Chapter 08: Kidnapped in the Jungle
Underground in the same chamber that the trio of tomb raiders had been in for the last hour or so, all practically jumped out of their skin when they are called over the radio by their guide. "Zeeeee? Doctor Jackson? Doctor Lee?" he says sounding very relaxed.
Realising that he has the radio next to him Jackson picks it up, "Yeah, we're still here. We found a chamber down here, this could take a while."
"Oh don't worry senor's, take your time." He replies just as relaxed.
Hearing how relaxed he is the other two look over towards Jackson who merely shrugs as he turns the radio back to stand-by, "Well we are paying him by the hour." which caused the others to laugh a little, before getting back to work.
"I don't get this," Complains Lee, "I mean how are we supposed to find this thing if there are no clues at all?" Clearly showing his announce at their lack of progress and their current surroundings.
"I know right," Agrees Cochrane still fiddling with his scanner function on his glasses, "I'm getting nothing it's like there is something generating a dampening field, but even then it should still show where its power source is." Frustrated at his results.
"All water flows towards it." Mutters Jackson absentmindedly and as if he was talking to himself.
"So?" Both Lee and Cochrane at the same time making him realise he had said it allowed instead of just in his head.
"Someone pass me a canteen?" he asks an idea suddenly forming in his mind.
"Wait I get it." Says Cochrane as it suddenly dawns on him what Jackson was planning as he reached over to pass him Lee's canteen.
Gratefully accepting the canteen which he had just been passed to him without any arguments and unscrewed the top as he moved so that his back was against the wall opposite to the entrance that they had come through. After making sure that he was backed up as far as he could, he turned Lee's canteen upside down and drained all of the contents on to the floor, while Cochrane took his scanner glasses off and placed them in his back pocket while they all watched as the water first began to pool, then start to run up the slight incline to the chambers floor towards the centre.
"You're good." Said Lee in awe at the other man's skill while Jackson laid down on the floor.
"There's something under here." He said with his ear on the floor.
-{[]}-
After retuning back to where they had dropped in to get a set of pry bars from their packs, Cochrane re-entered the chamber, just as Lee and Jackson just about finished finding the edges of the hidden chamber underneath where they were. Several minutes later and a lot of straining the three explores managed to prise the stone up carefully.
"Well… at least it… has some writing… on it." Pants Lee when they had finally managed to get the cover stone off.
"Yeah." Said an equally exhausted Jackson as he lent over the opening into the chamber they had opened.
"What does it say?" Asked Cochrane showing no sign that he had just helped lift the heavy cover stone.
"I have no clue?"
"Oh," Lee and Cochrane said as their shoulders slumped a little before Lee began to reach down into the chamber they had just uncovered.
"Wait!" Warned Jackson making Lee freeze almost touching the device. "This thing is the root of the sarcophagus technology, which in and of itself has been confirmed to cause madness and is highly addictive. This is supposed to be at least one thousand times more powerful, so if it is activated it would be very, very, very bad."
"Oh!" Lee says as he slowly begins to pull his hands away from the device.
"Let's just try and lift it out of there without touching it too much."
"If you two wouldn't mind hurrying up, this stone is getting heavy." Said Cochrane as a small bead of sweet formed on his face, and a hint of announce in his voice.
"Sorry." Jackson says as he and Lee reach back in and carefully remove the device from its hidden chamber.
As soon as the device was out of the hidden chamber the whole room began to fill with a deep rumbling sound seconds before the cover stone that Cochrane was holding pulled from his grip and snapped shut. "Deculture!" muttered Cochrane.
"I think running would be a good idea right about now." Jackson says a split second before thousands of gallons of water came crashing out of hidden vents around the ceiling and began to flood the chamber.
-{[]}-
Back outside by the entrance to the temple that the trio where in their guide was lightly dozing, but woke with a start when he felt the ground start to rumble, grabbing the radio he scrambles over to the entrance lying down flat just as the water starts to be heard rushing in. "Doctor Jackson!" he shouted into the hole holding the near his head, "Can you hear me!" before shouting directly into the hole, "DOCTOR JACKSON!"
-{[]}-
As the water was gushing into the temple in Honduras, the small force of SG1 & 3, Bra'tac and Devil squad are all waiting in the cell that the forces of Ramius had thrown them into when they had surrendered after their failed attempt at capturing the super solider.
"How's he doing?" Asked O'Neill as he looked over to where Carter and Rockwell were changing the dressing and bacta-gel on the wounded major Reynolds.
