Chapter 2: First Contact
Ginny might not be an engineer, but she knew the specifications of her suit like the back of her hand.
In its confines, neither external air nor smell could reach her. She was as protected from the world as she would ever be. She could keep it sealed, breathing fresh and scentless air for hours before she would need to refill her reserves.
She knew that nothing could reach her.
And yet, despite all of that knowledge, she could still smell the burnt flesh of the dead Egyptian guards from the other side of the room, where she and the others were pressed against a wall, invisible.
She held tight onto Angelina's and Lee's shoulders, stopping them when they tried to run to the guards' aid.
These men were already dead before they hit the ground.
Without a word, the aliens walked down the ring's platform and across the room in formation, stepping over the bodies of their victims as if they weren't there.
The two lines of soldiers passed before them, marching in perfect unison, giving them a good view of the cobra-shaped helmets they wore. The intimidating masks were so large they covered the wearer's head entirely and needed to rest on their shoulders. Every part of them was detailed with golden engravings, making the large rubies that covered their eyes even more striking.
As they marched, their leader abruptly stopped, standing still while his men left the room, and the echoes of their boots disappeared in the distance.
He stayed there, immobile for what seemed like an eternity.
The rhythmic thumping of her heart was all Ginny could hear, growing louder with each beat, filling her ears.
She knew no one but her could hear it. That it was all in her head.
Yet the thought that the alien would somehow hear it still choked her with terror, coiling around her heart in an icy vice-like grip.
The serpent head turned, its ruby eyes flaring as the man aimed his staff weapon in their direction, its bulbous end opening with a crackle of energy.
Time slowed to a crawl.
He's gonna shoot.
Someone was going to die.
She could not let that happen.
Not again.
Ginny's screams echoed in her mind, telling herself to move, to raise her wand, to stop him, to apparate away.
To do something.
Anything.
Yet her body refused to move.
Her legs were rooted to the floor and her trembling arms were made of lead, heavier than the world itself.
She needed to act.
But the last time...
Could she do this?
Wouldn't she just make things worse?
But if she did not move and he opened fire...
Oblivious to Ginny's distress, the eyes of the serpent-man flared once more ... And turned away, the weapon closing as the man disappeared into the corridor like his troops before him.
Releasing her grip on her comrades, Ginny collapsed against the wall, her legs buckling under her as she took in some much-needed air.
She could hear the others arguing next to her, their voice muffled and distant, but she could not bring herself to care about the meaning of their words.
It was happening again.
Everything was starting again.
Closing her eyes, she tried to shut off the voices.
It was all supposed to be over.
Why was it all happening again?
It shouldn't...
It couldn't...
A hand came to rest on her shoulder.
Dragging her back from the all too familiar dark corner of her mind.
Anchoring her.
"You okay?"
Opening her eyes, she met Terry's, full of concern.
She tried to speak. To give him some vague reassurance so he would leave her alone.
Yet no word passed her lips.
How could he ask that?
How could he possibly understand?
But the longer she looked at him, the more she recognized that look.
Of course he understood.
They all did.
Calming her breathing, the sensations of the world came back to her. She could feel her body again.
She could be herself again.
"I will be." Taking the offered hand, she let Terry help her up. "Let's get out of here."
She could do this.
She had to.
"They're taking position above the city!"
"I'm reading hundreds aboard each ship!"
"Someone get the Captain. We need the team back he—"
"They're hailing us!"
Chaos reigned on Requirement's bridge, its crew running from console to console, shutting down an alarm as systems they had never seen before came online and crew members came running through the door.
Lost in the turmoil, Hermione watched as the new arrivals drifted closer to the planet, their black frames cutting imposing figures against the sandy world.
This was exactly the type of situation that she had wanted to avoid. Sure, meeting aliens seemed fun on paper, but a first contact? Making an impression on an unknown and potentially hostile race that mastered space travel on their own? A situation where even the slightest mistake or misunderstanding could have disastrous and lasting consequences for their entire world?
Christ, she was the last person that should be in charge of that. So of course the first advanced civilization they met would arrive when Harry and Justin were away.
