Chapter 52: The Recon Mission Part 2
PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)
Adora kept looking around as they entered a light forest. She knew that Catra, who was in front of them, had much better ears, that Melog would sense people nearby, and that Entrapta was scanning for energy signatures or something while riding Emily, but some things were ingrained after years of training.
And covering your sector while on patrol was one of them. She was third in line, so she was watching the sky above as well as the left arc. At least by Horde standards. Americans might have different standards. And Bright Moon didn't have standard patrol training for everyone - their scouting was usually done by tightly-knit local teams who did things their way because they knew the terrain better than anyone else. She made a mental note to cover that point in one of the strategy meetings about the training regime for the Alliance. And she would propose to go with the Horde standard - or what the Earth armies used. The Bright Moon system was defensive in nature and wouldn't be of any use on foreign planets.
Well, Jack was ahead of her and to the right, so he would be covering the right arc. And Teal'c was covering the rear arc. So they should be good.
Catra made a gagging noise ahead of them. "Ew."
"What's up? Allergies?" Jack asked.
"No. I just caught a whiff of smoke," Catra replied. "That's not just plastic and metal burning there. Smells like a Horde transport that brewed up with a squad inside."
Adora winced - she knew what that smelt like because she had blown up a few of them in the war. Also hovertanks.
"Ah." Jack nodded.
"So that was what the carbon molecules were in the smoke." Entrapta nodded. "I'll update the data banks for the future. Good to know!"
Adora didn't have to look at SG-1 to know most of them would be wincing. Well, Sam should know Entrapta didn't mean anything by it, and Teal'c wouldn't move a muscle in his face unless he wanted to, but Jack and Daniel were wincing.
"Let's follow the trail," Jack said. "And hope it wasn't our team that was turned into airborne pollution."
"Jack!" Daniel protested.
"What? It's scientifically correct, isn't it?"
"That's not the point!"
"But it is!" Entrapta chimed in.
Adora sighed and focused on her surroundings as they continued their trek. The tracks left by the Russian team were faint - apparently, they knew how to move without leaving a trail - but between Catra and Melog, with some help from Bow when needed, they could follow them just fine. They weren't as good as Bright Moon or Plumerian scouts.
After about a quarter of an hour, Catra suddenly stopped again. "I smell blood."
Everyone tensed. "Proceed carefully," Jack whispered. "Teal'c, go around on the right. Bow…"
"Taking left."
The two split off, and Catra continued, more slowly this time. Adora felt as if she were back in the war, sneaking up on Horde troops. She tensed and drew her sword. If anything happened, she would be ready.
Catra stopped again, then went down on all fours and crawled ahead, followed by Melog.
Adora moved ahead, hiding behind a tree, peering around its trunk. She couldn't see much, but… Oh. Those were… not blaster burns. But something similar on the trees ahead.
"It's clear," Catra's voice rang out over the radio.
Adora moved at once, stepping past her lover's position. She was She-Ra - if Catra had missed a threat, Adora could handle it best.
And she was in the middle of a clearing. Next to a body. Two bodies - she could see another under a bush a bit away. Both were wearing ornate armour.
"I saw no enemies on this side," Teal'c said, appearing to her right.
"Clear here as well." Bow joined them, looking grim. "There's another body there." He pointed back. "And it's wearing a Russian uniform."
"This is a Jaffa wearing the standard armour of those who serve the false god Apophis," Teal'c said, kneeling next to the first body.
"But you think it might be a false flag?" Jack asked.
"They left the bodies with their gear. That would be a waste - and disrespectful of the fallen warriors."
"Unless they were in a hurry," Jack pointed out. "Like when you're getting attacked out of the blue."
"Yes. Still… where are the bodies of the others?"
They found another Russian a bit away. He had been hit in the stomach and crawled beneath a bush, where he died. Messily. And two more dead Jaffa.
But there was no sign of the other two missing Russians.
"Are there any tracks of… the Russians?" Jack asked.
"None that lead away," Bow replied. He pointed at the start of a small trail. "But some of the prints there are much deeper than others."
