Kay

Kay nodded when Miller gave her thumbs up, a sign he was ready as was her team. In several moments, the familiar white light engulfed them and they were instantly transported from the ship to the planet. Bright light, a queasy sensation, and in moments the surroundings revealed their location. A warehouse. Shadows and odd shapes, likely packaging, stood out in the darkness like stalking predators. Everything was silent aside from the breathing of her team, likely alert and tensed from the new surroundings change.

This wasn’t the first time she had beamed down, but the eerie feeling of being so close to their goal and enemy territory was an unnerving feeling for Kay. Her middle still flipped and flopped after the experience. To ease it, she let out in a heavy mist which helped only a margin. Once her eyes adjusted to the abrupt change in scene, she immediately sought her other teammates in the gloom.

Lt. Kay’s eyes did a number count, four total members to take their destination.

This was going to be interesting. Kay thought with slight bitterness, unsure of her team’s strengths or weaknesses, her confidence unsteady at best.

She took a moment to absorb her current team and thought back to their files- at least those who she could gain before the sent off. The French man, Tristan J. Morneau, was a sharp featured man with bright blue eyes, blonde mid length hair tied up in a short ponytail in the back. Explosive and Support type specialist for the field team. His uniform shoulder, like hers, bore his nationality’s flag alongside the SG insignia declaring them both of the Langford making him French. Then she lingered over the Jaffa female, a first for Kay, who was about her own size and for most too thin to be considered a combative threat. However Kay knew better when it came to Jaffe, her mind flickered to Rea’c for a moment and how his strength had easily crippled a private to need his leg relocated. Blond, dark eyes and predatory features were what came to Kay’s mental description.

Her attempt to study Miller was jarred when the man spoke. “All clear this way Sir.”

It ripped her back into the moment snappishly, her head nodded in understanding. Her voice was hushed and cautious, if not strong in her deliverance. “As far as we know, the Alliance doesn’t know we’ve made it planet side or are heading to secure the gate facility. Keep an eye on each other; I don’t want anyone dropping off or being taken out without notice. Keep your weapons ready but do not fire unless fired upon or give an order. Now let’s move out. “

Quietly as a shadow, Kay took lead when her team was ready, her hand gestured quietly for Miller to cover the flanks and follow. Her body was locked in tension like a cat prowling unfamiliar territory as she led her team towards the facility’s direction. She ignored the bitter chill filling up her body, stealing her warmth, in each step across the concrete floor made a muffled echo. Her knuckles tightened about her main gun when she came to a door. Her eyes shifted to Miller, a silent request to watch her back, and her hand reached out, twisted the handle open and pushed. The door revealed the outside.

Snow drifted down in lazy paths all around, gathering in banks of white about large trees. Their bark plastered with white, snowy stripes and gnarly limps reached upward towards the sky. Kay’s eyes lifted a moment to spot the faint blaze of a bomb hit, the fire fight in the sky far too high for any of the team to see, before she snapped her head back down and moved her foot. Her boot sank into the crisp, freshly falling snow a few inches then met solid ground. Walkable but difficult and slowing, Kay inwardly sighed while she edged farther out. Her head whipped from side to side just to spot any signs of life among the trees. Her hand motioned for the others to follow her and together they would make their way towards their destination and possibly secure the gate.

Ay'mara dressed herself for the coming battle. Ay'mara of course had access to SGC regulation clothing but in a combat situation she preferred her own. Well-processed black leather that clung tightly to her skin so as not to become entangled as well as flat-soled shoes. Ay'mara had commissioned it from a skilled leather worker during her wanderings. The material was strong enough to resist corrosives and granted a degree of protection from blades while still allowing her swift and unencumbered movement. Unfortanetly like many other materials it offered little protection again energy weapons. She'd returned every so often to have the battle uniform refitted as she grew older or more often repaired as it was damaged by fighting. Ay'mara removed Ish'tar's ring from around her neck and placed it in an inside pocket. She always kept it with her but in combat it was best not to have anything wrapped tightly around your throat, if a one on one fight became necessary the cord that held it was strong enough to cut Ay'mara's air supply. Ay'mara then dawned an SGC regulation vest. She didn't like how stiff it was but the number of useful things it contained out weighed her personal discomfort.

Ay'mara tied her hair behind her head to remove it from her line of sight. Like many Bast guards Ay'mara may have cropped it short all together except that if she were to do this the silver mark of Ba'al would be plainly visible for all to see. Though she no longer believed Bastet to be a god Ay'mara would have proudly worn her symbol as a token of the many battle fought and won in Bastet's name. Ba'al was different, his was a sign of undeserved cruelty and complete oppression as well as a time in Ay'mara's life when the afterlife seemed preferable to her circumstances. Ay'mara would remember the day he disfigured her brow with her ugly sign till the day she died.

Ay'mara blinked twice removing the memories from her mind and readjusted her hair so the silver mark was no longer visible. Then she placed the signature of her former position on her hands. The claws appeared to be a set of finger-pieces connected together with curved tips at the end of each "claw"; some of Ay'mara's fellow Bast guard had been in the practice of adorning each claw with poisons to slow down or paralyse their opponents. When the claws were worn, they appeared to be a jointed glove which simply left the palm exposed while making the fingers look like curved talons. Ay'mara liked these as weapons because they did not constrict her hands any more than regular gloves would and they covered the scars that her father had left on her hands.

Of course she could not wear them all the time but at least in battle situations she was not reminded of her childhood. Ay'mara then walked to the armoury to fetch a Zat'nik'tel (or Zat as the Tau'ri were fond of calling them) and a Ma'tok staff. The sturdy metal felt comfortable in her hands. Like an old friend. Then she made her way to the ready room where her fellow soldiers were waiting.

Her direct superior was a girl with dark skin and hair. She was at about the same place in her life as Ay'mara, not in years of course given the vastly different lifespan of Humans and Jaffa but they were both about a third way through there life. Her name Ay'mara remembered was Zaken. The second on the team was a man called Morneau. His features were sharp, as if they had been carved with a Shikra blade. His eyes were as blue as her own and his blonde hair longer than hers. The final member of there "ground team" was a man going by the title Miller. His hair was cut short and he had a brooding expression as though he'd seen many things of which he would be happy to forget. Ay'mara could relate but she did not wear those experiences on her sleeve. The three looked combat ready though she had to admit she had her doubts about how effective they could be. Of course many of her opponents had often thought that about her. It was best to observe before making any assumptions.

Once the leader of the Tau'ri ship had given the order a white light appeared around Ay'mara and her team mates and they were beamed down to the surface. It was not as familiar a sensation to Ay'mara as some other Jaffa. Those in service to Anubis, Ba'al, Osiris and some other Goa'uld had regular contact with the technology but Ay'mara herself had only used it a handful of times. She had to admit she preferred the rings. Asgard beaming offered no buffer between two locations. You were in one then the other and the shock of change in temperature and humidity required some moments to adjust too. Rings on the other hand transported the pocket of air you stood in as you well as your person, allowing one time to adjust to new surroundings.

In this case however it wouldn't have made a difference. For the air here was just below freezing. Her symbiote compensated for some of it but Ay'mara felt the effects of the cold. Still it was not a factor she could change and voicing her discomfort would benefit no one. Morneau gave the all clear. Zaken gave the order to stay close with weapons ready. However only to fire if fired upon. This was a wise decision as other carrying weaponry could potentially be of the Langarian guard. Though Ay'mara had very little to go on so far she could say this for Zaken. She was level headed and she moved like a cat, Syn'ac would have been impressed at her silent quick actions. She motioned the others to fall in line behind her and Ay'mara did, flicking her staff open with a buzz in order that she might be ready, either to fire or knock an enemy unconscious with a blow from the staff.

The metal around her Claws began to cool and she found herself regretting wearing them. Her symbiote would protect her from frost bite and the Claws were designed to withstand temperatures much more extreme than this but she still felt uncomfortable. Zaken pushed open a door and an icy blast entered the room. Ay'mara could see snow outside. On her homeworld (at least not in the areas she had lived in) snow never fell. She'd wondered what it was the first time she'd seen it on the battlefield. She had however been exposed to it too late in her life to regard it as something fun like many Earth Children do. Instead Ay'mara saw the snow as a tactical disadvantage. Moving would be slow but it was manageable. Ay'mara kept scanning the area as they walked toward the Langaran Gate Facility searching for any signs of trouble.

Tristan was a bit jittery as this was his first mission and first time ever being on another world. He proceeded to do the sign of the cross before he grabbed the silver crucifix that hung around his neck and kissed it. To most this would seem like some bizarre overly religious ritual but to him it was just a way to ensure good fortune. A bit of a superstitious ritual but it seemed to work as whenever he seemed to forgo it something would always happen that made the mission a bit more difficult. He immediately put it back underneath his uniform with only his silver chain only subtly being visible. It was then that he peered around to get a better look of the people that he would be going planet side with. One of them had very dark features akin to most middle eastern decent. An exotic beauty and once his eyes fell upon the flag insignia of Israel he became more at ease. Heh if she is are CO then I feel bad for whoever we encounter.. Those Israelis are some tough bastards.. he thought to himself before his eyes finally laid upon the blonde alien woman. He didn't know what to think of her but he had heard that they had abnormal strength and was pretty sure she could take care of herself in close quarters. Not sure if she would be useful in a fire fight but hopefully such a thing could be avoided. He then turned his head to see the Aussie giving him a thumbs up and couldn't help but crack a smile as he returned with one of his own.

