, the alarm klaxon sounded, informing them of an unscheduled incoming traveler.
By the time they reached the control room, the wormhole was already formed.
"We're receiving an IDC, sir. It's the Tok'ra."
"Open the iris." Hammond ordered.
"Maybe it's dad." Jack grinned at Carter. However, instead of Jacob Carter, three Tok'ra walked in from the gate, led by Martouf.
"Samantha, it is good to see you." The man said softly as he stopped before Carter.
"Martouf. What brings you here?" Carter asked.
"Perhaps we could talk in private?" Martouf's face had turned grim.
"It's my father, isn't it?" Carter's face too had grown grim.
"I'm afraid he has been captured by Sokar, and banished to hell." Martouf replied.
"Hell?" Jack asked.
"A place of eternal suffering and damnation, from which there is no return."
Needless to say, SG-1 quickly opted to mount a rescue mission, especially after Martouf told them that the only person who had escaped from Sokar's prison moon Netu was Jolinar, and those memories were most likely buried deep in Carter's mind.
"I guess we'll need some serious hardware to get through this, eh Carter?" Jack grinned as the group walked into the armory.
"We cannot take any weapons with us, Colonel. If we are to convince the denizens of Netu that we are like them, we cannot be armed." Martouf interjected.
"You're telling me we can't take any weapons with us?" Jack was obviously not thrilled with the idea of going to an enemy stronghold unarmed.
"I think we have something that might aid us." Carter began looking through the numerous crates marked with the Imperial Aquila.
"Here Colonel, try this on." Carter pulled out a long cloak, similar to their rain cloaks and handed it to Jack. Once he put it on, he found that it also came with a hood and face mask.
"So, what does it do, Carter?" Jack asked, feeling a little silly wrapped in the cloak. In response, Carter just pressed a button on the inside of the sleeve, and Jack simply disappeared.
"You have phase-shifting technology?" Martouf had heard that Earth had obtained more advanced weapons and technology and the evidence was there before him, but he didn't know they had access to such advancements.
"It's not phase-shifting. The material of the cloak can simply mimic its surroundings very rapidly, allowing for concealment even when moving. With this, Colonel O'Neill will be able to carry weapons and aid us should we get into trouble." Carter replied.
"Let's get this show on the road then. I wonder what Hell is like this time of the year?" Jack commented as he took the cloak off.
A few hours later, SG-1 was on the planet Vorash, ready to board a spaceship that would take them to Netu.
"You got everything, Carter?" O'Neill asked while Teal'c and Martouf were busy at the helm.
"Yes sir. You should probably get some practice with the camo-cloak before we get to Netu, sir. While it is very efficient, it does not give you perfect invisibility, especially when you're moving." She warned him.
"Alright. You sure you can remember the way out once we get there?" O'Neill asked.
"The memories are there sir, I just have to access them. I just hope dad is alright." Carter frowned.
"I'm sure he is. We'll get him out, you can be certain of that." Jack grinned.
The trip was largely uneventful, and soon enough Martouf, Jack, Sam and Daniel entered the ship's four escape pods in order to descend to Netu, leaving Teal'c behind in order to relay any info using a communication device along with an eventual pickup once they had Jacob and had discerned the means to leave the moon.
"Remind me to never do that again." Jack grumbled as he climbed out of his pod. The cloak and the equipment he was carrying underneath had left a handful of bruises.
"You should activate the cloak and follow us, sir. Just be careful." Carter commented as Jack nodded and vanished. Another useful part of the cloak was the filter in the face mask, which would mean that at least Jack would not be impaired by Netu's toxic atmosphere.
With the location now before her, and with the memory recall device active, Carter managed to lead them into the tunnels towards the old colony, right until they were surrounded by a group of denizens. Above them, an armored man with a staff weapon and a face mask walked up to observe the new arrivals.
"Kneel before Nao'nak." The masked man commanded, his voice revealing him to be a Goa'uld. After a few tense moments, the group decided to play along and fell on their knees.
"Who are these, Nao'nak?" Another Goa'uld emerged from a higher tunnel.
"New arrivals, my Lord." Nao'nak replied quickly.
"Let us greet them properly then. Throw them in the pit." The man grinned malevolently and walked back into the tunnel as a group of denizens picked up the rescue squad and dragged them towards a deeper part of the prison.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it was in this part of the prison that they found Jacob Carter.
"How is he?" Jack whispered as he passed the box of medicines he had with him through the prison door to Daniel.
"Not good. The medicines will help, but we need to get him out soon." Daniel sighed.
"There's something you should know, in case I don't make it. I discovered that Sokar's fleet is ten times bigger than we believed. He is planing to launch an attack against the other System Lords two weeks after the day I was captured." Jacob managed to cough out.
While Sam was busy treating her father, Daniel used the communication device he had to inform Teal'c of the grim news they had received. Needless to say, they all knew what would happen if Sokar succeeded. They would stand no chance against such a powerful foe.
