Planet P1Z-276
"Colonel! Teal'c! Guys!" yelled Dawn while she rushed towards them with the swarms of Nirathi coming up closer behind them. "Get close to me!" Colonel Ferretti stopped running as did the others while Dawn ran up to them before turning around and taking in a deep breath. Slowly breathing out, she reached out with her mind and wrapped a tight domed telekinetic shield around them. Satterfield and Grogan were now back to back with Colonel Ferretti and Teal'c respectively while Dawn was only a step in front of the Colonel. Dawn had her arms out by her sides as a silver domed buried flared around and over them. She had her knees bent down slightly as if carrying a heavy load while the others stared at the creatures that were slithering on the energy dome with their sharp teeth scrapping against the wall.
"Screeeeeeeeee!" the creatures yelled out all as one. The yell brought chills to the spines of the humans in the dome as it continued keeping them away.
Dawn could see the slime that covered the creatures starting to cover the shield as well just as more of the Nirathi landed on the dome trying to break in. Suddenly, the light from outside started to dim and at the same time the group smelled the burning of flesh. Dawn wrinkled her nose at the stench while the others covered their noses. Following the stench with her nose, Dawn and the others watched some of the worms that were lying on top of the others scream out as their bodies started to emit smoke.
"Looks like they can't stand the sunlight," Satterfield yelled over the loud 'screech' sound from the creatures.
"However, the creatures are still…" as the sunlight started to dim, Teal'c looked down before finishing his sentence at the sound of something digging through the dirt beneath them. It was a second later that the aground started to trembled when Dawn yelled out as loud as she could.
"Jump!"
Without asking why, everyone jumped a little off the ground, including Dawn, and landed on a telekinetic floor just as a section of the ground below burst open with the worms spilling out. AS the dome was slowly covered, as the worms below the floor were trying to bite down on the energy field, Dawn was on one knee panting while Teal'c and the others had their arms out trying to keep their balance as the domed shield shifted around thanks to the floor of the shield laying over the thousands upon thousands of Nirathi that where using their sharp teeth to burrow unsuccessfully through the energy shield.
The domed shield was shifting back, then left, and then right. It was shifting continuously while the others tried to keep their balance as the light from the sun was blocked by thousands of worms covering the dome. Unknown to Dawn the worms on the uppermost layer of Nirathi covering the surface of the dome stopped emitting smoke and screaming in pain when they extended their bony exoskeleton over their entire body.
The same was dome for the other worms on the outer layer that lay under the sunlight. Now, with the out layer staying still as their exoskeletons protected them and the lower layers of the Nirathi covering the dome- Dawn and the others were trapped. What's more, the weight of the now grey coloured, bony, cover that protected the lower layers of the Nirathi who were desperately trying to burrow through the shield to the humans underneath, was taking a toll on Dawn who was panting as she got down on both knees.
The shield floor flared when her other knee landed, but it was otherwise intact.
"Summers," Colonel Ferretti reached into his vest and pulled out the torch light. He turned the beam of light on to the floor where he saw the Nirathi trying to pierce their sharp teeth through the energy field. They were making a screeching sound when he aimed the beam of light at them, as if saying 'we know where you are, and we hunger'. The Colonel gulped before aiming the beam at the panting Dawn whose back was to them.
Colonel Ferretti was about to take a step towards her when she shook her head and whispered, her voice cracking as if she was in pain. "D… don't move," she stuttered as she rolled her hands into fists, the entire weight of carrying herself and the others.. as well as the suddenly increased weight of the Nirathi that covered the dome. It all felt as if an extremely heavy weight was pushing her downwards. Dawn felt warm liquid trickle down her nose and glanced down at the barely lit area below her. With thanks from the light that Colonel Ferretti was using to look around at what they were being surrounded by, Dawn saw a drop of blood drop onto the energy field holding them up. She saw the monsters voraciously 'attack' juts below the area where the drop of blood landed.
With sweat covering her brow, Dawn closed her eyes and asked herself how long she could hold the dome steady, "Don't move, Colonel. Shifting weight… I…"
"We're standing still Summers," the Colonel assured her.
