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Chapter 11: Storm Front
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Part 3
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17 September 1996
Stargate Command
United States
Milky Way galaxy
As a military man, George Hammond knew coincidences did happen, especially if it meant complicating your life. As a matter of course, he didn't trust them.
In this particular case, the timing of the coincidence was highly suspect. It happened just a day after the President authorized the NID's creation - the National Intelligence Department. Agents working for the Green Commission discovered a vital piece of intelligence buried in the Pentagon's archives. George suspected someone found those old files and the video rolls earlier and kept them under wraps until now.
Dr. Langford agreed and was fit to be tied.
"Do you have something you want to tell me, Captain Davis?" The General asked.
They were on the way to a nearby briefing room, where select personnel was busy reviewing the files in question.
"We should buy lottery tickets and see if we're lucky. If not, well…." The younger man grimaced. "Welcome to high stakes politics, sir."
Hammond entered the briefing room, and his eyes went over the assembled people. O'Neill and his security team in training were present, alongside a handful of specialists. Dr. Jackson looked a bit uneasy while Dr. Carter was typing on a laptop.
"At ease," George ordered. "We've got a potential mission." He announced the obvious after reaching the small podium. It was set up in front of a whiteboard at the back of the room. "Dr. Carter, do you believe we'll need to calculate stellar drift? Fifty years ago, the army managed to make an accidental connection. The destination might still be close enough."
"I recommend that you try to dial. If we manage a connection, it will spare valuable computer time. I don't think there is a supercomputer owned by the government left that hasn't been booked in running research connected with the program." Samara Carter pointed out.
"Your recommendation is noted, Dr. Carter. Our standing orders are to attempt a rescue mission in case Dr. Littlefield is still alive. If not, we're to recover his remains. If it's at all possible, we'll bring him home. Second, we're to begin exploring the world in question, provided we don't run into hostile forces. Colonel O'Neill, your team will be providing security on the ground. Dr. Jackson, the United States government officially requests that join the mission act as a translator in case our team meets natives."
"I'll think about it?" Jackson didn't quite ask.
'Did he already speak with Dr. Langford?' George wondered.
"Do so quickly, Dr. Jackson. We'll attempt to dial at noon and send a MALP if successful. You have just a few hours to make up your mind. Colonel O'Neill, get your team prepared for deployment." Hammond ordered and left the room. He had to coordinate the mission with General Granger and his personnel.
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Cheyenne Air Station
The United States
Earth
Milky Way galaxy
Unsurprisingly, it took longer than anticipated to get everything in position to dial the Stargate. While the facility under the mountain had a proper permanent setup, the current location of the Stargate made things difficult. Power came partly from the local power grid and primarily from a series of diesel generators fed massive capacitors. A hangar wasn't ideal for the setup. It didn't help that the whole improvised system got stressed repeatedly to send Perun the equipment he paid for.
Hidden behind the defensive positions, the command center nested in the corner of the hangar was a far cry from the orderly one back in the SGC. Countless cables stretched like vines in all directions. They either connected the computers with the gate and capacitor or fed power to the alien device. The Stargate itself looked decidedly odd, with multiple high-voltage cables and heavy jumpers attached to it plain to see. It was like something out of old science fiction.
"We've got enough power, sir." Master Sergeant Harriman reported.
"Dial the gate." George looked at a nearby monitor showing General Granger, who nodded, indicating his people were ready just in case. The base's CO was in a bunker on the other side of the facility, willing to coordinate its defense if they found hostiles on the other side.
A loud hum echoed throughout the hangar. Hammond felt it in his bones, and it was something he would prefer not to experience again; thank you very much.
"Dialing up. Locking in Chevron One." Harriman reported.
The Stargate's rings came to life. Soon, the first symbol locked in place and lit up with a dull orange glow. The second and third followed. The humming increased in intensity.
"The capacitors are getting a bit too hot, but they're still within safe margins." Dr. Carter noted aloud. "We are unlikely to get a full dial window if we needed it."
"Chevron Six locked… Chevron Seven…"
The rings ground together and clicked loudly. For a brief moment, nothing happened, then the Stargate lit up and exploded with liquid energy. Despite seeing it multiple times, the activation never failed to amaze and humble him.
"We've got a connection!" The Master Sergeant exclaimed.
"Good. Send the MALP." Hammond ordered and walked closer to the monitors.
The remote-controlled robot patiently waited at a safe distance in front of the Stargate. A specialist sitting at a nearby folding table covered with equipment did his magic, and the machine came to life. The MALP drove up the ramp and into the gate.
