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Chapter 12: Into the eye of the storm
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Part 3
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4 October 1996
near Seth's compound
Washington State
the United States
Milky Way galaxy
Sethesh looked at the cooling corpses of some of his servants. Even with proper weapons and armor, it was clear that Humans couldn't do a Jaffa's job. His armored faithful were shill alive and intact. That much was true. Yet, even they needed his personal intervention to deal with the helicopter. He briefly thought about trying to vanish again but dismissed the idea. The Tau'ri knew what they were looking for. They had a deal with one of his kind, perhaps even the Tok'ra. His newest servants didn't know the details.
The good news was the Tau'ri of this nation had the Chappa'ai. He now had a way off this world. He now just needed a plan and time.
"Make sure there are no survivors here." He waved at a few of his least skilled servants. "We're going back to the compound."
It was time to break out all the equipment he had been carefully searching for and hoarding over the thousands of years stuck on Earth. The Tau'ri would either get him back to his adoring subjects or burn!
"Someone pick up Joshua and make sure he doesn't bleed out on us. I have a need for him yet!"
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"I think we lost them," Frank panted.
"I can't hear them march like tin cans after us." Harry nodded. The Jaffa weren't exactly subtle or quiet in their armor. Then again, this was likely thousands of years old equipment. It got to be rusty or something, right?
"There's supposed to be a gas station with a small mall nearby. We passed it by getting here," Newman rasped. He had one of the wounded in a fireman's carry, with Thompson carrying the other.
Simmons' team wasn't that lucky. While no one with them appeared wounded, more than half the team was gone. The fucking Jaffa bastards saw to it!
Who would have thought that the snake had Jaffa and plasma weapons?! The working theory was that if Set had advanced weapons beyond a sidearm or two, he would have tried to make his mark in history. He would have run afoul of the law or criminals, leaving traces the US government would have found already!
"We can call for help from there. Our radios don't have much range," Frank didn't sound too good. Was he hit?
He was right. Their long-range communications equipment was in the vans and the helicopter. While someone would miss them calling back sooner rather than later, getting an appropriate response out here might not be their first idea. Fuck, it, those were the same people who thought Set couldn't have anything too dangerous, or he would have used it already. Any help they might call without warning was liable to get shredded as well!
"We need to get the wounded into a hospital." Newman kept at it. "The op is blown already!"
"I know. We need a phone to call the cavalry too!" Mayborne rasped as well. Damn it! He thought he was in better shape than this!
"Heavily armed cavalry!" Frank added with another rasp. He really didn't sound good, Harry decided.
They somehow managed to make it through the forest. Frank's night vision helped them avoid patches of rougher terrain and, in one case, stumble down a hill. The wounded wouldn't have appreciated that. Speaking for those unlucky bastards, they were too quiet for Harry's peace of mind.
They burst out of the forest and nearly crashed into a low traffic barrier. Harry helped Newman to get one of the wounded over, and they ran towards the nearby gas station.
An older couple exited the mini market just in time to see them run past what was presumably their car – an older blue sedan. Newman and Thompson put the wounded down and went to treat them as well as they could.
"Get out of here! It's not safe!" Frank rasped and collapsed on the wall near the station's door.
The couple dropped their groceries in shock and looked between the agents and their car.
"We're with the US government!" Harry snapped. "Get into your car and get the fuck out of here!" He turned back to Frank. In the light, it was plain to see he was bleeding from under his bulletproof vest. A rifle round had to be. The damn mule either didn't feel it due to adrenaline and shock or decided to tough it off.
"Fuck…" Harry went to provide first aid but thought better. "I'll call help and be right back with you, buddy! Just stay awake!" He shouted and ran into the gas station. "I need a fucking phone right now!" Mayborne erupted in the face of a teen suffering a really nasty case of acne. Perhaps the shock might make his balls drop already.
The boy stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck.
"Phone, damn you!" The boy finally pointed to the side behind the corner, then ducked out of sight. Just great. The counter was surrounded by what looked like reinforced glass, and there wasn't enough space for Harry to get behind it.
Harry shoved a stand away with magazines and came face to face with a locked door. He did check, damn it. It took two bursts of his SMG and a solid kick to shatter the lock and get inside. That was lucky. Whoever reinforced the place against robbers had cut corners.