"Either they have giants amongst the Jaffa, or they are carrying prisoners," Jack said, looking grim. "Carter, call Stargate Command and inform them that two members were captured and that we're in pursuit."
"Yes, sir!"
"...and there's still nothing on the radio. Weird. That smoke is composed of advanced materials - well, the remnants of them - and the byproducts of burning those advanced materials, and some people, too - so why is there no radio traffic? See?"
Samantha Carter took a look at Entrapta's multipurpose tool. Mostly because her friend was holding it in front of her face. She didn't doubt the results - she had seen them herself. "Yes. This is strange," she agreed.
"First the gate left uncovered, now no radio communications…" The Colonel looked grim. "I don't like that. We're missing something." He looked at the hills.
Sam knew what he was thinking. The trail they were following - well, which they would be following as soon as Catra, Melog and Bow managed to find it again after losing it in that stream they had reached - led away from the ridge behind which vehicles or buildings were still burning. If they wanted to know what was going on there, they would either have to abandon the pursuit of the Jaffa who had captured the Russians or split up. Neither was a good idea.
"Maybe they're using another form of communication?" Daniel speculated.
"Our scanner's covering every frequency and spectrum we know," Entrapta retorted. "If they're using something unknown, then that would mean we're faced with an entirely new technology!" She beamed. "Can you imagine it?"
"What if they are using magic?" Daniel asked.
"Hm." Entrapta blinked. "That's theoretically possible, but it would have to be magitech since Adora still hasn't activated magic on this planet. And we should be able to detect any power sources powerful enough to power magic." She blinked again. "That was a lot of power in that sentence."
Sam chuckled. "Yes. But I think even if the attackers are using magic or an unknown technology to communicate, the Jaffa fighting for Apophis would be using known methods of communication."
"Unless good old Aphophis found some Ancient technology since we blew up his flagship and distributed it to his goons." The Colonel's mood hadn't improved. On the contrary.
And Sam agreed again - that was a rather daunting possibility. Technology not even the Etherians and the Horde had? She'd rather face a System Lord using magic. On the other hand… who knew what kind of magic knowledge a thousand years old Goa'uld had? They supposedly hadn't been using magic even before Etheria swallowed it all, but Sam didn't trust that assessment.
"Well, we'll find out soon!" Entrapta, of course, was undaunted. "I can't wait!"
"Yeah, I betcha."
Sam checked her own scanner - she really needed to upgrade it. Still no signals.
Then Catra returned. "Melog found the trail. They went east in the stream."
"Back towards the hills?" The Colonel looked sceptical.
Catra shrugged. "I think it's a detour. But we've lost enough time checking both upstream and downstream. Let's go."
"Right. We've got people to save."
Or to avenge. If those Jaffa were working for a Goa'uld… Sam suppressed the shiver that remembering her own possession caused. It was a fate worse than death.
They didn't walk in the stream themselves as they walked - with Emily, there was no way to avoid leaving an obvious trail. Melog and Bow were waiting for them a few hundred yards away. "They went this way," Bow said, pointing northwest.
"I knew it - a detour!" Catra grinned.
"Or that's what they want us to think. Those are the worst kind of enemies," the Colonel said. "Smart ones."
"We'll find out soon," Adora said.
"Well, at least this time, we're not the ones being outgunned by the snakes," the Colonel told Sam as they followed a narrow trail. "We've got the magic powerhouse and Emily the walking artillery with us."
He was correct - Sam had to remind herself that appearances were deceiving. They might look like light infantry with a robot, but they had the firepower of a mechanised platoon. At least. And if She-Ra restored magic…
They marched on for almost half an hour. Entrapta was riding on Emily again, and Daniel was looking a little worn by now - he was putting up a good front, and he was in better shape than when he had joined Stargate Command, but the group was moving at a quick pace.
But then, they stopped, and Catra whispered through the radio: "Got a hidden bunker ahead of us. Melog's sensing people inside."
"Let's find out if we're looking at a fortress or a bolthole," the Colonel muttered as he moved to the front. "With our luck, it's probably a fortress complex big enough to make the Swiss jealous."
