Tchosal looked like a pleasant enough planet. 'Looked' being the emphasized word. Unfortunately, their current elevation make looking around and shivering about all Suna could do.
The Stargate was in the middle of a large plateau in the mountains, probably near the manufacturing plant, but they couldn't be sure. Based on how flat the area was, Haley had been sure it had been constructed and the 'gate put on top like a decoration on a cake. After leaving the rest of his team to keep watch on the 'gate, Cayo and everyone else had hiked to one edge of the plateau to get a look around. The air was cold but clear, and they could see a great distance in every direction.
The snow-topped peaks and rough wilderness spread out for what seemed like forever, and strange, tall trees covered the lower peaks like crops on a hill.
It really was breathtaking. Zau had been so… flat, by comparison, and Suna felt overwhelmed just by looking over the edge here. She lingered for a few seconds, even after Premin'aha called out to the rest.
When she finally joined the others, they were looking at some kind of crease in the stone under their feet. It looked perfectly straight, and when they'd wiped the snow away, seemed to extend at least twenty feet in both directions.
"Some kind of launch bay?" Hargrove hazarded as he knelt down to look at it.
Haley nodded. "I think so. If this really was a weapons manufacturing plant, they'd probably open this up and lift the finished products out to send through the 'gate. Either that, or they had transport ships in there that would lift off through here when fully loaded."
"So how do we open it?"
"It probably opens from inside." Cayo concluded. "Otherwise, why conceal the plant at all?"
"I'm getting traces of naquadah in the area, but they're hard to localize." Haley moved her scanner around slowly.
Hargrove stood, a little stiffly, from what Suna could see. "Fan out and look for the source. If we need some kind of remote to send a signal to get inside, this whole trip could be a giant waste of our time."
It took about five minutes before Suna finally noticed a small elevation in the snow, on the southeast side of the plateau. Brushing it off revealed a ring platform. She was out of easy earshot by now, so she used her radio to call in the others.
With Premin'aha's help, Haley hooked up one of her machines to the control crystals on one side of the platform. She smiled as the indicators all jumped into the green. "Looks like it still has power. I should be able to activate it to take all of us… wherever it goes."
"Let's assume it goes inside, for now." Hargrove answered. He beckoned them all into the middle of the circle, and Haley triggered the transporter.
Suna twitched as five circular rings sprang up around them as if from nowhere, and a beam of light shot down through them vertically. When the light hit the ground, the rings sank back underground, and they found themselves in pitch blackness.
As one, Hargrove and Cayo turned on the tactical lights on their guns and surveyed the area. It took Suna a few more seconds; she'd never even seen a ring transporter in use before, much less been inside one.
Rough-hewn stone formed a passage leading away from the rings and slightly uphill. There was no other technology in evidence, so Hargrove shrugged and led them up the passage and into a wide-open cavern. It looked like a very large loading bay, complete with conveyor belts. Their lights couldn't reach the far side, but they could see a lot of burnt and broken machinery on the ground nearby. Suna spotted a ship at the edge of her light, or what was left of it. Large portions of the hull had been melted clean away, straight into the floor.
"Looks like whoever raided this place had a bit of a party before they left." Hargrove spoke into the darkness. "Let's see if we can find a control room for this place. If it's still intact, we might be able to get a map, maybe even to the weapon. At the very least, we might be able to turn on the lights for this place."
Suddenly they could all hear the rings activate again, back down the passage.
-.-
There had been no warning.
One second, Paloko and his team were spaced out from the 'gate, watching for any intruders, and the next all hell had broken loose. Staff weapons had begun firing at them from the southeast, where the Major had gone, and two Deathgliders had begun strafing the plateau. Tanies'bo had barely managed to get the 'gate open before he took a staff blast to the side and went down.
Paloko and Skahan each grabbed one of his arms and began dragging him to the 'gate. "Major! We're under attack! It was an ambush!" He shouted into his radio.
There was no response except static.
-.-
"Stand ready." Hargrove ordered softly, and he and Cayo took positions on both sides of the passage's exit, covering it with the lights attached to their guns. Suna herded the others into cover behind one of the broken machines and turned off her own tactical light.
Heavy footsteps came up the passage, and a creature of nightmare stepped out and into the light. It was tall, at least seven feet, and looked only vaguely human. Its bald head tapered back to a point, and pronounced horns jutted from its chin. Hargrove could also see a series of tattoos on the left side of its face, extending down its neck. Green, leathery skin could be seen through its tattered robes. As Hargrove realized what it was he was looking at, its eyes glowed.
"Take it down!" He called out by reflex, and he, Cayo, and Suna all opened up on it.
As they fired, a shimmering wall of energy appeared in front of the monster, absorbing shot after shot after shot. The plasma energy continued to impact and then dissipate, spreading out over the barrier, as they kept shooting.
