Author's note
Here's a new chapter! Sorry for the wait, I had a bit of trouble writing this one.
I hope you will like it !
English is not my natural language, so I apologize in advance if this is difficult to read.
Chapter 3
In the briefing room, SG1 was waiting for the general's arrival. A week had now passed since their mission on Gaia, and today they would receive the response due to their actions there. Jack looked up the stairs where Hammond's office was located, while behind him the rest of the team paced back and forth. Standing at attention, they saluted their superior as he descended the stairs.
"At ease, take a seat!" said Hammond as the team each took a seat. "Madam, gentlemen!" As you know, after your actions I had to make a decision, and I have decided that from this moment on you will return to active duty! With a collective sigh of relief, the team smiled at each other as Jack raised an eyebrow at the pile of files Hammond handed him, speaking up. "As you know, during the exploration of one of our teams on P3X-513, we came across a world where its people are forced to live in the Naquadah mines due to the intense UV radiation. During their research, SG3 was able to find this device..." He presented the situation as he activated the holotank to show the device in question, "... during our study, it came to our attention that this machine can emit a force field over a vast area capable of protecting against UV radiation. Thanks to the Jaffa you brought back from P3X-774, we learned that there was a second device that needed to work in tandem, as well as where it should be and where we should find it!"
After a little while, Carter asked, "Did you want us to find the device and activate it?"
However, Hammond interrupted her, "No, Captain, SG9 will handle this mission!"
O'Neill was surprised by that. "SG9?!" "I didn't know she was active after what happened!" Yes, Captain Jonas Hanson, during the psychological evaluations, the intelligent AI that handled the results had diagnosed that Captain Hanson was an individual power-hungry, manipulative with psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies. The man had taken it very badly, having injured two guards, one with a weapon, before being shot by security. Looking at the files in front of him, Jack began to guess the reason for their presence. "You want me to recommend an officer for this position, sir...?"
Once again, Hammond interrupted him, "No Colonel, the new leader of SG9 has already been chosen!"
"May I ask who it is, General?" Asked Kawalsky, he did not expect the answer.
"It will be you, Major!" A silence fell in the room as their brains processed the information. "Major Kawalsky, effective immediately you are being removed from SG1, you will join SG9 where you will take command!" Colonel O'Neill, these files are here to allow you to choose who will replace the Major! "Dismissed!"
Getting up, the rest of SG1 began to congratulate Kawalsky on his promotion. Hammond returned to his office where his own stack of files awaited him. Sitting in his chair, he contemplated the room, noting all the differences between it and the previous offices he had occupied before taking command of this base. Very large for a single person, there was a large window offering him a breathtaking view of the valley covered with pine woods, which was strange given that, like the Stargate, their offices were located in the heart of the mountain. In reality, this large window was just a big holographic panorama designed to reproduce a breathtakingly realistic landscape. The latter, completely autonomous, could change its weather randomly but also according to the seasons, ranging from a clear blue sky to rainy weather or even a vast mist filtering through the pine forest, or even snow.
"Things have changed so much!" he thought with nostalgia, he never would have believed in his life that he would command expeditions to other planets. Shifting his attention to the files, he sighed; the work had become increasingly intense since the arrival of the Spirit of Fire. The excitement among the population seemed to have grown, whether it was due to the prospect of traveling among the stars aboard an interstellar cruiser or the awareness that extraterrestrials existed and that not everyone was well-disposed towards them, Hammond did not know! But the applications to join the UNSC had exploded like never before, whether it was to join the Navy, the Army, the ONI, or the Stargate program, the requests were coming in by the legion. He already knew that the crew of the Spirit had been requisitioned to train volunteers for the ODST corps or to update the training of soldiers from the old army. For himself, the transfer requests forced him to select the best elements to create new SG teams.
A noise coming from the door pulled him out of his thoughts as O'Neill asked for permission to enter, "Colonel, have you already made your choice!?" He asked, noticing the embarrassed expression on Jack's face, which made him understand that there were complications.
Facing Hammond, O'Neill spoke cautiously, "To be honest, General, I had already asked for someone to join my team!" Hammond lowered his head with a resigned smile, he feared this meeting, and with a drawn-out voice, he replied, "Jack, do you realize what you're asking for!"
Jack, for his part, twisted the corner of his mouth upwards in response. "Yes, General!" But I must point out that he has lost a lot to help us, and since he has been here, Teal'c has been a great help to us!
Hammond had to concede this point to O'Neill, Teal'c had given them a lot of information about the Goa'uld and their Jaffa, but still, "It is true that Teal'c has been a great help to us, and that his request to fight alongside us against his false gods seems sincere, but he also asked for our help to aid his family on Chulak!" We are talking about an operation on a world directly governed by the Goa'uld!
"A world of slaves, General!" O'Neill exclaimed, finding this particular point especially important.
Jack's intervention made Hammond look at him skeptically, "Is there really a difference?!" The silence that ensued proved that Jack himself didn't know, after all, Hammond continued, "Even though the decision to integrate Teal'c into SG1 is solely mine, that is not the case for this mission!" Do you have any idea who I will have to get authorization from?! Jack grimaced violently at that; Admiral Cutter would never give permission for this mission, he was sure of it!
"He just wants to prevent his son from having one of those trucks in his belly, General, from becoming a slave!" You have a family too, you know what it feels like in these cases! Jack's voice was filled with a compassion and pity that could only be shared by the General; the prospect of becoming dependent on one of these parasites to stay alive was particularly difficult for a people like theirs, where freedom and democracy were taken for granted.
Hammond was thinking about all the ways that could help the Admiral give his approval, but the more he thought about it, the less he believed it. "I'm sorry, Jack!" That was all Hammond could say as O'Neill had a bitter taste in his mouth; he had brought Teal'c here in the hope of helping him, the latter even wishing to return under Hammond's command. But now that he knew Earth, they couldn't let him go.
Resigned, he got up and left his superior's office with his head down!
(Spirit of Fire/Orbit)
Cutter was currently heading towards the Spirit's hangars as Anders had requested his presence. Passing through the doors, he found himself among the various Pelicans, Warthogs, and Scorpion tanks, and that was precisely the problem. "Serina, where is Anders?!" he shouted at the AI of his ship, but it didn't respond either. Furrowing his brow, he was not ready when an invisible device appeared in front of him, regaining control of his emotions. He looked through the front window of the small vessel to see Anders and Major John Sheppard gave him a sign with a smile on Anders' face and a sorry expression on the Major's.
"Admiral!" "I am pleased to inform you that the reverse engineering of the Puddle Jumper is complete and it is 100% operational!" The tone of her voice indicated that she was extremely proud of herself and the scientific team she had personally selected to study this technology.
As the ship that Sheppard had foolishly named Jumper, and which Anders had decided to keep the official name, landed softly, the rear door opened to let them out. "I can see it, Professor!" Major, how did it go? After reading this man's file, Cutter had personally chosen this soldier to work with them, as Sheppard strongly reminded him of John Forge. Adding to the fact that the Major turned out to have a natural talent for Alteran technology, he had everything to gain!
