6: Prototypes

It was morning in the SGC. That morning came with a scheduled briefing for SG-1, and once again John found himself in the conference room. He found Daniel there when he walked in, the archaeologist having always been an early riser. He was seated at one corner of the table with a steaming mug of coffee before him and a report spread open in front of him. As John entered, Daniel looked up and offered the Colonel a nod.

"How long have you been awake?" John glanced at the clock on the wall as he asked this: it was little after eight o'clock. Daniel, who quirked one eyebrow in a curious fashion upon hearing the question, was quick to answer.

"Since five thirty, I think." Daniel spoke nonchalantly, although he looked to John to find a more bemused expression directed his way. "Why? I had some work to catch up on."

"You're always working, Daniel. With what's going on out there these days, you should try and enjoy every bit of free time you get. Who knows when you might suddenly run out of it?" John sat down across from Daniel. He noticed that the man was about to argue his point, only for their attention to be diverted to the other people who started filtering into the conference room. Aithris and Natalia arrived together, as expected. And a few minutes later came Elsie, and her later arrival was also not a surprise. It seemed Elsie Rhodes made it a habit to be last to every briefing or late to every appointment. And yet, when you needed her most whilst out in the field, she would be there, often with a well-placed rifle shot to let you know that she was around. She sat down to John's left, with Aithris and Natalia sitting at Daniel's side of the table.

From what John could tell, everyone here appeared in high spirits. That was a welcome change from how things had been after their return from Bedrosia. The disagreements they had had and the trouble they had faced there now seemed a distant memory, and like any well-functioning team they all looked to the tasks ahead of them without lingering on any past misfortunes. Ever since they had lost Atlantis and much of the fleet, tensions amongst personnel here across the board had been much more volatile than usual. Overall morale had taken a hit, an understandable occurrence given the circumstances. This team needed a solid win and John suspected that the upcoming mission may very well offer such an opportunity.

General Janssen arrived shortly after Elsie did. He was joined by Teal'c, who gave John and the team his trademark nod of greeting before he seated himself a little further down the table. Janssen paused by his place at the table's head, looking smart as ever in his dark blue Air Force uniform. John had settled for a standard set of drab green fatigues, as had the others. And there was Teal'c, wearing a plain black T-shirt that seemed to only make his muscular arms appear all the larger.

"Good morning, everyone," Janssen announced. "I think some of you suspect why we're here, and why Teal'c is here with us. I'll allow the man himself to deliver the news." He motioned for Teal'c, who gave the General a respectful nod before he looked to the team as a whole.

"The Calsharan forces occupying Chulak have been in retreat for well over a month," Teal'c explained. "Forces of the Free Jaffa Nation have taken the stargate and press closer towards the capital city in preparation for a major offensive. That attack is only days away. I have come here to seek any assistance from the SGC."

"And we'll be providing assistance, of course," Janssen said, and the team looked his way again. "We have some prototype anti-air weapons we'll be sending over there, since they're in need of a field test and the battlefields on Chulak are the best opportunity we have right now. We'll also be providing medical assistance, but in terms of personnel we cannot spare much." He turned to John then, who suspected he knew what was coming next. "That is, we require at least one team to deliver these items and see to it that they are put to proper use."

"We're that team, sir?" John asked him.

"That's right, Colonel. You've been there before, Doctor Jackson even more so. You know the land better than most here in the SGC, and Doctor Jackson has a great deal of experience in working with the Jaffa. You'll take the weapons, the supplies and yourselves and assist the Jaffa in their offensive."

John nodded in acknowledgment. It was a sound enough assignment, and it would not be the first time he would play the role of 'advisor' in a far-flung conflict on another planet. He glanced at Daniel, who appeared much more eager than the others. To him, it would be a return to some familiar ground with an old friend. And it would provide an opportunity to help turn around the misfortunes the Free Jaffa had fallen upon as of late.