Before he knew it however he was immediately beamed from the mild climate of the ship to a planet whose weather was near freezing. He couldn't help but let out a deep sigh only to see his breath appear in a smoke like haze before Trist's deep blue eyes. He clutched his P90 a little closer to his body a bit as he shook to his very core from the near subzero temperature. He tried his best to keep his mind off the cold and followed Miller and Lt. Zaken lead as they appeared to have the most experience. He patiently followed their lead. She muttered a typical line about having your weapons ready but not to fire unless fired upon. He couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle at that line. "Sooo when the bullets start whizzing by I guess that is my cue?" he joked before his eyes turned to the sky to see the freshly falling snow. He coudn't help but be enamored by such a thing as he had never seen snow before. Most of the climates he had ever lived had been either been mild or a harsh desert landscape. To see snow for the first time on alien world was quite fantastical and he relished in it for as long as this quiet peace allowed for.

Miller shivered slightly as his boot first made contact with snow, while he had seen it before he still wasn't used to it. Luckily the standard SGC gear kept him warm enough, the only down side was that the black stood out like a sore thumb. Though they were expecting contacts sooner or later, even though the Langarans were supposedly meant to become a decoy. He didn't know if he liked that idea though he supposed they didn't have the Jumpers that the Atlantis expedition had. Those things were good decoys, they didn't even have any hand held lifesigns detectors which he thought was a bit stupid and was surprised they hadn't made their own or taken some from Atlantis. The city had enough to spare anyway. He flicked the safety of his P-90 from SAFE to single shot and looked through the sight as he scanned the nearby buildings. By this point the team had split up to two at either side of the street, so far they were working well with standard procedure though he guessed that wasn't really his issue.

They reached a wall at the outer edge of the facility and he took out his small periscope to look over the top of the wall. There were tracks in the snow, quite a lot of tracks actually indicating regular traffic. Though he could see two people dressed in typical Lucian Alliance garb, black leather, on an obvious patrol. He was quite happy to have his nice cloth, that leather would be absolutely freezing. He turned to face Kay, whispering at this point. He could probably talk normally but wasn't taking the risk. "Regular traffic, we got two on patrol. Some large tinted windows and a small door. The door has snow piled up so probably not in active use. Not a lot of cover though from the wall to the facility." he handed the small plastic periscope to Kay as he took a knee to face down the other streets. This was where it was a command decision, she could either move them round or initiate the distraction so they could barge their way in.

Tonak

Tonak was keeping an eye on the space battle with mixed feelings. They couldn't keep the Tauri vessel at bay forever, that much was certain. He pointed to a couple of soldiers who were just standing guard. "They aren't attacking us through take the Naquadria to the gate with everyone else." Right now they were literally just rolling it through. There was no point in losing man power to simply take it through the gate, that would simply be a waste off time. They had plenty of it though, taking all that the Langarians had already mined and there was a substantial store. The sly devils.

The annoying thing is he knew they would be coming, with or without the Tauri. They wouldn't let the alliance risk their planet for too long but he didn't have the man power. Kane may have become a powerful warlord in a small amount of time though he wasn't really able to use all of his forced on this one endeavour which why he didn't send an occupying force but instead a raiding team. Now it was more or less a waiting game, to see who made a move first on the facility. The Tauri or the Langarans. Most of his men were inside the building making barricades however he did have some men outside the facility on patrol or hiding out in nearby buildings. He even had a two snipers set up in nearby spires who would see anyone trying to cross the walled area into the facility.

Cody & Williams (Ciphra & Sep)

Cody had missed the departure with the ground team this time around, it turned out that Williams wanted to talk with him. Could it have been for his individualism that he showed on the planet? If so was he about to recieve a lecture that he would smile and nod to while wishing to be anywhere but there? Or perhaps Williams had a better use of his talents? He could only hope that this was the case. In either event the ground operation had begun and this had better not just be a waste of his time. From what he’d understood about the planet there were several good sniper perches he could’ve used to help the ground team out and that would make use of his full talents as a sniper. In any event he approached Williams office and pressed the buzzer twice on the door to await Williams permission to enter his office.

Williams pressed the button on his dek to open the bulkhead doors at the entrance to his office, of course from his perspective he had still had them coated with a fine oak not to ruin the visage of his expensive office. Unlike all the other rooms in the ship the walls were not drab gray metal but fine dark oak, his table sat flush with the door and an old grandfather clock sat in the corner. On his desk lay mainly paper however there was also a laptop tucked up nicely. The window behind him had its shutters closed due to them being in battle on the outer edge of the hull. He sorted out papers as Cody came into the room. Very faint sounds of battle could be heard. He indicated to one of the comfortable seats opposite him. “Take a seat Lieutenant. I have a mission for you, more in line with your CIA training. Its questionable, if you are interested.”

As he walked in and sat down Cody raised an eyebrow in question. He glanced around the room once taking everything in. He couldn’t believe they actually changed all of this for the man, even if he was an IOA rep, of course that wasn’t his problem in the slightest and in the end he actually liked the clock. Cody had a good taste for antique’s especially clocks, but was it really an antique or just a replica? He looked back at Williams and said in his natural no emotion voice. “I’m ready for any assignment you have for me sir.” The ability to change one’s personality and feeling at will was a good ability, but there was no need hiding how he naturally was around Williams, at least until his orders to follow him were rescinded

Williams took out a small device, a small vial could be visible inside of it as well as a tip of a needle. “This device, will introduce a neurotoxin into a host that targets specific brain cells simulating death. It activates one hour after your pulse is elevated to a certain point. I need you for this mission as you can do deep cover and keep your cool. It will inject the poison into your body. It isn’t fatal but it will work for what we need it to.” He clasped his hands together on the desk. “You’re going to join the Lucian Alliance. Obviously if you just walk up they’ll likely shoot you. So you’re going to give them intel on an a Jaffa world. They’ll take you in, brain wash you and then this will activate. You must keep your cool before then and not let your heart rate elevate or it will activate and then the brainwashing will stick. The device will be placed under a fake layer of skin and is made largely of plastics so is hard to detect. Once you are in you will be our mole within the Alliance. Interested?”

Cody grinned. Finally his true talents could be utilized to the fullest, and the possibilities and potential of this operation were almost limitless. “I thought you’d never ask, sir.” He pondered a little more on the mission and then asked. “When will the insertion occur? I’m assuming you’d like it sooner than later? Or is that up to my discretion?” Of course Williams probably had something in mind already, but it didn’t hurt to suggest doing it himself, though that was probably because he enjoyed this kind of thing, especially the planning. Though this plan also had a few things that unlike previous missions could cause some serious issues if something went wrong, but he would just have to roll with the punches on this one.

Williams sighed. “Well for one, this mission is need to know. Only I aboard this vessel need to know. You are being reinstated to your previous security clearance as a special agent though while aboard ship you are still just a second Lieutenant. I would prefer you manage to do it on the current operation as there is no telling when we will get another chance to infiltrate the forces of this new warlord Kane who has been appearing all over our intelligence networks. However if you do not feel it is feasible then it is up to your discretion.” .

Cody nodded and pondered a moment. “Now will do just fine...Though if this device is activated based on my heart rate, what happens if I keep it low and it never ends up activating?” Cody knew just how good he was under pressure and wasn’t sure that his heart rate would reach the desired levels for this to work. If it did though this would be perfect, but was it possible that they wouldn’t even brain wash him and just interrogate him? No. They wouldn’t be able to pass up this chance especially with someone like himself. They would need people like Cody on their side if they truly wished to win the war.

Williams smiled slightly at this. “I know how well you cope with interrogation. Though interrogation and keeping your heart rate low to avoid a lie detector is different. The mind washing technology causes actual physical strain on your body to which your heart rate increases. It is like running for a long period of time, no matter what you do your heart rate is going to climb. True with training it won’t climb as much though you haven’t been trained to resist the mind control devices used by the Goa’uld and the Lucian alliance as far as I am aware.” He checked his watch. “I can have you on the planet in two minutes unless you have any other questions.”

Cody once more contemplaited what Williams had said. He had one idea to ensure his cover but would Williams be able to stomach it, or keep it a secret that he sanctioned the idea if he did give it the okay? Well in any case he’d have to ask, and even if the answer was no then he could still do it, though that would mean having no place to come back to if he didn’t get authorization. “Sir...There is one way that I can think of to make it easier for the Lucian Alliance to take me instead of killing me...I could fire upon our own men...I’d take my rifle and support the LA, with my training the chances of a vital hit are minimal unless I choose to make them fatal shots, though with this kind of thing it would never be a for sure thing...What would be the risk if we lost the battle, or at least gave them time to get what they need from here? Would that destroy any chance of stopping them? If not I could just help them enough to bring me with them, but it’s the best way to get them to take me alive, but sadly it’s also going to hurt our own more as well...I’m willing to bear this personal sin and if need be I would face full punishment when I returned, but that is probably the best option...Sir.” It was a long shot that Williams would say yes, but as Cody had stated it was his best chance, and since he wawilling to face the charges if he returned he may as well have been saying ’Are you going to authorize me, or am I going to be executed instead of reasigned where no one here will ever know what happened to me and continue hating me the rest of my life while I continue this line of work till I die?’.