"Commander?"
Marietta's call brought Hermione out of her introspections and back to the bridge where a dozen anxious faces anxiously were looking up to her for guidance.
Time to step up.
Schooling her features, she walked up to the captain's chair, hesitating only for a brief moment before sitting down.
How many times had she daydreamed about being here—on the bridge of a spaceship, exploring the galaxy—when she was watching the telly as a child? She had imagined going on so many adventures, imitating the heroes of her favourite shows...
There was only one thing she could say.
"On screen."
With her consent, Marietta turned the command stone on the communication console.
The face of a human man—or at least someone that looked like one—appeared on the holographic display above the main console, his forehead tattooed with a strange symbol of a snake circled twice.
"Greetings. We are—"
"Kree!" The man interrupted Hermione with a shout. "Bet'la shek't, Asgard! In'trom Goa'uld cal mah. Chula a lazla kel shak?"
Not the friendly type, then. And it didn't look like English would do the trick.
"Is there any way to translate what they're saying?" Hermione turned to Marietta. "Or to tell them we're peaceful?"
"I don't think..." Marietta restlessly read through the ship's specifications, pulling up pages and pages of runes on her own screen as Michael rushed to help her. "There's nothing on our end, but maybe they have—"
"Kree, Asgard! Mol kek!" The man, shouted to someone of view before the communication was cut.
"They hung up." Hermione slumped in the chair, more than a bit miffed that she had steeled herself for what could barely be called a conversation. "I can't believe it. Who does that?"
"Rude aliens, apparently." Cho huffed, just as scandalised.
"So ... What do we do?" Katie asked. "They didn't seem happy to see us."
"We need to call them back." Michael called out as he turned from the console. "Whoever they are, they clearly know something about Earth and ship."
"I mean, he did look human..."
"That's one thing," Michael continued. "but he also said Asgard, as in the realm of the Norse gods. I doubt it's a coincidence that they have a word that sounds exactly like one of the big names in the same Earth culture that shared a writing system with Requirement's builders."
"Maybe they're like us?" Cho proposed. "Some Norse people who got their hands on a visiting spaceship and—"
"They're powering weapons!" Malcolm called out in alarm.
It took a second for his words to register and for the fear that had gripped Hermione's throat to come back. Out of the great vaulted windows, she could already see the bright yellow bursts of energy flying right at them.
"Raise the shields!"
Hermione's order came too late, however, and the ship shook violently as the first volley impacted the hull.
"...and every time Ra hides one of his eyes behind the moon, the rivers overflow and our fields are bathed in their waters. Thanks to this blessing, our harvests have forever stayed bountiful and our plates full. We thank him each day for it."
Kherun led the four men along one of the reed fields bordering the largest of the three rivers that brought life and trade to his city, emphasising his words with grand gestures that pained his old joints.
Dozens of farmers tended to the fields, harvesting the very reed that would build the boats they could see sailing down the rivers, carrying their goods to the other cities. They kept their heads low as they worked, sending furtive glances to their guests as they passed and he could not blame them.
For fifteen moons, the people of Dakhla had prayed, offering gifts and sacrifices to the suns for their god's safety as He continued His never-ending journey through the stars. They had patiently waited for His return, just as they had done for generations, preparing the offerings they would offer to His flying temple and hoping one of them would be chosen to serve at His side.
And yet, after only four moons, the priests had gathered at the Chapp'ai in the heart of the temple and disappeared, leaving them without their guidance for the first time since the dawn of their civilization.
They had searched for weeks, combing the city and the desert for any trace of the holy men, yet neither they nor their animal-headed protectors were ever found.
For nearly a year they had feared that they had brought the fury of the sun god on themselves, yet each moon passed as they ever had, bringing with them the nourishing tides and reassuring the people that there was still hope for their redemption.
And today, the time had finally come.
Chancing a look at the guests following him, Kherun was once again struck by how strange they appeared. Pale and young, the men were like none he had ever seen. One of them even had hair like the setting suns! The metal covering them from head to toe left no doubt as to their divine origins, however, even if the strange cut of their clothes and the lack of gemstones and ornaments seemed strange for messengers of Ra.