Sam hoped he was wrong.
He was, but not by far. As their magical scanner showed, they were facing a decent-sized bunker. Big enough to house a starship - and unless Sam was misreading the power readings, one that was powering up already.
Outside Goa'uld Underground Base, PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)
A Goa'uld ship, powering up. Inside a fortified hill. There were times when Catra missed the Horde. To be more precise, what she missed was being in command of the Horde. Today was such a time.
"If we had a squadron of hovertanks, we could just blow the entrance open. And they'd draw fire so we'd notice any hidden guns the scan might have missed," she muttered as she studied the hill hiding an enemy facility. Or some artillery to shell the hill.
"I don't think the scan missed anything," Adora whispered next to her. "Especially not the ship."
Which they needed to stop. "Where are the hangar doors?" Catra asked over the radio.
"Lemme check... Hangar doors… Ah, there - straight up! Top of the hill! Well, a little to the west."
So they would be covered from sight and direct fire from whatever was burning behind the ridge. Made sense. "Well, fancy cutting another ship in half?" She turned her head and grinned at Adora.
Her lover frowned for a moment, then slowly nodded. "We need to stop them."
"We can try to hack the door controls if we can hack the communication system," Entrapta cut in.
"If Adora gets up there, she can stop the ship and get us inside," Catra pointed out.
"Yes." Catra expected Adora to charge ahead, but her lover was hesitating. "Jack?" she asked.
"Alright, stopping the ship takes priority. Without blowing it up, please, since our people might be on it. Go get the hangar." O'Neill nodded.
And Adora took off like a rocket, dashing across the small clearing towards the flank of the hill.
With Catra right behind her, of course. As if she'd let her lover do this alone! Even if Adora could do it alone. Though Catra had to drop to all fours to keep up.
Before she could glance back to check what their friends were doing, guns opened up from the hill. Staff cannons or whatever they were called - blasts tore up the ground nearby as Catra began to weave between shots, once jumping over one, baring her teeth as she charged ahead.
Adora just kept going, swatting a blast away with her sword when she got closer. "Stay behind me!"
Catra had the urge to swerve to the side in response to that - she could charge the hill perfectly fine by herself! - but stayed close to and behind her lover. Someone had to ensure she didn't fall for a stupid trick or so.
They reached the foot of the hill and kept going. Adora swatted another blast away, then turned her sword into a shield, catching one, then another shot as she went straight towards a gun emplacement, then past it.
Catra, hot on her heels, grinned as she slashed with her claws and cut the barrel of the gun as she passed it herself. A moment later, the gun exploded, taking the emplacement with it. If the blaster fire or the ship's engines turning on hadn't alarmed whoever was invading the planet, then the smoke would. Well, that couldn't be helped.
They were about to reach the top of the hill, and Catra pushed the button on her radio. "How many guns are on the top of the hill?"
"Uh… Two. West and east," Entrapta replied.
Pretty weak as anti-aircraft artillery went. But Catra wouldn't complain. "Taking East!" she yelled, veering off.
"West!" Adora replied.
By the time they crested the hilltop, the gun emplacements were already firing. The gunners were better than their friends below - the shots came much closer to Catra as she rushed forward.
Closer, but not close enough. Catra jumped, rolled and came up next to the gun. She ripped it in half with her claws, then rolled away. Once again, the gun exploded, and Catra heard someone scream inside the bunker.
Adora had literally crushed the gun emplacement on the other side just in time for the hangar doors starting to pull away, tearing the grass and bushes growing here apart. The hangar hadn't been used regularly, then - probably a bolthole with an escape ship, Catra realised.
And now it was a trap. As soon as the gap was wide enough, Adora jumped down the hole. Catra was a bit more cautious, crouching at the edge and looking down. There was a small transport down there - a Tel'tak, if she wasn't mistaken. Adora had dropped on top of it right when it had started to hover and drove her sword through the engine section.
The ship fell about a yard down, and Catra gritted her teeth at the crashing sound. But the crew was already charging out of it, staff weapons at the ready.