"Stable sir, but we need to get him out of here and back to base, ASAP." Says Rockwell while Carter was holding the fresh dressing on to Reynolds.
"I'm fine sir." Says Reynolds, wincing with pain from the staff blast that had hit him while trying to act a tough guy in an attempt to impress Welsh.
Suddenly from outside of their cell the members of the team all hear the tell tail sound of an approaching Jaffa squad, after about five seconds of hearing the rhythmic approach of the Jaffa squad the door to the holding room opened and Ramius walked in surrounded by a squad of six Jaffa all armed with staff weapons and a Zat'nik'tel.
"I'll handle this." O'Neill says as he moved to the front of the cell with both Teal'c and Bra'tac who had sub-concisely taken a flanking position on his left and right. "Greetings," he said cheerfully, "well, um I know how this looks so I think that it would be better if we were to clear up any sort of misunderstandings you have straight away. We didn't come here to kill you," before turning and facing everyone else in the cell and asking, "am I right?"
Those that weren't seeing to the wounded and nodded and muttered a half assed 'yep', not really gaining that much support. Realising that they really hadn't sold it he mouthed a sarcastic 'Thanks' before turning back to face Ramius and his honour guard.
"In fact, and this is the funny thing, we actually come to save you from being killed. Do you see the irony?"
Without even appearing to breath Ramius continued to glare at the capture team.
"Anyhow," O'Neill said, realising that he wouldn't get anything out of this particular Goa'uld, he continued, "there is this guy out there, a specially created type of Ashrak we think has been made by Anubis, who's dressed all in black who is none too fond of you Goa'uld's but the point is that he is the one we're after not you. So if you would like to let us go we will just be on are way. You're not buying this are you."
With a shake of his head and a flash of his eyes Ramius abruptly turns around and marches off and shouting "Jaffa KREE!" in the double flanged voice that all of the Goa'uld seemed to speak in.
When the outer door to the holding room closed again the group all sighed and released the breath that many of them hadn't realised they were all holding. The room was silent for several moments before Rockwell muttered, "That went well."
"That went well." O'Neill remarks flippantly as Newman smacks the back of the land-operations warfare specialist head, and making everyone smile just a little even the two Jaffa that were with them.
After a few more moments of silence Bra'tac turned to face O'Neill. "Your friends condition worsens." He says indicating the now shivering form of major Reynolds while Carter and Rockwell tried to stabilise him.
"Well your friends can show you anytime now." Replies O'Neill cryptically so as not to alert the Jaffa that where guarding them that there was members of the Jaffa fifth column with in their own forces, while still looking at the still open door-way just beyond their cell.
"We must consider that they may not."
Hearing this O'Neill spun around to face the aged Jaffa master and studied his face for a few seconds to see if he was trying to pull his leg. "Really?"
With a slight nod of his head he replied in a forced humour. "At least we are alive."
"Yes if you call this living."
"You're worried that once the super-solider has killed Ramius, it's just going to turn around and start killing everyone or set off a bomb, sir?" Asked his SG1 team mate major Carter, who was taking a break from working on the now stable Reynolds.
"Super-solider?" O'Neill repeated doing a decent impression of Teal'c.
"Why not?" Shrugs Welsh as she scanned the room with her tac-pad discreetly.
"It has a ring to it."
"It is most likely that the warrior is only after Ramius," Suggests Teal'c from where he had just sat down to begin his daily kelnorim, despite the fact he no longer carried a symbiote, "when we attached and attempted to capture it, it was most likely only concerned with escaping so that it could complete its mission."
"That's logical."
"So what, we just sit around and wait while what, Ramius gets eliminated?" Says O'Neill questioningly. "Then what?" Before looking around and noticing that the members of Devil squad had a look in their eyes, one that he had seen many times on his SG team mates many times, just before they broke out of a prison cell on any number of times.
"Lieutenant?" Said Newman, realising that their quiet conversation in Zentron had been noticed.
"That mission on Hamilton III, the Event Horizon rescue operation."
"The one where Mandel and Garb ended up stealing that proto-type fighter from the Shadow Force to give us cover?" Said Rockwell, knowing that his team mate ensign Ace McCloud would be grateful for maintaining his cover.
"Think it would work?" Said Welsh still fiddling with her tac-pad discreetly.
"Not with this many wounded and no intelligence on the layout of the place."
