February 3rd, 1998
Videum, Ancient Outpost
Harry cursed as he dodged yet another staff blast. Following the start of the assault, he had sealed off the repository hallway with himself and two months' worth of rations inside. That had been a month and a half ago, and the invading force was still strong. The last pulse turret had been destroyed over a week ago, meaning their troop ships could land unimpeded, and the final bulkhead had been breached not long after. In response, he had fired the Asgard distress beacon, but no response had yet come. Now, he had only a week and a half of food and water, and exhaustion was beginning to take its toll.
'I really hope aid comes soon,' he thought to himself desperately.
- o -
Briefing Room SGC, Cheyenne Mountain
"Greetings. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. I come with a request of your people."
"What sort of request?" Daniel Jackson asked, confused.
"We as a people request that you give combat aid to one of our allies. Freyr tells me you know each other. He goes by the name Harrison."
"Harry's in trouble?" Jack O'Neill asked, concerned.
"Almost two months ago, seven advanced Ha'taks dropped out of hyperspace in orbit of the legacy planet. While a standard Ha'tak is no match for the planet's defenses, these were different. They resisted the plasma cannons of the Legacy world long enough to bring down the shield generator and destroy the weapons platforms.
"We attempted to send aid ourselves, however, the ship we sent was forced to retreat. Scans indicated, however, that the Goa'uld who commands those ships possesses Ancient technology.
" expected that Harrison will only be able to hold out for another seven days without rescue."
"What do we have to do?" Jack asked.
- o -
Thor stared at the Stargate as the inner track began to turn. The first symbol, the constellation Capricorn, locked in place in less that five seconds. The Asgard was rather impressed. To manually dial a stargate with such speed had no precedent in galactic history, and with the speed issue mostly dealt with, many advantages of not being part of the DHD network came to mind. Perhaps he should recommend to the high council that they do the same?
"Close the iris." With that command, a large metal shutter covered the stargate. Did they not know of the destructive power of the unstable vortex?
"Chevron seven, locked."
Under one minute after the 'gate unlocked the inner track for manual dialing, the Stargate roared to life. Thor braced himself for the cries as the 'iris' was destroyed. They did not come, for it had somehow remained intact. How was this possible?
"Opening the iris."
The sound of metal grinding on metal echoed through the chamber, and the immense shutter covering the Stargate retracted, seemingly to nowhere.
"The iris is made of pure titanium," Sergeant Walter Harriman explained, "and is less than three micrometers from the stargate's event horizon." That explained it, Thor thought to himself, now thoroughly impressed with the people of the Tau'ri. The unstable vortex could not form, thus there was no way for it to destroy anything.
"SG-1, you have a go," General Hammond proclaimed. "Godspeed."
With those words, SG-1 stepped into the wormhole to the planet Videum.
- o -
Videum, Forest near the Stargate
The four members of SG-1 stealthily crept through the forest, following the trail to the outpost, weapons held aloft. Their eyes darted from one place to another on high alert, both for Jaffa and for another wolf-weasel, as O'Neill insisted on calling it.
On the hike to the outpost, they did indeed encounter another wolf-weasel, though this time, they were prepared, and killed it before it could harm one of them. They continued on to their destination.
Upon arriving at the outpost, they encountered the first of many Jaffa patrols. They immediately hid behind some trees to await entry.
- o -
Videum, Ancient Outpost
In the depths of the outpost, Harry collapsed in exhaustion. They had finally overwhelmed him. He was defeated. Wearily, Harry trudged to the Repository. If he were to die, at least he would take the most dangerous artifact ever created with him into the eternal night.
As he armed his staff for what was likely to be the last time, an explosion sounded through the hall. He turned abruptly, for that was no Goa'uld weapon he recognized. In fact, it almost sounded like -
"Harry! You're alright."
'Holy fucking shit,' Harry thought to himself in amazement. SG-1 had arrived.
- o -
"So, Harry, mind telling us what that there box is?" O'Neill asked, curious.
"Oh, it's a… what do you call them… a keepsake, I guess," Harry said, motioning to them that this was the room he wanted to enter.
"Why are we in here?" Carter asked.
"I have to set the self-destruct. There are far too many things here that the Goa'uld could use to their advantage, and I cannot risk that happening."
"Is the artefact you were protecting here one of those objects the self-destruct will destroy?" Teal'c queried.
Harry briefly hesitated. "Yes." Harry pressed a few panels down to finish the sequence, and the lights on the side of the altar started flashing. "Let's get out of here."
"Agreed. How long did you say you set the timer for, again?"
"I didn't. Five minutes."
"Right. Move it, people!"
- o -
Cheyenne Mountain, Stargate Operations
"Incoming wormhole!"
The stargate roared to life, and the iris closed over the barrier.
"We're receiving no IDC, sir."
A series of impacts indicated the destruction of whatever came through the wormhole.
The iris retracted as the stargate disengaged.
- - - o - - -