The Calsharans, in their war of expansion, had targeted the Free Jaffa Nation and had struck at Chulak many months previously. They had solidified their hold on the world when John and the team had paid it a visit about six months ago in order to rescue Teal'c, who had been held prisoner within the fortress that served as the centre of government on Chulak. The very same fortress where Teal'c had defected all those years ago, and the very same place in which Daniel's wife, Sha're, had become host to a Goa'uld. It was old territory for both Daniel and Teal'c, and with this in mind John felt like something of an outsider. The early days of the stargate program had seen a handful of teams stumble from one crisis to another, often overcoming them with the slimmest of margins. John liked to think things were better now, but he had his doubts about that.

"I take it we're getting something in return, sir?" It was Natalia who asked this, ever the astute one. Janssen nodded in the affirmative.

"The Jaffa promise to assist us with some of their ships, if called upon. They are yet to encounter the other enemy, but we've sent them all we know of so their leaders are apprised of the dangers they might encounter. As you can probably guess, Sergeant, we're short on ships at the moment. Every little bit helps, even if it is a beaten-up Goa'uld pyramid ship."

"When do we leave?" Daniel asked.

"Four hours. I'm having the supplies and weapons prepped now. Get your gear together and make sure you pack enough for several days. This one could go on for a while."

John suspected that meant they may be sleeping rough. They would be heading into another warzone, just like the one on Bedrosia. Of course, the Calsharans made for a less unnerving enemy than the forces the Scourge deployed. Not any less dangerous, but a little more tolerable.

There had been a period, about two years ago now, that Aithris had found himself gravitating towards the one Calsharan who had lived here in Stargate Command for a time. That Calsharan had been Valkas Kavellan, and he had been found and rescued by an SG team on a far-flung world. When they had brought him here, he had happily told the General and those above him everything he knew of a certain Goa'uld fortress on a remote world and the treasures that had been contained within. In turn, John and Daniel had been brought on board to accompany Valkas, along with Natalia and several others, to that fortress to claim those technological treasures, artefacts that Ra himself had stored away in secret.

That mission had gone awry, and it had led to so much more. Aithris had found himself drawn into the web not long after. And he had found a friend in Valkas, simply because at the time they had been the only two aliens here and they had had similar restrictions placed upon their movements.

Valkas' room had been vacant since the Calsharan had left, along with Joanne Bowers, to fulfil his destiny one-thousand years in the past. No one had bothered to clean it out to any real extent, and so some of Valkas' personal effects had been left behind. It was a small room, containing the most basic necessities, and yet the Calsharan had made it his own. Aithris had a similar space for himself next door, although it was in Valkas' room that the video game console had been left, tucked away in its cupboard space underneath the LED television.

Natalia found Aithris seated in front of the screen, fingers and thumbs working the controller rapidly as he guided his gun-toting character on screen from one gunfight to another. Natalia was surprised, to say the least. She barely had a chance to voice that surprise when Aithris stood up and turned to her in an instant. His ears were sharp as ever, and he was quick to put aside the gamepad and pause the action occurring on the screen behind him.

"You're playing video games?" She asked him, not bothering to conceal the amusement from her voice.

"I find it an excellent way to…" He trailed off, taking a moment to find the right word. "Unwind."

"You're really at home here on Earth, aren't you?" Natalia stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. It was not often one had any real time alone here, as they could be called into action at any moment. As such, opportunities like this were best taken advantage of.

Aithris smiled, and for him it was a smile that showed his upper two canine teeth. Some might have found such a gesture unnerving, but for Natalia she found it endearing. Aithris was often so straight-faced and serious that seeing him smile was a rarity, or it had been until the two of them had become closer. She often thought back to that night they had shared together at his mother's home on New Sanctuary. It had been her who had made the move there, figuring that Aithris was probably too much of a gentleman to do something similar. Both were grateful for it, as things had worked out better than either of them could have hoped for.

"Valkas introduced me to the games," Aithris added, and Natalia stopped before him with mere inches between them. She stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"He was always a bad influence, that one," she remarked.