Kay

Her boots sank deeply into white and as the black stood out starkly against the snow, Kay made a mental note to request winter camouflage for future missions. She knew they stood out harshly against the pure scenery which only increased her alertness, her mind pulled taunt by each soft crunch of the powder. The walk towards the facility was a long one while the buildings provided amble cover and shielding from the air's slight chill, their shadows soon became scarce when they approached the outer wall.

She crouched down, low as possible without laying down, her left braced out to balance her beside Miller. The man had already taken out his periscope and scanned the compound's defenses, giving Kay plenty of time to locate the rest of her team. She spotted them across the street, a little ways behind from their position, Morneau and the Jaffa woman hidden among the thinning trees. It was then she noticed the chill seeping into her skin through the uniform. Or possible it was something more which chilled her, the lives and the mission success hung on her command. If they failed, who knew the consequences of her failure or what it would reap.

Kay shuddered involuntarily.

Miller's whisper caused her eyes to shift back to him, his hand held out the periscope for her take and confirm his report. Without much pause she gripped the small modern looking glass then pressed put her eye. It was pretty clear there had been recent activity from the trampled path leading in and then disappeared into the facility, two men dressed in the Alliance black leather freezing outside on guard duty. Just as Miller reported.

Finished with her observation, Kay handed Miller's periscope back. She whispered back her own concern. "Appears so though it's best to assume they likely braced for a retaliation, either from us or the Langarans. That door is our best bet to enter the facility but..."

She motioned for Morneau and the Jaffa woman to come closer. Once within ear, Kay turned towards the pair and laid out the plan. "Alright, Morneau, you see that small door?" She pointed it out to be sure he knew what he meant, then continued. "Once the Langarans start the distraction, I want you and Ay'mara to proceed to it. Quick and quietly. See if you two can clear the snow and open it, if it doesn't then Morneau, can you rig up a small explosive to make it open? Ay'mara, you will be there to help Morneau with the door and if he has to set the explosive, you'll be fighting for two people and highly exposed should they notice you. So don't take any unnecessary risks."

Kay turned to Miller. "You and I will hang back, picking off any Alliance nearby and providing support should they notice us. Once the door is open, Morneau and Ay'mara signal and we'll move our asses to it while you two provide cover fire if needed."

She adjusted her gun and reached into her boot, pulling a free a knife which fitted neatly within hand then added. "Open to any other ideas or suggests. If there aren't any, we'll proceed then."

Unless there was any other suggestions, something she doubted, Kay then reached for her communicator and spoke quietly into it. "Alright, we're in position and waiting. Contact the Langarans and start the distract."

Minor notesheet about ships:

304 max speed: 0,6 lightspeed

Ha'tak max speed: 0,15 lightspeed

Al'kesh max speed:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eyes darting over the holomap, Black spotted the incoming Al'Kesh and quickly pinged it on the map. All railgun positions automatically redirected their fire and promptly removed the offending ship from the sky, leaving the gliders alone for a few seconds. "Status?" she barked at the weapons tech. "We're in range. Ma'am, we're only detecting two lifesigns on board." Captin hummed at that. Was the alliance understaffed or was their commander jsut trying to avoid losses? and what did it matter. "fire, but monitor their shield output. If they fall below critical wear them down with railgun fire, we'll try to seize the ship." she said, tapping to the internal communications: "Black to Falk: The enemy capital ship is only crewed by two, get some of the gas ready jsut in case, we'll never get another opportunity like this." she relayed, returning ehr attention to what was going on outside.



Dey watched the Langford pursue the Ha'tak, its metal body shifted in the black void with weapons blasting towards the pyramid like ship.She could almost hear the mental torn by the attack when the bridge's right side took the hit, it's shields weakened by the attack as Deyika's eyes shifted to the read out.: 39%. She frowned dismally at the small percent and bit her lip, a little disappointed at her first battle with the Tauri being so pitiful. Tonak would be slightly upset with her she thought before her eyes spotted another ship. Within moments, the Ha'tak which had fled arrived once more from right behind the Langford's rear flanks. Immediately it fired at the close range it had acquired after escaping from hyperspace, it's deathgliders quickly dispatched to join the fray. Already she was down one Al'kesh, easily dispatched when the missle hit followed by the railguns. A slight sickening feeling washed over her at the result's sight.

Already the remaining Al'kesh was drawing farther to the side, its weapons attacked the Langford's side. By this time, another Al'kesh, it's cloaking deactivated, had arrived. Quickly it made its way towards the remaining flank left open when the Al'kesh was destoryed. Her attemps at miltary attack was lacking as she was pretty sure the Tauri captain could tell, while the Ha'tak started to spin about on its axis to bring all its weapons to bear, while keeping the weak damaged spot a moving target.

“Hyperspace window!” the nav officer shouted, a blip pinging on Kat’s map. Another Ha’Tak dropped in right behind them and started peppering their rear with shots. “Another one! Al’Kesh, taking the side of the destroyed one!” They were boxing them in. The shields on the 304 were good in defeating the most powerful weapons but taxing them for this long time was known to be their weakest point. Sparing a few seconds of thought, Catherine put the ship to move.

“Helm, we need to get some distance. Pitch up, full thrust, break out of this box. Weapons, we’ll have point blank shot at the Ha’Tak currently behind us, hit it with the remaining beam batteries!” she barked, intending to put some distance between the Langord and the alliance forces and come about to break the static nature of the battle. “Updated diagnostic ma’am, frontal cannons functional but recharge is severely down. Five minutes per cannon.” Nodding sharply Kat confirmed.



Deyika cursed under her breath, her eyes narrowed as the Tauri ship shifted its position and steered clear of her efforts. Her eyes flickered over the damage reports, her lips deeped in a frown from mention the new addition Ha'tak had lost its weapons and one of the Al'kesh was experiencing trouble in her engines, affecting her mobility and her shielding. In a frustrated gesture, she tossed up her hands with an explaination. "Come on!"

Her body slouched within the pilot sit, her bottom lip bitten lightly at her lacking success. The Langford barely seemed fazed by her efforts through she knew that could've have been true. After all, it have pedal up and away quickly enough so something must've been working. She recounted her remaining ships not currently in the battle then made some quick calucations. It was deserate, low, and clearly an unwanted price, but she had to buy her brother more time. She only hoped he would be through with his plans on the planet short, her eyes flickered to the communicate in a faint hope to recieve anything from him before she ordered the last Ha'tak she had left to join the battle.

The Langford made escape the box tactic, a Ha'tak hyperjumped straight into its path. It was reckless and sudden risk to do, Dey almost instantly regretted it when she watched the large pyramid like ship shoot out of its exit onto the scene. Whether or not it had time to fire, it still tried. With any luck the death gliders would make it out with most the pilots intacted, but deep down she doubted it. If things didn't look up she was likely going to have to contact the Langford using the weaponless Ha'tak's communications, unless she wanted it's weapons system right up her ass. She only hoped the Langford wouldn't just murder the crew despite it being no longer a threat.

The Ha'tak, whose weapons were out, was trying to re-establish the systems to once more join the fray. She didn't have the heart to tell it might be pointless, the damage likely more then just systems. The Al'kesh continued their firing, shifting positions to retain being difficult targets and trying to avoid the heaviest gun fire.

A beep announcing a hyperspace window forming blipped through the C&C, followed by the shriek of collision alert. "DIVE DIVE DIVE!" Kat yelled out loud while grabbing something solid in expectaions of some good bumping, putting the alert tone to shame. The 304 pivoted, heading 'below' the pyramid ship. "Yellow wing, launch! Hit near the fighterbays, try to catch some of the gliders in the nuke blast!" she growled, venom dripping form her town. That move was reckelss and if she got in touch with whoever it was she was fighting agianst, she would tell them what she thought of them. Several more shots impacted the shield as the Al'Kesh were able to catch up to them for a while. "Resume course! all batteries, fire at will!" Captain ordered. Now it was three on one, and even though one ship was pretty much out of the fight, they weren't faring all that great either. "Rea'c, it's about to get hot out there, head for the barn ASAP." she advised the fighters. she'd rather recall them for rearming so they could redeploy later if things got too bad.

It was little surprise that Deyika's desperate tactic worked. It was unexpected, if not just risky, as she watched the Langford start to dive to avoid a collision. Dey could almost hear the ship's captian uttering some unsavory words but she wasted little time in dwelling in the satisfaction. First thing she noticed were the fighters being recalled. Naturally she smirked, her hand went to the communicator and ordered all the ships which could fire to attack the Langford. As a side measure, having guessed she would at least lose one ship in the process, Dey communicated for another two Al'kesh to appear. In moments their forms warped out of hyperspace just as the Langford's shields came down, the fighters retreating towards the safety of the Langford and leaving her exposed to the assualt. At least, Dey had hoped.