Teal'c heard the louder screeching noises coming from Dawn's location and aimed his flashlight directly at her. Hi stared passively at the blood that continued to drop down to the floor where the Nirathi could be seen vigorously trying to get at the blood… he could see the light gleaming off their sharp teeth… before he turned to Colonel Ferretti, and nodded at what he was seeing.
When the Colonel stared worryingly at the blood, Teal'c asked the question that he knew everyone else was asking, "Dawn Summers, how long can you hold this shield around us?"
"I.. I don't know," She whispered as her brain was screaming out for relief.
"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" Grogan said while wiping his forehead before turning his head to Satterfield who wiped the sweat of her face with her sleeve. Satterfield turned her head to him before looking around at the screeching worms around them.
"Its coming from them," she said before turning to look at Grogan once again while their hearts raced. She then looked over her shoulder, afraid to turn her while body around in case the energy field that was holding them up and away from the worms below them dissipated, "Dawn, how long do we have?"
"Best guess?" Grogan asked.
"Thirty… minutes…" Dawn said as she struggled to speak while her brain felt as if it was on fire. She could now feel the worms slithering on the shield, she could feel them bearing down on the shield, and she could feel the slime coming off the worms to protect themselves from the heat coating the shield. And she shuddered before adding, "maybe more."
"Hold on as long as you can, Summers," the Colonel said before turning his head to look for his left shoulder at Satterfield who, unknown to him, was holding onto Grogan's hand in the dimly lit interior… their fingers interlocked together, "Satterfield, is there any way we can contact the SGC."
"They're due to contact us in an hour," Satterfield said turning her head to look at the Colonel, "so that's no use to us, sir." She then looked away and thought of an idea that came to her head. Her eyes widened shifting back to the Colonel who asked what she was thinking. She then exclaimed, "The drone. Colonel, do you have the tablet that's connected to the drone?"
"Yeah," the Colonel said putting away the flashlight, now the only source of light coming from the one in Teal'c's hand. Teal'c aimed the flashlight at Dawn in the meantime while thinking that the young woman needed to be distracted from the potential of death falling down onto them. While the Colonel handed Satterfield, who only just let go of Grogan's hand, the tablet that was still connected to the drone flying around the abandoned village. Or at least SG-2 and Teal'c had believed it was abandoned until now.
Teal'c glanced back at the image on the screen showing the drone flying on top of the village before Satterfield took control and then flew the machine over the dome. They stared at the greying structure that was made up of the outer layer of Nirathi that had extended their exoskeletons to protected themselves and the others below them against the sun's heat.
"Oh wow," Satterfield whispered before the Colonel asked if she had a plan. While Satterfield explained that she could fly the drone over the MALP before using it as a control relay. Satterfield glanced at the Colonel and then back at the screen which now showed an option for the drone to returned to the last site of the MALP; tapping on the screen, Satterfield programmed the drone to head for the MALP and the Stargate while explaining, "I'll take control of the MALP from here, using the drone as a signal relay, and then we'll use the arm attachment to dial the Gate."
"You sure we can do this?" asked Grogan looking at Satterfield.
"I… well, I think so…." Satterfield grimaced before going on to explain the theory of why her plan could work. It used a lot of technical jargon that had Colonel Ferretti stare at her with a look that simply said 'I don't understand what you just said, but I trust you', "sir, this is a chance we should take."
"Do it," the Colonel simply said before glancing at Dawn, and then back at Satterfield, "do it now". While Satterfield began reprogramming the tablet so that the MALP would accept commands using the long-range transmitter in the drone, Teal'c called out to Dawn.
"Dawn Summers, Dawn Summers?"
Dawn was panting while doing all she could to hold the shield against the pile of Nirathi pushing down on it. Her mind was burning and her breathing was shallow while she continued thinking about holding the dome around them. She tried to tune everything out but she couldn't- not all of it. She heard that Satterfield had some kind of a plan, but she lost attention while thinking about the dome, and in turn the pain in her head. And it was then she was afraid that the shield would suddenly collapse.
She was afraid. So very afraid.