"Maybe. But I do miss him, and I do miss Captain Bowers." He gazed into her eyes then, and Natalia found herself returning the gesture, once again finding something to get lost in with his deep violet-hued eyes that carried their subtle glow. She had seen how they could stand out in the dark, two points of glowing lilac-tinged light that carried with them something thoughtful, something watchful and, when directed to her, something so very caring.

"I didn't know them so well," Natalia said. "From what I understand, they went on to bigger and better things." She spoke based upon what little she knew of Visala and her husband, and that in itself was steeped in legend and likely heavily sensationalised. Even so, Joanne Bowers as the Calsharan Visala had essentially founded modern Calsharan society. And Valkas had no doubt been by her side the whole time.

"They found their place in the grand scheme," Aithris stated. "The best we can hope for is to do the same."

"We're fighting the good fight," Natalia said. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes." Aithris nodded his head. "But there is always more that can be done." He wrapped his arms around her and drew her in close. "When this is over, I want you to be there. I want whatever future I have to include you."

Natalia had often thought of what might happen when the chaos was over. Of course, was it ever truly 'over'? If, by some miracle, they survived the fight with the Calsharans and with the ancient 'Void Demons', then she would hope her future included Aithris. Yet, to be here together in the team, to be fighting and serving alongside one another added a layer of complication to everything that Natalia was not sure would work out well. Not that she would ever put an end to it, she had come to love him far too much for that.

"Will there be a future?" Natalia asked him, uncertainty creeping into her voice. "Not just for us, but for everyone else?"

Aithris took her hands in his own and held them tight between them, close to his chest. He gazed intently into her eyes, and the look in them offered a level of reassurance Natalia knew she would get from no one else.

"We keep fighting, Natalia, and there will be a future. For us and everyone else."

"Trinium tipped armour-piercing rounds." The quartermaster, a forty-something man with weathered features and an overall stern demeanour, unceremoniously plunked the case of high-calibre bullets upon the bench in front of Elsie. He popped the case open, displaying the modified .50 BMG rounds, offering them to the reconnaissance specialist.

Lieutenant Elsie Rhodes was down in the armoury with the rest of the team, and unlike the others who equipped either automatic rifles or submachine guns, Elsie preferred something heavier. The odd gunshot rang out from the adjoining firing range, whilst John and Daniel had gathered around a large sturdy plastic container within which were one of the promised anti-air weapons. Natalia was adding the finishing touches to her own setup, sticking a further pair of grenades to her vest, whilst Aithris stood by one of the booths visible through the entrance to the firing range. He had stripped a SCAR-H rifle in record time and was now carefully sorting and wiping clean the core components. The Nomad worked with the finesse of someone who knew the weapon as if it were his own child, and his violet-hued eyes remained narrowed in firm concentration as he carried out his work.

"These should punch through Calsharan armour," the quartermaster continued. Elsie picked up one of the rounds, taking a closer examination of it under the dry fluorescent lights of the armoury. "More so than the standard full-metal jacket ones."

"They've been tested?"

The quartermaster let out a huff, the derision within the gesture obvious.

"Not outside a testing range, Lieutenant. You'll be the first to put them to proper use. Same goes for the anti-air prototypes." He nodded to where the crates had been stacked upon a hand-operated pallet jack. John had pulled one of the prototypes out of the topmost crate, all while Daniel looked on with some mild interest. It was a little shorter than a Stinger, less clunky with a smaller computer system mounted to it. There appeared no way to load rounds in from the back end, as that was capped off with something more akin to the grille on the front of a truck. The stark black metal of the launcher resembled that used for Calsharan weapons.

"Guided plasma burst," the quartermaster said, and the doubt was thick in his voice. "I wouldn't trust it, in all honesty. More likely to blow up in your face."

"Is that so?"