"Well in that case," Says O'Neill acting like a big kid that all those from the SGC knew he wasn't, "Hay," he shouted to the closest of the Jaffa guarding them, who just ignored him, making O'Neill a little pissed, "What a little conversation going to kill you?" The guard continued to just stare straight ahead and completely ignore the group, further pissing O'Neill off. "Look," he said just about keeping his cool, "I know that you are all about loyalty, I get that I do theres…"
"SILENCE!" shouted the guard as he removed his own Zat'nik'tel.
"Teal'c?" O'Neill says moving out of the way of his SG1 team mate as he was still recovering from being hit by a stray shot when they were captured.
"Hear me Jaffa," Says the former first prime in a very low, almost whispering voice, "you're master is a false god and he will surely be defeated soon. However you still have a chance to be free."
"Your words mean nothing to me. I know who you are," Says the guard who was subconsciously stroking the activation stud on his Zat'nik'tel, "Teal'c and Bra'tac the shol'vas. O'Neill and SG1, 3 and 5 of the Tau'ri. Assassins who believed that they could slay my master."
Just then the sound of distant and multiple staff weapons being fired at something followed by the sounds of people running.
"Just a quick question for you. If were all the assassins and were locked up in here, then who's that shooting up the place?" Asked Welsh pointing out the door towards where they could hear the sounds of the fight going on, although those that where conscious had already figured it out.
"Consider this," O'Neill asks of the guard that they had decided to try and turn against the Goa'uld, "does this at all sound like it is at all as if it is going well up there?"
"Your master will be soon slain, as will you if you do not free us." Says Teal'c.
"You are lying. My master is a god! He is invincible."
"Oh Deculture," muttered Welsh just loud enough to be heard by O'Neill, Teal'c and the guard, while she rolled her eyes, "this idiot is as indoctrinated as a member of the Disciples of Zor." and earning a groan of annoyance from Newman and Rockwell.
After about a minute of the fire fight they heard an announcement in Goa'uld over the internal communications system. "Jaffa Kree! Intercept the intruder and kill it!" Hearing this several of the guards left leaving only the guard that they were trying to turn against the Goa'uld.
"You're next you know." Says O'Neill sarcastically as the remaining guard becomes noticeably more worried.
Seeing this Teal'c decided to twist the proverbial knife deeper. "Ramius will force you to die for him while he attempts to escape."
"My god will fight for his people."
"You are wrong my friend. Your god is somewhere hiding, cowering, in fear like a little child at the sound of thunder. I have seen it before many times, he will not think to sacrifice all if your lives so that he can flee and save his own skin." Says Bra'tac almost laughing at the guard's faith in the Goa'uld, before the final guard swallows hard and runs out of the room.
"Hay! What about us?" O'Neill shouts at the man's retreating form, before facing both Teal'c and Bra'tac, "You know it should be getting easier not harder to convince these fella's to join the fifth column?"
"Sir?" Shouts Carter as she gets another field dressing out and places it on Reynolds wound, while Rockwell gets another bacta-gel pouch out to treat the wound.
"Hang in there Reynolds." Orders O'Neill.
"As long as it takes." Reynolds through another wave of pain.
Several minutes later the sound of a single person approaching their cell, fearing that it was the warrior the group back-up away from the entrance to the cell. Seeing that it was the young warrior that they had been trying to convince to switch sides.
"Ramius has fallen." He says as he opens the cell using the remote on his gauntlet. "Go no quickly before this demon comes for you." Handing his Zat'nik'tel to Teal'c.
"Go, go!" O'Neill says as SG3 & 5 move to get the wounded while Devil squad move to cover the entrance, "Come on let's go, let's go!" once everyone is out if the cell O'Neill notices that the guard is still standing there. Realising that the man's very religious belief has just been shattered by what he has seen and that he is in shook, O'Neill takes pity on the man and gestures for him to move and come with him. "You too, come on." He says in a much gentler tone than when he was ordering the capture force to move.
-{[]}-
At around the same time that the capture force are escaping from Ramius jail, Rogelio is screaming into the hole which leads into the hidden underground temple.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME!"
After a few more seconds in which the entrance to the chamber fills up with water and the last of the air bubbled to the surface he sat down and began to pray silently for the souls of those that had just drowned. He was halfway through the prayer when he is shocked as Jackson broke through the surface and climbed out of the hole before Lee climbed out and collapsed as Cochrane trust through the surface.
"Are you ok?" Asked Rogelio worriedly as he picked the artefact up. "I thought that all of you were dead for sure senor?"
"We triggered some kind of automated trap." Jackson says coughing some of the water out of his lungs.