"Ma'am, all enemy strikecraft is now converging on us." the sensors tech said, and indeed the blips on the map started gathering in a cone behind the one that indicated the Langford. They must have seen the fighters retreating. IT certainly was an opening, but as long as they were dead set on the more durable 304, the fighters whould have the heat taken off of them for the moment. And Kat had a surprise of her own. "Launch the mines onto their approach vector. Either they get vaporized or they'll have to detour. That will give us ample time to raise the shield again. Tell our fighters to avoid the minefield if the enemy seems to go through it so they avoid the blast. IF they go around, the F-302s transponders should prevent explosion so they can be here faster."

Catherine said and watched black spots on the maps launch from the Langford and position themselves in a grid between the ship and it's pursuers. "Drop the shield only for as long as necessary." Come on birds, get in here. Kat thought, watching the two sets of blips approach, her 302s tailing the Goa'Uld designs. Suddenly, the alliance forces came to a slow and started turning around the minefield, much like the Langford jsut had to do with the third pyramid ship, while her own fighters passed right through unscratched, gaining some distance. The tone indicating the shields dropping sounded, and to captain's dismay, the hyperspace alert sounded as well as two other bombers materialized on their exposed flanks. "Seal the bulkheads, brace for impact! Rais the shield as soon as you're able!" she managed to shout just as the blasts impacted the hull.

The ship once again shook around Ariadne as a more powerful shot struck the shields. The battle was fierce outside the Langford, but she was entirely ignoring it. Her host was paying attention to that aspect of the battle, making full use of their shared memories to comprehend a type of battle she had experienced very little of for herself, and would warn Ariadne if there was anything she needed to intervene with. Ariadne herself was focused on the groundside aspects of the operation. Though commanding from on high was generally not her style, she did recognise the necessity here, not to mention she would hardly be an effective leader of a small squad - she was more used to inspiring armies with the presence of their god.

She wasted no time ordering the Langarans into the offensive when Kayle’s signal came through. All across the district the Men of Langara mobilised to charge into battle to fight, and most likely die, for their world. Ariadne hardly cared that there would be casualties, as long as the battle was won and her permanent assets, the SG team, were kept relatively intact it would be a victory. From what she could see of the positions from the orbital view, the SG team would only hear the battle - such as it would be. The Langarans first wave would be slaughtered. Apparently they were bringing forward some weapons called ‘tanks,’ that would apparently neutralise the Alliance defences. That would be useful, if the Langarans could break through they could reinforce the SG team.

With the Langaran assault under way, Ariadne waited a few moments before contacting the ground team. She spoke with Idalia’s voice to avoid any undue distortion caused by the primitive Tau’ri communications technology. “The distraction has begun, enter the structure and carry out your task. Make every attempt to remain undetected, but once you are detected move with haste to the objective.”

“It will be done, Oberst.” Ylva replied, a bit of pleasure leaking through her otherwise virtually emotionless demeanor. The Lucian Alliance had proven themselves to be an enemy of the Tau’ri and of the Tok’ra, so nothing should be held back in the fight against them. While she did not quite run, she kept a fast pace while moving down to the lab. She did not, however, rush the safety procedures prior to entering the bio-hazard lab. Some things should never be rushed.

After she went through the cleanroom decontamination procedures and dressed up for it, Ylva moved at a measured but casual pace into the lab. She activated the console therein, designating that one canister of Sarin gas should be beamed into the lab from the storage container on the outer hull. Since everything was inside the shield and the ground team was already away, it took mere moments to get the task through the system. Ylva carefully unscrewed the lid on the canister, pulling out three of the six gas capsules, placing them in stabilized holders inside the containment box. Even in a cleanroom, she did not want such gas to be out in the open. She had always been fond of having at least one layer of safety in excess of what should be needed. She then pulled out three weaponized gas dispersal units, inserting one gas capsule into each, activating them upon insertion. Only when that was done did she seal the storage canister back up. Drawing her hands back out of the sealed gloves, she used the secondary system inside the lab to designate for the beaming sensors where each of the four canisters was, so that they could be beamed away. Even if not all were used now, it did not hurt to have enough available. Finally she designated that the storage canister should be beamed back out into the storage container on the outer hull.

She then left the lab, activating lockdown after getting out of decontamination. “Oberst Black, This is Captain Falk. The gas is weaponized and ready for deployment. Asgard beaming system tags S-36, S-37 and S-38. For ship safety, the Biohazard Lab is under full lockdown until the gas is out. Captain Falk out.”

Three death gliders, both automated and incapable of higher intelligence, banked right only to hit one of the nukes. It sent a small explosive ripple that destroyed them immediately as the Langford's fighters easily went past. The larger ships, followed by the remaining Al'kesh and deathgliders, slowed their pursue to a safer course. It was a stall while the beastly Tau'ri ship gathered her little fighters under her wing and likely shut tightly up. Meaning there was little chance to inflict more damage within that opening before the shields went up. Dey cursed.

She hated surprises and the more this battle continued, the more that seemed to pop up. First the attempt to shift out of the box tactic and now this, she was getting frustrated and worry tugged at her mind about Tonak again. At this rate all her ships would be useless and nothing more then metal debris in space.She took a deep breath, her hand covered her eye sending the hand heel to press again her eyeballs. She removed her right hand to retrieve a summary of the damage done. The hung back Ha'tak , she dubbed DIS (Dead In Space), was still being repaired while the engines and shield on the Al'kesh, marked TAASU (Totally And Absolutely Screwed), had finally sputtered then died, the small two man crew worked feverishly to reestablish life. Luckily she still had one functional, though likely targeted, Ha'tak which she dubbed Lucky due to the fact the Langford hasn't hit it yet. The final Ha'tak had structural damage as well as shields well under half their strength so it won't be much help. Her shoulder slumped at her last option: stalling with a little chat.

She rerouted her communications through the DIS Ha'tak. Should the Langford attempt to track it then it would trace back to the damage Ha'tak ship. Time to put on a mask, Dey thought as she spoke. There would be little doubt Tonak and her were siblings, her voice filled with surprising cockiness and calm.

"To the Captain of the ship, it appears you've gotten our warning now. I demand your total and complete surrender or the full force of my ships in waiting will be released."

"Continue firing." Black ordered, patching through to the contact. IT sounded like a young female voice. "Fat chance, girl. I'll surrender when I'm dead. You are quite reckless to sacrifice a whole ship on the chance it just might blow us up." Catherine started unloading, so far keeping her anger somewhat at bay and avoiding swearing at her account. Muting the mic she turned to one of the crew and asked about the damage form the hits they took while the shield was down. Aside from a few hull breaches, the engines were down to 50% and the tech estimated that with repairs they could get up to 75% in a few minutes. Nodding, Catherine checked the status of her frontal beam cannons. One minute left until they recharged. "I am however willing to let you end your illegal invasion and leave here in one piece. Provided you stand down this instance of course." Captain tried. Some extra time couldn't hurt them.

“Illegal…” Dey sounded almost amused by the word, “That’s only because you Tauri believe you have the right to determine the rules out here. Very little difference between you and the Goa'uld in that aspect from what I can see. After all, if Langara didn’t really have anything worth value to you, then honestly would you really be here at all? You Tau'ri are all the same, greedy. Unless a planet is worth the risk to protect and save, you could care less if ends up going in a heap of smoldering ruins. That is the only reason you're here because you have something you need and you're afraid to lose it. Though to be honest, Captain, I had hoped you would prove the facts wrong."

Checking the status of Ha'Tak 3, the bombers managed to lower it's shields somewhat and were now making their way back while avoiding the swarm that was on the apex on their turn around their minefield. "Honesty form a member of the alliance. Now that'd be something for the history books." Captain retorted, signalling the helm to turn the Langford around. "Your words insult us both. I seriously doubt your own policy of protecting assets differs from what you just described. We have a formal treaty with Langara and we responded to a distress call sent by their officials, and that's that." muting again, she quickly decided on a course of action. "Forward gunners, target Ha'Tak 1. Railguns, keep at the new Al'Kesh. All missile batteries, target Ha'Tak 2, bring it's shield down so we can attempt taking it over."



Not good...Thought Dey as she only half listened to the Captain, her hands flew about the console. Her communications reached out to the TAASU, who's communications rerouted her line back to the planet side and down to Tonak. She had muted the communications to the Langford so there wouldn't any risk to overhear. This shit was getting worse by the moment, her attempt for time had merely bought a few minutes with some luck while her ships had started to fall. The DIS immediately went up into flames as the double beams hit them both, the engines repaired at the last moment only to be destroyed before it could move quickly enough. Dey flinched with a slight sorrow and respect at the wreckage. Ironic their last words, alongside their screams had flickered in her mind before she bit down the sour feeling.

"Tonak, can you hear me?" Dey's voice tried to sound steady, but she knew it either sounded hollow or cracked with each word. Most of her wanted to leave here shortly, namely with their mission complete as she waited for his reply.

