Chapter 8: 1 Minute to Midnight
Hey guys I'm back yet again with an exciting chapter. This is going to be where shit hits the fan so please, sit back and enjoy. Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. I am taking everything you guys give me under advisement; just stay patient because you may be surprised later. Anyway same old same old, I do not own anything but my OCs and story, everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Previously
Heinrike gave him a horrified look as Geena covered her mouth to stop her snort. She wished she had a camera to capture this moment. Before the frazzled lieutenant could retaliate, Vought's radio squawked.
"Crosshair here, go ahead."
"Sir an unidentified radar contact just appeared from behind a transport. They are inbound, they were not scheduled, and they are ignoring us."
"Why didn't the ship detect it?"
"Sensors went offline a few min-"
The transmission was cut as the ship went dark and an explosion rocked the base.
September 2, 1945 0010 Hours- 501st JFW Runway
"SHIT… Girls with me; neither of you are armed are you?" Vought cursed as he jumped up, sidearm drawn.
They shook their heads as yells could be heard in the distance; the fire burning in the background.
"Alright stay close, Heinrike can you get a signal from anywhere?"
She shook her head as her familiar appeared and her antenna formed above her head, "Nothing sir; I'm only getting static.
He nodded, "Alright come on, we need to get to the SAM."
Same Time, 5 miles out
The three C-47 transports dove to the runway as fast as they could; the troops in the back hanging onto whatever they could. A familiar man stood by the door of the first aircraft. "All right guys, here's what we got," Wells yelled over the roar of the engines. "Our mutual friend has distracted the ship's crew and has opened a path for us to get into the ship. As soon as we touchdown Groups one and two will move towards their entry points. Group 3 will be the distraction and Group 4 will protect the planes." He looked at the men in the red glow of the battle lamps, "These men are well trained and will not hesitate to kill you on sight so do everything in your power to defend yourselves. Remember your objectives and let's get out of here quickly."
"What about the witches' sir?" one of the men asked over the engines.
"Collateral damage," he responded. The men yelled their confirmations as Wells sat back down; jostled as the plane dove towards the ground. He glanced at the picture in his hand, "I must complete my objective"
September 2, 1945 0015 Hours- 501st JFW
Vought and company reached the fire as it slowly burned itself out; the girls stared at the devastation. "What happened…" whispered Preddy.
Vought looked at the scene as he tried to piece together what had happened. It seemed as if one of the reloads for the SAM battery had exploded; destroying the berm they had built around it. Noticing one of his men being treated by a medic, he jogged over, "Nemes what happened?"
1st Lt. Alex Nemes shook his head and pushed the Russian medic away as he held the bandage to his head, "No idea sir, I was on patrol with two others when we heard someone yell. We ran over here to what had happened and the next thing I knew, I'm upside down in that tree over there; bleeding and dazed." He pointed at a tree near the edge of the clearing, 20 ft. away.
Vought turned to the two, "Can either of you two help him?"
They shook their heads, "No… sorry Chris, we're not medical witches like Miyafuji. We can only heal ourselves, limitedly and that's it." Preddy responded.
"Where's your men Nemes?"
He pointed to his right where two men lay unconscious. "They got hit by debris and were badly injured; they both passed out a little while ago."
He turned to the medic and began speaking to him in Russian. Heinrike turned to Nemes, "Are you alright?"
Nemes shook his head, "Nope not at all," he winced, "Think I might have broken something, or a few somethings."
"Sorry we can't help lieutenant, hopefully Sgt. Miyafuji will get here soon," Geena stated sadly.
"It's cool don't worry about it," he winced as he turned to look at the angry expression on Vought's face as he finished speaking with the medic.
"The two guards for the missiles are dead; they were killed in the explosion. Two more are in serious condition."
The two girls gasped as Nemes sighed; they couldn't catch a break.
He looked to his man, "Think you can defend yourself lieutenant?"
Nemes grinned and coughed as he pulled his sidearm free, "They'd have to pry this from my cold dead hands sir, Go see what's up; I'll hold down this area."
Vought grinned at this and turned to the medic telling him to get some more people over here, "Good luck Nemes, we'll send the 501st here as soon as possible."
With that, he left with the two witches in tow, his destination; the darkened ship. Over the trees, the three C-47s landed and began disgorging their cargo.
5 Minutes Later
"All right we should be there any second n-," Vought froze as he heard the sound of a pistol safety being disengaged. He slowly turned and found Maj. Sayn- Wittgenstein being held captive by a Britannian soldier; with a pistol to her head. "Throw your weapons on the ground now or the witch gets it."
"I-I'm unarmed, please don't shoot," Preddy quietly asked as she put her hands up.
He looked at Vought as he stepped closer to the major, "You too buddy."
Vought stepped slightly in front on Preddy, "Fine but please, don't hurt her." Heinrike, despite her tough act and being a soldier for years, was still a 17 year old girl and she was beside herself. Only the reassuring look on the colonel's face was able to prevent her from crying out loud.