"That… was… fun." Panted Cochrane hauling himself out of the water as Rogelio casually picked up the artefact.
"What is it that you've found?" He asks looking at the device, he was so engrossed in the device that he didn't realise someone was behind him as Lee, Cochrane and Jackson all started to stand raising their hands. "Don't worry senor's, I'm not going to rob you." Before realising what's about to happen as he mentally starts to berate himself as he slowly turns around muttering to himself. "Hastia, Modre de Dias."
-{[]}-
"Look if this is some sort of turf thing you've got going on that we aren't aware of we're sorry." Says Jackson as the group are lead blindfolded deeper into the jungle.
"Oh no, senor. Please don't speak." Pleads Rogelio from the back of the group with his hands on the shoulders of Cochrane.
"I'm just saying that whoever you guys think that we are, we're not."
"Who do you think I 'think' you are?" Says one of the rebels at the back who was the leader.
"I don't know, we're scientists, archaeologists' in fact." Jackson says, holding onto Lee's shoulders, "I'm just saying in fact, that is this is a kidnapping, which is what I'm guessing this is, then you should know that we are not worth anything."
"Trust me gringo! Everyone is worth something to somebody."
The group continue on for a few more seconds before Jackson deliberately trips Lee. "I tripped, I'm sorry." Says Lee as he struggles to get back up complaining, "Geez I can't see anything."
Pulling down his own blindfold so he can see again Rogelio takes a quick look around to get his bearings before he makes a break for it away from everyone else, making it a hundred yards from the trail before he is noticed by the rebels.
"Chalo!" Shouts the leader of the rebels pointing to the fleeing form of their captive's native guide who was now zigzagging in order to try and avoid all the fire from the rebels.
"ARGH!" He screams as Cochrane and Jackson both duck to avoid the fire and maintain their cover as simple scientist, and not a frontline specialist of a covert mission and an alien scientist that was working with him that were looking for an alien artefact.
"What… what just… happened?" Asked Cochrane pretending to be scared at the sound of all the weapons fire.
"Your guide gringos, he tried to run. What can you do?" Jokes the leader getting a few small laughs from the other rebels. "Maybe now we will all stay on the path eh muchachos?"
Grabbing Cochrane under the arm and pulls him roughly up as the other rebels do the same with Lee and Jackson and starts them walking again.
-{[]}-
Entering into one of the chambers within the pyramid the team spot all of their equipment, weapons and tactical vests are all on a table. As the team are putting the last of their equipment back on they noticed that across the hall was a corridor which was filled with the bodies of fallen Jaffa.
Deciding that they might have a way gaining some intelligence at the very least which would make up for their lack of capturing the warrior, after walking carefully for several minutes until they entered a ring room where there was several more Jaffa laying slain while trying to protect Ramius as he attempted to activate the rings.
"Ouch." Says O'Neill looking at the plasma riddled body of Ramius and all the dead Jaffa.
"It would seem that Ramius was attempting to get away using one of his many Alkesh." Says Teal'c bending down to examine the rings for damage.
"Sir, I think that we still might have a chance to capture the warrior and complete the mission." Says Carter looking at the rings from her position next to the controls for the rings.
"How?" O'Neill, Teal'c and Bra'tac ask.
"Easy sir." Says Rockwell catching on to the major's plan. "We steal the ship that this guy was going to use to escape, stick him in the cargo hold with no life support, right ma'am." Asks Rockwell aiming his shoulder mounted plasma cannon down the adjacent hall.
"Yes."
"Do it, T go with'em." O'Neill orders. "Everyone else fall back to the gate and get the wounded back to the SGC for treatment."
-{[]}-
Less than a minute later Teal'c was flying the recently liberated Al'kesh bomber back to the path which lead back to the stargate while major Carter was standing-by at the controls for the on-board ring platform with ensign Rockwell covering the hatchway with his shoulder mounted plasma cannon.
Activating the rings the warrior is brought up into the sealed cargo hold. "Transport complete." Carter says just as there is a loud bang on the sealed door.
"Carter did you get him?" O'Neill asks over the radio, while Rockwell began to sub-consciously starts stroke the firing stud on his trained weapon.
"Yes sir, we got him."
"Good job, oh and ensign Rockwell, lieutenant Newman says 'stay frosty it's not a knight' whatever that means." Replies O'Neill as Teal'c begins to pilot the Al'kesh out of the atmosphere and into low orbit.