Her mind was swirling with thoughts of death- images of her and the others being killed. Dawn thought of the Nirathi eating thorough their bodies until there was nothing left but goo. Dawn was panting as she thought about leaving behind Buffy, Joyce, and her two step siblings. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as she thought about Willow and how she would react upon finding out that she died, again, and once against the redhead wasn't able to do anything but stand on the side-lines. Dawn then thought about Jon and how much she loved him.
'Now… what.. whatever idea she has… I.. I hope it works…' Dawn thought. For what seemed like several minutes to her, was only a couple of minutes - that's how much in pain Dawn was at that very moment. Suddenly she heard Teal'c calling out to her a few times. Dawn felt her body trembling from the stress, but she managed to whisper, "I… I hear you."
"Dawn Summers, what can you tell us about these creatures," Teal'c asked.
"I…. I… I… can't focus," Dawn whispered while she felt more blood trickling down her nose, "you.. you need to… do… something. So many… feels like an hour passed, and…."
"Focus on my voice, Dawn Summers," Teal'c said, "only on my voice."
"The weight from the… the Nirathi… so heavy," Dawn whispered, her voice revealing how exhausted she was at that moment.
"Summers," the Colonel asked gently, "what can you tell us about the Nirathi?"
"I…."
"This is distraction for you, Dawn Summers," Teal'c said. Dawn closed her eyes once again and tried to forget the pain in her mind, but as much as she tried… the more it increased. Unable to get rid of the throbbing in her head, Dawn then told herself to push through the pain before she opened her mouth and explained the Nirathi.
As well as the death and destruction they caused.
While Dawn was explaining what she learned through periodic gasps as she took in deep breaths, Satterfield used the tablet to control the drone. They heard the piece of equipment's fly over them through the sounds of the Nirathis' screeches while Satterfield and Grogan watched the images on the screen. They watched as they passed over the greying dome which reflected the light of the sun before it flew over the grassland. "I'm increasing speed," Satterfield said as she pressed a few buttons on the screen, and then the table sent an electronic command to the transmitter on the Drone which then increased the speed at which the drone was moving.
Once the drone was flying on autopilot and making good speed towards the Stargate, Satterfield turned her head towards Grogan who had taken out his torch and was shining it at a section of the Nirathi that were screeching much louder. Grogan, feeling that he was being watched, turned his head to Satterfield and gave her a small smile. They trusted Dawn with holding back the Nirathi, but they knew how much pain she was in- and since there was no guarantee that there would be a rescue by the time that the shield around them failed- Grogan reached for and placed his hand on Satterfield's lower back.
He rubbed her back while they stared at each other, the both of them wondering if they really could get out of this mess they found themselves in. Grogan then turned off his light, and they were covered in dimly lit darkness once again- the only source of light being from the Colonel who shone it on Dawn while she spoke. Grogan was listening to was Dawn was saying about the Nirathi and the danger they presented, but he continued to stare at Satterfield. Grogan wanted to lean in for a kiss, but given where they were, in such close proximity to Colonel Ferretti, there was no way that he could kiss her.
'And this isn't exactly the most romantic spot either,' Grogan thought to himself just as the tablet in Satterfield's hand started to beep.
"Satterfield?" the Colonel asked turning his head over his shoulder just as Satterfield brought up the tablet and stared at the screen.
"The drone's nearly at the Stargate," she relied while tapping on the screen, "sending the activation code to the MALP aaaaand… I have control," The Drone stopped and hovered over the MALP while the signals being relayed through its long range transmitter filtered down to the MALP which activated. The MALP, now controlled by Satterfield as she tapped on the screen of the tablet, moved towards the DHD before stopping a few centimetres away. She then used the camera on the arm to view the dialling surface of the device as a whole before she tapped the screen once again. Th e MALP moved forward while extending its arm which then gently impacted the surface of the symbol to contact Earth.
"Careful," Grogan whispered as the two of them watched the MALP's arm camera shake slightly after it hit the dial for the first symbol. Grogan, who was sweating profusely from the heat in the dome, was afraid that the camera would fall off the arm after it hit the first symbol. He glanced as the sweat covering Satterfield's face whole she concentrated on the screen dripped and hit the section of the telekinetic shield they were standing on. "The camera, Lauren. Be careful."