"To perfection, Admiral!" "The model we have built is in every way identical to the original!" Sheppard replied, being the one who had piloted the original ship found in Antarctica to Spirit to be dismantled down to the last bolt, and having just piloted the prototype, he was well placed to know.
Nodding his head appreciatively, James turned to Ellen, "You interrupted me to introduce the ship?"You know, a simple report would have sufficed!
Ignoring the reproach, Anders led Cutter away, leaving the Major with the Jumper. "No, I wanted to express my desire to return to Abydos!"
"What, why?!" And Cutter really wanted an answer now, Ellen looked at him with a glint in her eyes that he knew all too well.
"I've been thinking about it for a while, and after going through Ra's notes thoroughly, it has increasingly appeared to me that there are secret passages where Ra would have hidden what he held most dear!"
"Like...?" Asked Cutter, putting his two hands behind his back, giving Anders a chance to present a truly convincing argument.
"Like technologies he absolutely wanted to hide from his rivals!" I mean, the Goa'uld are clearly focused on Egyptian culture and the past, and numerous archaeological digs have shown us that the Pharaohs did exactly that on Earth, not to mention that Abydos was isolated right in the middle of their territory, it's the perfect plate, James! she was confident, this observation was undeniable for Cutter. Thinking it over, it might be worth it, the pyramid being set up as a base so there was no risk, while General Hammond had made a troubling request, the recent events were giving him ideas. Before he could respond, Anders quickly added, "By the way, there are two scientists I selected who wanted to see you about a crucial discovery, to quote them."
"Later!" He exclaimed in one breath, surprising Ellen, "Tell Sheppard to prepare the Jumper for takeoff, I'm going to gather the Red Team, you have ten minutes to get ready, Ellen!" he shouted as he rushed out of the hangar, leaving behind a confused and lost Anders, but since she had obtained her permission, she didn't look too much into it.
(A few hours later/SGC/Earth)
Jack O'Neill had seen a lot of things in his life, crazy things, and over the entire year since the Spirit of Fire had arrived, the incredible had happened to him more than once, but being truly honest with himself, the three Space Marines over 2 meters tall in armor and armed to the teeth in the briefing room were the coolest thing he had ever seen! And if Teal'c's constant glances in their direction were any indication, then the Jaffa thought the same thing as him.
An hour ago, the Admiral arrived in a strange craft accompanied by a Major, Professor Anders, and the entire Spartan Red Team, and now at Cutter's request, SG1 Hammond and Teal'c had presented themselves in the briefing room. "Well, I'll get straight to the point, General, I have decided to accept your request for the mission to exfiltrate Teal'c's family from Chulak!" As Jack allowed himself a small smile, making a mental note to thank Hammond for going to great lengths for them, Teal'c stood up straight as a rod before bowing deeply, not knowing what to say. Cutter then turned to him, "Teal'c, according to the information you provided us, this world, although being a slave planet, remains important to Apophis!" Is that correct?
Teal'c looked at the Admiral, and with all the respect he could muster, replied, "Indeed, Admiral!" Chulak may not be a major base Major to Apophis, it is important to him; my world has its fortress, its palace, and a temple with symbiotes. They are indispensable for having Jaffa!
Cutter then looked at him more seriously. "In that case, if I assumed there were ships in orbit to defend it, would I be mistaken?"
Although he did not understand where the Supreme Tau'ri military leader was going with this, Teal'c still replied, "That's correct, there are always some motherships in orbit, however, they never land on Chulak, they use the transport rings in Apophis's fortress to board."
Without saying a word, Cutter brought a hand to his mouth, starting to think to himself for at least a good minute under the gaze of the other people present. Finally, he looked at the Spartan team and Professor Anders, "Ellen, you can go, I hope you find what you are looking for!" Anders nodded in thanks as he left the room, while the Red Team executed a perfect military salute before leaving the briefing room and quickly following Anders.
Seeing the questioning looks on the remaining faces, he replied, "They're going to Abydos, nothing concerning your mission!" Then he turned to introduce the man on his right, "This is Major John Sheppard, he will be the pilot of the Jumper with which you will carry out your mission!" This mission will not only involve rescuing Teal'c's family, who are present here, but also retrieving a living symbiote for study! Seeing that SG1 had all their attention on him, everyone could hear the door activate for Anders and the Red Team. Satisfied, he continued, "We know too little about them and we cannot use Teal'c's here without risking his life. The Jumper has cloaking technology, which will be very useful to you!" Colonel O'Neill! It's an infiltration mission, once the objectives are retrieved, immediate evacuation!
With a nod, Jack remained unyielding under Cutter's gaze, we won't fail this time! His attention was drawn to Teal'c as the latter stood up to face Cutter. "Admiral!" I wish to express my gratitude and I would like to renew my oath of allegiance to the Tau'ri people that I made to General Hammond! I would rather die than betray you!
Faced with the Jaffa's behavior, Cutter had a small smirk. "You are now a member of SG1, as long as you are in one of my armies, your life is worth the same as any of my soldiers!" "You leave in an hour, come back to us all safe and sound!" "Finished?" he said, looking at everyone.
(An hour later)
SG1 was in the hangar at Warthog where the Jumper had been brought, Jack couldn't help but whistle when he saw the ship in person, wanting nothing more than to pilot it himself, alas he wouldn't be the driver for this mission. "Are we ready, Major?" he asked Sheppard, who was already at the controls.
"Yes, my Colonel!" he said as SG1 entered the ship, the door closing behind them. Teal'c, equipped with a BDU, his staff weapon, and an M6 magnum at his thigh, looked once again with astonishment at the technology Tau'ri, the craft was divided into two sections, the cockpit and the cargo hold, with a partition door to separate them. Throughout his life, he had never seen a craft like this one, which further cemented his certainty that he had made the right choice in allying with Earth. If there was any hope for freedom for his people, then it was with them!
Carter and Daniel sat in the back seats of the cockpit while Jack came to the seat next to the pilot, watching Sheppard grab two strange controls like he had never seen before. "How is it, Major?"
As they saw through the front window that the ship was rising without them feeling anything, Sheppard replied, "To be honest with you, Colonel, I don't know a pilot who wouldn't kill to be in my place!" This machine reads minds!
Carter noticed something that fascinated her. "We don't feel any movement!" She exclaimed, fascination and excitement clearly audible in her voice.
Sheppard, who continued to pilot through the tunnel containing the crane that led the Warthogs to the boarding room, replied, "It's because there are inertial dampers, Captain!" And fortunately so, because with the speed at which this craft flies, without them we would be crushed in our seats in no time at all! As Daniel swallowed hard at this information, Sheppard spoke again, "We're arriving at the boarding room, you can enter the sequence, Colonel!" So absorbed in the mental piloting of the Jumper, Jack didn't even notice that the ship had its own DHD; Carter then stood up to enter the sequence herself.