Mortars had begun to fly out of the compound and towards it as the Langarans made their advance. He didn't have the manpower to hold off against them for long however he did have the firepower. He nodded to a man with a radio who spoke into it and he heard two gliders fly over head and begin strafing runs on the Langaran forces. "Everyone, stay at your posts. The Tau'ri will be close. Have the Gliders focus on the Langaran forces and bring everyone else within the facility. The tanks and mortars are no use in here as they won't want to risk blowing the facility and the entire planet to pieces." His private communicator buzzed and he clicked the button on it, he had to love Tok'ra communicators. They were so effective and easy to use. Better than the Tau'ri style radios they were typically given. "What is it Dey? The Langarans have begun attacking the facility."

"Shit has hit the engine here. I can't keep the Tau'ri back for much longer, I'm down to about a few heavily damaged ships and to buy more time has officially was shot. " Dey answered, trying to keep calm. "So, I'm hoping you're ass is already getting out of there. The Captain's a real piece of work. How much longer do you need and I will see if I can buy it. Even if I have ram a Ha'tak up her ass somehow."

"Well stalling the space forces is easy. Fire a shot at the surface of the planet. Somewhere with water to soak up the blast and even if it gets through to the crust it won't do too much and if it does it will be a slow reaction and would give them plenty of time to solve the problem. We're currently still taking Naquadria before we starting taking scientists through the gate. Even if you have to withdraw all the ships it will still give us plenty of time as they can't beam directly into the facility."

"You want me to what?!?" Dey's voice went up a few ocatves in her reply, doing a double take about his suggestion. "And what about you, won't that affect you as well?"

"Fire on the planet. Mountain, water. Either or won't cause an immediate reaction if any. I'm nowhere near either of those as well. Just show we're willing to do it, that'll give her pause and if not target a military base. As long as we don't go full orbital bombardment it should be fine. Kane still has hopes for the possibility for Langara to turn." Sometimes his sisters compassionate grounds could really get in the way. Though he would have to convince her to change her mind and not just force her.

Dey inhaled then nodded her understanding, though she was sure he couldn't see it or her uncertainty on the matter. "Fine, but you better hurry your ass up. I don't want to have to drag you out of there but I will."

She cut the communications as she ordered and third Ha'tak, the one in the best condition, to open a single shot on the planet.

Seeing the shot, all activity on the Langfordbriefly stopped. A low pitched growl escaped from Balck's mouth. "So that's how you want to wage this war, girl? Allright, you got it. Gas the two, put us between the planet and three. all available power to shield and lateral beam cannons. Hopefully if we kill the capital ships the rest will withdraw." Catherine did not believe they would actually consider destroying the planet. They played for time the same way she did. But on the off chance they would... "Bring us right down it's throat if you have to, but I don't want that Ha'Tak to have any shot on the planet!"

Tonak heard the Ha'tak shot roar down to the planet and the thunder as it hit through the water. There was a temporary cease fire from the Langaran troops however eventually they started up again firing again with revived vigor. He turned to his men. "Begin ferrying the scientists through, have them carry the Naquadria." Some of his folk nodded and moved behind them and jabbed their guns behind the scientists and one of them moved behind Jonas Quinn. "Not him, he's a liability. Leave him here. I'll sort him out. The rest of you begin falling back, we'll send the others to the Al'kesh when Dey'ika comes to pick us up."

He pressed the button on his communicator. "If you cannot stop the Tauri send the ships back to base and come and be ready to pick us up, have the Al'kesh and Gliders help out down here." He walked over to a bomb cover, pulling out the activation wires and attaching them to a mine that had been prepared by Dey. He then moved up behind Jonas and hit him on the head with the butt of his pistol, before attaching the mine to his back and pushing him down till he was laid back. After that he tied him to the ground. Though he also took the remote detonator before activating the holographic display and the bomb.

---

Miller ducked out of instinct as he heard the mortar fire and the roar of engines. "They're really kicking it all out." He looked to the sky as the two Death Gliders flew over head, obviously attempting to take out the heavier tanks, some flak flew up to meet them however it was nothing substantial or strong enough to take the alien designed craft down. He walked over to a nearby dustbin and stood atop with his P90 leaning over so he was in a position to watch as the Frenchie and FemJaffa moved across the compound to the door. He flicked his P90 to full auto so he could suppress if things hit the fan.

With the combat going on, it eventually had become clear to Ylva that the Oberst simply did not have time to answer her radio message. Not that that had been important. She had provided the tools. It was up to Oberst Black to decide whether to use them. She personally did not care much beyond it, but there was a certain pride she felt when her skills were put to use. Some of the commanders she had served under in the past had been reluctant to use her full range of skills. But those had all been back on Earth, where the use of several of those weapons she specialized in were considered easy one-way tickets to a war crimes trial. So many squeamish people.

Fortunately, most of her commanders had been more open-minded. To defeat the worst enemies, you simply can’t hold any means back. Fortunately, here in Space, there were no such inconvenient rules like the geneva conventions. Her missions need not be hidden behind veils of secrecy. It was so much easier that way.

Mere minutes after she left the lab, someone announced on the intercom that two of the three enemy vessels had been incapacitated, one through weapons fire, the other through use of weaponized Sarin Gas. She heard cheering from one of the communal areas, but still felt the need to be alone. She had never much liked social interaction, and there was no need to celebrate having done what was simply necessary. Besides, the announcement had not mentioned that the ship in question was crewed by only two. To those who did not know better, all evidence would indicate that there were many more. She was thinking about all that when all of a sudden she fell over as if someone pushed her. It took her a few moments to realize that that was exactly what happened. Sensing a possible attack, Vanja immediately seized control, starting to roll over, but not quickly enough to stop the steel-toed combat boot straight to Ylva’s spine. If she had counted, the impact would have been between what the Tau’ri called Thoracic Vertebrae T3 & T4. But of course she was far too busy taking a beating to do that. One moment, Ylva’s body reported everything about how the kick hurt and what was damaged, the next moment, Vanja only got reports from the upper half of Ylva’s body. The attacker, whomever he or she was, had severed Ylva’s spine. Vanja neither felt nor noticed when the attacker pushed a thin needle into Ylva’s right kidney, injecting something.

Vanja had to struggle to keep Ylva down, to keep her from screaming in agony. To keep her from moving. While not really recommended, she finished rolling their body over, but she could not see any trace of their attacker. Whomever it was had already left. A bit odd, but at the same time fairly logical. Without even having caught a glimpse, neither Vanja nor Ylva could provide any sort of identification, and this section of the ship didn’t have all that much surveillance, with none being in this particular corridor segment. She had already begun the work of mending the severed nerves and vertebrae, but that was no easy feat. Especially not with Ylva screaming in agony inside. Struggling a little, she tried to call for help on the radio, but it seemed not to work. She did her best to remain calm and to make sure that Ylva did the same. It wasn’t easy. The only relief she had was that someone might have heard something or that someone might pass through. This corridor was central enough for that not to take too long. In the meantime, she could only start working on mending what she could. Humans might be fairly easy to repair, but severe spinal damage was no joke. Not without the dangerous sarcophagus technology.

~|~

Ingrid couldn’t believe her ears! They had gassed one of the Lucian alliance ships. Even though they were sworn enemies and so on, nobody deserved the agony of dying from Sarin gas. Nobody. She had rushed out from her quarters to find the Scientist Ylva Falk and talk it out with her. She had not been able to see much of the records on that one, but all evidence indicated she had a tendency to ignore international laws when it suited her. Not a good attitude. The very secretiveness of her records indicated that others higher up in the military felt the same way, that international laws and conventions could be ignored.

She did not know where to find Ylva, but presumed it had to be somewhere near the labs. Or at least hoped it would be. She did not relish the idea of searching the entire ship. She had left her quarters and headed straight for the labs, only to find her not there. Ingrid followed the corridor away again in the opposite direction. She had just convinced herself that she actually had to search the entire ship when she spotted someone lying on their back in the middle of the corridor. Someone lying in a very unusual position. Throwing all caution to the non-existent wind, Ingrid rushed forwards. She had, as part of her training, been taught medium-level first aid, and it did not take a genius to realize that something here was wrong. Of course, some coined her a genius, so that example might be unfitting, but whatever. This was clearly someone who needed help.

It took her but a few moments to recall her lessons. First step was always to determine the extent of the injuries, to get an idea of the state of the patient. Ingrid started by checking whether the patient breathed. She did. Her breathing was regular, if a bit rapid. She was not quite conscious, but Ingrid knew she had to figure out other injuries before rolling her onto her side. She wished she had had some gloves, but since being hired by the IOA, she had foolishly stopped having such on hand all the time. She gently probed the shape of the woman’s head, trying to feel if anything was broken. Thankfully, all evidence indicated the skull was intact. Then she moved down to the torso, gently pressing first upon the shoulders, then on the upper chest, all the while watching the woman’s face for reactions. It had immediately been clear that the woman, whomever she was, could still feel pain. Her face reflected just that. Ever so slowly, Ingrid moved downwards, checking for injuries. When she was about half-way down the torso, it was apparent that there was something seriously wrong, for her face showed intense agony upon the probing. Even worse, she showed no reaction at all below that. Not even a pinch to the inner thigh showed pain. No man or woman who was ok did not feel pain there.