"I am," Satterfield hissed while Colonel Ferretti looked over his shoulder and asked if everything was going as planned. He tried to look at the screen over his shoulder, but he could only make out the bright glow since Satterfield's shoulder was blocking his view. And given that Dawn asked all of them to stay as still as possible, the Colonel didn't want to move around in case Dawn would get hurt even more. Satterfield then whispered to the Colonel that she just hit the second symbol. "And I'm being as gentle as I can," she hissed at Grogan while she felt her palms starting to sweat as well.
The MALP then went on to tap the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth symbols after the device had been repositioned numerous times so that the arm could hit those individual dials. After a few minutes of repositioning, the MALP hit the 'origin' symbol before moving it's arm straight ahead towards the red middle of the dialling device. Satterfield moved the MALP forward, the arm hitting the red button which made a click sound.
And then, to Satterfield's relief, as well as the relief of the others under the Nirathi dome, heard the Stargate activate through the speakers in the tablet. Taking the cue from the familiar sound out the 'whoosh' made by the unstable vortex, the Colonel grabbed his radio a second later and contacted the SGC.
"SG-2 to Stargate Command, we need immediate extraction," the Colonel said into the radio, "Stargate Command, do you copy?"
"Copy, Colonel Ferretti," said Walter as General Landry rushed down the metal staircase behind him to the control room, "what's the situation?"
"We are nearly two hours away from the Gate," the Colonel said while the ground to the left of the MALP started to heave- it moved up and down slightly as cracks started to appear on the hard surface. "we don't have much time. The medical team is dead…"
Walter and the General stared at each other stunned before turning their attention back to the Colonels' transmission. He skipped over how exactly they died before moving on to mention the Nirathi were the ones that killed them, and that the team was now being protected by a telekinetic shield that Dawn extended around them. And while they didn't know exactly what happened, General Landry and Walter froze upon hearing from Colonel Ferretti, "Summers can't hold this shield for long. Maybe… Summers? Summers?"
"Colonel Ferretti?" General Landry asked with his eyes narrowed wondering what was happening. Another question in his mind was how they were contacting the SGC if the team was still hours away from the dialling device, 'something I'll have to read in the report', the General thought before turning to Walter and ordering him to have the closest ship to P1Z-276 rerouted for a rescue mission. Walter nodded his head before the General turned back to the microphone, "Colonel Ferretti, do you copy?"
"Sir," Colonel Ferretti said to the relief of the General, "sorry about the delay. Summers was whispering that she can handle the shield protecting us for maybe another five minutes." And before the General could say anything else, the Colonel continued, "and she's injured, sir. Badly injured."
"General, the Excalibur can be over '276 in eight minutes," Walter whispered looking at the older man standing next to him.
"Tell them to reroute," the General ordered. Walter turned his head back towards the computer and then picked up a phone receiver to his left. In the meantime, the General relayed to Colonel Ferretti that it would take eight minutes for the Excalibur to make it to '276, "tell Miss Summers to hang on for just a moment longer." The General knew that getting anyone over to the planet would be a waste of resources since no team would be able to get to the team in time, and General Landry hated feeling helpless. He was essentially hearing one of his teams struggle against an unknown enemy, "Colonel, can you tell us about what you're facing, and…"
"Sir?" Satterfield said, fear in her voice, as her eyes opened wide while she stared at the tablet in her hand. The screen was divided into three sections- one had the controls to control the MALP, a smaller section of the screen showed a wide top-down shot of the MALP and the area around the Stargate from the drone, and the final section showed the view from the MALP's arm camera which was still focused on the DHD and a section of the Stargate, "the ground's moving…. I... I can see cracks and… shut the Gate! Shut the Gate! The Nirathi are about to break through the ground!1"
"General!" the Colonel yelled on the radio, his heart racing while he stared at the bottom of his feet at the Nirathi trying to break through the shield, "shut the Gate now!"