Vought tossed the particle magnum on the ground near the soldier; a plane could be heard flying over. "There now please, let her go; I'm the CO of the ship. Take me hostage instead." He took another step forward.
Preddy was trying not to panic but things were looking bad and she was having a tough time trying to find a way out of their situation. She watched as Vought winked at her as he took a step forward. Looking at him partially in front of her, she realized what he was trying to set up; he had his other sidearm tucked into the back of his belt and within her reach. She looked at the weapon, trying to judge her distance; now she just needed a window.
The soldier scoffed as he shoved his hostage to the ground and aimed his weapon at the colonel. "Huh if that's so then I can finish this quickly." He beckoned with his weapon and Vought took another step forward. As the soldier looked away from her, Geena reached for the pistol. "Come on I don't have all ni-"
The soldier's complaint was abruptly ended with a loud 'CRACK' as a darkened figure fell from the sky and promptly crushed the soldier into the dirt; killing him instantly. "Hope you guys don't mind me dropping in for a bit," the figure joked as they got off the dead man.
Geena and Chris blinked at this unexpected turn of events. "Cap-Capt. Marseille?" Heinrike stuttered out as she identified the figure.
"Hannah!?" The other two asked in unison.
Capt. Marseille smirked as she stretched and dismissed her familiar, "That's my name don't wear it out." She looked at the three of them; concern on her face, "You guys ok?"
Vought blinked as he remembered the situation, "I think so… oh shit Heinrike!" He spun only to be tackled by the witch in question. Her tail twitched about frantically as she sobbed into his chest with a death grip. He pat her on the back as he tried to console the terrified witch. No one said anything as Marseille retrieved the colonel's weapon and handed it back to him. Eventually her sobbing stopped and she pulled away from him; her eyes red as she sniffed, "Thanks… Chris."
He smiled as he pat her on the head, "No problem Princess, anything for you."
Geena and Hannah cracked a smile despite the serious situation as Heinrike went red in the face once again. Vought turned to Hannah, "Thanks for the save captain but what are you doing here?"
She shrugged, "No problem sir; my gut told me something was off today and I was still waiting for my ride back to Africa so I found someone willing to do a fly over."
He frowned, "Well come on then we got to get moving," he stopped as he looked back at the young major; she was still shaking. He turned to Marseille, "Hannah, take Heinrike back to the SAM, she is in no condition to fight."
Heinrike calmed a bit at this, "But Chris…"
He shook his head, "Sorry major but that's an order." He turned to Marseille, "If you see Minna tell her we have a situation on the ship and I have Maj. Preddy with me."
She nodded, "Understood sir," She grabbed Heinrike and began walking towards the fire. She stopped and turned around, "and good luck."
Vought nodded as he turned to Preddy, "Keep it," he indicated his Five-Seven, "and come on." She nodded as the two of them went double time to the ship.
September 2, 1945 0021 Hours- Borealis Command Deck
Vought peered down the darkened corridor as he and Preddy made their way to his quarters. Geena looked around, "Where is everybody?"
Vought tried his radio again getting nothing but static, "It seems most of them are down in engineering trying to get the systems back online or dealing with the injured and the soldiers." He frowned, "Or dead," the image of the unknown Goa'uld in his mind; he shook his head, "Damn I wish we had a flashlight about now; whatever killed the power killed the emergency lights as well."
Preddy shook her head before stopping, "Wait, I've got an idea." Vought turned to her as she began to glow; the feathers of a goshawk sprouting from her head and lower back. "My magic is called Hawkeye; it allows me to see long distances and gives me the ability to track moving targets, even in low light." Her eyes glowed a muted blue, "I can lead the way if that's alright."
He beckoned her forward, "Lead the way."
Vought's Quarters
Vought activated his computer as he entered, throwing light through the room. Geena stood guard at the door while he made his way to his safe in the back.
"Alright here's the plan," he opened the safe and began pulling weapons out. "You and I are going to arm up and head towards the bays and meet up with whomever is there," He slung a rifle over his shoulder as he closed the safe. He handed her another rifle as he quickly showed her how to use it, "Once we meet up we are going to head to the runway and deal with whoever has landed; you good?"
She nodded.
"Then let's move it."
September 2, 1945 0010 Hours- 501st JFW Base
Minna stood at her window thinking about how the world would be once Chris and the others helped eliminate the Neuroi once and for all. Her thoughts drifted to his history lesson and the horrors that took place in his reality; wondering if that would be them once their common enemy was gone. She shook her head; no, even if she was ordered to she would never take the life of another witch like that. As she turned to go back to bed, the ship going dark caught her eye, "Huh, wonder why they turned their lights off maybe I sh-"
Her thoughts were cut short as a bloom of fire and roar of an explosion shook the base and her window. She stumbled back, "What in the world… the girls!" She spun around and ran to the door. "MIO! WAKE THE WITCHES!"