A few seconds of tense waiting followed before the robot materialized and began transmitting. Light from the Stargate on the other side and a ceiling hole illuminated a corridor's entrance. There was debris everywhere, including a partial ceiling collapse that partially blocked the way out of the gate room.
"Send the MALP forward and look for a DHD. We need to know if there's one."
The robot's cameras rotated, showing more of the gate room. To no one's surprise, the Stargate was on a raised platform. However, due to the debris and the platform's unusual height, it wasn't clear if there was a DHD in the room. Or if it was intact, which might not be the case with all the debris George could see.
"'Elo? Hello?! Is someone there?!" A raspy voice came over the MALP's microphone.
One of the cameras caught movement in the corridor, and the operator focused on it. A weathered figure wearing rasps slowly shuffled around the debris.
"I'll be damned…." Harriman muttered quietly.
"Put me on the speaker!" Hammond ordered and briskly walked to join the MALP's operator. "Dr. Littlefield, can you hear me? This is General George Hammond of the United States Air force."
The figure came closer, and now George could see the vague resemblance with the pictures of young Ernest Littlefield. It immediately became evident that the years weren't kind to the poor bastard. He moved slowly and ponderously, unsure if his legs could hold him for much longer.
"What is this?" Ernest muttered to himself. He paused above the stairs leading out of the gate room and squinted at the MALP.
George repeated himself aloud and winced when Littlefield swayed on his feet. The General feared that Ernest might collapse over the stairs from shock.
"You're from Earth?! American?!" Littlefield begged in a voice full of hope. "I'm not dreaming again, am I?!"
"This is not a dream, Dr. Littlefield. We're going to bring you home." George tried to reassure the old man.
Ernest slowly made his way down the stairs, favoring his left leg.
"There's a device here," He pointed at something to the lower left, hidden by a large piece of debris. "I think it's supposed to make this thing work…." Ernest waved his crooked fingers at the Stargate. "It was broken when I got here."
"This complicates things. Dr. Littlefield, please tell us what you need. We'll prepare and send you a care package before we try to figure out how to get you back home." George stepped away from the microphone. "Get me a medic in here. I want a pallet ready with food, water, vitamins, clothes, the works! Move it, people!" He barked before heading to talk with Carter.
"Doctor, what do you need to power and dial up the gate from the other side?" The General demanded.
Carter looked at the complicated setup around them and grimaced.
"General, it might be faster and cheaper to request assistance from Perun's people. They've been working with the Stargates for thousands of years. His people might be able to repair the DHD on the other side. That would be the simplest solution. Otherwise, we might need this setup, complete with generators, to charge the capacitors brought through the Stargate. We have no idea how charged capacitors will react if we try to bring them through, and this is not the time or place for such tests."
"You'll talk with Dr. Littlefield and have him describe the damage. I need to speak with the Pentagon."
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Part 4
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Heliopolis
Milky Way galaxy
The landing was a bit rough, but still far more pleasant than Jack's first forays through the Stargate. He quickly moved away, letting Ferretti and the rest of the security detail pass through without stumbling over him.
On the other hand, Perun's Jaffa were the same, O'Neill noted. There were at least ten he could see. They were all spread throughout the gate room. A pair of the alien soldiers guarded Lyda, who was tinkering with the damaged DHD device. Jack noted that the large pieces of debris near the Stargate were now gone, too. Their official primary objective was nearby as well, the Colonel saw. Ernest sat on a bunch of debris set up to make for a passable improvised bench. He huddled into a BUD that hung off him like a tent, and slowly ate from an open, steaming MRE.
There was bored looking Jaffa standing guard near the old man. While likely redundant, it was obvious Perun's soldiers weren't taking any chances. That was something Jack noted not to forget in the future. Or when it was time to write up the after action report.
"Hi there, folks!" Jack greeted with a smile. "Is your big honcho around?"
"I hope for your sake, human, that a big honcho is a sign of proper respect." Lyda's eyes flashed like powerful flashlights, clearly showing her displeasure.
"Sure is, lady!" Jack gave the alien woman a disarming smile. "Your Perun is not just a honcho, he's your big honcho!" He confirmed, pleased with himself.
"Lord Perun is examining the data repository." Lyda informed O'Neill, while still looking suspiciously at him.
"That's good to know. I must say we appreciate your help in this matter. We really prefer not to leave people behind." Jack nodded at Ernest, who appeared to be in his own small world, paying no attention to what was happening to him.
Jack guessed that after fifty years stuck alone, all this was more than little overwhelming. Hell, it was a miracle the man managed to survive all alone, and without proper supplies to tide him over initially.
Behind him, the rest of the team pilled in, including Dr. Fraiser and a pair of combat medics.