Catra came down on one of them, feet first. Her claws almost went through him into the floor, breaking her fall, and she rolled off. A swipe with her hands cut deep into the leg of another Jaffa firing on Adora, and the man fell to the ground. Her claws tore through his throat before he could recover.
That was it for the hangar, but… there was still someone inside the ship. Catra could hear them. More than one. And footsteps from the side door - reinforcements were arriving.
She grinned, flashing her fangs. After months of politics on Earth, she could finally cut loose!
"Check the ship!" she snapped, then dashed forward, pouncing on the first Jaffa who came through the door, her claws ripping through both his arms and his weapon. As he started to scream, blood gushing from the stumps, she was already inside the reach of the next, kicking the staff weapon to the side as she gutted the man and cut the larva inside his belly at the same time.
The last of the reinforcements got a shot off so close, she felt the heat on her cheek before she swept his legs, but a miss was a miss. She knocked him out with a straight blow to the head. They needed prisoners, after all.
Jack O'Neill ducked as he ran towards the now revealed bunker entrance. Emily's shield might be covering them, and the huge bot certainly had drawn fire right until the last gun covering their approach had been melted by an arrow from Bow - and Jack wasn't sure he wanted to know how that had worked - but he knew better than to think everything was going according to plan. Some defenders might make a sally - the Jaffa were crazy like that.
They reached the now revealed doors, and Carter went straight for their controls. By the time Entrapta joined her, she already had the covering plate off.
"Adora and Catra have reached the top of the hill," Glimmer said. "We've got them trapped now."
Jack made a vaguely agreeing noise. The snakes were tricky - you couldn't assume that they were done for until you had them in the morgue or a secure cell. Even though things were looking good thanks to the Etherians. SG-1 would have found a way into the hill without their help, Jack was sure of that, but they wouldn't have been able to just charge it and shrug off whatever the Jaffa threw at them.
Glancing at Emily, he made a mental note to ask Carter to make a bot with a shield generator for SG-1. They needed it.
"Oh, look at that architecture!"
Jack turned, carbine rising, but the door was still locked - Entrapta was gushing over the computer innards or something. Or she was talking about the architecture inside - she was looking at her multi-tool-thingy.
"How much longer, Carter?" Jack asked.
"I can't yet… Done!"
Jack grinned as the door started to open, taking a step to the side. A blast from a staff weapon splashed against the shield, and the Jaffa in the door died before he could fire another one, hit by Jack's burst and a volley from Teal'c.
Unfortunately, the entrance was a bit too narrow for Emily, so things would be trickier now. Assaulting an underground complex was never really safe. Unless you were a magical space princess who could shrug off tank rounds, maybe. But Adora was busy stopping a ship from taking off. Probably by grabbing its tail and just holding onto it.
So Jack took the lead, Teal'c behind him, backed by Bow. Glimmer could watch Carter and Entrapta, which would keep Her Majesty from the frontline as a neat side-effect. And Emily could guard the exit.
He stepped over the dead body, then rushed forward, pressing his back against the wall at the first corner. A glance - and he ducked back in time to avoid the staff blast sent at him. The wall on the other side exploded in a small cloud of smoke and fire. But Jack had already grabbed a grenade. Pulling the pin and throwing it was almost an instinct.
"Fire in the hole!"
He was around the corner as soon as the explosion went off, charging ahead. Another body was on the ground, where the shooter had been, and Jack put a burst into it without thinking, already looking for more enemies.
But he didn't see anyone, and no one was firing at him, either. "See any bad guys on your scanner?" he snapped as the others caught up.
"Uh… no… yes, but they're all going into the hangar," Entrapta reported. "Three… two… one… none."
What? Oh. "All down?"
"Yes."
Melog the creepy space cat made a noise that was probably agreement.
"The rest of the complex is clear, sir," Carter told him. "Except for the Tel'tak. Scans are impeded there, though."
"So, if our people are alive, they're in the ship." Jack nodded.
"Unless they are in a room shielded from our scanners."
Of course. Not that it was likely - if the snakes could do that, they would have hidden the entire facility - Jack knew a bolthole if he saw one. "Let's go join the others!"