The quartermaster, whose distinct Tennessee accent had been subdued until now, simply gave a shrug of his shoulders in response before he spoke again, this time with slightly more passionate tones:

"This energy weapons stuff looks nice, but ain't nothing can compare to a typical .308 or .45-70. There's a reason firearms have remained a thing for the past six hundred years or so. Plasma and whatever else, it has its place but I think you're going to start finding that shield tech will keep up with it easier."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you hit something hard enough with something big enough and it'll break," the quartermaster explained. "You hit a Calsharan soldier centre of mass with one of these and he'll probably go down." He motioned to the armour-piercing bullets in the case between them. "With energy weapons, it's a whole other ballpark. Someone could make their shields work specifically for whatever wavelength your plasma's working on. That would render them useless, wouldn't it?"

Elsie was no expert, so she just gave a light shrug.

"I don't know, would it?"

"You hit a shield with a big enough bullet and maybe you won't penetrate it, but you'll rattle it. Drop a rock from orbit and it becomes a missile. Even the Calsharan snipers use bullets on a mag-rail system."

"I don't know, Sergeant. Sounds to me you're just set in your ways."

The quartermaster grunted in reply. He turned about and left Elsie to her new bullets. She took the case and walked over to one of the vacant tables nearby, close to where John was now fiddling with the targeting computer on the plasma-based anti-air launcher. According to lettering stencilled upon the crates, it carried the moniker 'GPPSAPS-X3', and that apparently stood for 'Guided Plasma Portable Surface-to-Air Projectile System'. The 'X3' referred to the iteration of the prototype, and with some curiosity Elsie noted that, like the classic Stinger system, this one had also been manufactured by General Dynamics of Tucson, Arizona.

"That's the 'on' switch," Daniel said, and he was peering at the instruction manual he held in one hand. It was a slim book, complete with carefully printed diagrams of the weapon itself, both on the cover and within its pages. He pointed with his other hand at the yellow switch on the side of the targeting computer, which John was quick to flick. As soon as he did so, a quiet humming noise began to emanate from the weapon.

"It takes roughly thirty seconds to charge," Daniel said. "That depends on the battery, which according to this, operates with a naquadah core." He frowned, before he pushed his glasses slightly further up his nose with one finger. John kept the weapon pointed at the ground ahead of him, his eyes now searching over the small computer display. Text darted across it as the weapon booted up, before it settled into a computerised image of what lay before the launcher's barrel.

"Keep the weapon on target and it'll lock within ten, maybe twenty seconds. Settings can be switched from guided to heat-seeking to dumb-fire." Daniel skimmed through the information quickly, picking out what was most relevant. "The barrel will likely wear out after a few shots. Seems they haven't quite perfected the internal lining. Chances are they spend a few hundred million getting enough naquadah for the batteries."

"So, what? The barrel warps?"

"Looks like it." Daniel frowned, and he put the manual aside. "I suppose it'll be better than anything the Jaffa have right now. That Goa'uld-made stuff isn't entirely practical."

"I'd like to give this thing a shot," John said. He switched the targeting computer off before he set the launcher back into its place within the container. "This whole assignment's just an excuse to test them, I'll bet."

"The higher-ups don't give a shit about the Jaffa," Elsie interjected, and both men turned to her. She smiled then, before realising she had forgotten something: "I mean, they don't care, sir. Never have, never will. Sure, Janssen does, we all do here, but up in the White House?" She shook her head. "They wouldn't be sending us back to Chulak unless we were getting something in return. We field test their weapons in an off-world conflict, then we guarantee the future help of the Jaffa in return. And the Jaffa would be fools to turn down the assistance."

"We're you always this cynical, Elsie?" It was Daniel who asked this, and he watched her with one eyebrow quirked slightly. "Or is it a recent thing?"

"Daniel, I'm not cynical, I'm a realist."

"Yes, I have a friend who says the same thing." Daniel reached over and shut the lid on the container. "For what it's worth, I care about the Jaffa, I care about Chulak and I care deeply for Teal'c. Forcing the Calsharans off of Chulak will be a win, and I'd say we need one right about now, regardless of any political reasonings behind it." Now he narrowed his eyes towards her and Elsie frowned in turn. "Wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant?"