Ingrid was about to radio in her discoveries when she saw something odd. It looked like a slight pulsating shudder in the woman's throat. She had never before seen its like. It was standard procedure to figure out rough extend of injuries before reporting in. No point in calling medics if they did not know what was going on. It was a fully justified delay. Upon seeing the shudder, she leaned closer, curious about what it could be.

~|~

Vanja could feel the attempts of the unknown human checking out the damage to Ylva. Although she did not know exactly understand what was detected, it was clear that there was a purpose behind it all. It did no further harm, so she did not mind it, even as she tried to mend the severed nerves. She did not have much success. Ylva’s body was weaker than it ought to be, and nerve damage is one of the hardest repair jobs to do, simply because mistakes could not be afforded. After what felt like an eternity, but which in truth was probably a couple of minutes at most, Vanja managed to get a partial patch on one nerve strand to Ylva’s lower body. It was just enough to get a hint that something was seriously wrong before the patch broke due to an involuntary shudder.

She then started checking for other hints. Only then did she sense the evidence of a powerful toxin in the bloodstream, mixed with unusual concentrations of certain hormones. It took several moments to sink in, but when it did, it was clear to her that there was no way for Ylva to survive to perfect health, if she could survive at all. Vanja found herself panicking. She had too much to do before dying. Far too much.

It went against every fiber in her being, but when her would-be rescuer leaned closer for some unknown reason, she shot Ylva’s arms up, grabbing the woman’s head, twisting it to face her. No matter how much it went against her philosophy, Vanja's instinct for survival was stronger. The needs of the Tok'ra were overruled in this case. She pulled the woman's head down towards Ylva's, whispering “I’m sorry…" before kissing her, even as she slid herself loose from around Ylva's spine and shedding the nerve tendrils, prepared to take the woman as her new host.

~|~

Ingrid tried to pull back when the woman suddenly grabbed her head, but found that Ylva’s grip was inhumanly strong. There was no way to twist loose. She looked confused when the woman whispered her unusual apology, not really understanding what she was apologizing for. The woman pulled her into a rough kiss, holding her head down, when something slid past her lips. Whatever it was, it was quite slick, and less than a moment later, she felt a stabbing pain at the back of her throat. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It hurt like hell. Then she found herself slipping backwards, as if she was losing control over herself.

~|~

When she panicked, Vanja had made sure to exit Ylva’s inner throat somewhat further down than was usual, so that the wound would not be visible without a deep autopsy of the trachea. It wasn’t an easy move, but it was safer. It was clear that her new host did not understand anything about what was happening. That in itself was a bit scary, for it had not been nearly enough years since the fall of the last real system lord. The Tau’ri should not have laxed already in the descriptions of symbiote behavior. Of course, most of the tau’ri who had been hosts were not keen on describing the event of becoming a host. As a matter of policy, she seized full control over her new host’s nervous system initially. She had to explain everything before she could dare release her. If her new host proved unwilling, she would do her best to find another. It was one thing to hold someone captive temporarily till it can be explained. That was bad enough, but at times necessary. But to hold someone against their will permanently was blasphemy. It simply wasn’t done. Not among the Tok’ra.

Whomever it was that had attacked them, they had made sure that there would be no way for her to survive. The question was whom it had been and why… Had it been an agent of the Lucian Alliance? A surviving Goa’uld who had somehow detected her? Someone else? Vanja had not sensed another symbiote, but that could be concealed. She did not know, and that she did not like. She slowly got up, wiping away the minuscule droplets of blood upon Ingrid’s lips from when she slipped in, then took a step back after pulling her Tok’ra identification out from the place it was concealed.

~|~

Ingrid didn’t understand what was happening. One moment, she had been listening to the patient’s breathing. The next moment, she had been forced into an open kiss. Then there had been the thing slipping past her lips and cutting its way through the soft tissue at the back of her throat. And finally the sensation as it wrapped itself around her spine. She wanted to scream, but found her vocal chords would not obey her. Nor would her arms or legs. In fact, she found herself imprisoned within her own body.

The thing in control over her slowly pulled away from the woman on the floor, gently wiping away the blood upon her lips. ”Goodbye, my friend.” she heard herself saying involuntarily, her voice sounding a bit strange. ”I am sorry I could not save you.” Again, the words came unbidden from her mouth. Ingrid didn’t understand. She had received some instruction about the Goa’uld and the Tok’ra, but had not been listening much to the parts about how they took hosts. Nor for that matter had there been any descriptions of what it felt like. She kept trying to control her body, but every time it failed. What possessed her now had a will of steel. She found herself incapable of calling the medics as planned. The thought 'she's dying. Nothing can save her.' popped into her mind from the creature controlling her. Ingrid wanted to scream, but of course she had no ability to do so. The being pulled something from the woman's clothes, tucking it in a pocket, then she was walked away towards her quarters.

~|~

Vanja hated controlling another the way she did now, but until she could take time to explain everything, she had little choice. Her mission was too important to risk being felled by an accident like this. It was only when she entered the woman’s private quarters that she started breaking down the wall she had set up between their consciousnesses. She locked the door and removed the key, bending it just a little so that neither of them could easily leave. Not enough to permanently damage it, but enough to make it impossible to insert into the keyhole. She could easily bend it back later.

Once she was sure there would be no interference, she remove the wall completely, relaxing her control over Ingrid’s body. ‘I am sorry we had to meet like this. My name is Vanja of the Tok’ra. My former host and friend, Ylva Falk, was attacked by an unknown party and mortally wounded. Unless the ancestors are cruel to her, she is already dead, for the poison in her blood was agonizing and the damage to her body severe. That is the only reason I would take one such as you without prior consent. As you can no doubt feel, I have released all control over your body back to you.’

~|~

When the alien thoughts entered her mind, Ingrid shuddered. They were so strange, but she could also sense the calm wisdom inherent in the voice projecting those thoughts. When it spoke of releasing control, she found that she could indeed move on her own again. The being, this Vanja of the Tok’ra, did not lie. She didn’t know how to answer, so she simply spoke out. “Umm… Hi?” immediately she felt a bit embarrassed at such a greeting.

~|~

’Hi, indeed.’ Vanja chuckled silently, letting her mirth be clear. Clearly her new host had very little experience with social interaction. ’You need not answer me out loud. I can hear your thoughts, just as you can hear mine. If you consent to remain my host, then I will grant you a longer life, better health and increased strength. Not to mention someone to talk with and my two thousand three hundred and twelve years of experience. However, if you wish not to be my host, then I will do my utmost to find another, more willing host. It is not easy to take another host like that, but it is infinitely better than having an unwilling host.’

~|~

‘oh, sorry’ Ingrid thought back. She truthfully did not know how to react, but the idea of better health and a longer life was rather compelling. She hadn’t had bad health in the past, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t ever been sick. And then there was Vanja’s experience. That too might be useful. ‘This sounds quite intriguing and beneficial to me. What’s in this deal for you? What do you get out of it? For that matter, what is your goal in being here in the first place?’

~|~

Vanja couldn’t help but smile a little at her questions and logic. She was a fine human, well worthy of respect. [i]’Well, I do get a host, so I get to live. That bit is valuable. You seem like a strong human. A strong host is always better than a weak or timid one. As for my goal. As you may already have guessed, no one else knows I am here. I came to the world of the Tau’ri some fourteen or fifteen of your years ago. My initial mission was to learn about your people from the inside, to see how worthy they were of allying with. But I have since lost all contact with my people. Some years ago, I realized that through using the technology of the Asgard, the biggest problem of my people might be solved, that of our zero or negative population growth. Our queen, Egeria, disappeared many centuries ago, but died not many years ago. The only viable solution for the Tok’ra is to gain another queen to replace her. That is my mission now.’

~|~

Ingrid listened to Vanja’s speech without commenting. Then she thought it over long before answering. ‘A noble mission. I believe I can understand it, and I consider it worthy of aiding. Unless something is objectionable, I do not see any reason we cannot cooperate. In fact, I might even be able to help you complete it. As head scientist, I have better access than your former host ever had. What do we do to sign this partnership?’

~|~

It pleased Vanja greatly that Ingrid was willing to partner with her. ’We Blend.’ Vanja answered, opening up the floodgates of her memory, sharing everything with her new host, not holding anything back, but at the same time ensuring that the memories would not overwhelm Ingrid.

~|~

Ingrid did not know how to react when Vanja opened up her memories completely to her. At first she feared the veritable flood would overwhelm her, but soon it was clear that her symbiote was guiding it all, preventing just that. She simply lay down on the bed, listening with her mind to everything, even as she in turn explained her memories, however sparse and few they were in comparison to Vanja’s. How long they laid there blending, she had no idea. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. It was impossible to say.