It didn't take them long to reach the hangar, and not even Daniel was distracted by the luxury quarters they passed on the way - Goa'uld simply didn't do spartan.
The ship looked… well, it wasn't burning, but there were still sparks flying around the remains of its engines. Adora and Catra were staring at the ship's doors.
Jack cursed. If those two hadn't yet taken down the snakes or Jaffa inside the ship, then that left one obvious conclusion. "Hostages?"
Catra nodded with a grim expression. Well, they were veterans.
"Let's negotiate," Jack said with a sneer. "But if you can take a shot, do it," he added in a whisper.
The others nodded, and Jack took a step forward. His people, his responsibility. "Hey! We've got you pinned down. How about you surrender, and we won't kill you?"
Daniel muttered something behind him, but Jack ignored him. The snakes were too arrogant to appreciate a more respectful tone anyway.
To his mild surprise, the door slowly opened, and he saw a figure stepping onto the ramp - no, two. Lenkova, beaten up but alive, in the grip of a Jaffa who held a zat to her head. She was conscious as well, one hand on the arm around her neck, the other dangling at her side.
She hadn't gone down easily, then. Good. Jack hadn't expected anything else.
The Jaffa said something in gibberish.
"He wants a ship in exchange for the hostages," Daniel translated. "Or a passage through the gate."
Teal'c said something in return. The way the Jaffa sneered at him, it could have been either an insult to the guy's parents or something about not following false gods.
Another Jaffa appeared, holding up the axe-wielding Russian. The guy looked worse than Lenkova - he was unconscious and had badly-dressed wounds.
Another comment in gibberish.
"They say that he will kill the man if we need proof that they are serious," Daniel translated.
Damn. Jack clenched his teeth. He hated negotiating with hostage takers.
Adora clenched her teeth and glared at the Jaffa holding Lieutenant Lenkova. She hated hostage situations. For all her power, she couldn't do anything without risking an innocent. She was probably quick enough to take out the Jaffa before he could kill his hostage, but she couldn't be sure - it would take only a twitch of his finger to fire the weapon. And that would still leave the second hostage. Adora couldn't get both at the same time. And coordinating with her allies and friends… still too dangerous. The slightest delay would doom one hostage.
"Tell them that if they kill a hostage, we'll kill them all," Jack said. He was so angry, Adora could almost feel the tension.
Daniel translated. Entrapta mumbled something about working on a translation matrix in the future. And Catra…
…had cocked her head and was glancing at Melog. "Are you sure? Dumb question, sorry."
Oh! Adora understood. If Melog could create an illusion to fool the Jaffa, Adora and her friends could easily stop them. But Melog needed magic for that. And Adora hadn't restored magic to the planet yet. Stupid - she should have done that right after arriving. Then Glimmer would be able to teleport, Melog could do magic, and… well, it would be enough.
But they could still do it. Pretend to give in to the Jaffa's demand, retreat as a sign of goodwill, restore magic, then strike. Yes, that was a good plan.
"Adora." Catra's hiss interrupted her planning. "Get the one on the right. Now!"
The one holding the wounded man. For a moment, Adora hesitated. This would endanger Lieutenant Lenkova. But it was Catra. She would have a plan.
Adora rushed forward, covering the distance in an instant, her sword flashing. The blade cut through the Jaffa's arm before he could fire his weapon, and he stumbled back, blood gushing from his stump as his hand, still holding the weapon, dropped to the ground.
Adora whirled to face the other…
…and saw him aim his weapon at Catra, throwing his hostage to the side. Catra ducked under the blast, dropping to all fours, then pounced - past the Jaffa, claws ripping through his neck before she landed on Lieutenant Lenkova, knocking the woman out…
What? Adora gasped. Why would…?
"She's a Goa'uld," Catra snapped. "Melog sensed the snake."
Oh, no! Adora drew a sharp breath.
Jack cursed.
"Yes," Entrapta confirmed, looking at her multitool. "There's a parasite wrapped around her spine."