"Fascinating." The one called Justin marvelled at the sight of the rivers shining like jewels under the suns. "On Earth, it's the rains that bring the Nile to overflow and bring nutrients to the soil of the riverbanks. You're saying this happens every month?"
"Astronomy has always been used for farming, but this is on a whole new level." The tallest of them—Serious, was it?—explained as he looked up to the suns, shielding his eyes. "An eclipse every month with the moon and both suns pulling from the same side ... I'm beginning to regret leaving my surfboard on Earth."
Their enthusiasm brought a smile to Kherun's face as he continued his explanations, glowing with pride in his city and the approval of the gods.
Still, the fact that two of the guests had stepped away and were now whispering animatedly under the shadow of a tree kept the fear of their disapproval needling at his heart.
If they had been sent to test their faith, they would not find it lacking. But if what they saw displeased them somehow...
"Kherun! Kherun!" Cries of panic stopped him mid-sentence as one of his acolytes ran up to them, his white robe stained with dust and sand. "Kherun, the gods!"
"What is it?" He stepped forward, grabbing the man's shoulder to support him as he fell out of breath.
"The gods have come to punish us, Kherun! Apophis' monsters came out of the temple. They're taking people to the plaza by force!"
Kherun's blood ran cold.
Apophis, the serpent of darkness, Ra's greatest enemy.
Doom had come for them.
"Kherun, you need to come!" The acolyte shook his arm, pleading. "We have to stop them!"
"We can't oppose the gods." Kherun's voice was faint, almost breaking. "But Ra's envoys will—"
When he turned around, Kherun saw nothing but a field of reeds and frightened farmers.
Like the last flickering flame of hope in his heart, the messengers of the gods had vanished.
Forced by arms or threats, men, women and children flocked to the great plaza from every corner of the city. When they heard of the coming of the dark god's warriors, some had entertained the idea of fleeing, of running for the dunes and hiding in the desert. These thoughts were short-lived, however, for the shadow of the great pyramid looming over them was just as constant a reminder of the gods' power as the memories of the fire they could conjure to strike down those who displeased them.
And so, they gathered, clutching religious symbols tight as they spread the word on their way to the pyramid's entrance where Apophis' envoy stood, watching their approach through its serpent eyes.
He was not the only alien observing the procession, however, as four invisible figures kept watch from atop one of the largest buildings on the edge of the plaza.
"I don't like this."
"I'd be shocked otherwise."
Harry did not look away from the gathering crowd to answer Justin's complaint and instead took the heavily modified Omniculars that Sirius was holding out to him. Turning the knobs and dials, he tweaked the zoomed perspective of the device until it gave him a good view of the alien warrior's appearance.
"Nothing good can come out of this." Justin insisted.
"Oh, I don't know. Someone down there might decide to turn this into a party."
"You know what I mean."
"And you know damn well I don't like it any more than you." Harry spat, tearing himself away from his observations, Harry passed the Omniculars to Ron as he turned to face Justin. "But we can't help them."
"These people welcomed us with open arms. They don't deserve this!" Justin stood his ground. "Ginny said there were only a dozen of them. We could take them easily!"
"I'm with the kid on this one." Sirius stepped in. "Aliens or not, they haven't used any magic so far. If they're just Muggles, it won't even take a minute."
"And then what? They'll still have two ships in orbit and we'll be stuck here, waiting for them to bombard us. Requirement isn't ready for a fight like this and I doubt these aliens will take kindly to our hosts if they learn that they welcomed us."
"So that's it? We're just gonna leave?"
"It's what's best for everyone." Harry's tone was final, carrying with it the same impotent anger that brought Justin to stand up to him.
They could not risk the lives of everyone on his ship because of what might happen to Kherun's people, no matter how welcoming they had been or how wrong it all was.
Justin kept glaring at him for a few moments before angrily walking toward the edge of the roof, Sirius stepping in behind him, looking at Harry strangely.
Nothing was going according to plan. The crash, the altercation with Zacharias, the trigger-happy aliens and now this...