"Impressive !" "Impressive!" was what Cutter and Hammond simultaneously thought in the command room as the Jumper descended from the ceiling facing the door. "Jumper One, you can go! Good luck!" Good luck!
Inside the Jumper, Sheppard watched the vortex with anticipation, much to O'Neill's amusement, "Stresser Major?!"
Not looking at his superior, he still replied in a skeptical voice. "It's the first time I've gone through one of these things, Colonel!"
Patting him reassuringly on the shoulder Jack smiled at him, "Don't worry, Sheppard, we don't feel anything!" With a twist of his head that summed up his thoughts well, the Jumper plunged into the gate!
On Chulak, a ship crossed the gate at an astonishing speed before disappearing without a trace. "It looks like there were no guards around the gate!" Jack's remark made Sheppard wonder if he was telling the truth or not, and in response to these thoughts, the Jumper reacted and a holographic screen appeared on the viewport before displaying a map of the area with signs of life nearby, confirming that there was no one in the vicinity of the gate.
Sam looked at the map as the realization dawned on him, "This map shows the entire country!" What is the power of these sensors?! She asked Sheppard.
"According to all the tests we have conducted, they are powerful enough to scan nearly half of a solar system and provide information on ships, energy sources, and signs of life within range." The Jumper proved it as it also displayed the presence of five motherships in orbit.
Although impressed by their new ship. Jack remained focused on the mission, "Keep the cloaking device activated at all times, Major, I don't want those things to spot us!" Sheppard had nothing to say in response to this order. Jack then turned to Teal'c, who was standing by the partition. "Teal'c, where is your home?"
Looking at both the holographic map and the landscape through the front window, Teal'c quickly oriented himself. "In this direction," he said, pointing with his finger at the spot, one of their two objectives to locate.
Jack resumed speaking for Sheppard. "Major, land in the forest a short distance away, we'll make the rest of the journey on foot!" Nodding his head, the stealthy Jumper sped towards his destination at full speed.
Thanks to the Jumper's sublight engine, the journey was quick, and the ship was already landing in the middle of the trees of Chulak. Still invisible, the rear cargo door opened as Jack, Carter, and Teal'c exited first, weapons at the ready, scanning their surroundings, their life sign detectors operating at full power. "Sheppard, you stay with the Jumper, we'll stay in radio contact, be ready to leave at any moment!" Receiving confirmation, SG1 set off, guided by Teal'c, towards their old home.
The walk was not very long, and as they approached their destination, Teal'c began to run towards what SG1 could only call a ruin. And as he began to circle the ruins, Teal'c arrived in front of one of the rare standing walls of what was once his home, the shock devastated him to the point where he knelt down, staring at a white bread symbol. Daniel didn't have much to say in front of the ashes of the dwelling, "Teal'c, what does this symbol mean?"
"It's the sign of the Shol'va, the traitor!" The utter despair was clearly perceptible in his voice, a shock for SG1 who had only known the image of the strong and unyielding Jaffa. It was then that Carter came beside Teal'c to try to reassure him, while Jack, on his part, looked at the destroyed house, so absorbed by the ruin that he didn't notice the red triangle that appeared on his HUD.
"Tal'bet!" An old Jaffa had just appeared out of nowhere, threatening Jack with his spear while repeating the same words over and over. O'Neill couldn't do much else but mentally berate himself for letting his guard down.
"Master Bra'tac!" Teal'c's call diverted the Jaffa from Jack as a reassuring smile appeared on the newly identified Bra'tac's face, clearly delighted to see him again.
He then spoke, "My old friend!" as he and Teal'c exchanged the common Jaffa salute. Taking a moment to look at each other, Bra'tac spoke again, "You should never have returned, my friend!"
But Teal'c's determination did not waver. "My family...!?"
Nodding in complete understanding, Bra'tac placed a comforting hand on the shoulder of his former disciple, "They are fine!" he said as a weight lifted from Teal'c's shoulders.
Turning to the rest of the team, Teal'c introduced the newcomer. "There is nothing to fear, he is my mentor, Master Bra'tac!" the two Jaffa was then standing in front of the rest of SG1. "Master Bra'tac, I present to you Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, and Doctor Daniel Jackson!" They are warriors of the Tau'ri, as skilled as they are cunning!
As Bra'tac slowly moved towards them, he assessed them one by one, and finally, upon reaching Jack, he exclaimed, "Ha'shak!" The word that Daniel translated for Jack because he had turned to him, "Weak!" And as the rest of SG1 thought, Jack didn't take it very well, but they hadn't anticipated that it would escalate into a small confrontation which, to Teal'c's surprise, ended with O'Neill's victory, who knocked Bra'tac to the ground, even stealing his staff to point it directly at his face.
Daniel and Sam were even more surprised when the old Jaffa on the ground started laughing heartily, "Not bad!" Not bad at all! "If I weren't 133 years old, I might have had a chance!" Then, as Jack helped him up, Bra'tac pulled him down to the ground in turn for his little personal revenge, but without using any real force, in a relatively friendly manner.
The two men stood up, Bra'tac turned to Teal'c with an expression of appreciation on his face, "You have always known how to choose your friends!" Coming to his side, Teal'c had a happy smile that his master appreciated his new friends. Looking at his student with a serious expression, he continued, "Your family is at the Kresh'tas camp, Drey'auc managed to convince a priest to perform his Prim'ta on Rya'c!" Follow me! "Finished," he said, guiding the group.
Progressing through the woods, the group remained silent as they walked along the path below. Having received confirmation from Sheppard over the radio that everything was quiet on his end, SG1 now had confirmation that their arrival had gone undetected by anyone. Determined not to be caught off guard like with Bra'tac, Jack kept his eyes glued to his HUD, and fortunately! Making a sign for everyone to take cover, they were able to hide as a group of people dressed in religious garments carried a large container.
"What is it?" Asked Daniel to Teal'c and Bra'tac.
"They are temple priests, they bring back the unused symbiotes for the Prim'ta." Replied the old Jaffa, his answer particularly interested SG1.
As Teal'c and Bra'tac resumed their march, the rest of the team took a bit more time. "Carter, Daniel, you will follow them discreetly to find out where they are going. Once we have retrieved Teal'c's family, I will lead them to the Jumper. Then Teal'c and I will join you to help you. Keep a low profile!"
Nodding at Jack's order, they separated towards their own personal goals.
(Abydos/Pyramid)
Ellen Anders could be found in the basement of the pyramid, defiantly gazing at a mural with various representations, but the two most notable being the depiction of a sun whose rays illuminated the characteristic symbol of Ra, the center of the eye carved into a ruby. She was sure of it! It was here that the secret passage was located, alas even the scanners detected nothing, a jamming made them inoperable as soon as they tried, and that was what tipped Anders off. Someone had gone to great lengths to hide this part of the pyramid from all kinds of scans. But despite more than an entire hour searching for the opening, still nothing!