"Captain, see to Dr. Littlefield. I'm going to thank Perun in person for his intervention." Jack announced.
Ferretti and his team joined O'Neill and they headed deeper into the structure. From what Ernest told them, they were in a castle ravaged by time and the elements. What was worse, most of it hung over a cliff above the sea, one eaten up by erosion. All the debris they could see corroborated Ernest's story.
From what Jack heard, if it wasn't for the almost magic devices the old man described, this mission might not have happened. However, the lure of more advanced technology was enough to make another deal with Perun, and share any boons this world had to offer. Rumor had it that the sill forming NID was grumbling both at not being involved in the mission, and at sharing an advantage that should be Earth's alone.
"There's writing on the walls here," Jack pointed out. "Use your helmet cameras to record them for Dr. Jackson."
For once, the brass decided to play it wisely, and there were only relatively expendable assets on this missions. People like Carter and Jackson were back safely on Earth. Neither of them would come here until they had a reliable way to get back, like a fixed DHD. Until and unless that happened, their only way home would depend on Perun's people using their devices to dial and power up the Stargate.
A pair of fully kitted out Jaffa standing guard at side entrance, pointed at where Perun was.
"Hi, fellas, we're here to speak with your boss." Jack tried. His best smile didn't work, and the alien soldiers just stared at them. "Perun? Does that ring any bells?"
The Jaffa looked at each other.
"Lord Perun, there are Tau'ri here wanting to speak with you." The one to the left said aloud.
Jack was glad he was able to understand the language, even if he wasn't confident he could speak it properly.
"You can proceed." The Jaffa announced.
"Let's go give our thanks…" Jack nodded at Ferretti.
"Alone. Your warriors stay here, Tau'ri." The same Jaffa demanded.
"Colonel?" Ferretti asked.
"Let's not rile up the locals. If I was in his place I wouldn't let a foreign fire team get anywhere near the President. Not that anyone in their right mind would have me guard the President…" Jack muttered. "Stay here and see if t here are any other writings on the walls nearby to record."
Jack walked between the two Jaffa, using the opportunity to take a very close look at their gear. He noted that whatever powered their weapons apparently had enough oomph not to need spare magazines, or well, power cells. All he could see attached to their combat webbing and belts were tools and weapons.
While the confirmation was useful, it was nothing he didn't already know or suspect. Jack walked through a dark corridor, and soon reached an odd, not particularly large room lined up with columns. There was metal pedestal in the center. A big spherical crystal was on the top, and more crystals stuck from metal fittings surrounding it. They all softly glowed with orange light.
Perun was in there, with a pair of guards shadowing him. The alien warlord stood in front of a wall covered in glowing alien script. While Jack was no specialist, he was sure that he wasn't looking at anything even resembling Ancient Egyptian, or Goa'uld.
"Colonel O'Neill, we meet again," Perun announced without looking back. "To think you stumbled upon this monument of Ra's hubris…" Dark chuckle spread through the chamber like poison.
"Is this your boss' digs?" Jack blurted out.
"Officially, I know nothing about this place," Perun turned around and his glowing eyes shone brightly in the twilight of the chamber. "Unofficially, if you're old enough, there are rumors you might have heard whispered where Goa'uld hope Ra's agents wouldn't overhear them. Even the scraps of 'safe' knowledge we might find here could prove valuable in the fullness of time. If my hunch is right, O'Neill of Earth, this was once the meeting place of Four Great Races."
Jack could hear Perun put emphasis on the last four words.
The warlord walked to the pedestal and pressed the sphere. The whole chamber lit up with glowing forms slowly rotating above them.
While impressive, Jack couldn't make heads or tails of what he was looking at.
"Atoms, O'Neill, some of the more basic building blocks of the universe." Perun spoke in rough, heavily accented English. He waved at the forms above them. "These are all the basic elements the Alliance knew ten thousand years ago or so. Your leaders were wise to make a deal and not risk losing access to this information out of hubris."
Jack nodded and held his tongue.
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The discovery of Heliopolis, led to the establishment of a joint research mission between the Stargate Command representing the United States of America, and the Goa'uld Lord Perun, representing himself, and his domain. Perun's scientists and engineers provided the expertise needed to repair the damaged DHD on Heliopolis, restoring free travel to the planet. Further, they provided tunneling crystals. Those devices proved invaluable in slowly reinforcing the cliffs holding the castle. This eventually made the site safe enough to establish a joint permanent research base.
In related note, the United States government opened negotiations to procure mining crystal technology, as well as the process necessary to build the devices.
from the Guide to Heliopolis station
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