5 Minutes Later
"Alright, here's what we know, 5 minutes ago an explosion happened near the Borealis' anti-aircraft battery," Minna stated to the assembled witches and their support teams. "We have lost contact with the ship when it went dark and three unknown aircraft are about to land on our runway." She turned to the soldiers, "You men are to secure the runway and to assist the colonel's men if they contact you. Do NOT fire until fired upon; if a witch comes under attack you are to retaliate as well. Go." With her speech finished the hanger doors opened allowing the drone of the approaching aircraft to enter. She picked up her MG42 and a reload as she led the witches to the ship.
September 2, 1945 0012 Hours- 501st JFW Runway
The Romagniana soldiers assigned to the 501st waited at the edge of the runway as the three Liberion transports rolled to a stop. Stepping out from the ruins near the edge a captain walked out motioning for the planes to cut their engines. Hearing the engines cut out, he turned to yell to his men to move up when the door of the first transport opened. His men watched as a burst of fire from the plane stitched him from hip to shoulder; dropping him were he stood. As he fell, men emerged from each plane and began throwing walls of lead into the defenders' positions as they grouped up and moved out. The battle for the base had officially begun.
501st
The witches stopped as they heard gunfire and screams erupt from the runway; Yoshika nearly dropped her weapon as she covered her hears. "Damn this is bad, what the hell is going on? Where are the colonel's men?" Minna thought desperately as she helped the young sergeant forward. Looking to her right, the column of smoke from the explosion was still visible, "Come on ladies; let's see what is happening at our base."
SA-21 "Archer"
The witches slowly approached the perimeter of the reload storage for the SAM; stopping as men dressed in black emerged from the shadows, "Стоп!" they yelled as they took aim at them. Minna and Gertrude put up their shields as they prepared to block the barrage. As they braced, another voice yelled out, "Подождите! Wait they are friendlies! Commander, what are you ladies doing out here?" Maj. Volkov stated as he emerged from behind the soldiers while they lowered their weapons; the witches lowered their shields as well. "Major, what in the world is happening on my base?"
"Unknown ma'am, we are currently trying to determine what happened to the here as well as the ship. We relayed the aircrafts identification to the ship just as we lost contact. Лучник was about to engage the inbounds when the explosion severed the power cables; the battery is dead until we can get replacements from the ship." He spied Miyafuji, "Cержант Miyafuji please come quickly; we have men in critical condition." He looked to Minna as the witches rushed to follow him, "We already have two dead and four are close to death."
The girls gasped, sure they had seen death before but Neuroi beams left clean wounds or completely vaporized what they hit. They never had to deal with bullet or shrapnel wounds before. Going around the edge of the berm, the girls saw the destruction caused by the explosion and the injured men in the clearing. Yoshika rushed forward with Lyn as Minna and Mio ran up to the injured lieutenant.
Lt. Nemes looked up and cracked a smile as he winced and sat up straighter, "Well look who the cavalry brought in." He coughed once; some blood coming out as we wiped his mouth, "Sorry for the mess ma'am, I think I may have dropped my lighter."
Minna frowned at his condition and his crude attempt at a joke, "What happened lieutenant? Where's Chris?"
"Unknown ma'am and as for the colonel…" he coughed again as Yoshika began to heal him. "Last I saw of him he was heading to the ship with Maj. Preddy and Maj. Sayn- Wittgenstein." His eyes began to drop as the adrenaline finally wore off, "He is going…to need… help…" He finally passed out; a content look on his face as Miyafuji finished healing him.
A rustle in the bushes caused everyone to aim their weapons as two figures emerged from the brush. "Hannah? Heinrike?" Minna asked in astonishment as they approached; everyone lowering their weapons upon identification.
Hannah smiled as she led the shocked major to her, "Hey commander, long time no see huh?" She frowned as she looked to the young night witch, "Heinrike here has had a slightly traumatic experience; the colonel requested I bring her here and that I tell you he was headed to ship in case I ran into you. She is really shaken up; someone from those planes held a gun to her head."
Francesca ran and hugged the poor witch tightly as Yoshika and Lynette ran up to check on her. Minna frowned, "When did you…"
"I jumped from a passing plane and crushed the guy; he was going to shoot the colonel or her so I had to do it."
Barkhorn walked up, "This isn't like you Marseille; what happened?"
Hannah shrugged, "Something told me I needed to be here; besides I couldn't let you guys have all the fun could I?"
Minna turned to Alexei, "Major, can we leave some witches here with you?"
He nodded, "да, we will protect them with our lives. We will also send some men to the runway; it sounds like your men need some help." The sound of a grenade going off punctuated the statement.
Minna nodded, "Miyafuji, Bishop, Clostermann, Litvyak, and Lucchini; you will remain here with Sayn- Wittgenstein and Maj. Volkov." Gertrude handed Hannah one of her MG42s as the others checked their weapons; Mio drew her sword. "We're moving out; Major, try to not let those aircraft leave."
He nodded as the she and the remaining witches ran off towards the ship; things were heating up.