"But… the Jaffa couldn't use their larvae. So, where's the body of the original host?" Daniel asked. "Wouldn't you have seen it on the scanner?"
"Blocked inside the ship. Or disintegrated," Jack said. "Damn." He had his gun trained on the unconscious woman, Adora realised. And he was still so tense…
"Don't shoot her!" she blurted out.
"I wasn't going to," Jack spat. But he wanted to; Adora could tell. "Even if it would be a mercy." Well, everyone could tell.
"Don't worry! We'll figure out how to remove the parasite without killing her!" Entrapta was the only one smiling amongst the group.
But now Daniel was smiling tentatively as well. "Are you sure?"
"If it's possible, we can do it! And there's no reason it should be impossible!" Entrapta beamed. "Sam was once possessed as well, and she's not dead, so possession can end without killing the host. We just have to find out how to do it without the help of the parasite."
"Best keep her sedated, though, to avoid the Goa'uld committing suicide out of spite," Sam said. She was kneeling at the man's side. "He needs medical help."
Or healing. Adora bit her lower lip. "I can restore magic and heal him."
"And half the planet?" Jack asked. "Or resurrect the Jaffa?"
"Jack!" Daniel protested.
"Hey! We don't know what this planet's magic will do, do we? It could be zombie apocalypse time."
Adora frowned - the odds for that were… well, very low. She had never heard of such a thing until she had met SG-1.
"Could the, uh, magic boost you get when you restore it be used to remove a Goa'uld?" Daniel asked.
That was possible. Probably. But Adora couldn't be sure. And if she healed the woman and the Goa'uld by mistake…
"Let's not try it in the field. Just get both back through the gate so they can be… treated," Jack said. "We can experiment when we're not on a planet under attack."
Adora nodded.
"What about the attackers?" Catra asked. "We still don't know what happened here. We should at least take a look."
"We can do that afterwards. We need to take care of our wounded first," Jack said. "And of the prisoner."
He was right. Adora nodded. "Let's carry them back."
"Emily can use her transport configuration!" Entrapta said.
"We should secure all data in this ship and bunker, though," Sam cut in.
"Well, that…"
A beeping sound from Entrapta's tool interrupted them. "Oh! Beatrice says someone's approaching the gate!"
Adora saw Jack check his watch before using his radio. "Stargate Command? SG-1. Close the gate, then redial it. We need to block someone from escaping."
Oh! That was smart - the gate couldn't be kept open forever, just a bit less than an hour, but if they redialed it right now, Adora and her friends would have enough time to get back to the gate while it was still blocked.
"I could teleport us back there in a few seconds," Glimmer offered.
Jack tilted his head. "But we would have to restore magic for that. And risk a zombie apocalypse."
Glimmer rolled her eyes. "It would allow us to catch whoever is approaching the gate."
"And find out what is going on here," Catra added.
"And risk Lenkova's life?" Jack retorted.
He was right. Adora could just use the magic for something else, but that was a bit dangerous as well. The last time she had 'improvised', she had turned a huge ship into a plant.
"Let's walk," Adora said.
"And have 'Beatrice' track the guy," Jack added.
Gate Area, PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)
Samantha Carter checked her scanner when they approached the Stargate. "The contact hasn't moved," she reported.
"Still hiding out in the bushes?" the Colonel asked. "Watching us?"
"Yes, sir." Well, she couldn't tell if they were watching the Stargate, but it was very likely. Why else would they hide with a line of sight to the gate area?
"Probably ready to snipe us as soon as we leave Emily's shield," Catra added, staring at the smaller ridge covered with tall grass and bushes.
"The Naquadah detected would fit a weapon like a zat'nik'tel," Entrapta confirmed.
But the range was very far for a zat. Not impossible to hit your target with proper sights, but it came close. And the Goa'uld weapons usually didn't have sights worthy of the name. In addition, the odds of the shot's charge holding together over this distance… "I think they're just observing," Sam said.
Catra scoffed. "Probably waiting until we've left so they can flee through the gate."
That was, again, very likely.