"Shut the Gate!" the General said. Walter moved to press a few buttons which quickly disengaged the wormhole just as the ground around the forward section of the Stargate that faced the distant town burst open with dust, grass, and dirty being violently thrown into the air the flying Nirathi screeched into the air and then through the ring… However, since the wormhole had been disengaged, all the Nirathi managed to do was harmlessly fly through the ring before deftly moving about mid-air while their exposed bodies started to smoke from the heat of the sun.
The creatures flew back into the darkness of the underground tunnel systems that existed for millions of years. The creatures went back into the tunnels where they flew through the dark, slime covered tunnels that enhanced loud noises from the surface- loud noises such as the Drone's engines; noises that attracted the Nirathi from their previously blocked nesting grounds under the town.
Satterfield turned the MALP around and aimed the camera at the hole in the ground as the Nirathi retreated. She breathed a sigh of relief before she looked up at Grogan while Teal'c gently told Dawn that she had to endure for a few more minutes.
"I… I heard," Dawn whispered before she gritted her teeth in pain. Her headaches were increasing while a buzzing sound rang in her ears. "Eight… eight more minutes. I… I… I think… can…"
"Sir, the Stargate's activating once again," Satterfield said as she turned the MALP around towards the alien device when she heard the familiar sound of the chevrons activating.
"Opening the wormhole from the SGC means that the Nirathi will not be able to get through to the SGC," the Colonel said.
"Agreed," Teal'c spoke nodding his head.
"Colonel Ferretti," General Landry said while Satterfield stared at the screen in her hand. She turned the MALP back towards the hole and then moved the device back so that the camera could see both the hole and part of the wormhole. She stared at the screen while the General asked if Dawn was alright- Satterfield wondered if the Nirathi would erupt out of the ground once again.
"She's bleeding, she has a bad headache, and she says there's ringing in her ears, sir," the Colonel said while Satterfield gasped when hundreds of Nirathi, the ones that were still close enough to hear the Stargate activate once again, then flew out of the hole screeching, and impacted the event horizon. The Colonel stopped talking and looked over his shoulder, as did Teal'c, at Satterfield who said that the Nirathi were being turned to ash while they tried to enter the event horizon. It would be a few seconds later that all the Nirathi that tried flying into the event horizon were dead, and no more of the creatures flew out of the hole in the ground.
The Colonel then turned his attention back t o the General and said, "Summers looks really bad, sir. I recommend the Excalibur stops at the nearest Gate after picking us up. We'll then dial Earth and step through that way."
"I'll have medical teams standing-by!" the General said loudly thanks to the screeching noises of the Nirathi getting louder, "and when you get back, I want to know exactly what happened, Colonel!"
"Yes, sir!" the Colonel Ferretti replied loudly while staring at Dawn who was trembling as she groaned.
"It's getting heavier," Dawn groaned. And it was, since more of the Nirathi were gathering on the dome to wear her down so that they could get to the humans, "I…. I need help."
"Sir!" Ferretti said as the temperature suddenly spiked and the screeching sound increased even more until he could barely hear himself. The Colonel dropped the radio in his hands and covered his ears. The others covered their ears as well, with Satterfield dropping the controller onto the ground as she put her hands over her ears to cover against the screeching sounds that were getting louder. The controller hitting the ground activated the movement controls which ordered the drone to dive into the ground.
"Colonel! Colonel!" yelled the General just before the connection was lost. He stared off to the event horizon of the Stargate in the Gate Room while ordering Walter to take control of the MALP and then scan the immediate area.
It would eight nerve-wracking minutes later that Dawn could feel her shield weakening. She looked over her shoulders at the unconscious Teal'c, Colonel Ferretti, Satterfield, and Grogan. She could see blood dripping from their ears, she could feel blood dripping from her own ever since she lost her hearing when the screeching sound was too mush to bear. Dawn was laying on the ground, her hert racing as she breathed in and out with a stinging pain in her head.
"Help," she mouthed closing her eyes, "help."
Through her eyes lids, Dawn saw a flash of bright white light. Opened her eyes slightly, Dawn saw concerned doctors and nurses rushing towards her and the others. She closed her eyes once again upon feeling someone carrying her off the cool floor, 'they sent help. They sent help.'
TBC.