September 2, 1945 0022 Hours- Borealis ZPG
Men in black cleared the hallways as they made their way silently through the darkened ship; NVGs on as they made their way to the power systems. Sokolov held his fist up as he dropped into a crouch near the door to the ZPG and checked the vitals of one of the two guards, "Dead… but no marks." He thought to himself as he checked over both of them. He waved his men forward as they entered and began to clear the room. Finding it clear, he brought a body armored and escorted Dr. Lansby into the room.
"Well doctor the room is clear. Do you think you can find why the power is out and why our radios are having issues?"
Lansby nodded as he approached the control system and plugged in his computer, "I can, but it's going to take a while. I rush this and we wipe out ourselves, the witches, and everything in this solar system but Pluto. Whoever did this actually shut the ZPG down and that technically should not be possible."
The big Russian sighed, "Do it then; as fast as you safely can. We need this ship online NOW. Where is Vought?" He turned as one of his men entered the room and handed him a message.
Lansby looked up as diagnostics flashed across his screen, "What is it?"
Sokolov frowned as he dropped the paper and grabbed his rifle, "Trouble. We cannot allow those planes to take off."
September 2, 1945 0020 Hours- Borealis Drone Storage
SGC personnel and US Marines poured fire down the hallway into the invaders as they attempted to leave the ship. When the crew arrived they found the Britannian soldiers leaving through opposite end of the hallway; the Drone storage bay open and the guards on the deck. The men from the planes tried desperately to escape but most were cut down by the NVG wearing crew with their superior training.
"Well this sucks," thought Sam as he reloaded his M27 and peeked around the corner. The Staff Sergeant and his team had been making their way to secure the Drone storage when they ran into the tail-end of assault teams retreat. They had mowed down the men as the others fired blindly into the darkness trying to hit the defenders; their flashlights having been destroyed or lost. When the fire finally withered to a stop, Arnold and his team moved up to police for survivors. Approaching the guards, he dropped to a crouch as he removed their helmets and checked for a pulse; he felt a heartbeat. Whatever had knocked them out; the Tin Man armor protected them from dying. He called for a medic as teams moved in to secure the Drone bay; blood ran down the hall from the dead attackers. Sam entered the bay as CDR Ross appeared out of nowhere and practically sprinted towards the center of the bay; curious, Arnold followed. Going around one final rack of Drones, Arnold stopped dead as he realized the commander's haste; the ship's nuclear arsenal lay in the glare of the flashlights. Counting them he paled as he realized something, "Oh shit," he blurted out as everyone turned and ran to the door.
September 2, 1945 0020 Hours- Jumper Bay 3
"So my men have retrieved it but we are losing people at an alarming rate. I don't know how much longer they can hold out. If we are going to get out of here alive, we need to leave NOW," stated Wells nervously as he glanced at his new ally.
The soldier nodded as his eyes flashed yellow, "Indeed sergeant we need to leave now. You did receive word from your boss that I was to accompany you correct?" His distorted voice echoed in the bay as the two of them made their way to the now open door.
Wells nodded, "Of course sir; he told me to allow you access to anything you may need or want. You are to join me on my plane." He stated before hesitating, "Do you mind if I ask your name?"
The soldier stopped and smiled as he looked at the sergeant, "Of course, I am called Parin although my host's name is…"
A 'CRACK' rang out as Wells' head exploded in a pink mist.
"2nd Lt. Nick Jacobs, SGC Armory technician. So tell me Jacobs, did you kill Eric as well or did you just deceive him?"
Parin turned to the ship's interior as Col. Vought and Maj. Preddy stepped into the moonlight shinning in the bay; his SCAR-H aimed directly at his head. He smirked as he stepped over Wells' headless body.
"Ah colonel it's good to see you; I'm glad I ran into you before taking my leave. It would be a shame to leave without saying goodbye," he chuckled in his distorted voice.
"Wh-what are you?" Preddy stuttered out as she nervously aimed at the soldier.
Parin turned to the colonel, "What? You haven't told them of the Goa'uld? I thought you would have told them our history." He turned back to Preddy, "I am a Goa'uld serving under Athena. I am a member of the organization known as the Trust. I am a God and you should bow down before me."
She shook her head, "He told us of your kind and the horrors you committed. I will never bow down before anyone claiming to be a false god," she stated proudly; defiance in her voice.
His eyes flashed again as he frowned, "Pity… it seems you will have to die as well."
Before Parin could react Vought opened up full-auto on him as he advanced.
Preddy watched in amazement as none of the rounds hit him. The alien had raised his hand allowing a gold ribbon like device to be seen as a yellow shield absorbed the colonel's barrage.
"Shit," Vought stated plainly as Parin reached out, grabbed his throat and threw him against the wall.
"CHRIS!" Preddy yelled as she opened fire on the alien; he turned and stared at her as his shield deflected all the hits. She activated her magic hoping she might be able to see a weakness as she reloaded.