"Hold your fire." He ordered, a little stunned, and the creature gave him a predatory grin as Cayo and Suna reluctantly stopped as well.
Then it raised an arm towards him and he saw light and heard a growing hum come from the elongated metal glove it wore.
Before he could move, the air in front of the glove seemed to compact, and a compression wave blasted out towards him. The impact was incredible. He was thrown backwards like a rag doll, and felt rather than heard himself hit the ground. Bits of rock from the edge of the passage showered him, and he could hear yells of pain from his people.
His vision failed him for a moment, and when he could see again, the creature was leaning over him and reaching down towards him with its other clawed hand. It took him by the throat and lifted him up off of the ground, as if he weighed nothing. He grabbed its arms to keep from choking. Despite himself, he could feel panic creeping up in the corners of his mind.
[Unimpressive.] It sneered, if such an expression could be recognized on its demonic face.
There was a flurry of motion, and Hargrove was abruptly released. He staggered on the ground and nearly fell again. As he hobbled backwards, he could see Cayo slashing with his Zau blade, moving in and around the creature's retaliatory swings. A pair of arms steadied him, and he looked back to see Haley holding him as Suna and Prem moved to join the fight.
"No!" He croaked at them. "Fall back, all of you!"
Cayo responded immediately, and the others followed suit after a second. Suna gave him an incredulous look.
The alien looked down at the green blood running down its side and forearm, as they all stepped back about ten feet from it. Hargrove braced himself to dive for cover if it tried to blast them again.
[Very disappointing.] It grunted. [I was hoping for more of a chase before killing you. And more of a fight when I did. Apophis said you tau'ri were dangerous.]
Suna made an inarticulate noise and moved towards it, but Hargrove held her back, barely. He stepped in front of her, wishing his legs were more steady. Gotta keep him talking, stall for time. "I was wondering if I'd ever see one of your kind out here. Unas, right? I've heard your species is virtually unkillable." He coughed, and caught blood in his hand. "Makes me wonder what a Goa'uld's doing out here on the front line, anyway. Kind of demeaning work, don't you think?"
The unas laughed scornfully, a thoroughly disturbing sound. [I am unlike the others. I prefer a more… personal touch.]
"So you want to do this old-school, then? I can respect that. Fine, if you want a chase, we'll give you one, unas." Hargrove gave his most derisive look. "Still, for a species that holds a certain standard for beauty, I gotta say you sure chose one butt-ugly host."
It gave him another fanged grin. [Good. Defiance produces adrenalin, which sweetens the meat, and fear is like relish to me. I will look forward to tasting your flesh, human.] It raised an arm to the darkness behind them. [The entire complex is yours to hide in for now, but my Jaffa guard all the ways out. And if you hoped to use the Ancient weapon against me, know that it was destroyed years ago.] It shrugged. [I tire of all this talk. Run, before I lose what is left of my patience.]
Hargrove inched back past the wrecked machine they were using as cover. "You heard him. Let's go."
Cayo's quiet response betrayed his own surprise. "Major, we can take him! If we all attack together." Suna nodded vigorously.
"No, we can't. If this one's anything like the creatures I've heard of, we have to go, now."
Cayo grimaced but nodded, and they moved away together. Like the Goa’uld on Bisalis, this one’s laughter chased them mockingly as they fled into the darkness.
-.-
As he'd thought, their Tollan newcomer got along just fine with both Blake and the Pyrta. Three different nerds from three different societies, with three different kinds of technology. It was almost like the beginning to a bad comedy. In seconds, their conversation had cut straight through complicated and into indecipherable.
Tony listened in as best he could, as he thought back on his decision to accept Bokal into the Survivors. It seemed obvious that Pierson had influenced Bokal's decision to leave, but the man seemed to understand the risk, and had made a good deal of sense with his explanation of why he'd left. In the end, Tony was forced to admit that he'd accepted Bokal more for his knowledge then for his motivations. There was simply too much to gain for him to pass this opportunity up.
Desousa interrupted his thoughts, tapping him on the shoulder. He seemed immune to the almost hypnotic effect of the continuing techno-babble. "Sir, I just got back from the village."
Tony slapped his forehead. With all the controversy surrounding Bokal's arrival, he'd completely forgotten about his meeting with the Hovakian Conclave. "Damn. I lost track of the time. How upset are they?"
"Actually, not much, I think." Desousa produced a roll of parchment from his pack and handed it over.
After unrolling it, all Tony could see was a large alien symbol apparently burned partway into the thick paper. He looked up, confused.
Desousa herded him away from the others, and lowered his voice. "It's called the Mark of Prophecy. Apparently, the death of their Goa'uld masters was prophesied a few hundred years ago by one of the Hovakians. This story of theirs says that after their oppressor dies, they should return to the old ways." He shook his head. "I know, it sounds like a lot of superstition to me, but they take it very seriously."