Tristan calmly nodded at Lt. Zaken’s orders as he waited for the proper time to swiftly move across the grounds. He however was mesmerized for a split second at the fantastical battle taking place above their heads. It was something that only had seemed possible out of science fiction novel but his trance however would quickly be broken as a loud explosive sound rippled through the air. He immediately snapped out of his trance and waited for another explosion to ripple across the sky to cover the sound of his steps. On instinct he darted across the frigid ground to until he came to the door. He immediately set his gun to the side of him as he began to dig through his pack to find a small device he had made that was meant for breaching the door. Before he began to go to work however he motioned for the alien girl to come and give him cover while he prepped to set it up. He had worked in a team for so long that he expected the girl to have his back and immediately went to work with the explosions of the battle pattering through the air. Heh all I need is a minute… Hopefully those guards don’t return and if they do I pray that my team has my back… he thought to himself as he stuck the explosive on the door.

Ay'mara gave a firm nod to Lt. Zaken to show that she understood the plan being set forth. Though she was unsure why such a device designed by the Tau'ri would be more successful at breaching than that of a staff blast she did not voice it out loud. Now was not the time to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Jaffa and Tau'ri equipment. Seconds later a huge explosion billowed over the sky causing the ground to shake. Ay'mara cocked her head to the side listening for a second but after several seconds she concluded that there would not be one. That shot from the Ha'tak (presumably) overhead had nothing to do with the ground troupes. It was the Lucian Alliance showing the Tau'ri how far they would go. Ay'mara considered that the next logical step would be to place ships in between the Alliance and the planet but quickly shook off the train of thought. The battle in space was not her concern at the moment. This facility was.

Ay'mara moved quickly and quietly after Morneau in order to perform her assigned task. Many Jaffa did not know the merits of stealth. On many worlds both silence and subterfuge were considered cowardly. Thankfully Bubastis was not such a world. Ay'mara stood with her back to Morneau watching all sides with her staff at the ready. It was unlikely the guards would return but if they did Ay'mara was prepared. Morneau was clearly used to fighting in a team as he did not hesitate to turn his back to were danger would come from trusting her to defend him is need be.

"Be prepared for combat, even with the Langaran distraction the Alliance will likely notice our presence once your device is detonated. I will cover our rear you watch out for mine." said Ay'mara gravely. She suspected that he already knew this but not having time to get acquainted with her teammates before hand left her with no proof. It was safer to sound arrogant than to assume he knew something he did not.

From what Karel Vacek knew, the battle was going well. He didn’t have any specific tasks right now, but was on stand-by in case anything unexpected happened. Having served for years aboard other 304’s, he knew well that that happened frequently. More frequently than back on Earth, at least. Of course, he could’ve remained back in his small cabin, but that just felt wrong, sitting in a small room when everyone else is fighting. Plain wrong.

Of course, it would have been much easier to stay in one place, especially with the ship being hit now and then, but Karel had not joined this program to have it easy. In fact, he hadn’t joined the military to have it easy. He moved down one of the more obscure corridors when suddenly he saw someone lying on the floor. He did not rush forward, though he longed to. He stopped, looked for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing stood out.

Karel took a couple of steps closer, looking for disturbances, any fluctuations that might indicate an imperfect stealth device. It never hurt to be sure. He did not see anything. Then he looked over the walls, ceiling and floor. Other than a faint skidmark on the floor, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Exempting the body, that is. He stepped closer, leaning down to check for a pulse, keeping his eyes searching, just in case the one responsible was still around. He had no illusions about this being an accident.

As he suspected, there was no pulse. But the body was still warm, so the woman had not been dead long. Looking at her neck, he spotted the chain of a set of dogtags. He pulled them out, reading the name. Then he dropped them back down, taking a few steps back. He had two calls to make. First bridge, then Infirmary. Protocols were clear on that.

“Desátník Karel Vacek to Oberst Kateřina Černá. I got a dead Scientist in corridor H-17. Tags identify her as Captain Ylva Falk. This was no accident. I repeat, no accident.” Seeing that the Oberst was probably busy, Karel decided to call the infirmary while waiting for an answer. “Corporal Karel Vacek to Infirmary. Got a woman down in H-17. Get a team her ASAP. Bring a bodybag.”

Cody had beamed down inside a building across from the facility with a clear view of the teams breaching point, and a general area around the building, other than the opposite side of course. As soon as the beaming was complete Cody raised his handgun and swept the immediate area then quickly holstered it when he said the area was clear and quickly laid his rifle case on a table and pulled out his specialized rifle attaching his normal scope and attaching the suppressor, not really for the noise dampening though, that was already covered by the sounds surrounding the area, but so when he started firing no one would be able to find the muzzle flash. He then moved another table to the middle of the room and readied the bipod on his rifle and set it up to where he'd be shooting through a window that was viewing the door the ground team would be moving on soon.

After preparing his rifle and putting it into position Cody then slowly opened all of the windows in the building enough to shoot through but not enough to notice it was out of the ordinary. He then set a trip wire in the stairwell and grabbed a grenade out of his bag he'd brought with him for his extended stay, or extended time off the ship at least, and readied it to go off on anyone that might try an ambush. As he began to returned to his rifle he remembered one last thing. Cody pulled out his knife and removed his locator beacon slowly and then smashed it, then proceeded to quickly wrap his wound. As far as the captain knew, he was dead. He leaned over and readied his rifle as the pair moving in to breach the door was just now getting into position and then as expected got to work immediately. "Sorry guys, you'll just have to figure out a new way to stop them from getting to the Destiny." He muttered as his sights were trained on the Jaffa's lower left leg. This of course he knew would heal quickly thus he felt no need to be nice to the Jaffa, though the one soldier setting the charge might have it rough if he didn't move at all to check on her. He took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled and fired his shot, then before waiting to see what the damage was he moved his sights over to the charge that had just been set and fired two shots at this to destroy it, then would continue to fire around the two until they were forced to fall back hitting as close to them as he could without hitting them. If this didn't work he of course would have to try something else, probably involving actually hitting them, but he hoped it didn't come to that.

Joseph

Who is in heaven is driving this fucking thing?!?

Joseph mentally fumed when he shook away the sting of his landing, his feet had lost their footing when the ship suddenly shook. The abrupt movement and focus on readying himself had already knocked the air from his body and left him winded. His head lifted, unable to speak for several moments, as he spotted Niven braced in the doorway of the medical bay. When the anouncements were made, all doctors had scrambled to ready themselves, expecting a vast amount of wounded and injured to be pouring in at any moment. Widened eyed and motionless, Niven snapped out of his concern when he noticed Joseph had lost his footing. Both doctors gave each other a brief look. Wasting little time, Niven darted towards Joseph, his hand outreached to aid the man back to his feet. A small grateful smile flickered across Joseph’s creased face before he noted the first to arrive.

Everything seemed to be utter chaos at first. Bodies, both officers and civilian scientists, rushed about with wounded in the medical bay’s direction. Some had electric burns, their clothing singed to their flesh, while others had mere gashes or bruise which could’ve been walked off. Joseph noted a young man, a fire extinguisher held in hands, putting out a sparking console some length down the hall. The wires had caught fire and the victim was already on route to the rooms.

By the time Joseph was helped up, the chaos had already tampered off. Already many of the medics had shepherded the injured and dropped them off, their figures vanished back into the hallways to search for any stray wounded. Meanwhile, officers hastily rushed back to their earlier stations to pick any slack left. It would take hours to sort this mess out while Joseph took up scissors to cut away the fabric off an electric burned victim, her eyes brimmed in fear and clearly shaken. A tug of pity jarred Joseph’s heart to see it. In a gruff manner, he spoke to distract her while he worked.

“It’s just a mere burn, we’ll cut it free and bandage it then you need some rest.”

She looked up from her cradled arm, eyes brown as a black hole, to examine Joseph for several seconds. “It sure feels worse than some lousy burn.”

The woman seemed indignant at his tone but he merely shrugged it off, neither bothered to justify or excuse it. He could easily tell her nationality through her accent, Southern USA. Like him. He only continued, already her sleeve was completely off and ready to be bandaged. “It always seems that way when you’re injured.”

Once done, he passed her over to a nurse who promptly sought to deliver her into a medical bed. Joseph then went to the next patient. It would be several hours before two of the personnel came in, a sleek, black body bag slung between the pair. In that moment, Joseph had just finished up with another patient and turned on heel to where the bag was hauled onto an open bed. He had barely registered Dr. Niven beside, his figure shortly joined when he spotted Joseph move.

Joseph felt something twist within his middle like a creature, frightened and trapped inside. He knew the meaning of the body bag. A death and nothing good would come of it as his aged hand reached for the zipper, his forefinger and thumb grasped it firmly then pulled it back. His face, instinctively, paled when he saw her face. For the second time of that day, Ylva’s face hovered in his mind. Only this time, she was a deathly vision of her former self. Silence seemed to fall about those surrounding the corpse. It was broken by Joseph, who stepped away, reaching for a white cloth and placed upon Ylva’s face out of respect. Her eyes, wide open and possibly in pain, were shrouded from sight.

“First the living, then I’ll deal with the dead. Please put her in the morgue, namely in a cold unit, until I can do an autopsy.” Joseph said, his face turned to the two responsible for bring in the body. They nodded, wordless, and lifted the body toward the morgue while Joseph returned his focus on the living. Later, much later he would give Ylva the attention she rightly deserved.