"Well, we need to move our wounded through the gate," the Colonel said as they reached the D.H.D. "Keep an eye on them." Then he tapped his radio. "SG-1 to Stargate Command. We've secured the gate - send the medics through."
A moment later, a mixed team of medics and guards stepped through the gate, followed by Janet.
"Doc?" The Colonel frowned. "It's not that urgent."
"I've got orders to check for biological contamination," Janet replied, already kneeling next to the wounded Russian.
The Colonel muttered something about paranoid Russians but didn't voice any further complaint.
Sam was forced to agree with the precaution. She-Ra might be able to heal anything, and they had the gate area back home quarantined until scans were done, but it didn't hurt to be a little more cautious here. Even if Entrapta and Sam hadn't detected anything with their scanner.
Janet quickly and efficiently treated the man's wounds before giving the go-ahead for transport. Two medics picked up the stretcher as the gate collapsed, and Sam dialled home.
Janet was already examining Lenkova - far more cautiously than before. Sam approved; if the Goa'uld woke up and couldn't escape, it would try to gain another host. And Janet would be closest.
Sam shivered at the thought, trying not to remember her own possession. Being controlled by an alien, reduced to watching helplessly as her body moved on its own… It was a mercy that Lenkova was unconscious now - no one should suffer through that. Sam would rather die than experience it again, no matter how optimistic Entrapta was about removing the parasite.
But Janet didn't find anything either, nor on the second prisoner, and soon, the secured and sedated Lenkova and the Jaffa Catra had knocked out were carried through the gate as well - escorted by two full teams of guards. The two bodies they had recovered on the way back followed.
And that left SG1 and the Etherians free to deal with their spy.
"Watch the gate," the Colonel ordered the remaining guards. "We're going to flush out our little snake."
"If I could teleport, we could just grab them," Glimmer suggested. "I could drop Adora on them."
"Let's not use the magic whammy just yet," the Colonel objected. "Save that for a surprise."
"If they run, I won't be chasing them all over the planet," Catra said. "Not without a skiff or something."
Which wouldn't fit through the gate or could even reach the gate room. But other vehicles might - small ones like dirt bikes or quads. Once they relocated the Stargate, though, they would have a much easier time getting vehicles to and through the gate.
"Well, let's see if we can fool our little snake. We'll march towards the eastern ridge to watch what's burning, and once in the woods, we'll turn right to come at them from behind." The Colonel grinned. "Should be fun."
"Or we could just wait for them to come to us, Jack," Daniel said.
"Well, I don't think…" The Colonel trailed off and cursed.
Sam looked up and clenched her teeth - the Goa'uld had stopped hiding and was now out in the open, walking towards the gate.
She heard the Colonel mutter a curse under his breath.
"Are they surrendering?" Adora asked.
"They might prefer being captured to being left behind," Bow speculated. "But they could just leave after us."
"It's probably a trick." Catra scoffed. She squinted. "They're armed with a zat."
"Anything else? Like some bombs? Poison?" the Colonel asked.
Sam quickly ran a scan with Entrpata. "No, sir. But it's definitely a Goa'uld host."
"I don't like this."
Sam didn't like it either. It was never a good sign when the Goa'uld deviated from standard behaviour.
Once the Goa'uld was about twenty yards away - fifteen from the outer edge of Emily's force field - the Colonel called out. "That's far enough."
The Goa'uld stopped and nodded. "You're the Tau'ri."
"And you're the Goa'uld," the Colonel shot back. He didn't nod.
"I'm not Goa'uld. I'm Tok'ra."
Sam gasped before she could control herself. Tok'ra. Like Jolinar, who had taken over Sam's body and then ended up sacrificing herself for her.
She closed her eyes for a moment, struggling with the memories. This complicated things.
"I am Jakar of the Tok'ra."
A Tok'ra? Catra narrowed her eyes at the Goa'uld. She had heard of the Tok'ra in a few briefings, and from Sam, but it seemed a little too convenient to meet a Tok'ra here, in the middle of an attack or whatever, when they were blocking the gate and with it, the Goa'uld's escape.
O'Neill seemed to share her thoughts. "Well, that's what a Goa'uld would say, isn't it?" His smile was all teeth.