Way to show Sirius how great a captain you are, Harry. Why don't you throw someone out an airlock next?
Stopping a train of thought that would lead nowhere good, Harry gave a small sigh as he brought a hand to the communication stone embedded in his armour.
"Ginny, are you there yet?"
"We're getting there."
"You may want to hurry up then. I doubt things will stay calm much longer here."
"It would go a lot faster if these dunes didn't all look the same. We've lost the trail a couple times and had to apparate back to find it again."
"You know," Lee interjected through the stone. "I'm not even sure it can be fixed. The engines are pretty much scrap at this point."
"We don't need it to go all the way to Earth. I'll settle for high enough for Requirement to pick us up."
"That's already asking for a miracle."
"Good thing you're a wizard then. I'm sure you'll find a way."
With a tap on the stone, Harry cut the connection and joined the others on the roof's edge as Ron beckoned him.
Looking down at the sea of people filling the plaza to the brim, Harry knelt next to Ron as he pushed and turned far too many buttons and dials on the Omniculars. After puffing up some smoke and emitting a concerningly high-pitched whirr, a small trap opened on the side of the glasses, revealing a small speaker.
"Hear me!" The deep and echoing voice of the alien leader came out of the device as if the man was standing next to them. "Your god, Ra, is dead! I have come to claim this world in the name of your new master, Apophis!"
"Blasphemer!"
"Deceiver!"
"The suns still shine in the sky! Ra's journey continues and he will rise again!"
Unrest and cries of protest spread through the fearful crowd like wildfire as mothers covered the ears of their children, muttering fearful prayers. Had the other aliens not been standing guard behind their leader, such words would have most likely ended in a riot.
"Jaffa!" The leader roared as he turned to his guards.
Two of them lowered their staves and energy burst out of their ends. The projectiles flew above the masses and impacted one of the largest statues—depicting a man with the head of a bird—exploding it and raining down dust and stone on the panicked crowd.
"Enough!" Easily recognizable from a distance, Kherun came up the ramp leading to the Pyramid, arms raised high. "I beg of you, do not hurt anyone else. Please."
The alien raised an arm and his guards stepped back, their staves once again aimed at the sky as the old man approached.
"You speak for your people?"
"Yes ... I am—"
"A slave. Nothing more." The alien cut him off. "You will tell your people to comply and tear down the symbols of their dead gods."
"The night serpent will find no purchase here. Ra has protected us for thousands of years and his divine messengers—"
The alien struck Kherun with the armoured back of his hand, throwing him to the ground.
"You dare defy the words of your lord?" At his feet, Kherun tried to prop himself up on his elbow, only for the alien to force him back down by stepping on him, his staff lowered toward the crowd as its bulbous end opened with a crackle of energy. "Do I need to make an example of—"
"Alright, that's enough." Harry pressed a button on the Omniculars' side, cutting the threat off as the speaker disappeared behind its trap once again. "We're done here."
"I take back what I said," Ron said through clenched teeth as he put down the Omniculars. "I don't want to meet aliens anymore."
"I'm beginning to think we're cursed. It's either that or the galaxy is just filled with arseholes." Despite the levity of his words, Sirius's voice was hard as steel. "Feels like home."
"I'd rather they be the exception and not the rule. Now, pack it up. We have a flight to catch."
Abandoning the city and the locals to their fate, Harry led his team through the desert and back to the crashed shuttle that the others had dug out and set down on the sand.
Under the merciless glare of the twin suns, they found Lee and Terry on the wreck, surrounded by melted scraps and elbow-deep in the inner parts of the engines. Beneath them, Angelina and Zacharias were engrossed in a discussion, furiously looking up things on the former's data-slate while Ginny put some order back in the shuttle's compartments.
"How's it going?" Harry stepped in next to Ginny under the meagre shade provided by the shuttle.
"Not well." With a flick of her wand, she reattached the lower part of a harness to its seat before looking up at him. "We repaired the breaches, but the engines are a lost cause."
"I take it a mending charm won't do the trick."