Now that they had located Jacob, all that was left was to find a way to escape, which was easier said than done, as Carter still couldn't remember just how Jolinar managed to escape the moon.
"Martouf, didn't you say we couldn't bring weapons? How come that Nao'nak had a staff weapon?" Daniel asked.
"He is the first prime of Bynar, the Lord of Netu. Sokar permits him one hand device and a staff for his first prime. I have seen him in Sokar's palace, so a way off this world must exist." Jacob answered him.
"Rings. There are rings in Bynar's quarters." Sam finally managed to dredge out the relevant memories, although considering that Jolinar had seduced Bynar to escape, it was not a pleasant event to relive.
"Won't that bring us right into Sokar's palace?" Daniel asked.
"The cargo ship we arrived in has rings as well. All Teal'c has to do is get into the right position." Martouf replied.
"Let's go then." Daniel and Martouf helped Jacob walk, Sam briefed Teal'c on the plan while Jack shot the lock of the cell off and provided backup.
Bynar was resting in his quarters when the doors of the room opened by themselves. He noticed a faint ripple in the air before a bright red ray of light turned his remaining eye into a smoking crater.
"The gem is the activation key." Sam took a small red crystal from Bynar's amulet and walked to a statue in one of the walls.
"Teal'c, let us know the moment you are in position." Jack contacted their ride and began distributing the weapons he had on him. Carter took the second las rifle, while Daniel and Jacob took the two las pistols. Martouf relieved Bynar of his hand device and joined the group at defending the door in case anyone decided to walk in.
"I am in position, O'Neill." Teal'c voice echoed from the communicator just as the door opened and Nao'nak walked in. He had just a moment to think 'What the fuck?', before a volley of las bolts impacted all over his body.
The last thing O'Neill saw before he was transported away was the shocked face of Apophis when his helmet slipped off as he fell on the ground, and he knew that the sight would warm his heart for years to come.
"I have some good news for Sha're. Turns out Nao'nak was Apophis." O'Neill smirked.
"We're still in trouble though. When Sokar's fleet attacks the System Lords, there will be no stopping him." Jacob said grimly.
Soon enough, they were back on Earth, debriefing general Hammond on the rescue mission.
"I think we should inform our friends in Sunnydale about this. Perhaps together we can come up with some solution." Hammond called Sunnydale, and soon enough, Buffy was filled in on the situation.
"Well, the standard doctrine for such a situation would be to lead the two sides into a direct confrontation. Alert the System Lords of Sokar's plans and have them annihilate each other." Buffy commented.
"The System Lords will never gather enough ships in time to counter Sokar's fleet." Jacob informed her.
"Then we'll just have to buy them time. My techpriests assure me they can program a virus that can spread throughout Sokar's fleet and disable various control systems. By the time they purge it and get the ships back on line, the System Lords would have had the time to amass a fleet big enough to destroy him." Buffy explained her plan.
"That might work. We still have agents amongst Sokar's forces who could upload the virus, and we can alert the System Lords about Sokar's fleet. Of course, we'll need to get the virus ready as soon as possible." Jacob felt a dash of hope for the first time in weeks.
"I'll send someone over to the SGC at once. It would help him greatly if has the help of someone well versed in Goa'uld computer systems." Buffy replied.
"I'll have our best experts ready." Jacob replied.
"Good. My man should arrive in several hours. May the Emperor look with favor on our endeavor." With that, Buffy hung up.
While Jacob had a lot of different ideas on as to how this techpriest he was to escort back to the Tok'ra base, seeing the calm young man covered in a white robe with a long mechadendrite hanging over his shoulder shattered all of his preconceptions.
"Mr. Osbourne, this is Jacob Carter and Selmak." Hammond introduced them.
"Call me Oz. So, shall we get this show on the road?" Oz grinned as he stood before the Stargate. Even from a distance, he could feel the age and complexity of the machine spirit it possessed, and he couldn't help himself but utter the required prayers as walked through it for the first time.
"I hope you bring good news, Jacob?" Hammond greeted his old friend several weeks later.
"The plan was a complete success. The virus was uploaded into one of Sokar's ships. From there, it spread throughout the fleet and wrought havoc on all critical systems. Meanwhile, we got the System Lords to band together and attack Sokar. It was a brutal battle, but Sokar's fleet was all but annihilated, and while he did manage to survive, he is no longer the threat he once was. Several System Lords have also lost significant assets, and we expect a lot of infighting in the coming months. In short, things are back the way they were, and hopefully, they'll stay that way for a while." Jacob concluded.
"That's certainly the best news I've heard all week." Hammond grinned as the two of them went to tell the rest of the base the good news.
AN: I expect some of you will not be pleased with how easy things went in this chapter, rest assured that before this story is done, both sides will experience hardships that will test them in every possible way, and there will be plenty of deaths in the good guy camp as well. Until next time, enjoy the show.