Finally, Mayborne got to the phone. He first called 911 and ambulances, paying little attention to what the operator babbled at him. As soon as she confirmed she had the location and number of wounded, he ended the call. It took him a few moments and two tries due to shacking fingers to figure out who to call next, then do it.
"Yes?" A tired voice answered after what felt like an eternity.
At least there were sirens he could hear in the distance.
"Shut up and listen, it's Mayborne! The op went to hell! We've got a snake on the loose! The bastard has people with advanced weapons and armor! We need heavy hitters out there—those things no-sell SMG rounds! We lost the chopper with the whole heavy team. The rest of us are down to less than half-strength, and we've got wounded."
"The fuck happened?!"
"I told you, damn your ears! We were wrong about Seth and what he might have if he was a snake! We fucked up by the numbers!"
Harry could hear phones ringing and people shouting, even as a police car came to a screeching halt outside.
"Police! Get your hands where we can see it!"
"Federal Agents! We need EMTs out here, yesterday!" Newman shouted back.
"Confirm that? Someone raise Mayborne and get him on the horn! I want to know what in Christ's name happened out there!" That was Kinsey's voice.
What the fuck was he doing in NID's HQ, Harry wondered.
"Harry, listen to me. Tell me exactly what happened now. Joshua just called, sounding bad. He claims Sethesh, whatever that is, has a WMD and is ready to erase the whole state off the map if he doesn't speak with someone in authority and we fail to meet his demands! What hornet nest did you poke, damn you?! Talk to me!"
Harry pulled the handle away from his ear and stared at the phone in disbelief.
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Part 4
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5 October 1996
Area 51
the United States
Milky Way galaxy
When Jack got to Area 51, specialists were still busy detaching all kinds of monitoring equipment from his Death Glider. There was only one reason he got involved in clearing up after NID predictably fucked up. Jack somehow could get more of the Death Gliders than any other test pilot who flew them. The current panicked thinking was that if their sensors could detect a naquadah bomb or something like that, then Jack flying would give them the best chance to do it.
On the flight to Area 51, jack got to learn a bit more about the disaster at hand. By all accounts, the NID failed spectacularly. They got their advance team snaked, or brainwashed, then the strike teams ambushed. Reading between the lines, Mayborne got lucky. The reason he was still alive, besides being a slippery snake himself, was that Set didn't want to waste time chasing the survivors through a wood. Instead, the alien snake had greater aspirations – threatening to blow up a state if the US didn't bend backward for him.
The worst thing was that there was no ready military response to get rolling in the name of secrecy and admittedly important law or two. It had been hours, and most quick reaction forces were either still preparing for deployment or just reaching Washington state. Only a unit of Marine Force Recon was deployed from one of their small not-carriers, trying to secure the snake's compound and find a clue where the bastard went.
If Seth wasn't blustering, he had only a few targets to choose from before the military arrived in force. He would be looking for a place to fortify in a nearby city and had the head start needed. Jack was almost ready to bet they would likely find him thanks to a news crew reporting on a hostage situation. The Pentagon was worried enough to authorize General Hammond to beg Perun of all people for help!
A worried Captain Carter met Jack alongside a couple of engineers. One had his flight suit, while the other was gesturing wildly.
"We didn't have time to put in a proper transponder! The radio inside is relatively short-ranged too!"
"The Colonel is flying with an F-15 escort. He can tell them about anything he finds." Carter pointed out.
"I am?" Jack raised an eyebrow at that. "And here I thought they would finally let me out of the leash…." The joke fell flat even to him as he said it. So much for trying to cut the tension.
"Just get dressed and go." The Captain shook her head and turned to supervise the engineers still crawling all over Jack's Death Glider.
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Raven flight
Washington state
The United States
Milky Way galaxy
"Stow it and listen, apes!" Sergeant Johnson roared.
Allen could hardly hear the Gunny's voice in the back of the large transport chopper. The damn bird's engines roared something fierce. Private Allen was sure the helicopter would be grounded for maintenance if it wasn't for the emergency.