"Not a chance." Terry walked in, barely sparing them a glance as he removed a panel from the wall and started pulling out parts from the exposed components. "That thing is dead and gone. We're working on alternatives."
"Which are?"
"I'll let you know when we figure that out."
With his arms full of not-so-spare parts, Terry walked back outside.
"Well ... That's encouraging."
"Business as usual then." Ginny tried a small smile, but her heart was not in it. "How bad was it?"
"Business as usual." Harry sat heavily on a free seat, giving some rest to his tired legs. "Why can't we catch a break for once?"
"We got away without any trouble." Ginny sat down next to him. "We'll be ready next time."
"I'm more worried about Hermione and the others."
"They'll be fine. They'll stay out of range until we call them back."
"For how long? These guys don't look like the patient or forgiving type. We don't even know how much time we have before—"
"Harry?" Sirius shouted from outside. "We've got company."
Repressing a swear, Harry ran out of the shuttle, the others hot on his heels. They climbed the dune up to its crest, joining Sirius as he looked into the horizon with the Omniculars. Lying down on their stomach, their heads barely sticking out, they peered into the distance to see a single file of people walking this way, too far to make out clearly.
"Our new snake-headed friends are coming for a visit." Sirius announced dryly, passing the Omniculars to Harry. "One of the white robes that was with Kherun is guiding them."
"Not by choice." Justin said vehemently."
"It doesn't matter." Harry shook his head. "They're gonna find us either way."
"Lee!" Ron called out and the engineers looked up from their work. "How long until this thing can fly?"
"I don't know ... an hour?"
"We don't have an hour!"
"Shouting won't help. This heap of scrap won't be moving anytime soon."
"Keep working." Harry ordered as he pushed himself up. "We'll buy you as much time as you need."
Leading the procession, the guide tripped as he reached the crest of yet another dune, his papyrus sandals ill-suited for such a march. Were it not for the bruising grip of the serpent-man behind him, he would have tumbled down the dune.
"How far are these false gods?"
"Not far, I swear."
"Then walk."
The serpent-man pushed him with enough force to throw him to his knees. As he hurriedly got back to his feet to follow the tracks down the dune, rubbing his bruised arm, he heard a cry behind him and the serpent-man came tumbling down, the sand under his feet having turned to ice.
"Kree!"
Colourful lights came out flying from every direction as Apophis' warriors retreated to the cover of the dune's crest.
Running out of the line of fire, the guide narrowly avoided being hit by a bright red light that instead struck one of the serpent-man, making him flinch before he raised his staff and returned fire, sending part of the next dune flying high.
Holding no desire to risk witnessing a battle of gods, the man ran into the desert, leaving the chaos behind.
"What the hell are these guys made of?" Sirius shouted as she apparated next to Harry, his previous hiding spot exploding in the distance. "It took three stunners to lay one down!"
"It's like fighting Trolls or a Dragon!"
"Go for indirect spells! They have a harder time shrugging off a boulder to the face."
The battle had been dragging on, each side refusing to let the other gain an inch, yet the aliens were slowly beating them back toward the shuttle despite half of their men lying dead under the suns.
With the aliens staying behind cover and the wizards apparating away and turning invisible at will, the desert took the brunt of the spells and staff blasts, gouging out the dunes until they had no choice but to retreat behind the next.
The sand under the feet of a serpent-man swirled around and his lower half sunk at an alarming rate until he kicked himself free, taking out a good chunk of the slope.
In response, the half-dozen aliens stood as one from behind their cover and deadly bursts of plasma rained down on Harry's position, sending a dune's worth of sand flying and leaving dozens of vitrified craters.
"Jaffa! Kaltesh!"
With the wizards hiding behind their cover, the aliens pressed their advantage and split up, one side keeping up the barrage while the rest ran around the dune.
"They're flanking us!"
"Damn it!" Harry risked one last spell above the crest—swearing when the warrior his disarming charm hit kept his staff in a firm grasp—before sliding down the dune "Retreat! Everyone, back to the shuttle!"