Sighing in frustration, she leaned closer to the eye once more, running her finger over the ruby. At first, she had thought about illuminating it as the painting depicted, but even focusing the light from her lamp with a magnifying glass hadn't worked. Her only remaining solution was to blow up the wall, but she wasn't too keen on that, not wanting to damage whatever might be behind it. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the base commander approaching behind her. "Is everything going as you want, Professor?!"
She turned to look at the man of Asian descent. "Commander Izo!" No, as you can see, I am facing a wall! Literally!
Looking at the wall next to Anders, she explained to him all the different attempts she had made for the same result, nothing! For the next ten minutes, they both stood there, staring at the wall as if hypnotized. "They are red!"
Looking at the commander with raised eyebrows, she didn't understand, "Huh?"
Izo looked at her awkwardly, thinking that her comment was unnecessary, but he repeated it anyway, "The rays of the sun!" They are red! Ellen then moved her head back and forth between the wall and Izo, at the point where she was, it was worth a try, the other option being explosives. Grabbing her laser distance measuring device, she pointed it at the eye, the red laser diving straight into the ruby.
Izo fell backwards, whether it was because the pyramid trembled or because he was right, no one knew. But Ellen had a smile worthy of a child on Christmas morning. "Well Ra, let's see what you're hiding from us!"
(Terre/SGC)
Cutter stood in the briefing room, looking at the Stargate through the immense window, still wondering if he had made the right choice.
"Admiral!"
He turned to see Hammond coming down the stairs leading to the control room. "George!"Still no news, I suppose.
Hammond merely shook his head negatively while positioning himself next to him, "If I may ask, Admiral, why accept this mission that could compromise us?"
Continuing to stare at the inactive gate, he replied, "The members of the UEG have recently expressed their concerns regarding the latest revelations about the Goa'uld. They think we are a bit too passive, and that out of fear of the risk of being discovered, we might not be ready when the time comes."
Hesitant about what he would have done or not done if the roles had been reversed, Hammond launched into, "And you, sir, do you agree with them?"
"Our greatest asset against the Covenants was the fact that the existence of Earth was an absolute secret, here it is impossible!"…... » mark a brief pause Cutter continued "Several hundred ships, and this number only concerns Apophis. If it is true that there are eleven others as well as a totally unknown number of minor Goa'uld, the situation could be much more alarming than I imagined, and that's not counting the Covenant!" If tomorrow one or the other were to attack us, George, we wouldn't be able to stop them!
The sinister expression on Cutter's face made the General swallow hard, "But why, Admiral Apophis?!"
Cutter could indeed understand Hammond's fear, when Apophis would learn that Teal'c was with them, making the connection between the attacks suffered and them would be as simple as 1 plus 1. "Our greatest asset here lies in the feudal system of the Goa'uld; the worst thing that could happen to us would be for one of them to seize the vacant throne left by Ra and rule over all the others!" However, according to Teal'c, Apophis is the one who is closest to achieving it!
Understanding where he was going with it, Hammond continued Cutter's reasoning, "You want to weaken him so that the others can take over!" James simply nodded in confirmation.
"Admiral, Serina informs me that the communication is ready to be established!" Came the voice of the stupid AI assigned to the SGC.
"Thank you, Saara!" Are you staying, George? A proposal that Hammond was delighted to accept. They stood in front of a large window that turned out to be a screen, the image of two scientists appearing before the two men. "Doctor Mckay, Doctor Zelenka, Professor Anders informed me that you wanted to tell me about your discovery!"
The two scientists stood upright as they clearly tried to make a good impression, Mckay began "Yes, Admiral, I believe you are going to greatly appreciate what I have discovered!"
"That WE discovered!" Zelenka repeated it.
Mckay then made a gesture to show his colleague, he resumed, visibly a bit embarrassed. "Yes, what we discovered!" As you know, we were assigned to study the Jumper and we discovered that it was equipped with a weapon module similar to those found in the Alteran outpost!
Images of an object vaguely resembling a squid, about three feet long, appeared on the screen. It had a rounded yellow head with small spikes protruding from the back of the weapon. Six tails extend from the back of the weapon.
Zelenka then spoke again, visibly excited, "This is one of the weapons used by the Ancients, although much more sophisticated, but similar to our missiles. Thanks to the Jumper, we discovered that it could be powered directly without needing to go through the control chair!"
While the two men were excited, Cutter had something else in mind: "By any chance, do you have anything to do with the Warthog destroyed several months ago on the road between McMurdo Station and the Alteran outpost?!" The two scientists exchanged very embarrassed glances, which was all James needed as a response, while Hammond shook his head in dismay. While the driver had had time to flee far enough from the vehicle, the Warthog had been completely pulverized; nothing remained, not even the carcass.
McKay, however, did not lose his composure, using this accident to his advantage to bounce back. "Yes, but thanks to this mishap, we discovered how it worked!" This missile has a behavior similar to a drone, its internal control crystal will automatically target the highest energy source of the nearest target! The ancients had to use the chair to modify their trajectory because when we tried later with an AI, it proved to be capable of manipulating it as it wished.
Zelenka immediately continued after him "We also discovered that its explosive power depended directly on the energy source that powers it, with the Warthog being annihilated by an energy source as weak as that of the Jumper, just imagine with one of our fusion reactors, and even more so with the one used by the Ancients!"
"So you mean to say that we could use this weapon without needing the Chair?!" Cutter was very interested now.
"And he's not the best!" Mckay continued, looking at his colleague with a smile that was meant to be conspiratorial. "The drone is a weapon designed as much for precision as for destruction; its energy head can pass through any material like paper, and once launched at what has been defined as a target, it will go on to perforate the source of the most intense energy without exploding. It will operate by descending elimination until the destruction of its target, then move on to the next target with the same signature without needing to be told!" But there's even better!
This time it was Zelenka who spoke again, just as excited as Mckay, "The drone is an adaptive weapon that can pass through the energy shield technology..." To this, Cutter abruptly raised his head, "…It operates in a hive mind, when the first drone hits the shield, and if it doesn't pass through directly, it will transmit the shield's frequency to the other drones until they eventually pass through as if it didn't exist!" Assuming, of course, that their explosive force hasn't made them give in before!
"And what happens when the drone runs out of energy?" James mentally thanked George for asking the question on his behalf.
Putting one hand in one of his pants pockets, Mckay then continued more calmly than his colleague, "The internal control crystal is a mini-computer. When it detects that it has just enough power left for one or two passes, it will gather all its remaining power in its head to lodge itself in the highest energy concentration of its target, but this time to explode."
Zelenka then addressed Cutter directly, "This hybrid projectile-energy weapon is superior in every way to our Admiral Archer missiles. If you grant us your authorization and a Hard-Light materializer, we could mass-produce them to replace our missiles!"