-{[]}-
"Chino! Jose! Ven para aca." The leader of the rebels shouts as he prods the back of Cochrane with his AK-47 as he leads the trio into their camp. "That's for enough! Hay gringo's." As he throws Cochrane into a small shack with Jackson and Lee both of whom still had their hands bound like Cochrane.
"You know I don't know what you are expecting but no one is going to pay you anything for us." Says Jackson as he rolled to sit up and fighting down the urge to fight his way out like he would with the Goa'uld.
"He's right," Says Cochrane, using all of his self-control not to lunch him-self at the smug man before him and snap his neck like a twig. "we're just a bunch of scientist, we are worth nothing."
"Oh, that is unfortunate… for you." Says the leader of the rebels eliciting a small chuckle from the rest of the rebels, "because if no one pays up, then you will never leave here alive I guarantee that."
-{[]}-
"It's still unconscious?" Asks general Hammond as he, commodore Hudson and major Carter stepped of the Argo multipurpose transport which had just brought them up to the Archangel after returning with the captured warrior.
"Yes sir, although it's not surprising given that we sucked all of the air out of the cargo hold and went into low orbit with Teal'c's prize. In fact it took ten minutes and several heavy stun blasts from devil land operations." Reports Carter.
"I'm surprised…" States Hudson when the intercom calls him.
"Bridge to commodore Hudson!"
Taking out his personal communicator, Hudson opens it, "Hudson here. What's the problem chief Benshoff?"
"A vessel just… de-folded… and is hailing us. They are requesting to know who we are and why we are currently in Earth orbit." Came the reply.
"Is it the Goa'uld again?" Hudson asked as the group made their way towards the nearest turbo lift, away from ARMD 1's hanger deck.
"Negative sir," said sub-commander Dvorak breaking into the comm-link, "it doesn't match anything that we know of."
"We're on our way, Hudson out." Hudson said as the group enter into the lift.
Seconds later the doors opened onto the security corridor behind the bridge. As the assembled group walked in the MACO at the door stiffened slightly about to come to attention only to be waved off as Hudson moved to his command chair. "Report." He ordered as he sat down.
"Unknown alpha is sitting directly ahead of us, sir." Reported captain Hill sitting in for lieutenant commander Welsh at tactical, "Their shields and weapons are on hot stand-by."
"On screen."
The main tactical display shimmered as it switched from the view of the dark side of Luna to the image of the Thurvel-Salan sized ship in front of the Archangel.
"Oh crap." Carter mutters.
"Friends of yours?" Asks Dvorak raising an eyebrow as she turn to face the two humans from the SGC.
"Yes, sorry ma'am. Can you hail them?" Carter asks getting a nod from Hammond.
Hudson turns to the comm-station and gives the crewmember on duty to open a channel. "Channel open sir."
"This is major Carter of SG1 to Asgard vessel, hold fire." Carter said using her best diplomatic tone and smile.
"It is agreeable to see you again major Carter" Said the small grey alien that appeared on the screen.
"Thor it's good to see you." Says Carter.
"Major Carter, the vessel you are on is not of ant Tau'ri design of which I am aware of, and its technology is greatly superior to your own." Thor replies clearly shocked by the information his scans had revealed.
"Yes well about that, we have made some new friends." Carter replies with a slight shrug.
"I see." Thor says clearly impressed, "Than I can assume that their actions are not hostile?"
Carter nods as she steps to the side allowing Hudson to take her place, "I am commodore Kira Hudson of the Zentradi Macross Fleet vessel Archangel." He said introducing himself.
"I am Thor, supreme commander of the Asgard fleet. This is my personal flagship the O'Neill class battleship Jack O'Neill." Thor responded with a slight bow of his head, "I am afraid that I am unaware of any race called the… Zentradi."
Hudson smiled slightly, while mentally laughing that this first contact had gone much better than it did with the Goa'uld. "That's understandable supreme commander as don't exactly come from around here, I was just about to have a meeting with general Hammond and major Carter about our origins, you are welcome to join us." He said.
"I would very much like that."
"Should we send a shut…" Hudson began when there was a bright bluish white flash next to him.
Seeing this the MACO at the entrance hatch sprang to attention before shouting. "SUPREME COMMANDER ON DECK!"
At this action Thor was momentarily stunned, as he had not had that kind of response to his entrance in centuries, before returning the salute which Hudson was giving him. "Shall we begin?" He said as he looked around the bridge.
"Right this way sir." Hudson said, sweeping his arm to the side and directing the group to the observation room behind the bridge. "Care to join us sub-commander?"