"That's enough of that I think," he chuckled as he aimed his hand at her. She put her shield up as an unseen force picked her up and threw her into the opposite wall; hard. Her vision blurred as she attempted to find her weapon. She fell over again too dizzy to stand and watched as the two began to fight.
"Leave. Her. Alone." He grunted as he slugged Parin in the face. The Goa'uld staggered back at the hit and wiped some blood from his lip. Looking at the blood he frowned before turning back to him, "You will pay for that Tau'ri."
He grabbed Vought and slammed his knee into his chest causing a spurt of blood to fly from his mouth. The injured colonel drew his knife and attempted to stab him in the chest. Parin chuckled as he took a step back to dodge the hit. He grabbed the colonel's extended arm, "really colonel? I expected more of you," and he snapped it.
Vought howled in pain as his broken arm hung uselessly at his side. He coughed up more blood as he glared unfocused at the alien. "Is… that all… you got," he coughed out as his vision began to swim, "Shit I'm in worse shape than I thought." He glanced at Preddy as she struggled to reload her rifle, "Have to protect her." As Parin continued his gloat, he charged him one last time knocking them both to the deck. Using his one good arm he wailed on the alien as he screamed out loud. He got a few good hits in before Parin growled and retaliated. He grabbed the colonel and slammed his fist into Vought's injured chest. Vought's eyes glazed over as blood dribbled from his mouth. Before passing out he mouthed the words 'I'm Sorry' to Geena as his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed on the deck; blood pooling around him.
"CHRIS NOOOO!" she yelled as she finished reloading and opened up on the alien once again; hate in her eyes as she emptied the magazine.
Parin laughed as his Kara Kesh protected him yet again from the storm of bullets headed towards him. Once the witches attack ended and she began to rush towards him; weapon over her head. Right before she reached him, he once again sent her flying into the wall knocking her out cold. He sighed as he reached for his sidearm; charging it as he took aim at the colonel's head, "Such a waste colonel, I was expecting a challenge." His finger reached for the trigger and stopped as a spurt of blood exploded from his chest.
He blinked in amazement and confusion as the weapon fell from his hand. He fell to his knees as another man walked out of the shadows; a silenced pistol in his hand. He watched as the man slowly approached him; he put his hand out in an attempt to protect himself. The man knocked his hand away as he placed the weapon to his head and pulled the trigger.
A muffled pop and a thud were the only sounds in the bay as the Goa'uld fell back dead. His eyes flashed yellow before glazing over. The man fired once more into the alien's chest as he removed the Kara Kesh and moved to check on the injured two. Checking Preddy he found her just unconscious but the colonel was in bad shape; his breathing labored and his pulse failing. He looked up as Sokolov and his team rushed the bay, "He is in bad shape полковник, we need to get him attention now."
Sokolov nodded as medics rushed towards the two injured soldiers. He turned to Gusev, "We need to get to the runway now. We have a situation."
Artyom raised his eyebrow as the colonel explained the situation; his expression darkened. He grabbed and loaded Vought's rifle as he sprinted towards the runway.
September 2, 1945 0025 Hours- 501st JFW Runway
The fight on the runway was slowly dying out as men on both sides began to run out of ammo. Bodies littered the ruins and the trees as blood pooled everywhere. The number of dead on both sides was piling up. The defenders were eventually bolstered by Maj. Volkov and his men and this helped turned the tides for the 501st and their base.
As Volkov and his men began to push the attackers back, the planes restarted their engines and turned themselves around as more men begin to pour in from the ship. The attackers laid down an impressive covering fire as their men loaded onto the planes and began to taxi.
Volkov cursed and ducked as CDR Ross and troops from the ship went in to cover near him. "Major, we cannot allow these planes to leave."
"да, we will try," he turned to the witches he was protecting, "Ladies we need you to try and get airborne. We will cover your run to the hanger."
With that, Volkov and his men popped from cover and began laying down suppressive fire as the witches with him began running to the hanger. As they left, the planes finished loading and began to increase speed as they started their take-off runs.
"Shit," cursed Ross as he watched them begin to leave, "Stingers NOW!"
Two of the Marines with Ross jumped from cover and dropped to their knees as they sighted in the fleeing transports with their missile launchers. As they fired, a man that had stayed behind uncovered the searchlights at the end of the runway. The heat-seeking missiles lost their lock on the still relatively warm engines of the C-47s and instead locked onto the searing hot signatures of the searchlights; plowing into them and destroying both of them and the man.
"DAMN IT! Reload!"
More men ran up as they struggled to reload the Stingers before the planes left range. A booming report followed quickly by another resulted in the trailing C-47 bursting into flames and falling into the Adriatic. Glancing to where the muzzle flash came from, the men were treated to the sight of Foss and the others aiming at the departing aircraft; Rudel could be seen trying to clear a jam from her smoking BK 37. The roar of a diesel motor appeared as one of the ship's LAV-ADs raced onto the runway. The vehicle came to a stop as the turret began to move with a whine of hydraulics. The vehicle continued to track the planes and fired; with the sound of a buzz saw, the LAV's 25mm chain gun spewed hundreds of rounds downrange, causing the second C-47 to explode in a ball of fire. The vehicle attempted to engage the final plane but it was out of range.