But Mckay nevertheless had to present the more negative points in his eyes: "That said, these weapons are made of Naquadah and as you know, the replicator cannot create it, only refine and manipulate it!" Which means we will have to use part of our Naquadah output to manufacture them, not to mention that given the complexity of the drones, we will have to sacrifice several of the ones we have so that the machine can obtain all the components and replicate them exactly!
"Yes, but this weapon is so powerful that it's worth it!" And as the two scientists began to bicker like children, Hammond and Cutter looked at each other in dismay.
Gentlemen! Gentlemen! A little calm, please! James's intervention seemed to remind them that they were still in a conference, and they immediately stopped, looking embarrassed. Cutter then continued, "You're already preaching to the converted, I'm giving you free rein!" McKay smiled while Zelenka literally jumped on the spot, shouting a huge "YES!" Cutter then spoke again, this time addressing the base's AI: "Saara, inform Serina to provide Dr. McKay and Zelenka with a Hard-Light machine as well as a reasonable amount of Naquadah!" Receiving confirmation from the AI, he then looked at the two scientists seriously. "This basic quantity will serve as your test. I want you to prove to me that what you claim is true. When I have one of these drones, made by your hand, that looks exactly like those of the Alterans in front of me, only then will I authorize large-scale production!"
"Thank you, Admiral!" Was the response of the two men who smiled with satisfaction as the communication was cut off. Neither Cutter nor Hammond could say anything as the base alarm rang out while the senior non-commissioned officer in the operations room announced an unidentified incoming vortex.
"No time to be bored here!" James's remark brought an amused smile to Hammond's face as they both headed to the operating room.
"Walter?!" Asked George
"It's the identification code of the Abydos base, sir!"
As Cutter immediately headed to the boarding room, Hammond shouted after him, "Open the Iris !"
Ellen Anders then entered the door alone, an imposing briefcase in her arms, and judging by the smile on her face, Cutter knew she had hit the jackpot. Cutter knew she had hit the jackpot. "From your expression, I deduce that the trip was worth it!" he said as Hammond positioned himself beside him.
"You have no idea, James!" Going into the briefing room to be more comfortably seated, the three high-ranking UNSC officers stood around the large table. "I will skip the details of how we did it, but we found the secret passage. The teams at the base on Abydos are currently cataloging everything inside." "I'll show you instead what I found most valuable among all these treasures." she said, placing the briefcase on the table and opening it in front of her, then gently turning it towards the two men as Cutter's eyes widened at what he saw.
"Is it really what I think it is?!" The hope of having gotten my hands on such a rare and operational object was clearly audible in his voice.
"What is it?" Asked Hammond, lost in front of the admiral's reaction.
Ellen then replied, "This is the same energy source the ancients used. We found a similar one in Antarctica, although it was empty, and before you ask the question, gentlemen, Yes!" My instruments still detect an energy signature in this one! It still has power!
Cutter couldn't take his eyes off the device. "I imagine you want to go study it as soon as possible!"
Nodding in agreement, Ellen continued, "Yes, and I would like Serina to come here to help me understand how much energy she has left and where something so small gets so much power from!" James simply gave his approval; this single week had yielded more than encouraging results. All they had to do now was hope that the mission would be a success, and they would have everything they needed!
There was nothing left to do but wait.
(Unknown location/Chulak)
In the immense building, he walked through the corridors methodically, with absolute discretion he passed by the guards who didn't even see him. "This new technology is amazing!" Checking the corridor to his right, he entered after seeing no one, continuing until he reached the foot of the tower, he opened his bag to grab a good amount of C-12. As he had done over the past two hours, Jérôme-092 placed the explosive charge in a location where it would be impossible to find if one didn't know it was there.
"I think that was the last Master Chief Petty Officer!" He heard in his helmet.
"Just call me Jérôme, that will do!" He replied to the Third Generation intelligent AI in her armor, named Ayiana, all the AIs of her generation had been created from the neural system of the Alteran found on Earth. Of incomparable power, Serina herself had admitted that there had never been an AI as efficient to date. Working together occasionally for the past 4 months, he always had a hard time getting her to call him by his name, the little AI of a candid nature enjoying teasing him playfully whenever she could.
Arriving on this planet a little over two hours ago from Abydos, their mission initially was to eliminate any signs of guards around the gate to help SG1 carry out their mission, which was surprisingly easy given that there were only two lightly armed men. The second part of their mission was simple: infiltrate Apophis's palace and mine it from top to bottom, then take one of the underground evacuation tunnels to the Goa'uld fortress and rig it with explosives from floor to ceiling. Once done, they had to board one of the ships in orbit via the transport rings and take control of it until Abydos. If that proved impossible, they had to join SG1 and support them in their mission. Infiltrating had been relatively easy, just like their personal shield, a new type of cloaking device was directly connected to the miniature fusion reactor of their MJOLNIR armor, and the result was undeniable. Activated continuously since their arrival here, the cloaking device had not faltered once; the Red Team Spartan was as invisible as the wind.
"Well, Jérôme, I think there must have been a problem because the Jaffa are getting more and more agitated!" Yes, for about ten minutes now, a large number of Jaffa have been coming out of the Fortress in successive waves.
"SG1 must have had an unforeseen event in their mission!" It was the only solution Jérôme could think of because it was unlikely that Alice or Douglas had been spotted. His C-12 charge in place, he stood up, leaving his backpack next to the charge. Now empty, it was only a hindrance for the rest of the mission, and the explosion would destroy it without leaving a trace.
His M6 Spartan laser firmly secured on his back, he gripped his M90 shotgun tightly, ready for use. Heading towards the corridor he had taken before, this time he chose the one leading to the center of the fortress, still cloaked, the Jaffa passed by him each time as he stopped so they wouldn't hear him. Arriving at a new section of the cross-shaped corridor, an ally echo appeared on his HUD coming from the right. As he regrouped with Alice, he noticed that since she was also invisible, he couldn't see her either, but his HUD displayed the outline of her shape in blue. "Where do we stand?" he asked bluntly.
"I've finished planting my charges and I've spotted the ring room!" She confirmed as she covered the corridor she had come from with her M247H machine gun, preferring to be as cautious as possible in enemy territory.
Nodding his head in appreciation, Jérôme also looked into the corridors cautiously in case other Jaffa arrived. "And Douglas?" Starting to walk in a two-by-two formation with Alice, the latter took the lead to guide them to their transport.
"He finished placing his last load, we need to meet at the rings!" avoiding unnecessary chatter, they arrived in front of a large door already open. Inside, Douglas was already waiting for them as he covered another exit.
"There's trouble outside!" he said as he joined his teammates.
"On one hand, it makes our job easier!" "We'll set the timer for the charges a bit earlier than planned and give SG1 a diversion, while we continue our mission!" They look at each other, the Red Team deactivates their camouflage, appearing in plain sight, even though there was no one else in the room. "Get to work, you know the drill, we do the job, no one dies!" Nodding to their leader's orders, Alice positioned herself with Jérôme under the rings, tightening her grip on her M247H machine gun. She watched Douglas activate the rings as he quickly came to stand under them, his M41 four-barrel rocket launcher firmly strapped to his back and a pair of M7 machine guns in his hands, ready for use. In a perfect triangular formation, she activated the C-12 timer just as they were teleported aboard.