Dvorak nodded and made her way to the observation lounge.
"You have the bridge captain Hill, major Sisko you're with me." Hudson said as he followed their guests.
Hill took a seat in the command chair and frowned. She would bring it up with the commodore when they're guests had departed, but something was bothering her. This… Thor… had transported himself directly on to the bridge, and while that in of itself wasn't a huge deal, the thing which was upsetting her was that they had the shields active at the time.
These Asgard it seems had the technology to actively transport through their shields.
-{[]}-
As he entered the observation lounge the first thing that Hudson noticed was general Hammond looking out window at the Asgard ship which was just visible around the curve of the Luna surface. Carter and Thor were looking at the models of all the ships which had been called Archangel. They're was everything from an old Prometheus class semi-submersible assault carrier up to the last ship to bear the name which bared a striking similarity to the one that they were one, but clearly of an older design.
Hudson smiled at the three visitors and nodded to the MACO commander to resume his post out on the bridge. He nods and leaves allowing Hudson to spot the two additional MACO's that where taking up position on the other side of the door.
After a few minutes everyone sat down at the table as a yeoman came in with a tray with five glasses and a jug of water.
"Supreme commander, I hope that simple water is safe for your species." He said as the yeoman placed the tray in the centre of the table.
Thor gave the Asgard equivalent of smile at the simple act of kindness. "It is, thankfully the Asgard as a race are levo-amino like that of humans." He noticed Hudson had a raised an eyebrow in a look of curiosity. "Though the Nox, a friend of both the Tau'ri and the Asgard, are dextro-amino based."
Hudson nodded. "I'll keep that in mind sir, if they ever have a meal on-board. We've met a few races who are based on a dextro-amino DNA in our corner of the universe."
"And where is that exactly?" Asked Hammond as he sipped his water.
"That will take some explaining," Hudson said shaking his head, "I can share some portions of our database with you to provide proof, but… we're not exactly from this galaxy, the local group."
Thor's eyes widened as he tried to comprehend that humans from beyond the local group! That was insane… yet he remained himself of the unusual readings his ship had picked up when he had dropped out of hyperspace.
"Go on."
"There was once a race known as the Triolian who could measure their space faring history in the hundreds of thousand centuries. They were explorers, scientist, completely dedicated to furthering their knowledge of the universe. At one point during Earths dark ages, they had dispatched an expedition to explore the local group. They discovered the earth at some time around three hundred BC. At that time, the Roman republic were in ascendancy but the Triolian's held Earth under observation and study for a few centuries. They eventually decided to influence the romans into a more positive way and began impersonating the Roman gods using their extremely advanced technology." Hudson said as he paused for a moment, taking a sip of his own water. "With the rise of Christianity, the Triolians feared that their long-term experiment was endangered, and so they pretty much abducted entire villages of their 'chosen' and people from other areas all over the earth to get a pretty diverse gene pool going. They then took them back to the Triolian home galaxy to continue the 'experiment'." Hudson chuckled humourlessly at this, "They even Terra-formed and engineered a second Sol system for their 'Taken' in a sector of space near their homeworld."
Carter visibly considered this story for a moment, it was true that many of the people in the galaxy had been abducted by the Goa'uld before they had left earth following the revolt by the ancient Egyptians. Clearly these Triolians didn't care about 'interfering' in the affairs of other races. Hudson spotted this on the faces of Carter and Thor and nodded to Dvorak.
"The Triolians had tried maintaining their surveillance of Earth, supreme commander," Dvorak spoke for the first time since the meeting had started. She tapped the controls next to her on the table. "Perhaps you'll recognize them in their natural form." The screen at the rear of the room activated and the image of a tall grey skinned Centaur…it was a Roswell grey!
"They became interested in Earth when they detected the detonation of your first nuclear weapons, unfortunately their survey craft malfunction and they crashed in Roswell New Mexico." Dvorak explained.
"Did the Triolian's inform you of your true origins?" Thor queried.
"Yes, once Zentradi Earth reached the correct level of development, when we achieved faster-than-light travel in the form of hyper-fold travel. They also shared everything that's happened to you earth, although the information is only current to about the mid-nineties, since it takes an awfully long time to travel from home and here. It's a pleasant surprise to see that you've made allies with other races and a basic FTL, even if it is rather slow."
"If… it is such a long journey, why are you here?" Thor asked, trying to come to terms with the fact that these people considered hyperspace travel like he did with the ships of the Goa'uld.