Tony felt a vague sense of unease at that. "And what exactly are the 'old ways'?"
Desousa shrugged. "They used to be nomadic. Now, I guess they are again."
It wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. "Are you telling me they’re leaving?"
"Actually, they’re already gone. It's taken them a long time to get ready for this. The last group left just after making sure that I got this parchment."
Tony leaned against a wall, thinking about it. "I guess it's as good a reaction as we could expect. At least they didn't respond violently."
"In a way, this is a good thing, sir. We won't have to worry about them getting underfoot, or being targeted because of us. I doubt they would have been interested in joining up, anyway."
"Yeah, you're probably right." His radio clicked three times, and Tony reached for it. Then he realized the noise had actually come from the somaradio. Blake and Haley had built three of them from the chassis of radios they'd been unable to repair, and this was the first time he'd heard it. He looked at Blake in confusion.
"That means its picking up a signal through the FTL communications." Blake explained from across the room. "It's gotta be Hargrove. The only other working somaradios are here on the base."
Tony nodded, though not completely convinced, and grabbed it. "Marcus here. Is that you, Hargrove?"
There was a burst of noise that couldn't quite be described as static followed by, "Yes, sir."
Tony looked across at Blake, impressed. "So how's the field trip going?"
"Oh, just peachy." Sarcasm cut into his words. "The good news is, we found the Goa'uld weapons plant. The bad news is, we're trapped down here, and we lost contact with the rest of SR-1. Oh, and we're being hunted down by a Goa'uld-infested unas, who's also apparently a cannibal."
Tony stared at the somaradio.
"Ok, hang tight." He managed. "I'll get a team together and we'll be there before you know it."
"Negative." Hargrove's voice put in, weakly. "The timing of their attack was no coincidence. They were waiting for us to get down here. Chances are they'll be waiting for you, too." There was a long pause. "We'll keep this bastard busy as long as we can, sir. I recommend you come up with a plan B."
The somaradio went silent again.
Tony didn't hesitate. He grabbed one of the real radios. "Jahu, get one of the Goa'uld MALPs out to the 'gate and dial Tchosal immediately."
Jahu responded after a few seconds. "Sir, I don't know the-"
"The 'gate guards know the address." Tony cut him off. "Hurry. We've got people trapped out there."
"Yes, sir."
Blake rose smoothly and began moving towards the stairs up. "I'll monitor the MALP sphere's readings and tell you what to expect via radio." His voice was calm, despite the circumstances.
"No, tell Govis to handle that. I've got another job for you." Tony strode back the other way, towards the lower levels. "Pyrta, head down to the infirmary and prep it for incoming wounded. And have some of that sedative you used on Seraus ready, just in case." He added as lightly as he could manage. "Bokal, you're with us."
-.-
His people moved with the smooth efficiency he'd come to admire about the Survivors, as they came up with answers for him. The MALP sphere had been shot by a zat blast only a few seconds after it had arrived on Tchosal, but Govis reported that at least sixty life-signs had been detected in the immediate area around the 'gate. Also, he'd picked up some pretty powerful energy signatures that probably meant there were Goa'uld ships in the area as well. It seemed Hargrove had been right: the Goa'uld had set a trap, not just for the advance team, but for any rescuers as well.
On the upside, Tony had made contact with the rest of SR-1. They'd made it safely to one of the stopover planets, but didn't have any good news about what was happening back on Tchosal. One of them had been badly injured, but they'd stabilized him before bringing him home. Tony spared himself a moment of pride at his people. He doubted that even SGC personnel could have done any better.
He gave Jahu some final instructions before discussing options with Blake and Bokal as they walked. "Blake, you said the Oxen were retro-fitted armored vehicles. Can either of them still fit through the 'gate?"
Blake nodded. "Sure, but even if their weapons still work, I don't know how long they'd last over there. An Ox could probably handle the Jaffa, but if there are Deathgliders in the air, they could take it out in a hurry!"
"Yeah, I was afraid of that. Looks like we'll have to find another way." He stepped out into the hangar bay where, not so long ago, Blake had lain bleeding to death. The angular Goa'uld ship was still there, waiting for them.
"Uh, Tony, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking…" Blake began.
"Get it prepped for launch. We need to get out there, and the 'gate's guarded. This is the only other way."
Blake started moving his hands emphatically as he objected. "No, no, no… you don't get it! Even after all this time, we still barely understand anything about how this ship works, much less how to fly it! I'm fairly certain a good pilot could get it out of the mountain in one piece, but getting it into orbit is another story. Not to mention plotting an accurate hyperspace course!"
He took a deep breath. "I want to get Haley back; you know that, but anyone who tries to fly this thing will probably end up dead. If they're lucky."
"I know. Get started anyway." Tony put his hand on Blake's shoulder reassuringly before heading back down the hall. "With any luck, we won't be the ones flying it!" He called over his shoulder.