(Pine Forest/Chulak)
Jack didn't really know when they had messed up, but they had. After Bra'tac had taken them to Teal'c's family, the latter had then killed the priest who wanted to put a symbiote in his son's belly, followed by a long argument between him and Drey'auc, during which she finally revealed that she had told their son he was dead. After a few more arguments, the couple agreed to finally flee Chulak with them, the problem being that the child's health continued to deteriorate in the absence of a Goa'uld larva. And to add a bit of spice to their situation, Apophis's Jaffa had somehow discovered their presence; hunting horns could be heard all around them, getting closer and closer.
"Sheppard, do you read me?!" Her call remained unanswered for long enough that O'Neill wondered if their Jumper had fallen into the hands of their enemy.
"I'm listening, sir!" came the response in his earpiece, a wave of relief that at least the Jumper was still intact washed over him and calmed his nerves, if only a little.
"We've been spotted, come to my position with the Jumper, you should be able to land here, Teal'c's child's health prevents us from coming to you!"
"I'll be there in five minutes, Colonel!" The radio signal cuts off after confirmation.
Reassured, he turned to the family and Bra'tac, "How is he?"
Drey'auc looked at him with a look of despair and hopelessness on her face, "He's getting weaker with every passing second, without Goa'uld he won't make it!" Alas, Jack knew that he had nothing in his first aid kit other than antibiotics to help the child.
Bra'tac interrupted them as someone approached, and it didn't take long for them to see Carter and Daniel running towards them as if the devil were on their heels. Jack then greeted them, "There you are, you two!" But what happened!
They exchanged uncomfortable glances, and Carter replied, "There was an unforeseen event, Colonel." Dare not reveal that their anonymity had been compromised because Daniel had emptied his magazine into a symbiote aquarium.
"Whatever, the child is in the worst condition!" "Without one of these things, he will die!" Daniel and Sam looked at each other, agreeing that the child needed it more than they did.
"We have one!" "Then Daniel revealed to them, Bra'tac wasted no time coming to see them while Jack looked at all of them, having a slight idea of why they had Jaffa troops on their tails."
He is young! Let's hope he's strong enough to save the child! And without wasting any time, the old Jaffa rushed towards Rya'c, this larva being his only chance of survival, he had no other choice but to hope.
Drey'auc then turned to what she had learned to be the Tau'ri, "You plundered a sanctuary?!" It's sacrilege!
Jack then turned to her, starting to lose patience with the Jaffa's fanaticism for those slimy snakes. "Yes, and so what!" As long as it helps him, that's all that matters, right! Jack's annoyance seemed to be visible to everyone because no one added anything. The larva seemed to be strong enough because barely five minutes after implantation, Rya'c regained his color.
While Teal'c and his wife remained by their son, still unconscious, Bra'tac went on high alert as something descended from the treetops. O'Neill then reassured the old warrior as the Jumper deactivated its cloaking device to land, and John stepped out with a rather hurried pace.
"I wouldn't want to give you orders, Colonel, but we better get out of here as fast as possible!" Jack couldn't agree more as the whole group rushed inside. Teal'c laid his son on one of the benches in the rear hold, with Drey'auc by his side.
Bra'tac looked at the small ship with astonishment. "I didn't know the Tau'ri had such technology!" he exclaimed with what seemed to be appreciation.
Jack looked at him, surprised. "We'll manage!" he said quite casually to the old man before joining Sheppard at the front. "We're leaving here, Major!" Headed to the gate!
"No objections here, sir!" Replied the latter as the cloaked Jumper sped straight towards the Stargate.
"Why can't it ever be simple!" complained Sheppard as the ship hovered over the stargate at a certain altitude, the Jumper's sensors showing a good fifty Jaffa all around the gate, ready to stop anyone who tried to pass.
"Why aren't they shooting at us?!" Bra'tac's question came, and it was Teal'c who answered him.
"The Tau'ri ships are equipped with a powerful cloaking field that makes them invisible!" This time, the old Jaffa was more than surprised, looking at his former student to see if he was joking or not, having forgotten that he had been able to witness it with his own eyes just moments earlier.
At the back of the Jumper, Rya'c woke up and as Teal'c celebrated his reunion with his son, SG1 was going in circles. "I suppose we have to become visible again to cross." Carter's question received only a brief nod from Sheppard, who was tense in his seat, his brain working at full speed, then he turned to Bra'tac.
"Do the Goa'uld usually have gate control panels on their ships?" The old Jaffa then came to the front of the ship.
"No, they don't have a device like yours!" Confirmed Brata'c, while SG1 looked at Sheppard, not understanding the purpose of his question.
"So let's activate the door!" His comment made the others look at him as if he were crazy. "They have the DHD under their control!" If the door activates by itself, they'll think it's an incoming vortex and not an outgoing one! At least that's the idea!
Understanding where he was coming from, Carter then summarized the situation, taken by the Major's idea: "And when they turn their backs to welcome the arrival, we rush through the gate before they have time to realize they've been tricked!" But as they were agreeing on the timing, two large explosions caught their attention. Being high in the sky, they had front-row seats to see the fortress and Apophis's Palace go up in smoke. Turning to Bra'tac, SG1 immediately knew from his expression that they wouldn't get any answers from him.
Only Sheppard remained focused. "This is our chance!" he exclaimed as almost all the signs of life on the screen left through the door towards the explosions. "Hold on back there!" It's going to shake! Thought it necessary to specify, Sheppard, casting a glance at Carter behind him, Jack began to activate the door while Sam stood ready to enter the Iris identification code.
Outside the ship, everything happened very quickly! When the gate activated, all the remaining Jaffa turned towards it as one, their weapons ready. They were absolutely not prepared when the Jumper reappeared behind them, the engine nacelles retracting, the small ship hurtling at full speed towards the event horizon. "We're going too fast, Sheppard!" Jack's concern was shared by everyone present, as well as by John himself, but he knew this craft; he had tested it personally and knew that the ship could come to a complete stop in less than a second. Everyone held their breath when the ship reached the gate. On Earth, the ship arrived in the boarding room. Sheppard used all his mental strength to stop the Jumper, which halted immediately. The inertial dampers worked at full capacity to protect the passengers from the sudden stop.
Only their breath could be heard as the realization dawned on them that not only had they succeeded but that they were also alive. The rescue mission … was a success !
(A little earlier/Chulak/Orbit)
The transport rings rose on their platform as they materialized the Red Team Spartan aboard the mothership. Their weapons drawn and ready to fire, they were relieved to find that there was no one there.
"Shall we start the cleanup?!" "Shall we start the cleanup?" asked Alice, finally delighted with a simple mission, taking the ship, no prisoners!