Sometimes Elsie was not sure of what to make of Daniel Jackson. He was smart, that much was obvious, and he had a history steeped in academia. And yet, he was as able a fighter as any Elsie had known. He was compassionate, always willing to help those in need and always ready to champion a cause against any injustices he perceived. Through this all, Elsie sometimes got the impression that there was something harder underneath it all, the kind of no-nonsense attitude that could only come about after years spent fighting. Then there was the whole thing in which he had been 'dead' for a year, something Elsie had read about in archived reports shortly after she had been assigned to SG-1. Colonel Sheppard had suggested she bring herself up to speed and she had done so happily enough, only to find out very early on that the team calling itself 'SG-1', regardless of its members, seemed to be the team that went through the worst of what the galaxy at large had to offer.

"I'm going to get a quick bite to eat," Daniel said suddenly, and his voice effectively derailed Elsie's train of thought. "I want to get one decent meal in before we get to Chulak. As much as I respect the Jaffa, I don't care much for their cuisine." He turned about and strode from the room then. John shifted his attention to Elsie, and she gave him a small smile.

"Don't take what I say the wrong way, sir," she told him. "My mouth's gotten me in trouble before, I don't want any misunderstandings."

"You're fine, Lieutenant. I used to have that same problem." Now John returned her smile. "Still do, as a matter of fact." For six months, the Colonel had had her on the team, had treated her as an equal and had seldom found reason to discipline her. It was a marked change from her time in SG-24, wherein the team leader had constantly ridden her hard for any perceived slip-up of protocol. The man had presumably meant well, or so Elsie hoped; it seemed wrong to think poorly of him now, given that he and the rest of that team had been killed in a Calsharan ambush on Dalabrai. It was there John and the rest of his team had found her, and they had done so at the right time as the Calsharans holding her captive had roughed her up badly. She had returned home requiring stitches on numerous cuts, as well as two replacement teeth as the original two had either broken or fallen out under the blows of her Calsharan interrogator. Dental implants were not cheap, but the Air Force had covered the expenses.

"We're going to be stuck on Chulak for a few days, so pack rations and some decent camping gear," John told her. "If the Jaffa take the city, we'll probably get better accommodations, but we need to be prepared for anything."

"Maybe they'll have a parade in our honour if we do win?"

John smirked at the suggestion, but otherwise shook his head.

"That would be nice, but I doubt it's going to happen. We're there as advisors, Lieutenant. Chances are, some of the Jaffa would prefer we not be there at all. It's a pride thing, you know?"

"You expect trouble from them, sir?"

Again, John shook his head.

"No, not really. Teal'c and Bra'tac will keep the others in check. Just don't expect every one of them to cooperate. I'm thinking a lot of one-word answers and fierce looks."

"I'll have to give some fierce looks of my own, sir."

"Sure, if need be. I've seen your fierce looks, Lieutenant, and they're enough to scare any seasoned Jaffa warrior." He spoke in jest and Elsie gave him a smile. Unlike her previous team leader, John at least tried to have some fun now and again. A little levity could go a long way.

"You've known Teal'c long?" Elsie asked him.

"Me? No, not really. Now, Daniel on the other hand…" He trailed off, the implication clear. "But Teal'c, he's a good man, and he's like one-hundred and fifty years old. If he says something, you'd best listen. The man's full of wisdom."

Elsie did not dispute that, even judging from the brief time she had known the man. He had been leading the fight on Chulak for several months, had even been captured at one point. SG-1 had rescued him, and he and his mentor, Bra'tac, had led a mostly successful campaign to drive the Calsharans off of Chulak. The final offensive was at hand, and the realisation that Elsie would be taking part in it hit her all at once. Until now, she had not thought too hard on the whole thing, content to play an 'advisory' role in the Jaffa's fight. The potential of getting swept into that fight had been at the back of her mind. Now, it registered in its entirety, and she found herself feeling some trepidation, mingled with excitement. The same excitement she had often felt before a mission, or right before she started shooting at someone.