"Our presence in the milky-way is an accident," Hudson explained further, "as you have no doubt surmised the Archangel is a warship. Well, we were at war fighting alongside the Triolians and other allies, like the sub-commanders people, against an implacable foe, and in the course of one of the battles we were forced to use an experimental weapon on our enemies. When it detonated a displacement wave reacted with our FTL matrix giving it a boost… the result was the forced activation of an emergency fold but the drive system was boosted so much that our speed was amplified to such an extent, that we covered a journey that at FTL should have taken close to a thousand million years in a matter of minutes."
"And you ended up in the Milky-way? That's a slight coincidence…" Hammond asked knowing that SG1 had the worst luck when it came to first contacts with aliens.
"We ended up close, a few hundred light-years out above the galactic z-plane." Dvorak explained, "We had just located a planet with the right minerals which we needed to repair the ship and was uninhabited to set down and make repairs, when we detected your ship limping into the system."
"I see." Hammond said, he felt like he would need a few days just to get all his thoughts straight before he even attempted to write his report for the Pentagon on this one. "So if I may be so bold, what sort of assistance are you willing to give to us, besides what you've already offered?"
"Well for starters," Dvorak said having already discussed this with Hudson and the other senior staff, "we can help to upgrade that glorified flying missile ship of yours into something that at the very least resembles a space combat vessel, secondly we will jump start your space based defences and designs for a fleet of ships to the SGC. These designs are older than that of the current ships used by the Macross Fleet but they are good designs, the designs are Drake class frigates, Nelson class battle cruisers and their variant the Acidalium class battleship as well as a practical carrier class design, since what we have seen so far that everyone local likes their space fighters, in the form of the Minerva class battle carrier and their respective support craft." Dvorak said as images of the said ships appeared as a hologram above the table.
-{[]}-
While Hammond, Carter, Thor, Dvorak and Hudson where discussing about their origins and how they can help to upgrade the earths very limited defences when it came to orbital attacks in the main observation lounge of the Archangel. Down in a holding cell of the SGC was the warrior, who had been removed from all but its armour's under suit, was chained to the wall with a heavy guard from the SGC and Rockwell who had switched from his basic fire-force weapons system to the more powerful Detonator mini-destroid weapons system.
Stepping forward so that he was merely inches from the warrior's face Bra'tac stares into the milky-white eyes of the being, before beginning the interrogation of the warrior. "Whom do you serve? Speak!"
With a very deep throaty sounding voice, that sounded as if it was an engine starting up with how gravelly it was, the warrior confirms what everybody present with in the nearby observation room was fearing. "I serve Anubis!"
Stepping back Bra'tac moved to allow executor Granger, who had come down from the Archangel at the request of the SGC, to take over. "How and why where you created?"
The warrior merely groans in response to the question as it strains against the restraints which were holding it against a sheet of armour used on the Archangel, which was charred and melted around the edges, with magnetic restraints active and nano-welded on to the battlefortress grade armour plate. Realising that their questioning would get them no were Bra'tac and Granger leave the interrogation room and moved into the observation room across the hallway from the holding cell.
"I think it is safe to assume that we are not going to get anything out of it using traditional techniques." Says Granger entering the room to which Welsh, still in her command exo-frame, shivered slightly catching the hidden meaning to the Lantean's words. "So what have we found out that's new Devil One."
"Well the initial scans of both the host and the Goa'uld symbiote have shown that they both have below normal brain-wave patterns, basically he has all of the strength and healing powers of a normal Goa'uld without any of the normal personality traits that we've come to know and love." Says the SGC's chief medical officer doctor Janet Fraiser. "Also the Goa'uld have been known to use very sophisticated brain washing techniques, they've even shown the ability to program the humanoid brain to be a unsuspecting agent called a zartarc."
"Since I've got none of my normal… equipment, I'm open to suggestions." Says Granger, wishing that he had taken some of his personal toys with him on his assignment to watch Dvorak when she returned to the active service within the fleet aboard the Blood Haze.
"What about a Hansa mind sifter?" Asks Welsh.
"I've got none with me, plus I doubt that they would work."
"There is one thing," Says Selmak/ Carter, "we may be able to use the Tok'ra memory-recall device, and modify it so that we can access any images in its conscious mind as it thinks them."
"I'll let the general know." O'Neill says as he leaves the observation room, heading back to Hammond's office since the general was getting a tour of the Archangel. As O'Neill reaches the elevators Granger catches up to him.
"Colonel O'Neill sir, is there any word on the team sent to South America?"