Sliding down the dune and apparating from their hiding places, they rallied at the shuttle. Several of them sported a limp, their armours scorched and broken, armoured plates missing where the alien weapons had hit before they could disapparate.
"I'm getting real sick of these Jaffa guys."
"Time to leave then." Harry stepped into the shuttle, finding Terry and Lee under the main console. "It's now or never, guys."
"I got it!" Terry shouted, sparks flying around him.
The shuttle shook slightly as the engines purred and the console lit up, life laboriously coming back to the ship as Ginny rushed for the controls.
"Everyone strap in! We're—"
Sirius cried out in agony and collapsed in the compartment behind them, a fuming circle of charred flesh exposed on his back.
Ginny froze, her hands inches away from the controls while staff fire rained down on the hull.
"Sirius!" Harry them himself on top of his godfather, conjuring a shield to cover Ron as he ran for the hatch controls.
"Get us out of here!"
Pulling herself together, Ginny grabbed the controls. The engines and hull groaned in protest when she sent the shuttle soaring into the sky, the rear hatch closing as they gained altitude.
"Hermione, we're coming in hot." Harry tapped his communication stone as Angelina rushed to his side, murmuring an incantation as she passed her wand above the wound. "I need a medical team in the hangar now!"
"Who the hell were these guys?" Lee asked, strapping himself in.
"The messengers of the gods the locals thought we were." Zacharias spoke through gritted teeth, grabbing on tight to his harness. "Those of a rival god, at least."
"Gods or not, they got friends up there." Terry reminded them as he watched Harry strap an unconscious Sirius in his harness "We're not out of the woods yet."
"Speaking of," Ginny called out. "They're here!."
"What?" Harry joined her in the cockpit.
"I'm picking up six flyers, closing fast." Ginny veered sharply to the right and bursts of plasma similar to that of the staff weapons flew by the windshield. "Real fast."
"Where the hell is Requirement?"
"I'm not seeing them on the—More incoming! Hang on!"
Ginny's warning came too late. Half a dozen crescent-shaped ships with wings curving downward arrived in front of them at high speed and the shuttle's left wing was torn off by a well-placed shot.
"Oh Merlin," Someone in the passenger compartment shouted. "not again!"
With only one wing left, the shuttle lost altitude quickly and spiralled toward the ground. With the engines still running, Ginny managed to ease the descent until another shot took them out and sent them barreling into the ground.
When they finally stopped, Harry tore his helmet off, fighting to keep his lunch in while blood trickled down his brow and onto the ruined console.
For the second time that day, the shuttle was filled with pained cries and groans, and although the shuttle had stopped upright this time, no amount of magic and tinkering would make it fly again.
After making sure everyone was still breathing, Harry tried the controls of the rear hatch, only for the door to remain stuck. A banishing charm quickly blew it off its hinges, blinding them for a few moments as light poured into the wreck.
Standing all around them, staves lowered and aimed, the aliens were waiting for them outside.
Their leader stood in the centre of the formation, his staff still pointing toward the sky as his helmet retracted backwards, revealing the hard face of a bald dark-skinned man, his brow marked with a golden symbol.
"I am Teal'c, first Prime of Apophis. Surrender now, or die."
"They're firing again!"
"I can see that. Just stay on course."
Alarms blared on Requirement's bridge as dozens of bursts of plasma flew by the window, missing the ship by a hair's breadth. Under them, the planet grew larger as their erratic flight pattern took them straight toward it.
"The shields can't hold this for long!" Marietta warned, holding on to her console when another salvo hit the ship, violently rocking the ship.
"They will." Sitting on the captain's chair and flanked by the Weasley twins, Hermione kept her eyes on the three dimensional battle map displayed above the main console. "Put them behind us and redirect all weapon power to the rear shields."
"Hey!" Katie shouted in protest as her console shut down mid-command.
"We don't have enough power to take out their shields while keeping ours. Not if we want to jump out of this system."
"Commander!" Malcom called out above the alarms as the ship shook one more. "The shuttle just disappeared from the sensors! There are red dots everywhere!"
A cold feeling took hold of Hermione, stopping her heart for an instant before orders once again flew across the bridge.