Unfortunately for her, Jérôme didn't want to take any risks. "We first take the bridge in complete secrecy, once in FTL we can proceed with the elimination of the crew!" Ayiana?! Catching the crystal located at the back of his helmet, Jérôme presented it flat in his hand to his team as the image of the little AI materialized in the air in a blue color.
Ayiana had the appearance of a young woman in her twenties of European descent. With a mischievous but innocent and naive character, she had fair skin, blue eyes, and black hair that reached her shoulders. Her clothes were relatively similar to those worn by Serina but in a darker gray color. "I only have speculations about the path we should take, but the more your HUD map updates as we progress, the more I will be able to guide you accurately!" She exclaimed in a manner that strongly resembled an enthusiastic and excited teenager.
"Then let's go!" Replied Jérôme, putting it back in his helmet as he disappeared once more, Alice and Douglas activating their own cloaking device in his wake.
Moving through the corridors, they were delighted to see that the Jaffa here were unaware of what was happening on the planet. The doors to each compartment were all open, allowing the ship to be freely explored by anyone who wanted. Hiding from each passing patrol, the Red Team arrived at a T-shaped section, taking a left under Ayiana's instructions. They traversed a corridor divided into two parts by a wall covered in hieroglyphs. The AI was sure and certain that the bridge was located in the core of the upper pyramid and positioned slightly above what the mapping had revealed to be a superstructure.
"It should be here, boss!" exclaimed Ayiana as Jérôme looked into the room, there were five people, two of them were against the walls at different corners at the back of the room, near the entrance. The other two stood on either side of a throne located at the center at the back of the room. The fifth one stood in front of a main control console, located near the front of the bridge, performing various manipulations that the Spartan could not see from his position. Giving orders with military gestures, the Red Team sprang into action. Entering the room with a silence that should normally be impossible given the weight of their powered armor, Alice and Douglas positioned themselves to take down two of the four guards each, while Jérôme moved behind the fifth guard at the podium, ready to eliminate him before he had the chance to signal their presence or make any request for reinforcements.
Everything happened very quickly, with perfect synchronization, and at the same time their cloaking device deactivated, Alice used her new Hard-light energy blade located in the forearm of her armor to stab her closest target directly in their symbiote pouch. Then, before their corpse could even touch the ground, she used her M247H machine gun to take down her second target with a burst to the chest, all in an impressive display of speed and precision.
At the same time, Douglas, who had positioned himself between these two targets, used his pair of M7 machine guns to shred the bellies of these poor victims with an entire magazine, while Jérôme, on the other hand, grabbed the poor surprised Jaffa with an iron grip to turn him head down and perform a Powerslam worthy of a wrestler. The impact produced an audible crack, proof that some bones had been broken. The pain from the impact, due to the force from the physical enhancements of an armored Spartan, prevented him from seeing Jérôme point his M90 shotgun straight at his belly. Pulling the trigger, the larva and entrails were reduced to pulp in a bloody spectacle.
"The bridge is ours!" "Exclaimed Douglas as Jérôme turned towards the command console, once again removing the crystal from the back of his helmet."
"Your turn!" He said to the AI as its hologram gently touched with its right hand the enormous red crystalline part of the control panel to disappear inside.
The Red Team didn't have to wait long because no less than thirty seconds later."Infiltration successful, boss!" The ship is under my complete control!
Nodding his head very satisfied, he gave him these instructions. "Well then, let's not waste any time, I don't want them to notice anything and call for reinforcements, start the engines and jump to FTL immediately!""..."
Receiving confirmation, he could see through the porthole that the ship was moving from its position to jump into an FTL window he had never seen before until today.
Turning to his team, he addressed Alice, "Now we can clean up!" To her satisfaction, he addressed the AI once more, "Ayiana, I want you to close all the compartments of the ship to isolate the crew. You will open and close them as we pass through so that we can eliminate them methodically without being overwhelmed!"
"Nothing easier, Chef!" You can count on me! She replied with her usual enthusiasm.
"What are the most sensitive points of the ship?" He asked this time.
After a few seconds, she replied, "I would say that the energy core and the ship's crystal computers should be your top priority targets!" They are the systems most likely to be sabotaged to throw a wrench in our plans! Although we don't have... wheels, I mean...!
Sniffing at the AI's poor joke, Jérôme looked at his two comrades, "Alice, you'll take care of the part of the ship around the engine room, Douglas, you handle the entire section around the crystals, I'll take care of the rest of the building, we need this ship, not its crew!" The message was clear, no prisoners! Gripping their weapons ready for use, the Red Team dispersed into the corridors of the building.
(Douglas)
Douglas-042 was pacing the ship's corridors without his cloaking device. "Ayiana, open the door please." In front of the bulkhead, he positioned his body slightly askew, his SMGs ready to sow death. The door opened upwards, revealing a group of four Jaffa struggling to open the door at the other end of the corridor. At the sound of his arrival, they turned towards him as Douglas opened fire without hesitation. The two poor first men collapsed to the ground before they could even react. The last two ran towards him, wanting to engage him in hand-to-hand combat despite his significantly larger size. He avoided the first with a sidestep, passing the staff weapon under his armpit and giving him a headbutt. Disoriented, the Jaffa could do nothing when the Spartan lifted him and threw him onto his partner like a rag doll. With both of his enemies on the ground, he eliminated them with his SMGs, targeting their vital points.
Continuing his march Douglas turned right, leaving the corpses behind in a pool of blood. The next section had a bit more of a target, but nothing insurmountable for a Spartan, with Ayiana doing a fantastic job of isolating the crew. "You should reach the computer room by taking a left, Chief Petty Officer!"
With Ayiana's information in mind, he hid around the corner of the hallway. It seemed that Jérôme's intuition was correct, as more than twenty Jaffa were standing in front of the door, trying to force it open. It was obvious that he wanted to destroy the crystals to get the ship out of its FTL. "Ayiana, would the door withstand an explosion?" he said, pulling out his rocket launcher.
"It will depend on its power, but if you don't aim directly at it, you should be able to use your Spartan weapon!"
That was all he needed, the idea of facing twenty Jaffa with his SMGs seemed far too disadvantageous in this situation, and with a confined space like this, the damage from the rockets would be maximum. The first rocket caused a real massacre, half of them were torn apart, to the growing terror of those against the door. The second one hit the right wall, the blast darkening the corridor with black smoke and a nauseating smell of burnt flesh floating in the air. There was only one poor survivor left, trembling like a leaf, as the imposing figure of the Spartan emerged from the smoke, towering over him like a mountain. Douglas did not understand the words the Jaffa spoke to him, but it didn't matter; with his SMG, he finished him off mercilessly.
"The room is secure, the next group is three junctions away if you take a left at the end of the corridor!" Then came the voice of the AI in his headset, and he continued on his path, eliminating all the Jaffa he encountered without ever slowing down or even hesitating.