"I've just got news from the brass, and it's a fucked-up spooky shit. We're all looking at non-disclosure agreements when we get back, and this time the brass is deadly fucking serious! I shit you not. We've got honest to God alien infestation to deal with!" Johnson shook his head at that. It was clear the Gunny had a hard time believing it himself.
"The fuck's this, Gunny? Are you fucking with us?" Corporal Mendez demanded.
"If I am, it is because the brass decided to fuck with my head first, and you know how it is, shit likes to slide down and fuck up our day. Now, shut up and listen to the crazy intel some spooks decided to disclose." Johnson glowered. "Some spooks tried to raid what was supposed to be a cultist compound. You know, the same place we got briefed somehow had access to stolen bleeding edge experimental armor and weapons? Those are apparently alien armor and weapons, and they're the shit. Two squads of former special forces got their assess handed to them. The aliens and whoever they've co-opted have decent anti-air capability too because they shot down a Black Hawk, which had the spooks' heavy backup." The Gunny shook his head at that.
Murmurs and surprised exclamations made it impossible to hear anything else.
"Stow that shit, or I'll throw you off the damn bird!" The Gunny bellowed again. "Now, it gets even better 'cause otherwise the spooks might have let us walk into this fucked up movie shit blind. The boss alien or whatever contacted the government through a captured spook and claims to have a big damn WMD. In all their wisdom, the brass and spooks believe the bulk of the opposition is on the way to a nearby city to set up negotiations. We're to secure their compound and seize any actionable intel. We're looking at anything from fanatics with small arms to advanced alien weapons and armor, depending on their available transports. The survivors from the failed raid claim that the alien armor stops pistol rounds cold. Our rifles might be insufficient to put them down. If you see anyone armored, mark them for the Cobra escorts or use grenades. Don't bother shooting the bastards!"
Johnson waited for the commotion to die out before continuing. To Allen's horror, there was even more bad news, and he really didn't like hearing it.
"Now, I left the best part for last. The aliens we're talking about? They're apparently snake-like parasites that can hijack people, like in a horror movie. We'll be moving in teams all the time! You will leave no one without a buddy or two watching them all the time! If someone gets separated, I'll smoke their ass, then the fuckheads that let it happen! Am I clear, marines!?"
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Tacoma
Washington State
the United States
Milky Way galaxy
Local cops dared come after Sethesh's small convoy. He could hear their sirens coming closer.
Sethesh looked out of the armored window of his protected SUV, searching for an appropriate place to fortify. He remembered this area. The malls around were a good cheap source of goods for his followers, even if their quality was nowhere near suitable for someone like him.
"We set up there, my faithful!" Sethesh ordered. His driver took a sharp turn and headed for the corner mall. The two vans with armed humans quickly followed.
The SUV stopped before a side entrance, followed by the other vehicles. Behind them, the human police came to a screeching halt.
"Deploy! Take this building for your Messiah!" Sethesh shouted aloud and waited.
The rear doors of the vans opened, and four humans in proper Jaffa armor jumped out. They quickly aimed their staff weapons at the two police cars that followed them and opened fire. More humans rapidly left their vehicles and opened fire with rifles. Sethesh grimaced at how loud the human weapons were. The closest thing he had to a personal guard these days stumbled out of the SUV armed with rifles and armored with human bulletproof vests, which were anything but proof against larger bullets. At least they were quick to obey and charged into the mall, shooting at guards and anyone who might pose a threat to their god.
Sethesh went to the trunk and opened it, revealing a large sack. He picked up the bomb using his enhanced strength and headed into the mall. The rest of his faithful finished dealing with the cops and quickly surrounded him in a protective wall of flesh and armor.
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The Tacoma Terrorist Crisis would be the last major Stargate-related incident that the US government would be able to cover up partially. Lack of trust, weak excuses, public outcry, journalist inquiries, and foreign spies would make covering future incidents less and less feasible.
One of the direct consequences of the Tacoma Crisis would be a restructuring of the NID's leadership and closer oversight from different branches of the US government. After partial disclosure of the Stargate Project to NATO allies, the Oversight Committee would become international, paving the way for future United Nations Security Council involvement.
from Disclosure: Truth and Myths, published and distributed by the Associated Press
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