Volkov turned to the commander as he punched the ground in anger, "What is wrong commander? We got two of them."
Ross looked up at him, "We found what their objective was." He explained the situation.
Alexei paled, "…дерьмо."
As he struggled to think of a proper response to the commander's explaination, their radios began squawking again. "I think that should do it… Can anyone read me?"
Ross grabbed his radio, "Lansby it's good to hear your voice. What happened and can we track this last C-47?"
"Uh negative sir, we found a jammer hidden in the ZPG room so all we got right now is radios. It's going to take a while to get the power back on without… vaporizing the planet."
Everyone listening to the conversation blinked at this interesting description.
"Anyway we have a problem."
"What?"
"Vought and Preddy are in the infirmary and Vought's in critical condition."
Ross and Volkov looked at each other as they and the witches across the runway ran towards the ship.
"Miyafuji this is CDR Minna. You are to go straight to the ship as fast as possible. Any crew members that see her please escort her as quickly as you can."
"Oh no! I'm coming ma'am."
"Shit, Preddy is injured again?!"
"Ch-Chris is hurt?"
"Clear the radios ladies and let's move."
September 2, 1945 1547 Hours- Borealis Infirmary
He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes; staring at the now lit ceiling of the infirmary. He sat like that for a minute as his other senses slowly returned to him, the sound of heart monitors beeping reached his ears. He turned his head as footsteps approached him and a figure threw open the curtain around his bed. Realizing he was awake the figure smiled.
"Well hey their sleeping beauty; finally awake now are we?" Pierce joked as he checked on him.
Vought groaned again as he rolled his eyes, "Doc make sure to shoot me if I ever try to slug a Goa'uld again." He moved to get up causing Pierce to shake his head and put his finger to lips as he motioned to Vought's left.
Curiously Vought turned and froze as he realized what Pierce was showing him. A witch was asleep in a chair with her head on his bed; and her right hand firmly gripping his left.
"Um… What?" he whispered as he turned to Pierce. "When did she…"
"Right after Miyafuji healed you; it took her about an hour and she passed out," he stepped back allowing Vought to see the bed to his right. The young witch from Fuso and her Britannian friend were fast asleep.
Vought looked around as he remembered something, he jerked upright. "Where's Preddy, is she alright?"
Pierce sighed and frowned as Bishop and the witch in question began to wake. "She's fine sir, just a concussion. Sgt. Miyafuji fixed her up after she put you back together." He sighed as the witch in the bed to his left sat up and began to blink, "Sorry ma'am but it seems the colonel doesn't understand the term 'sleep', I apologize and I will be right back." He removed the colonel's curtain as he walked to his office to alert the staff that he had awoken. As he left, the two awake witches left their beds and made their way over to him; smiling at the sight of the sleeping witch holding his hand.
"She's cute isn't she when she's not trying to boss everyone around or take over a battle." Preddy whispered as Maj. Sayn-Wittgenstein twitched at the sound of her voice.
Vought frowned as he lifted his encased hand and wiggled it back in forth causing the major to growl lightly and pull his hand back to the bed. The action caused the two other witches to giggle quietly as the colonel sighed.
He looked up at Preddy a small smile on his face, "I'm glad you're alright Jean; that bastard didn't hurt you too badly did he?"
Bishop watched curiously as both the colonel and the major slowly went red in the face as she responded, "I'm fine… no thanks to you. Why did you risk your life… for me?"
He hesitated as he thought of his response, "I guess I didn't want to see you get hurt… It's my job to protect those under my command." He boasted proudly as he waited for her response.
Lynette watched as Preddy slowly went redder before lunging and wrapping the colonel in a tight hug. She began to giggle at the colonel's expression as the door to the infirmary opened and a large group of people entered and stared at them.
Vought visibly paled as he gazed at the amused glances and raised eyebrows he was getting, "Uh… I can explain…"
Part of the group burst out laughing at his response causing Preddy to pull away redder than before and Heinrike to finally wake up. She looked around bleary eyed as she gazed at the gathered group, "Was-happening? Why wake me up?" She laid her head back down as she gripped the colonel's hand tighter.
Ross walked up as the colonel tried to pry the young Karlslander off his hand. Failing he sighed as he looked up to the commander, "Alright then what did I break this time?"
Ross smirked as he picked up the colonel's report, "Well it seems your right arm was snapped cleanly in two, you had 4 broken ribs; three of which were shattered, a punctured lung, and a ruptured kidney. If it wasn't for Miyafuji, you'd probably be pushing up daisies right now."
Vought nodded, his other hand on his chin, "That's the most intense yet huh… sweet." His expression went somber, "Alright Matt, tell me now; how many did we lose?"
The room went silent as Ross cleared his throat, "six dead and sixteen injured from the ship."
Vought closed his eyes and grimaced and looked down.