(Alice)
Alice-130 knew she was going to enjoy this mission when Cutter came to get them, telling them he had a potentially crucial mission and that they had total freedom over their equipment except for a significant amount of C-12. Her instinct had screamed that this would be a mission just the way she liked them: direct combat. There's the enemy, shoot the enemy, go home! The only complaint she might have would be not being on solid ground, but well, she would take what was given to her.
She had therefore taken her good old Chaingun and a pair of SMGs, but she doubted she would need the latter, given the absurd amount of ammunition she had taken for her M247H. Arriving in front of one of the doors, she didn't even slow down as Ayiana cleared the way for her. She then found herself face to face with a group of eight Jaffa who recoiled upon seeing her. Alice let out a silent chuckle; she didn't know why, but at that moment, she felt like she was playing the role of one of those monsters in science fiction movies, the kind that would massacre an entire ship's crew just like that. Exactly what she was doing!
"In space, no one can hear you scream..." She didn't know why she had said those words out loud, but the Jaffa seemed to have understood her because the effect was immediate. The first two Jaffa, wearing oversized serpent-headed helmets, shot at her... with mediocre accuracy. Their first two shots completely missed her, only the third from one of them hit her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow at the information transmitted by her armor's HUD; the damage was really not that significant. However, she remembered being told that the Spartan armor shields had been made much more powerful by a huge margin, and that might be the reason for the minimal damage received.
Death struck once more, her heavy weapon spitting bullets like a tsunami, and soon there was no one left standing but her. Continuing on her path, she never looked back. Upon reaching the end of a corridor, she immediately became wary of what she didn't see. "Ayiana, why is there no branching in this part of the ship?" Only one-way paths!
Her radio turned on, but she didn't stop walking. "You are approaching the generator, this section forms a sort of U, the generator is at the end of the loop and the two exits are on each side, you are in the right wing but there is a good chance you will encounter another group similar to the previous one on the other side!"
Fortunately, there was no one in the room itself, and Alice was happy about it; she really didn't want to go down to the bottom of the tower to eliminate a saboteur. Continuing towards the left exit, she indeed heard Jaffa banging on the separation door from the other side; they were trying to force their way through. "Ayiana, can you cut the lights in the room and then open the door?"Or is it impossible?
"I should be able to make you a Spartan!" The always cheerful response brought her a smile; she really liked this little AI. Her machine gun ready, she waited for the door to open, the mission continued.
…
"It's a Demon!" These words echoed in his mind as he ran with a small group of other Jaffa towards the Ha'tak Hangars, stopping once again in front of a closed door. He opened the control panel to fiddle with the crystals as he had done several times before. For a reason unknown to him, the ship trapped them and let that thing pass. They had to get out of this tomb quickly! A little earlier, he had joined a group of trapped Jaffa to whom he had opened the door, and with the group he had freed beforehand, their number rose to eighteen, then they had stumbled upon this! No matter what they shot at her, she didn't even slow down, slaughtering them mercilessly! Even when some had surrendered, she executed them without any mercy.
So he had fled, a small group managing to follow him, They had first gone to the rings, but nothing happened, he didn't respond, so now here they were on their way to the hangars, and with each door he opened, he freed Jaffa prisoners who wanted to go fight in the name of their God. Crazy! They hadn't seen what they had seen! At least they would serve as a distraction for the demon to buy them some time! Reaching the door, he managed to open it, but with the sounds of the Jaffa screaming, he couldn't stop his hands from trembling, "Come on! Come on!" He was doing his best to close it behind him to slow it down, but something was doing everything to slow him down, as if the ship itself wanted that thing to find them! "She's coming, hurry up!"
The door finally closed, and he didn't take the time to think. He shot at the crystals on the panel with the staff weapon he had snatched from one of the Jaffa who was with him. Running towards the control room to open the hangar doors, he froze in place when the latter indicated to him that they were in Hyperspace. So that's why the rings weren't working; there was no destination. The blast of an explosion knocked him and the Jaffa accompanying him over, and as they turned towards the smoke as best they could, an imposing silhouette emerged inside—the demon appeared! Huge, over two meters tall, he had a large device on his shoulder with which he must have destroyed the door, the tip still glowing red. The other Jaffa stood up, shooting at the Demon so that its shield stopped all the plasma bolts as if they were air.
But not him, he ran at full speed towards the other door on the other side, trying to open the door once more. At the scream behind him, he only briefly turned around to see the others getting incinerated by a big red laser. When the door opened, he bolted like a rabbit, not even bothering to close it behind him. The sound of his heart beat in his ears, at every intersection he took the doors closed in front of him, he was trapped, he started banging and screaming for someone to open the door. The sound of heavy footsteps made him turn his head to see the thing approaching him with a steady and threatening gait; he hit the door harder, even breaking his hand in the process. The imposing shadow loomed on the door in front of him, pushing him to knock and scream even louder, the pain in his hand was of no importance at that moment.
His eyes widened as the door he was banging on splattered with blood, his blood! He could no longer scream, the metallic taste of blood flooding his mouth and trickling down his chin, the pain in the lower part of his back giving him the impression that the upper part of his body was boiling while the lower part was freezing. Very quickly, his vision became blurry as his body, pierced by an orange energy blade, was expelled through his stomach—having severed his spine and his larva in the process—became limp.
Jérôme deactivated the Hard-light blade, letting the still warm corpse drop to the ground, the door in front of him opening to let him pass. The mission was going well; evidently, the ships tasked with defending the Goa'uld planet had very few crew members—good for them! A jolt from the ship made him freeze in place for a nanosecond, "Ayiana?!" As far as he knew, they were in FTL travel; did the serpents have the means to shoot at a ship despite faster-than-light travel?
"We have arrived in orbit above Abydos, Jérôme!" Despite the relief, surprise remained his dominant feeling.
"Already!?" He asked Ayiana, indirectly asking her to double-check if the planet beneath them was indeed the right one.
"Yes!" "It seems that the Goa'uld possess faster-than-light technology superior to ours!" Undeniably, Chulak was located two thousand light-years from Earth and just a bit further than Abydos.
"How many enemies are left?" We had to finish it quickly.
"A small group of about ten Jaffa managed to take refuge in a guard storage room three zones ahead of you, they are the last ones!"
With a firm step, he followed the intelligent AI's instructions to sweep away the crumbs, a feeling of satisfaction overwhelming him, the Red Team Spartan had accomplished their mission!
End of chapter
And there you go, I hope you liked it.
For the shields, the UNSC improved them using the ribbon device recovered from Seth's corpse.
As someone pointed out to me in the comments, Earth is going to find itself in the same situation as the Ancients against the Wraith, but since only the Spirit has arrived on Earth, this outcome seems inevitable to me. That's why the UNSC relies on quality over quantity, and I tend to forget that unlike the SGC in the original Stargate canon, the UNSC has intelligent AIs faster than the Replicators, so they should have progressed even faster since they had everything at their fingertips xD
As always, I take all the comments you have for me. Until next time, stay healthy!