"Open a channel!" She could not keep the panic out of her voice, twisting it into a shrill. "Get me the away team!"
The link was established, allowing sounds of battle and explosions to come out of Marietta's console.
"Get that door back up!" The voice was hoarse, but undeniably Harry's. "We need cover!"
"Oh thank god." Hermione whispered, sinking into the armchair. "Harry, what's happening?"
"Hermione?" Even through the chaos around him, Harry's surprise and relief could be heard clearly. "Alien ships shot us down. We need an evac now!"
"Hang on, we're coming!"
"We can't!" Marietta interjected. "We took too many hits. The shields won't hold the re-entry!"
"We have ships incoming from the planets!" Cho called out. "Small fighters, by the looks of it."
"Harry," Hermione turned to the console. "we can't get to you. Is there any way for you to join us mid-way?"
"Negative. We're pinned down and the shuttle's dead." The feed went silent for a few seconds before Harry apple again, harder than steel. "Look. If you can't come down, you need to get the hell out of here."
"We're not leaving you behind!"
"Everyone on board is going to die if you don't!"
"Wait, don't die on us yet, Harry." George piped up.
"There's still one thing we can try." Fred followed up.
"We haven't tested it yet, but—"
"No!" Hermione shrieked. "They could get scattered their molecules across the planet!"
"We don't exactly have a lot of options here!" A large explosion echoed through the feed. "Whatever it is, do it now!"
Biting her tongue to keep herself from swearing, Hermione shot to her feet, her hands a blur above the main console as she accessed a system she had expressly proscribed her entire team from accessing.
When every parameter was locked in, her hand holding the command stone stopped above the console, a breath away from activating the program.
If she did this, chances are she would be killing Ron, Harry and everyone in the away team. She'd have their blood on her hands.
"What's taking so long?" Harry screamed.
Shutting her eyes with force, Hermione put the command stone down and the bridge was bathed in light.
"-barda!" Ron's voice shouted. Eyes still closed, Hermione ducked behind the console as something exploded behind her, sending people screaming. "What the hell?"
Opening one eye, Hermione risked peeking from behind the console and found the entire away team, bruised and beaten but blissfully alive and not atomised.
"Blimey, Ron! Watch where you point that thing!"
"But I ... We..." Ron and the others were looking around the bridge, not believing their eyes. Jumping over the console, Hermione ran up to him and tackled him into a hug, almost sending him to the floor. "What the hell happened?"
"You're alive." She breathed into his shoulder, overwhelmed by relief. "You're all alive."
"Yes, we are. But we're not done yet." Harry turned toward their pilot. "Cho?"
"Aye aye, captain."
Avoiding the fire of the two alien ships, Requirement soared out of the planet's orbit and right into hyperspace.
Standing on a dune overlooking the remains of the strange shuttle, Teal'c watched as his men gathered the broken parts in preparation for their transport. These artefacts would be brought to their lord to be examined and studied for any trace of their origin.
As First Prime to his god, it was his duty to make sure any civilization capable of building such vessels would be destroyed swiftly and utterly. The threat of their existence was not one that the Goa'uld would suffer.
And yet, locked deep in a part of his heart that should never see the light of day, something stirred. As feeling forgotten so long ago it was now alien to him.
Hope.
Looking up at the few stars visible in the darkening sky, Teal'c engraved a silent prayer for the safety of these strange aliens in his heart and that their paths would never cross again, lest he be forced to kill them.
He would arrange for any evidence of their origins left on the shuttle's remains to be destroyed before they fell into the hands of the Goa'uld.
Anyone who would stand against the false gods and possess the power to do so was a gift this galaxy could not be allowed to lose. He would make sure they would be given the chance to fight.
He would have to be quick, however.
Already, one of the motherships was coming down in the distance, landing atop the pyramid of the capital.
Pushing this rare moment of honest sentimentality, Teal'c walked down the dune and toward the wreck. He did not have much time. Only a small part of Ra's domain remained to be conquered, and his lord had expressed his desire to join the end of the crusade.
One did not make Apophis wait.