"I want to say, sir, that I'm grateful that you welcomed me into the team." Elsie spoke from the heart now, knowing she had it better than others who worked here. "I mean, I never expected I'd end up on the famed SG-1."

"Famed?" John shrugged. "Is that what we are?"

"That's what I hear, sir. From a lot of people around here. The last six months has been interesting, to say the least." She gave him a wry smirk, as a particular thought occurred to her: "You know, before you put me on the team I had hardly needed to shoot anyone. Now, it's like every week I'm getting shot at, or I'm shooting at them, or some alien creature's trying to suck my blood, that kind of thing."

"Fun, isn't it?" If there was one thing Elsie could count on, it was John trying to find the good in any given situation. "You're a good soldier, Lieutenant. I knew I was making the right choice when I put you on the team." He sounded genuine, and in the time Elsie had known him, she had gathered that Colonel Sheppard was the kind of man who very rarely did anything but speak his mind. In a way, it was a trait she shared, although in her case it had been enough to keep her at the rank of Lieutenant. John had lucked out when he had landed the position on the Atlantis expedition, for there he had been provided ample opportunity to prove himself no matter what he said and to whom. Elsie had missed such a chance. That said, she certainly harboured no envy for John's success. She was simply grateful to be here, and to have a chance now to prove herself.

"That's nice of you to say, sir. I sometimes thought I wasn't a great officer myself."

John gave a small frown, as this remark had come unexpectedly.

"I'll admit, you don't strike me as being much like some of the other Lieutenants around here. Too many of them are eager to please, too eager sometimes. Whereas you, well…" He trailed off, attempting to find the appropriate descriptor. "You're more my style, Rhodes. That's part of why I had you transferred to the team."

"A kindred spirit, sir?"

John gave her a nod.

"Sure, you could say that. And us 'kindred spirits', we need to stick together. Especially nowadays." As he spoke, a pair of airmen walked in and made their way over. They were here for the crates on the loader, so John and Elsie stepped aside to allow them to start wheeling the cargo out of the armoury and for the embarkation room. The time to depart for Chulak was closing in fast, and John glanced at his watch.

"Ten minutes, Lieutenant," he told her, turning her way again. "Best fill out a couple of magazines for your Barrett with those new bullets."

Elsie nodded in agreement. She stepped over to one of the benches nearby, up against the wall. From the cabinet above it, she pulled a trio of empty magazines for the Barrett M82A1 she had opted to bring along on the mission. Whilst John made a few adjustments to the scope on his M4 Carbine, Elsie began cramming the new bullets into the empty magazines. Both Aithris and Natalia emerged from the adjoining firing range then, fully kitted out. The Nomad, tall and broad, had a SCAR-H slung about his shoulder. Natalia had an AK-103 rifle in a similar position, whilst a semi-automatic M1014 shotgun was resting across her stomach as it hung from its strap.

Elsie had become used to seeing Natalia carrying more than most of the team, a result of her position as the demolitions expert of SG-1. This time around was no different, and Elsie counted several grenades strapped to the Sergeant's bandolier, not to mention the claymore stuck into a pouch on her backpack. The pair stopped a few paces away, looking to John.

"Colonel, we're ready to depart. Did you need a hand with anything?" Elise found the Nomad's dulcet tones strangely soothing. It was the kind of voice that felt more like a caress than a sound.

"No, Aithris, you go on. Same to you, Sergeant." He glanced to Natalia. "Make sure you familiarise yourself with the new weapons systems."

"The manual's not too thick, I hope?" Natalia smirked as she said this. John shook his head, apparently glad that there would be no heavy reading on this assignment.

"It's simple. So simple a monkey could fire one of those things." He glanced to Elsie, who had just finished loading her magazines. "Sometimes I wonder why they keep us around."

"Worried about losing your job, sir?" Elsie asked.

"More worried about losing my life, I think."