"The base lost an additional 34 men with 23 injured. The attackers lost 40 with no survivors and we downed two of the aircraft." He hesitated as the colonel looked up, "Um Lt. Gusev managed to knock one of them out with a Zat; he is in the Brig."
"Good," growled Vought as he struggled to get out of bed, "I'm going to have a nice long chat with him."
The witches paled at this; they had never heard so much malice in the colonel's voice before.
"Um sir… we have another situation."
He nodded as he tried to get Heinrike's hand off his, "What?"
Vought stopped as he heard nothing but silence in the room, he turned to Ross.
"Sir… we have an Empty Quiver."
Vought went white as he stopped moving and collapsed back in the bed, "Oh…"
Minna turned to Ross, "What's an Empty Quiver?"
Ross turned to the witches, "An Empty Quiver is the US military designation for the theft or seizure of special weapons." He looked at them as they began to pale, "Those men stole a nuclear missile."
The witches gasped as they remembered the video they were shown of the nuclear explosion and Eila's vision.
Vought stood up as he finally extracted himself from the sleeping witch, "Briefing room now; all of you."
As the men went to leave, Minna grabbed Vought's arm, "We are coming too."
He looked at her and sighed, "Fine but please do not speak unless asked a direct question; things are going to get rough fast."
September 2, 1945 1600 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room
The girls watched as Vought paced the room back and forth as he waited for somebody. When Dr. Lansby entered the room, he walked straight towards him as the room went silent, "How the hell did they do it Evan?"
The doctor pushed his glasses up his nose as he dropped a small box on the table. "It seems that our Goa'uld friend has some friends in high places. He knew the exact theoretical sequence required to shut down the ZPG."
Vought frowned, "McKay said that the only way to shut it down was to destroy it."
Lansby sighed, "Yes well McKay designed the bloody thing, he thought up a way to safely disable and shutdown the system. It seems that the Trust learned of this."
Vought motioned to the lights.
Lansby nodded, "I was on McKay's team when we built the ZPG for this ship; I knew how to start system… without destroying the planet."
"The radios?"
Evan motioned to the box, "A simple but high-powered jammer. I believe you used similar ones when you were with CCT."
Chris looked at the jammer before he sighed, "How did they get it out?"
The doctor grabbed his computer as the wall lit up with a top-view of the ship. "Alright so what we've managed to piece together, the men entered through the opened Jumper bay 3," the route highlighted itself. "Once onboard they made their way straight to the Drone storage; no interruptions or side trips. They knew exactly where they were going."
"What about the guards?"
"The men we left on guard duty were either dead or unconscious. Those wearing the Tin Man armor were knocked out while the single unarmored pair was killed. Based on the scans we completed on the dead and the memories of the living, the Goa'uld attacked them with the Kara Kesh." He dropped the ribbon device on the table; the witches glanced at curiously while Preddy went pale at its appearance.
"What about the LAVs?"
"Both had cut fuel lines; someone attempted to put sugar in the fuel tanks. It succeeded for one of them; the filter saved the other." Ross spoke.
"The SAM?"
Volkov cleared his throat as he stood up, "да… that… it seems that our unintended guest planted an explosive on one of the reloads for the S-400. The explosion severed two of the power cables; the battery is now up and running."
Vought started pacing again ignoring the worried glances he was getting, "Can we track the missing weapon? I mean we have the satellite in orbit and they have tracking chips couldn't we follow it?"
"Unfortunately no," He began, "I went back and checked the payloads again; one of the others had been altered." A graphic marked "classified" appeared on the screen before a large cylindrical object appeared. "Right so I checked both Mark IXs before when the storage was breached the first time and I found no alterations and well, it turns out I was wrong." The weapon broke apart into pieces and zoomed in on a large circuit board. "The jackass- sorry alien, had replaced the control circuits for both Mark IXs. While diagnostics showed the chips to be working properly, any attempt to actually track it would fail. It will not broadcast it's location."
Vought leaned against the table, eyes closed as he sighed, "This shit can't get any worse can it?"
Ross and Lansby quickly pulled on their collars nervously as they refused to look at him. He sighed again, "What?"
"Uh sir…" Ross began, "This alteration…"
"This alteration put the payload in mode 2," finished the doctor.
Minna stood up and put her hands on the table, "Colonel what is going on here and what does mode 2 mean?"
Vought turned to her, regret visible in his eyes, "mode 2 means that any attempt to destroy, alter, or disrupt the weapon will result in it detonating. We have no idea if they are capable of remotely detonating it but they can use it."
Minna sat back down, "And how powerful is it?"
"We designed the Mark IX in a time when we were fighting a group of aliens known as the Ori. It was designed to prevent them from expanding their sphere of influence which meant it had to be capable of destroying a Stargate." He looked right at her, "It can completely destroy anything within 100 miles of ground zero."
The girls rocked in their chairs.
"I'm sorry ladies, we put your world in more danger," with that he left the room; he had nothing left to say. Preddy and Heinrike left to follow him.