The Goa'uld wasn't fazed, though. "Only if they would ever think of trying to pass as one of us - and if they would also think they have enough knowledge to manage that. Which is rather unlikely given our secrecy. And how would they know whether or not you have an easy way to verify any such claim?" His smile was friendly. Maybe a little too friendly for Catra's taste.
"Well, it would certainly be nice if we did have an easy way to check your claim." O'Neill shrugged. "But you know… we kind of don't. The last guy of yours we had contact with didn't leave a home address."
"We survive thanks to secrecy," the Goa'uld retorted. "Telling anyone about us would put our agents at risk. If the Goa'uld ever found our bases, they would destroy us."
"Not telling anyone about you also puts you at risk," Glimmer pointed out. "We can't really check if a Goa'uld is a Tok'ra when we fight them."
"Yes," Adora agreed. "If you're fighting the Goa'uld, you should ally with us."
"And who are you?" the Goa'uld asked. He nodded at Catra. "You are not of the Tau'ri."
Catra grinned in return. "Secrecy saves lives," she said before her friends could blurt out critical information. They already had one Goa'uld who knew everything the Russian woman knew - which included information about the Alliance. "You still haven't proven your identity."
The Goa'uld closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly spoke with a different voice. "I am Mats, the partner of Jakar. I can vouch for him."
"A Goa'uld would never grant their host control," Daniel said.
"Unless they're desperate," Catra told him. "Or have a way to enforce obedience, like hostages. Or they're just faking it, and it's still the Goa'uld in control."
"Indeed," Teal'c spoke up. "A false god is not forced to use their command voice."
The man tilted his head as he looked at them. "Then it seems that we are at an impasse."
"You could, you know, leave your host so we can be sure you're not controlling him," O'Neill suggested.
"Even if I had the means available here in the field, that wouldn't eliminate the possibility that I am controlled through other means," the man - or the Goa'uld - said.
O'Neill frowned at Catra as if that was her fault. She had just pointed out a weakness in the Goa'ul's claim!
"I can give you the information to contact one of our agents," the Goa'uld went on. "They can prove my claims, and I can stay your prisoner until then."
"You really want to leave the planet, huh?" O'Neill narrowed his eyes.
"Apophis will not take the destruction of one of his secret research facilities without striking back," Jakar replied. "I don't know if I managed to prevent an alert from reaching his forces. I sabotaged the normal channels, but if they had a backup channel…" He spread his hands. "I would rather not be present when his ships arrive - or when he sends troops through the gate. He will assume this is an attack of a rival and stop at nothing to find out who would dare strike at him."
"Research facility?" Entrapta perked up. "What kind of research?"
"Weapons of mass destruction," Jakar replied. "We couldn't allow that."
"Oh."
It was a good answer. Maybe a little too good for Catra's taste. The Goa'uld was a little too smooth - he reminded her of Double Trouble. And that wasn't a good thing. "So, you blew up the entire facility? With everyone inside?"
"Except for the second in command, who managed to escape - but who, I believe, was captured by you. After taking a new host."
Right, the Goa'uld had watched them send the wounded through the gate.
"Well, if you want to surrender so we can sort out your credentials later, I'm not going to object," O'Neill said.
And so the Goa'uld could gather more information, of course. Either as a bonus or as the main objective. No, Catra quickly discarded that idea - it would be too dangerous and too unlikely to succeed.
Jakar carefully drew the zat, then put it down on the ground. "I surrender then."
"Good. Now, you don't mind us checking out your claims here, do you?" O'Neill grinned. "I'd like to take your word for it, but I have to check myself what exactly is burning on the other side of that ridge."
"I would suggest you do not linger - Apophis might arrive any moment. He doesn't like his people using the gate here, to keep the location a secret, but in an emergency, he will not hesitate to send troops through the gate."
Catra didn't quite understand how not using the gate kept it secret - was there some registry that got updated every time a gate was used? She would have to ask the others.
But first, they had to verify the claims from the Goa'uld. And then they had to decide how to deal with the Tok'ra.