Kay

Kay remained hidden in the shadow of a wall. She kept their destination in her sight, her form shielded against the bitter blowing wind and protected should any gun fire break out from the door’s direction. Once they blow it, she doubted it would go unnoticed for long. The idea of being shot because of her ignorance in the field was mainly a rookie mistake she didn't want to make. For farther precaution, Kay crouched down upon bended knee, lowering herself just beside a dirty snow pile mixed with filth and grit. It wasn’t shortly after she had called in the distraction that it arrived. A simple shot from the tanks confirm it as the sounds of grinding machine and popping gun fire followed. It seemed any Alliance soldier caught outside had joined the fight to stop the Langara’s efforts.

The second Lt. couldn’t help feeling positive about the proceedings before she gave a silent “Thank you” to Ariadne. She would have to make sure to personally deliver it once this mission was ended. Movement caught her eyes and caused Kay’s head to jerk in the direction, just in time to see Morneau and Ay’mara dart across the open ground. They moved like shadows, a slight swell of pride when she seeen progress was being made. She would later curse herself for not realizing something was bound to go wrong or preparing for it. A loud, deafening sound, far too strong to be a tank or Alliance retaliation snatched Kay’s attention. Her head turned to the skies above just in time to see the Ha’tak fire upon the planet. The shot’s noise split through the open skies and crack down, the shot’s image vanished from sight over the towering buildings. Immediately the ground rumbled in reply as it shook under her feet. Bits of building crumbled away and fell into the streets while her arm shot out to brace herself, her eyes wide in surprise. She had never seen a Ha’tak fire before now and the sheer power was enough to unnerve the woman, her thoughts turned to Him for comfort.

Out of habit, her hand edged for her Star of David just under her uniform’s collar. The chain kept it close enough to her neck so there was little chance anyone could use it to choke her, if anything happened, it was thin enough that it would’ve snapped and came free. She gently stroked the symbol of her faith to quell the shudder of fear which rippled through her. Her lips moved, a quiet Hebrew prayer mumbled over and over. Kay barely realized her eyes had looked skyward until she felt the familiar strain in her neck. She forced her mind back down to the present. Her hand replaced its grip again onto her weapon just when Ay’mara and Morneau reached the door. The fact the enemy had fired on the planet meant only one thing: they were getting desperate. And desperate people- alien or otherwise- did very risky and stupid things. She was no different when the situation arose. Kay lingered briefly on Morneau’s hands, they moved with purpose and haste, and then returned to her own job. After all it was Miller and her job to be mindful of the surroundings.

The last thing Kay had expected was a sniper.

When the charge looked like it was set, Kay had been about to signal to move in before a shot popped at the Jaffa’s leg. She hadn’t determined if the Jaffa had been hit or not as her own body pressed tightly to the wall, wheeled around for cover where she judged the shot’s originals were. After her head whipped about for the source, she realized with a irked feeling that the man or woman had put on a silencer to hit the muzzle flash. Another two shots hit, dead aim, on the explosive’s detonator. It sizzled and cracked from the damage which made Kay’s lip curl in frustration. Several more shots peppered the ground in attempts to hit the pair while they were forced to retreat, realizing any chance in locating the shooter was nearly impossible and too much sloppy guess work. Once the two had fallen back, Kay leaned in to assess the damage to the Jaffa’s leg. Luckily it was only a flesh wound and a minor one at that. Seeing little medical aid needed, she turned and relayed her change in plans. Either way, they were getting through that door.

“Ay’mara, if you can, I need you to staff blast the door when I count to three and be ready to run.” Kay said, her hand reached into her belt and retrieved a smoke grenade. “The thing about snipers, if he can’t see his target then he isn’t able to shot it so Miller, might want to toss one of yours out as well. If it wasn’t for time being critical and the fact the Alliance has gotten desperate, I’d try to locate that sniper. Alright, Morneau and Miller, you two keep close. Ay’mara, you’re with me. After the staff blast, head to the door but don’t take the same path. I rather not give our shooter a row of ducks to hit.”

Once Ay’mara fired her staff weapon, Kay and likely Miller would toss their grenades in opposite directions. Then all that was left was getting to the door before their cover dissipated.

Ay'mara scanned the surrounding area conscious of any movement. The man behind her was working swiftly but she would be glad when he was done. The heat of battle was easier to deal with than the anxious moments before. Ay'mara did not hear the bullet the sniper fired but she felt it as it impacted her leg. For the first few seconds it felt as though she been dealt a blow hard, her leg buckled and she used her staff to keep herself steady. In a split second the pain crashed down on her like her nerves just realized that they had been severed.

Ay'mara thanked the Ancients that it was a Tau'ri weapon. If a staff had hit her in the same spot she may have lost her leg. Now however was not the time to assess injury. That could be done when they had cover. She used her staff to push herself to her feet. From behind her she heard two more bullets hit the explosive device and the subsequent sparking that meant it would no longer operate. The door was not a valid point for retreating and this sniper obviously had an angle on there current position.

"Morneau, we must regroup. Come." She said the words with force. Using her staff to brace her, they both took cover with Lt Zaken. Bullets showered all around but none hit. When they had gained cover Ay'mara listened to Zaken's plan.

"He may be unable to see use but our destination is known to him. Assuming his weapon is capable of firing in quick succession" Ay'mara was unsure of Tau'ri weapon designs and vowed that she would look into the matter further once they returned to the Langford. "then this man who fires from the shadows may well make our breach point his target in the hopes that he fells some of our number. We must move quickly."

Ay'mara would be no use to this battle if her wound was left unattended. She torn a section of cloth exposing the wound, cursing at the knowledge that she would have to repair by hand the damage to her uniform. The bullet appeared to have gone straight through based on a matching hole on the other side of her flesh. It had missed any important arteries and bones. This was the kind of wound that bled freely and induced much pain but had done little damage. It would fully heal in a number of days and in the mean time a bandage and her symbiote would alleviate the bleeding.

"A simple fleshwound," She said wrapping it in a bandage from the Tau'ri vest and tying it tight. "I remain battle ready." To prove that she was still fit Ay'mara stood and picked up her Ma'tok staff. She activated it and aimed it with pinpoint accuracy at the door. "I will fire upon your command." Ay'mara said addressing Zaken.

The message about Ylva’s death was like lightning from clear sky. Although she got over it in a second doe to being in her command mode, she knew it was going to be hell later. But for now she had hell to give to someone else. “Copy that.” she answered, “Investigate the scene, the labs don’t seem like being affected by collateral damage.” Right as she finished that, a loud shout from the sensors officer directed her attention at the battle: “Ma’am! They’re withdrawing!”

Checking on the sensors, Kat saw much of the spacecraft head towards the remaining Ha’Tak. “Energy spike, they’re running. Beam cannons still offline.” Catherine’s fist slammed down on the table: “Damn it! Focus on the strikecraft, take down as many as you can!” she growled and switched her comms: “Zaken, Langford is now available for support. The enemy is breaking orbit. We gave them a good beating but the possibility is that they just might be done with what they came to do so be careful.” she notified the ground commander.

Kay’s voice came on over the communications. “Read you, and be ready to standby. Currently we have one injured, and a hostile, likely a sniper, preventing us from entering the building. We might need your help shortly. Over and out.”

Meanwhile, Dey gave the order for the Ha’tak to pull out. It’s engines started to engage in an effort to hyperspace out, escaping to fight another day. As the Langford’s attention was fixed likely fixed on the ship’s current actions, Tonak’s communicator came online again and attracted Dey’s focus. She pressed the button to answer. “Tonak, I take it you’re ready for pick up now?”

People had been going through the gate, which now shut down. “Dial Destiny.” With that he turned to everyone else. “As soon as the gate has finished dialing, go through. Everyone. Don’t risk hanging around between dialing the ninth chevron and this here bomb.” He gave Jonas a pat on the back as he began walking away, picking up an automatic rifle as he did so. He took out his communicator.

“Come round to the buildings other side, away from Langaran forces. It’s time for us to get out of here. We’ll pick up any stray operatives on our way out.”

Dey smiled and couldn’t resist a comment, one which almost sounded exhausted. “About time, could you’ve been any slower? I don’t think I’ve gone grey yet. Be careful, Ton. Things aren’t looking too good up here and I was forced to call the Ha’tak back, the only one left. That ship’s a piece of shit.”

“You should of had this Dey, and quit the remarks. This whole planet has basically become a bomb and any second the Tauri will detect the power flow to the gate is going towards the ninth chevron so shit will be harder. Get down here soon while they are too distracted to pick up the disturbances from a cloaked ship entering the atmosphere.”

“Alright, alright.” Dey answered, her figure slouched farther into her seat and tone resentful towards her brother. “I’m getting, but try not to get shot. I don’t want really to play doctor again.”

She set the coordinates within the ship’s destination and rotated her hand upon the ball like controls, her ship steered towards the planet’s surface where Tonak had requested. It was going to be a tight squeeze, or so she thought, as she lowered it onto the ground, safely away from Langaran fire. Once in position, she opened the cargo rear and let the men board.