"None," Replies O'Neill swiping his identification card in the access reader, "Doctors Jackson & Lee and lieutenant Cochrane are now six hours overdue for their last scheduled check in."
"That doesn't sound like Mr Cochrane, he's a stickler for the rules from what I've been told."
"Well the state department have said that, and I quote, 'The Honduran government is investigating their disappearance', they've sent some people to the last reported location, but so far they have found nothing."
-{[]}-
Down in north Nicaragua, about ten kilometres from the border with Honduras, the leader of the rebels that had taken Jackson, Lee and Cochrane hostage walks out of the hut that he uses and stretches. "Listos?" He shouts as he walks over to the small hut which he had thrown Lee, Jackson and Cochrane and unbars the door. "I know that it is not much, but we do the best with what we have." He says before he reaches forward and uses a combat knife to cut the ties on their wrists. "So… here is my proposal for the three of you, I will ask the questions and you will provide me with answers. If I believe you, then you will get more water, more food and even maybe an extra blanket or two at night, okay?"
The three nod while rubbing their wrists.
"Ok… so who do work for?"
"I told you. We are archaeologists…" Starts Jackson only to be kicked in the gut by the rebel leader.
"Maybe I was not so clear since English can be a funny language sometimes, if I don't believe you or I think that you are lying then things can get very, very, very, very, very, bad for you."
"Look man, if you kill us then you can count on two things, one you'll get nothing and two you'll waste a lot of energy and maybe even some ammo." Cochrane says with an air of arrogance which made the leader smirk before giving him a swift riffle check to the gut.
"Maybe we will kill just one of you as a way to get yours government's attention."
Hearing this Lee gulps hard, while praying that either the young Zentradi officer or Jackson have plan or that the SGC has the cavalry on the way.
"Who lives? Who dies?" Continues the rebel leader as he plays with the point of the combat knife, "That is up to you my friends."
"Ok, you listen to me," Says Jackson, "what you're doing now, is a very big mistake. People, some very, very, very, powerful people are going to come for us and, well let's just say that by letting us go now, you'll be saving yourself from a world of hurt."
Nodding as he was thinking about it the leader shrugs, "Ok, the hard-way it is, but know this, I will not hesitate to kill you all as an example to your government and sponsors, so that the next time they will take us seriously. You should know that many prisoners talk as you do," he says as the other rebels start to laugh, "They say things like, 'my friends will come and save me, if you let me go you'll live,' they do it to give themselves hope. Even if it is ultimately hopeless." As he re-closes and bars the door again.
-{[]}-
"If his brain waves are compatible with the device, then we should be able to see whatever he is thinking as he is thinking it and project them using this holographic display." Says Selmak/Carter as he walks over to the warrior, while everyone except Rockwell who was still standing guard in the Detonator weapons system, and places the modified memory recall device into its right temple.
Nodding to Teal'c the Tok'ra agent steps to one side allowing the Jaffa warrior to move closer to the restrained warrior. As soon as Teal'c is about a foot away from the warrior he asks the only question that everybody agrees that they needed an answer to. "What is your planet of origin?"
The warrior continues to stare at Teal'c as if he is nothing more than a bug which had to be squished, while thinking about the question which had just been given to him. After a few seconds in which the holo-screen showed the various ways that the warrior was wishing to kill Teal'c and everyone else on the base before escaping, then suddenly the screen changed and showed the view of the stars as they are seen from the surface of the world of the warrior.
"That's the sky above his world." Says Selmak/ Carter.
"I don't recognise any of those star configurations'," Says Newman and lieutenant Hailey, who had been brought in to assist while Carter was up on the Archangel with Hammond, before adding. "This could be anywhere in the galaxy."
"The Tok'ra have a sophisticated galaxy mapping program, we could process this through it and it should be able to locate planet's location." Says Selmak/ Carter with a smile on his host's face. "Unknown to him he has just given us the location of one of the key worlds for Anubis."
-{[]}-
"We call the planet Tartarus," Says Selmak/ Carter as he steps in front of the three dimensional cube showing the matched star configuration's on the main display of the briefing room. "We are currently attempting to get a scout ship as close as we can to assess its defences."
"Sir?" Asks Welsh, noticing that O'Neill was exiting Hammond's office with a very worried look on his face.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news. I've just gotten off the phone with major Davis in Washington, it would appear that doctor's Jackson, Lee and your lieutenant Cochrane have been kidnapped. The CIA's best guess is that they may have been taken over the border into Nicaragua, but at this minute we've no idea as to their location."