Doc sighed as he too got up, "I'll go deal with him, Matt stay and try to explain… anything." With that Pierce left as well.
Ross turned to the witches, "Well then…"
September 2, 1945 1620 Hours- Borealis Observation Lounge
"Damn it!" Vought yelled as he punched the wall, "Why the hell does this shit keep happening…" he began to tear up as he looked out at the windows at the island. "I can't protect anybody… how the hell are we going to get home alive?" He leaned against the window and slid to the floor as he sobbed into his arms.
A knock on the door frame brought him to his senses, "Chris…"
He looked up to find Pierce standing in the doorway; a stern expression on his face. "Chris you can't blame yourself for all of this." He sat down next to him, "You couldn't have done anything else; we don't blame you for anything. You have given us hope that will make it home eventually."
Vought watched him as he sighed, "Sir you can't keep thinking like this; it's going to kill you. We WILL fix this as a team; not just you. You're not alone here, Minna and the others believe in you as well. Why else do you think these two followed you?" He gestured to the door as Geena and Heinrike walked in looking sad at his condition. Pierce got up, "Listen sir, I'm here to talk if you need me; we're all in this together," with that said, he left.
The two witches looked at each other before moving closer, "Hey Chris… how are you feeling?"
He managed a smirk as he wiped his face and looked up at them; he shrugged. "I've been better… sorry you two have to see me like this; I don't like appearing weak."
Geena shook her head as she sat down next to him, "Its fine Chris; we are all human." She frowned as she looked at him, "Is it true that you blame yourself for everything?"
He sighed, "You can delegate authority but you can't delegate responsibility. It's my fault I didn't try to abandon ship; it's my fault I allowed the Goa'uld to set all of this up and it's my fault all of these men and your men died." He buried his head in his hands.
Heinrike sat down next to him as she nervously wrapped him in a hug with Geena following suit. "Chris we don't blame you for anything. It's partially our fault; we should have told you that there were people out here that didn't like the witches. And besides, you saved me."
"You saved me as well… Chris, we don't blame you; it wasn't your fault," Heinrike mumbled out as she refused to make eye contact with him.
He looked at them, "You guys mean that?"
They smiled as they looked at him, "Of course Chris, we trust you. We wouldn't be here if we didn't. Your our friend now; all of you."
Chris gave Heinrike an amused glance as he ruffled her hair, "What happened to the big, bad, queen of the night?"
The two watched as she buried her red face in the colonel's arm and responded in a muffled voice, "She had a gun held to her head."
Vought and Preddy frowned as they wrapped the silently sobbing Karlslander in their arms. "It's alright Heinrike, as long as you are under my command no one will harm you. Do I make myself clear?"
Preddy leaned back at this declaration and watched as Sayn-Wittgenstein stiffened and stared up at the colonel. "Do… Do you really mean that sir?"
Vought smiled as he looked down on her, "On my honor as a scout."
The two witches smiled at this before they looked at him curiously, "You're a Boy Scout?"
He smiled again as he stood up and helped the others up, "Yep, an Eagle Scout." He looked at them, "Thanks for listening you two… it means a lot." He began to walk to the door and stopped, "And uh you think you two can keep this silent? I really don't need everyone thinking I'm an emotional wreck right now." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
The two witches smiled at each other as they nodded. Geena responded, "Fine but you need to think up something for this situation. And no more of this whiney mopey stuff, deal?"
Vought nodded as he shook her hand, "Deal."
September 2, 1945 1645 Hours- Borealis Briefing Room
Ross and the other officers conversed on ways to deal with the situation while the witches sat and watched. "What do you think is going to happen Eila?" Sanya asked as they conversed at the table.
The witch in question thought back to her vision, "I really don't know… sorry Sanya."
Before anyone else could speak up, the door slid open again revealing a determined colonel and two smiling witches.
"Sir?"
"Alright guys I have a plan but it's going to be a bit risky," Vought stated as he began an explaination. He turned to Minna as he finished. "You up for this commander?"
Minna nodded and grinned as the other witches joined in, "Yes sir colonel; anything you need you'll get." She turned to Mio, "Get back to the base; we need to send a very important message to Galland." She turned to Hannah, "Captain I don't know about you-"
Marseille shook her head, "Please ma'am there is no way you could ever keep me out of this. I'll let Galland know I'm staying."
Vought nodded as he grinned, "alright then ladies and gentlemen, let's do this thing."
And another one bites the dust; love, hate? Please rate and review. So does anyone get the chapter title? It is a Cold War reference so kudos to anyone who gets it; the next date pertaining to it is November 14. So… I really don't have much. I love the reviews guys keep them up; thanks again for the suggestions; I have some of them in coming chapters so congrats. Anyway that is really it... so as I said I play World of Tanks and War Thunder; just won a contest in WoT and got my first jet in War Thunder. Super excited at that; Jets rock, I now know what it's like to be king. So after that different tangent, I will talk to you all later; Ghostrider21 signing off.